E-Portfolio in Progress

Ah, our final project in RCL. Like, what? I thought it never ended?!

Kidding. Kidding!!

Anyways, my e-portfolio (now that I’m all knowledgeable regarding weebly) will most likely be a website using that platform.  However, I must say, I had a hard time picking out templates that I really, really liked for my Advocacy Project so maybe I’ll play around with sites.psu.edu as well.  The problem, though, is that I’m having a hard time deciding on one specific theme.  You see, I’m actually a bit grateful for this e-portfolio project, as I do see it as a nice opportunity to have something to show to future employers/admissions boards/whoever you gotta impress.  However, because I’m not planning on going into anything like graphic design or art or something fun like that, I feel like the practical option for my eportfolio would be a pofessional look.  But that sounds so boring to me!

So there’s that issue.  And also, in my mind I’m trying to categorize my RCL work, and in a way it kind of works.  Throughout the course, after all, I generally wrote/talked/did projects on subjects that I was genuinely passionate about: running, education, medicine, women, work-life balance, etc.  So in class the other day, I was considering going with a theme of presenting myself according to these different passions, but I’m not quite sure if that is practical.  In addition, I particularly like that I have somewhat included my love of different cultures (Spain) in my RCL work, and I’m wondering if I should incorporate some of my written works from Spanish classes here at Penn State as well.  Only thing is, the essay I’ve written in Spanish are really only literary analysis ones, so I don’t know if that’s necessarily showcasing my ability to be innovative and share ideas.  …Thoughts?

Anyway. For my chosen artifacts to showcase in my portfolio:

-Persuasive Essay on Medical Education Reform.  Although I believe I could probably work on this piece forever and still not be 100% satisfied (or want to say more), I truly am passionate about what I’m talking about and I spent a lot of time researching the issue, and I believe it was a good piece.

-“I Believe in Running Away from My Problems” podcast.  Aside from lending an incredibly personal perspective to my life and my passions, I like how it’s not necessarily writing.  Plus, running is such a big part of my life – I feel it deserves a spot on the list.

– Civic Issues blog where I explore different problems/aspects of American education.  Although I didn’t necessarily have an arc to my four posts, I tried each week to approach education in a different, unexpected way as I tied in the CI topic education with other CI topics.

– Paradigm Shift Paper (women in the workforce) – man, this paper took a lot of research too. But I liked it! I honestly learned so much, and it benefited me in more ways than just creating a paper I was proud of.

-This goes with the Paradigm Shift paper in a way (so I’m not sure I’d want to do both..) but I really did enjoy the Rhetorical Analysis paper because I STILL love that Olympic commercial. Gets me every time.

…or a compilation of Passion posts from last semester? There were a couple of those that may as well been pages ripped out of my mental diary.  But, hey, the best writing comes from genuine revelations, and some of those optimistic posts could serve as inspiration for someone, hopefully.

Hey, I know this is all pretty much writing, but I tend to do better with words than technology anyways…

Oh, I also would like to at one point include a resume on my site.  However, my current one on file is all my high school stuff, and apparently once you get to college no one really cares what you did in high school…soo….summer project?

3 responses to “E-Portfolio in Progress

  1. It seems to me that you’re going around a travel idea, what with running and Spain, and the olympics, and american values. I don’t know where your persuasive essay would fit in there but I’m sure it could work somewhere! Or maybe the basic idea of sport, or movement, or health? Running, and the olympics, and social health for women, and health care? I think you can definitely get a theme there! You seem to be right on track otherwise!

  2. Your papers definitely have a prominent theme – they all show your interests! They are very different topics, but I think (from what I’ve seen the past year) they describe you perfectly! Explain this on your home page and people will get it – they will come together nicely, I know it. I’m having trouble with a theme myself, so I am probably not the best person to give you suggestions. It is also good that you are familiar with a web layout from your advocacy project. You’ll be a pro now!

  3. Shannon,
    I can see why you’re struggling to pull these pieces together because in some ways they’re so different, but in other ways, they’re so YOU. I totally agree with the choices you’ve made to include these pieces, so now it’s just coming up with a way to represent them. I’m wondering if there’s a past/present/future grouping that would work? Or a body/mind/spirit? Keep thinking about it–I know something great will come to you!

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