Six Years and Counting…

welcome

This site contains artifacts of my work in Research, Teaching, and Service. I have categorized these areas so that readers can browse through them by choosing a Topic as listed in the drop-down menu at the top of this page.

When you choose one of the Topics (Research, Teaching, Service), you will be redirected to a page that includes the most recent posts/entries for that Topic, which are listed in reverse-chronological order. Also, you can go to another Topic at any time by using the drop-down menu.

Each post contains a description of an individual project. These descriptions mimic a tenure binder narrative in that they describe the project’s important points in relation to my academic agenda. Also included are links to artifacts/examples that relate to a project, whenever available.

Why this format?

I have chosen to present my portfolio in this blog format for several reasons. The major reason is so that I can present my work in the format/medium in which it was intended to be viewed. Since most of my work [digital, interactive, multimodal, etc.] requires viewing on-screen, having a print-based portfolio of static screenshots does not augment my scholarly focus of making meaning from new media texts. In addition to the ability to present my work in the intended media, using a blog allows me to easily update and redesign the presentation of my work, which makes blogs a flexible way to showcase it. (I acknowledge my experimental application of placing a ‘tenure binder’ within a blog, but I can also point to numerous examples of blog-portfolios in related fields such as art, web design, and so on.)

To supplement my argument that a tenure-binder-like set of documents — documents that act as an academic portfolio — can be accurately presented in a blog, I offer examples of blog-portfolios that authors/designers in other fields are using. In each of these cases, the portfolio authors are presenting their work in the media in which their work was intended to be viewed, but also in a medium that provides them with a broader audience (i.e., a blog). Both of these intentions are useful for academics because where else besides our tenure binders (or job portfolios, as the case may be) do we best and most fully present ourselves? I believe that blog portfolios are a good step toward making our research and teaching available for a broader audience, as well as for providing the opportunity for more widespread peer-critique. What better way to reach out to communities and challenge ourselves as scholars than through the Web?

Design blog portfolios
Design Trade
Bell Vance Art
38one [logo design]
David Appleyard

Academic blog portfolios
Dr. Helen C. Barrett, University of Alaska Anchorage Dr. Barrett researches digital stories and the use of e-portfolios.

Please let me know if you have questions. You can leave comments below any of the artifacts contained herein (which go through my email before they are posted), or you can email me directly (my email is listed on my vita, at left). Enjoy.

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