So, we have to put up an e-portfolio to show examples of the work we had done during the MA programme. It has been two years. I have changed computers in between. My data are … actually, I don’t know exactly, where all the data are. On some hard disks around here probably.
Maybe I’ll start thinking first: Do I remember all the project work, all the assignments? What am I proud of, what would I show? – The knots, yes, the knots. What else? The polytunnel maybe? Oh, that polytunnel assignment! It has turned into a running gag meanwhile; we all love polytunnels …
This blogpost aims to help me bringing together the resources and the artefacts that arose during two years of studying the MA programme of Technical Communication and E-Learning.
What is in it for you as a reader? The result of a time-consuming task: A beautiful table to look at! 👁️ And a link to the programme’s website in case you were thinking about obtaining a technical writing degree yourself. You can study this MA entirely online and also part-time so you can keep your job while studying.
Meanwhile, I found and merged the data I was looking for. I should have done some digital housekeeping between semesters. But at least I was consistent with folder structures etc. throughout all the modules I took, so it is easy now to navigate the material. I am also happy about having converted all MS Office documents to PDF files at the moment I received them. This was necessary to be able to move them to my e-reading device where I read and commented the presentations and assignment briefs while listening to the lecture podcasts. And now it feels just safer to have an archive of PDFs which are more likely to be accessible even in a decade.
The following project results could be used for my e-portfolio (listed in the order as I encountered them):
| Deliverable and what you can do with it | Notes |
|---|---|
| 👁️ E-book/ digital artefact | Created a user guide artefact ready for online delivery |
| 📖 Research report | Conducted a usability test 👥, wrote an academic 🎓 report on it |
| 👁️, 👂 Interview: Online presentation | Interviewed 🎤 a technical communicator, created an online presentation with a voiceover |
| 📖 XML assignment | Wrote a text about living in the information age and presented it via XML/ XSL/ CSS files 🤖 |
| 👁️ , 👂, 🖐️ Interactive e-learning resource | Created a web-based training on knots, with videos 🎬, quizzes ☑️, and a final assessment |
| 📖 Storyboard and proposal | Created material in advance of the e-learning resource project |
| 👁️ Print PDF user manual | Created a user manual for a polytunnel (grayscale, only cover of the book is coloured) |
| 📖 Summary | Wrote a summary of an article |
| 👂 Podcast | Created a podcast and a script as e-learning resource (on a component content management system) |
Deliverables and activities that are not eligible as e-portfolio artefacts:
- Blog
- E-portfolio
- Research proposal for usability test
- Research proposal for dissertation
- Text about trends in tech comm as perceived by interviewee
- Reflective learning text (on XML assignment)
- Critique of graphics/ visual aids
- Rewrite assignment (school e-mail)
- Text on “How do you learn?” (e-tivity 1.1)
- Text on “Why do you need an e-learning solution and who are your learners?” (e-tivity 5.1)
- Text on “What do learners need to be able to do and how should they do it?” (e-tivity 7.1)
So, that’s it. I crawled all my hard disks and our Virtual Learning Environment to remember the projects and assignments we did throughout the programme. I know now what to choose from when it comes to creating that e-portfolio; and such a comprehensive list is way more useful than having it all in my head or on some notes somewhere. So, thanks, blog, for making me write that down.
This is another learning outcome for me from the MA programme:
There is great value in writing down your insights, sketches, ideas, and decisions for & alongside the projects you (aim to) undertake.
API docs and me 