Creativity, activity, service (CAS) is one of the three essential elements that every student must complete as part of the Diploma Programme (DP). Studied throughout the Diploma Programme, CAS involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies.
Unlike the other components of the program, it is not formally assessed. However, CAS requires students to document their experiences along with their corresponding reflections, evidence of the seven learning outcomes, and the CAS strands they will tackle within the experience. This documentation serves as the proof of completion of these experiences and provides each student with their own unique CAS portfolio.
Understandably, it can get very overwhelming to condense all the information for each experience in one place—not to mention additional requirements such as interviews, the CAS Project, and hyperlinks that are relevant to each experience. For this reason, more and more students have begun to make websites dedicated to their CAS journey. By shifting the collection online, students can present all of their hard work in a systematic, organized, and compelling way.
However, it can be hard to find a program that provides all the tools students need to present their information—especially if you’re looking to avoid a costly subscription, but still want mostly unlimited access to the tools. Although there are a variety of free website development services available, we have found that the best one for students to develop their own CAS website is Adobe Spark. Here we will break down the process of building a website step by step. Let’s get started!
1. Introduce your new website with a breathtaking photo of your own or use Adobe’s free collection.
2. Choose one of Adobe’s website themes to make the decoration process simple and easy.
3. Separate your series and single experiences by adding title texts for all your content below.
4. Make a space for each of your experiences by using the Split Layout Option.
5. Use the text feature to add the name of your experience and use the citation option to add the learning outcomes and CAS attributes you’ve developed within the experience along with the dates the experience was completed through.
6. Use the button option to link your page to other programs you might’ve developed your reflections through.
7. Use the preview button to see how your website will be presented to your teachers and peers.
8. Share your website link with your teachers and peers whenever you must submit your work. Just don’t forget to update your link every time you’ve made an edit and you must reupload your link somewhere!
Press the Share button at the top of your website and click on ‘Publish and Share Link.’
Once you’ve accommodated your information, copy and paste your link wherever you must submit your work!
Photo credits: Domenico Loia via Unsplash.com.
