TEMPE, Arizona—It's easy to tell when springtime is approaching in the Arizona desert. That's when elementary students are busy polishing their portfolio presentations so they can explain to their families just what they've been learning. "It's a rite of passage at our school to engage in student-led conferences with your parents," explains teacher Sarah Stolfa.

But even the best traditions can start to feel dated after a few years. To make sure that doesn't happen, Stolfa puts a fresh spin on the activity with her third-graders at Kyrene de las Manitas School. As early as November, the class begins compiling information from student work samples to create electronic portfolios using presentation software.

As Stolfa explains, "The students create slides for each subject area, explaining the different things we've learned." She encourages them to make each slide unique, using clip art, animations, themes, photos of themselves, and a variety of typefaces and graphic backgrounds. "By February," she says, "the presentations for student-led conferences are fabulous!" When students arrive at school with their parents for the appointed conference time, Stolfa says, "the students are bursting with pride. And, of course, so are their parents."

Typically, a student will lead her parents into the school's well-equipped computer lab and settle them into chairs. Then, Stolfa says, "it's so amazing to watch the faces light up as they begin their presentation." One year, a student brought not only her mother, but her entire extended family—grandpa, grandma, cousins, and an aunt. Another student's father brought a videocamera and taped his daughter's presentation, Stolfa recalls, "because her Mom was not able to attend and still wanted to see everything."

Such moments remind Stolfa why she chose teaching as a career. "I don't just teach third grade," she says, "I teach third-graders. Every day, they do something amazing."

While adding interest and flair to the parent conferences, the portfolio project also gives students the opportunity to hone their technology skills. "By having my students create electronic presentations for their student-led conferences," Stolfa says, "I can hit almost every target in our third-grade technology curriculum." By that age, students are expected to move beyond basic understanding of computer components and begin to develop skills using word processing and graphics programs. "Most importantly," she adds, "my students are becoming more computer literate and building skills in technology that they would be lost without in the future."

That became clear to her one night, when an amazed father sat back in wonder after watching his son present his electronic portfolio. Recalls Stolfa, "He said he pays someone big money to make electronic presentations for him, and all along he could have had his son doing it!"