On Thursday, April 4th and Friday, April 5th, Mrs. Follmar visited our 8th grade classrooms to teach the third and final session of Xello! for the school year. Xello! is a personalized education program where students have an opportunity to gain information about colleges and careers.
In this Xello! session, Mrs. Follmar explained to students that the focus for session three would be on portfolio and resume building. As Mrs. Follmar stated, session three is the “meat and potatoes” of students’ portfolios. Students explored the “Experiences” tab on the Xello! site where they were asked to expand on three different areas: Skills, Interests, and Places.
For the skills portion, students were given a list and rated them out of three stars- one being the lowest and three being the highest rating. Some skills that were suggested include: advising, collaborating, respecting others, teamwork, serving customers, ambitions, etc. After students rated their skills, they were given a section to select and list their interests. Once their interests were listed, they provided some background, such as their birthplace, where they live, and their family roots. After the information was plugged into the Xello! system, it went towards forming students’ individualized portfolios. Additionally, students had a section where they inserted all their volunteer experience, which helped them generate the beginning stages of a resume.
Students absolutely love Xello!, and they are excited to make their dreams become a reality!