As we know from Design thinking, a common strategy is prototyping and experimentation. For the second part of Module 2, you will be creating two eportfolio mock-ups using digital tools. This week, you will create two prototypes so that you can write an evaluation of the design affordances of the ONE you most likely will use. A handout on the course website covers some technical affordances of some of these sites as well.
However, there is more to selecting a portfolio platform than just design and technical affordances. There are other concerns. We will address some of them next week (i.e., potential for universal design, permeance, novelty, and web affordances), but this week it’s about brand association (Wix/Weebly/Jimdo branding, WordPress.com will feed advertisements, Google has a Google URL) and terms of use including legal/ownership rights.
Task
In class today, I want you to create a “brief” that informs an audience in 300 words or less about the rhetorical and/or legal issues associated with using a particular tool to design and present your portfolio in.
You will work with one other person to consider some/most/all of the following:
- Read the “Terms of Use” for your assigned site.
- Are there any items of concern in the Terms if you choose to use the site?
- Who has access to your site?
- Who is responsible for the content on the site?
- Can the site be edited/deleted without your consent?
- If no terms are listed, what legal/ownership assumptions can you make?
- Associations
- Search Google for your site and legal rumors or even litigation (e.g., “Weebly and sued” or “Google Sites” and lawsuit”or “Wix and ownership”) or even whether CEOs or associated employees are in the news for things that you don’t want your brand associated with.
- Consider the rhetorical associations with using a particular site. Do you want to be associated with DU? Do you want to have Wix branding all over your site? Do you want advertising appearing on your site?
- Search potential. Does a particular site allow more search traffic leading to you?
- Cost. What are you willing to give up for “free”?
This brief will be posted to the course blog (make sure both of your names are on it). This blog post is meant to inform your peers about issues as they select a platform this week, so it is for them as an audience. It can be written as a pro/con, only pro, only con, or some other informative approach.
Two people will be assigned to each of the following:
- Wix
- Weebly
- Google Sites
- WordPress.com
- Your choice (Ucraft, Strikingly, Squarespace, XPRS, Jimdo, Joomla)
Relevant Skills
- Working collaboratively
- Research skills including search and quick reading/interpretation
- Writing to inform, summarizing for a specific audience with limited number of words
- Meta-knowledge about considering the larger implications of using digital tools and the topics you should be mindful of.