|
SLO 6, ARTIFACT 1:
Digital Profile Website (with Blog) Link to site: https://storianblog.wordpress.com/ I created this website for my Foundations of Library and Information Studies class in the fall of 2016. I had intended for it to be the site of my Capstone portfolio but later decided to turn it into a space for sharing my life experiences and ideas on librarianship, learning, and literacy. The blog is an example of how I am using technology as a means through which to discuss such topics as library services for the underserved, information literacy strategies of incarcerated people, and the creative accomplishments of people not frequently recognized in mainstream scholarship. While I had done website updating as a communications specialist, the digital profile site was the first website I ever created on my own. Using WordPress was a challenge, but through persistence and determination, I was able to teach myself the main features and set up the website shell within a day’s time. In subsequent weeks I added photos and a blog section. I kept the design simple to avoid overwhelming the reader’s senses. In the three years since I created this site, I have experimented with different page layouts and content topics. After deciding to do the blog, I read other people’s blogs, conversed with an experienced blogger, and read articles about blogging to determine what types of strategies might work best. The key lessons I learned from the blogging research were to write about what interests you, use pictures to break up the content, and expect the blog to evolve over time. I also learned that longer blog posts (i.e. those over 1000 words) tend to get more traffic than shorter ones. In the foundations class, we discussed research suggesting that marginalized and underserved populations lack consistent access to technology. Without this access, it can be hard to develop website-building skills. In my future public library outreach work, I want to help people get the technology they need and use the technology they have to create information online. This digital profile site is one that I will use as a website example when teaching web literacy skills to diverse populations. |