EPORTFOLIO PROJECT STATEMENT
ePortfolio Content Reflection
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When I first came into this course, I really had no clue what to expect since it would be my first college level English course. I was more concerned than anything, as I was expecting endless loads of work. When I learned we would be creating ePortfolios, I was confused since I never made one in the past and assumed it to be difficult. I pushed this confusion aside for a while and tried my best in completing the assignments. As time went by, I realized that the course was nowhere close to what I thought it would be. The course ended up being easier to follow than expected along with very reasonable amounts of work. The content I made for this course reflects my experiences with the material, my writing processes and growth, and my connections to the readings.
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The two major papers I included in my ePortfolio are my Progression 1 paper and Progression 2 paper. To start writing my Progression 1 paper, I had to choose between the two topic options. I had to go back and forth between deciding whether I wanted to write about the general effectiveness of Citizen or write to a university explaining why I think they should include it. Since I was indecisive, I made outlines for both the topics. When I outlined the university option, I noticed it was too vague and off topic for what I wanted to write about. Because of that, I went with the general effectiveness option. My points were much stronger, but I had a hard time deciding which topics to keep as main points and which to use as subpoints. While making my first and only draft, I had trouble trying to write enough to explain my points. This was because the due date of the paper fell between my midterms so I did not have much time to really think about it. It seemed like it was lacking so much information that I couldn’t pinpoint so I just fixed up my grammar and submitted it. After reading the feedback on it, I started revising it to be ready for the ePortfolio. Using all the suggestions given and rechecking the wording allowed me to clean up the paper quite well. I did not have too much difficulty with this and think this paper is at its peak effectiveness.
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Similarly, my Progression 2 paper also took me a while to determine which topic I should choose. If anything, being an artist made choosing my topic even harder than it should have been. This is because I know that truly anything can be considered art so I had to choose between something more obvious or something more interesting. This led me to pick between two narrowed down options- digital art or Ateez. If I were to argue digital art is true art, the paper would have been far too full of spite and rage towards my art teacher in high school who thought the computer would draw for you. Because of this, I chose to write about Ateez instead since their music is an essential component of my life.
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When writing my only draft for this paper, I had trouble figuring out how to integrate academic sources into my writing. I had to search for more generalized articles then attempt to link them to my points. Another thing I had trouble with was making sure all of my points truly related back to art since I chose music which is a more abstract form of it. My main issue was needing to break up my ideas into smaller paragraphs. I used the feedback I received from my professor to help revise my paper to be ready for the ePortfolio. I also used suggestions from my friend who offered to help review my paper and pointed out some mistakes. These helped my paper reach its best, most effective point at the moment.
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In relation to writing the major papers, we started our work in Progression 1 by reading Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine. This was quite a difficult read due to the unique writing styles Rankie used to get her points across. However, by discussing the chapters both during class and during written discussions, the hybrid text became more clear. This allowed me to understand the material better and to a deeper, more relatable extent. We also spent quite a bit of time discussing implicit bias, microaggressions, and racism in relation to Citizen. In Progression 2, I had a better time understanding the material since it was about art. I was able to catch onto this right away because I have a very wide spectrum of understanding different types of art and what can be considered art. In Progression 3, I had a more difficult time with the course material. This Progression was all about who you are, which has always been something I’ve dreaded thinking about. Because of this, I had many difficulties when writing my paper because it felt like looking back into a past I wish was gone.
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As reflected in the major papers, my writing process has changed a lot over this semester. I initially wrote vague outlines for my papers and bunched up all my main points into only three body paragraphs. I only wrote one draft for my papers in the past, revised it a few times and submitted it. When Progression 1 started, I realized I needed to change this in order to make sure my writing is at its best. A major thing that helped support the growth of my writing was the use of Jamboards. This allowed me to make highly organized, detailed outlines which kept my papers in check. Another support in my writing was the use of peer reviews. Since I am unable to catch my own mistakes, having another student look over it and give input was very beneficial. Now, I always write solid outlines, check my paper with multiple people, and go back to revise it every few days.
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Throughout my time writing this semester, the strongest connection between my work and readings relate to Citizen. I even included two blog posts in my ePortfolio about it. They encompass the key concepts and ideas from Citizen since it was a major part of Progression 1. My “Exercises” page also includes 2 exercises from Progression 1. They are both based on my understanding of the book. Citizen provided my writing many strong quotes such as, “When you lay your body in the body entered as if skin and bone were public places...you know no memory should live in these memories” (Rankine Section VII). Quotes such as these aided in my understanding of a significant chunk of the course material. For example, this quote stood out to me quite a bit as I was reading the hybrid text and helped me analyze the speaker's situation. Overall, readings like Citizen helped improve my writing and analysis skills for this course.
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ePortfolio Design Reflection
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Digital design can be a challenge for many including myself. At first glance, a website editor looks like a confusing mess. Because of this, my ePortfolio took a lot of time and effort in order to create. It encompasses all my work into one organized, detailed place. It is a proper visualization of my time in this class. It also demonstrates the amount of work it took in order to get it to where it is now. My ePortfolio reflects my growth as a writer, my assignments and similar exercises, and numerous aspects of my identity.
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When I first started working on my ePortfolio, I made it so that just by opening up the introduction page will show a lot about who I am. It includes my “About Me” section in which I added a photo of myself drawing in my room where you can see my posters on the wall. This helps lead into my outside the classroom page which is nearby on the menu. The menu itself includes all the different components of the ePortfolio with the more important aspects on the right side. This is so that the viewer can go in order of the more minor aspects and lead into the interesting ones. Because of that, it then goes to my “Goals and Outcomes” page to add on to the introductory vibe. For a majority of the content included such as papers, I linked them as PDF’s to a button on their respective pages so that it is easier for a viewer to access. I also did this to make the pages look less busy and keep the simple, pastel aesthetic. However, for pages where there is only one thing involved such as the “Personal Reading and Writing History” I adapted the initial work to be viewed as a whole. I also arranged my “Outside the Classroom” page in a more unique way so that the viewer can see my art displayed as if it were in a digital gallery. I used these formats of display so that it would be pleasant to look at.
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When going through my ePortfolio, my “Major Works” page includes the most crucial part of my writing. It is seen right after my “Personal Reading and Writing History” on the menu. I placed it like this so that after a viewer reads about my history as a writer, they can see the outcomes of it in the major papers. I added the Progression 1 and Progression 2 papers to my ePortfolio because they were by far the strongest and most accurate representation of my writing skills. I also thought it was interesting to include these two because it shows progress with my grammar and wording.
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When looking at the design for these pages, I initially used soft colors along with flowers or galaxy decorations. This is because I wanted to go for a look that matched my personal interests. I kept it like this for a while until I realized it did not look cohesive. Because of that, I changed the decorations to be only galaxy themed. For the page layouts, I made it a simple scroll downwards with a few buttons if needed to include assignments. I used a thin font for the page titles and an easy to read, solid black font for the writing. I wanted my ePortfolio to be easy to navigate while looking aesthetic.
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The ePortfolio itself can also relate to making a real essay because of some similarities. For example, both need to be well structured, organized, easy to read, and detailed. However, writing an essay is a lot more intricate and has a specific format to follow. Because of this, the ePortfolio gives more freedom and space to display work and ideas. This extended creative space is expressed in my own ePortfolio.
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Works Cited
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric, Graywolf Press, 2014.