There are certainly endless ways to showcase one’s web folio. I thoroughly enjoyed the open-ended nature of this assignment. With some web folio templates and styles better than others, the process of creating the web folio definitely challenged me to think of the best way to present my profile. In the end, I decided on simplicity. A website that clearly and professionally presented my profile was the goal. I chose the “Suits” theme on WordPress for the web folio as it was a clean design with easy to read pages. The neutral black, grey, and white background colours on the webpage compliment the simplistic approach. Before beginning to piece together the different pages of the web folio, creating a storyboard and outline also helped me visualize the web folio in which I wanted to create. Without a doubt, the process of developing a web folio allowed me to unleash my creativity.
In the beginning, I critically thought about the audience that would view my web folio. I decided to tailor my web folio to recruiters and professionals working in the life sciences field. Along with highlighting achievements, technical skills and research interests, I also wanted to customize my web folio to showcase my research experiences with a “Past Projects” page outlining research projects I have completed. Furthermore, to connect with colleagues, I included my Twitter handle along with my LinkedIn profile in the web folio.
The “Best Works” page was the most meaningful in reflecting my learning from ENGL 301. As I compared my assignments from the beginning of the course to the end of the course, I absolutely noticed some changes to my writing. This was especially apparent when I reviewed my peer reviews. I aimed to minimize the use of imperative verbs to make my writing more precise and concise throughout the term. I can say that I have made some progress in this area. Reviewing, refining and reflecting on all the assignments on the “Best Works” page was a great way to conclude my technical writing learning journey in ENGL 301.
Creating websites have always been a passion of mine. I have always wanted to create a web folio showcasing my past projects and background. It was wonderful to be able to combine my interests for designing websites with technical writing. The opportunity to create a web folio to cumulate technical writing skills I have gained through ENGL 301 was one of the highlights of the course.