Reflective Intro

Regardless of the theme I end up choosing for my portfolio, my reflective introduction will thoroughly explain the purpose, design, and outcomes of what I have chosen to present. Some points I will highlight and emphasize:

-Audience and its role in effectiveness

-Growth through stepping outside of comfort boundaries

-Purpose in writing and personality's role

I've always enjoyed writing introductions because I think they give writers a unique opportunity to really attract and intrigue their readers.

Potential Themes

1. Versatility Across Genres - I've noticed throughout my various writings for this course, my tone changes considerably. In this process blog, I'm using my basic recording style of writing. Really just taking the thoughts in my head and typing them. In my enthusiast blog, I am (gasp) enthusiastic, and emulate an English football commentator at times. In my wikitravel project, I was completely objective and professional. I think my versatility as a writer is a strength and it might make for a good theme for the portfolio.

2. Comfort with Web 2.0 - In my presentation, I explored the changes one must make when going from viewing the Web 1.0 world to participating in the Web 2.0 universe. For years I've used the internet, but have been hesitant to check out things like blogging and forums. Actually contributing to Wikitravel really broadened my perspectives on what one person is capable of doing online, and Ning was another step in that direction.

3. Writing and its purpose - Writing, in the first place, is meant to serve a purpose. It is to spread information, get points across, and express opinions. Personality is used to enhance this writing and make it more fun to read. Varying degrees of personality are appropriate in different types of writing. I have numerous examples of this in my writing this semester.

Projects for Revision

1. Enthusiast Blog

As was discussed in class, this project had the highest level of involvement out of any of them. I spent quite a bit of time thinking of topics for the blog, writing, and incorporating different types of media. Because of the fact that there's so much content already present in the blog, there is a great deal I will be able to do to revise and polish it. I will work on making all of the writing more concise and relevant. Also important will be adding design elements, as my blog could be viewed as somewhat plain as it is now.

2. WikiTravel

I feel like this project is the one with the most room for growth. The potential for WikiTravel entries compared to the amount of work that was required for the completion of the project is huge. I will add pictures to my Laconia, NH entry, clean up the writing a bit, and add a few more entries.

Kimball: Web Portfolios

From reading about Web Portfolios in this chapter, I have a very clear idea of what makes an effective web portfolio, why it is a good idea to have one, and how to go about creating one. A web portfolio makes your final work easily accessible to people everywhere. What this means is that unless you are truly apathetic towards how your work is viewed by others, you will want to do your absolute best in the revising and polishing stages so that your best is showcased. While a hard portfolio in folder or binder form can be passed around and viewed, the level of publicity is so much higher with a web portfolio.

I wasn't surprised to see that many of the correct strategies for creating or revising a web page are the same when you are creating a web portfolio. Aesthetics are important, as always, and ease of navigation cannot be ignored. Layout, subtlety, and consistency are all also very familiar concepts from our previous projects.

Ning.com Network Finished... Some Dissonance

Our finished Ning.com networks are due in less than two hours, and my group's is finished. We've managed to flesh out every aspect of the site, from photos and videos to events and the forum. I'm proud of what we've achieved, and like I said in my last post, it's hard to believe that this started with absolutely nothing on it. Oh, the power of collaboration.

There is one part of the group that I'm a bit uneasy about, but it is too late to fix it. All along, we've been creating and updating our network with the idea of a light-hearted, friendly tone in mind. Our angle the whole time was to differentiate ourselves as an animal rights group by straying away from the aggressive, shocking style of informing that so many animal rights groups employ.

Only two or three days ago, though, a few photos and a couple of videos were uploaded that feature disturbing images. On one hand, I feel like it adds something to the group. Our whole topic is animal abuse, but everything was happy and fun. Adding some examples of animal abuse may serve to remind the viewers of the network that yes, this is a serious matter. On the other hand, I also wonder if these images create some dissonance within the network. 75%ish of our content is of cute, happy animals, and then we have some shocking media showing abused animals. Like I said before, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Additional Media for Ning Group

In the last couple of days, my group has focused on adding more ooo's and ahh's to our Ning network. Our textual content is actually quite considerable and focused, but we were lacking in the pictures and videos departments. I added 8 photos myself, and I must say that I was surprised and relieved when I saw that they put themselves into a slideshow. I expected the slideshow to take at least a few minutes to figure out. Thomas also added a few pictures and a video.

I added an event, and Thomas added a few as well. It's kinda cool because each individual aspect was relatively quick and easy to complete. Now that we've finished/almost finished, though, the site has a lot of information and a lot of media, as well. It reminds me of the way papers are supposed to be written and how tests are supposed to be studied for versus the way most students actually approach them. If every student at URI actually studied/worked for each of their classes for 30min-1hr per day, "bad" grades (this is subjective, of course) may be eliminated. It's the last minute cramming and grinding that has really harmed our education systems.

Ning.com Update

My group has decided to create a Ning Network dedicated to creating awareness of animal abuse. We are already well into the project and everything is going very well. Our forum has four topics. Our blog had three the last time I checked. Our welcome note, mission statement, and site design are all congruent.

Along with a general cause (animal abuse), our group has succeeded in choosing a specific tone for our network. There are many, many organizations that exist to oppose the mistreatment of animals. We discussed this as a group and came to the agreement that we are most used to seeing aggressive statements and communications from these organizations that do more to invoke fear and disturbance than awareness. In order to differentiate ourselves and get our message across in our own way, we have taken on a more lighthearted approach. The songs, videos, and design of our network are all focused on how much fun and joy pets can bring to us, rather than the hurt and pain that occurs when they are abused.