13: Electronic Portfolios

I’m used to putting together portfolios in the context of creative writing classes, so I’ve found it interesting to think about how the process of compiling an electronic portfolio of work from this class might be similar to or different from what I’m used to.

In thinking about how to put together a digital portfolio that would incorporate online and hypertext elements, I found the idea that “the portfolio is itself a hypertext” (130) really interesting and useful; it allowed me to think about the interconnected quality of the portfolios I’ve already put together and how that connectivity might be better served by a digital format.

One example of where hypertext might be particularly useful that came to mind was the reflective aspect of a portfolio. Most portfolios I’ve put together have included some kind of reflection and self-evaluation in which we discuss our own work and progress. This usually requires incorporating examples from things we’ve done in the class, and I think being able to link to those examples or incorporate aspects of various projects into the reflection itself could be one useful strategy for utilizing hypertext and the capabilities of digital media.

The idea of compiling all my projects from this semester seems challenging to me because my remix project exists on its own website, and the transmedia project will necessarily be scattered across different platforms–in my case, a blog, an Instagram account, and Spotify playlists. I think it’ll be more useful for my portfolio to act as a kind of hub with links to my other projects, but I also think it will be good to have one place where all of these links are compiled.

Having this hub will also give me the chance to contextualize these projects for the portfolio’s audience; one of the seven “defining characteristics” of portfolios Yancy describes is that the selected works are supplemented by additional texts created specifically for the portfolio. I think I could use supplemental writing as part of the digital portfolio as a way to relate the works I’m compiling to each other and to digital publishing, viewing them in terms of how they demonstrate my progress through this class, rather than simply as isolated projects.

Word count: 367

Sources: Yancey, Kathleen Blake. “Portfolio, Electronic, and the Links Between.” Computers and Composition, 1996, p. 129-133.