Compiling this web portfolio was a creative and exciting process. Given the limited amount of instructions on this assignment, I had the freedom to explore a wide range of platforms and styles to best present my writing samples and achievements in this course. Before beginning the creation of the portfolio, I considered thoroughly the audience who would view my portfolio. As I repeatedly learned in this course, the audience and purpose of a communication piece dictate the writing style, format, information included, and level of details on a subject matter. As I am approaching graduation and looking to start a career in the field of geographic information systems (GIS), I decided to tailor my web portfolio to potential GIS employers, other GIS professionals, and cartographers. This decision influenced how I structured and designed my portfolio, and in particular, my choice of a web development platform.
A large part of GIS is the art of map-making. As a result, employers in the field tend to look for candidates who possess the artistic ability and creativity to apply cartographic principles and elements. With that in mind, I chose to use Wix, a web development platform that allowed me to demonstrate creativity and design skills better than WordPress. Besides, I included an additional web page on my GIS projects that may appeal to the target audience. Links to the project reports, pictures of the final products, and programs used were presented on the web page for readers to get to know my expertise.
In terms of content creation, the web portfolio assignment presented an excellent opportunity for me to reflect, review, and revise previous writings. Unlike other courses where I handed-in an assignment and never had to touch it again, through the development of the web page "Best Work," I got dig out the very first assignments for this course and polish it comments received from peer reviewer and Dr. Paterson. The process of revising my work was a learning experience itself. It was a way for me to identify mistakes made before and make improvements.
