A Semester in Review: Portfolios

 

It would be strange now to bring a physical portfolio to an interview. I can imagine the heavy weight of the file, the case bought at the local Staples, and carefully put together with the body of one's work. It swing heavily in their briefcase slapping their thigh as they nervously make their way to the meeting. The weight has been lifted, and now we have endless back up copies of our painstaking work uploaded onto the computer. We have upgraded from a portfolio saved to a thumbdrive now available on a cloud that the user can access from pretty much any smart device. This makes it easier to organize our work to display our credentials. It also gives the user more control of the layout and various design aspects that would be limited otherwise. There are multiple platforms that offer either free services to portfolio templates or limited free trials to at least create one version. 

I have found in my academic career that many professors gravitate towards incorporating eportfolios into their curriculum. This creates a space for a student to evaluate the quality of their work over the course of the semester and reflect on how they have improved their knowledge base. This also prepares students for the workforce as a way to advertise their skill set. I think the repetition of reflection throughout the semester helps the younger students to get into the habit of reflection and to do the busy work that they might not want to do, but the majority of our lives are spent doing things we do not want to do. Yet, in the end we feel a sense of accomplishment at having overcome the obstacle of doing something that was undesirable. I think in this sense this is a most important way to prepare inexperienced young adults for their career. We might be passionate about whatever it is that we are studying, and we might feel totally dazzled by working in that particular industry, but sometimes it can still feel like work. The passion gets us there, but the struggle is not over yet. 

A portfolio can help to rekindle our passion for our jobs when we become jaded by our careers. It can gives a sense of accomplishment. It can help guide us to the next step in our journey. A portfolio is for going places and not for remaining stagnant in contentment.   

Future Technology

 

Some of us humans are still fighting for our autonomy yet now we face the irony of artificial intelligence gaining its autonomy as well. I am sure that Alan Turing would be shocked to find that computers have not gained the consciousness that he had envisioned would have happened by now. Though to be fair AI has made significant advancements since the time of the Turing Machine. It does sometimes seem that I am in the midst of a science fiction universe, but only because sometimes writers can make an astute prediction! I still do not see flying autonomous cars like The Jetsons, but that is something that could certainly be possible in the decades to come. 

I wonder what the future of technology will do to our reading habits, will people still enjoy the art of writing? I hope that people do not get too impatient for reading in favor of videos or film. I wonder what the world of cinema will have to offer as trends move us towards more interactive platforms. I know that some predict that videogames will become more popular because it is a platform designed for community and stimulation thus possibly incorporating film to work in the same fashion. I remember an experimental Netflix movie that came out a couple of years ago that had the audience choose the path the characters were going to take, so that each time it was a different outcome. This was an interesting idea, but one that was only testing the waters of audience engagement and had not quite worked out all the kinks. The idea of augmented reality comes to mind and the avatars that one can choose to represent themselves in that world. There would be no need to keep up your appearances in real life because you could always present yourself exactly how you want in the alternate reality. This reminds me of WALL-E, which if I am being honest, freaks me out a little bit. I feel that the more "connected" we become on the internet, the further away we become from each other. It is called "social media," but we only show a window into our life, catered to promote an image we hope we are projecting. I fear that our social interactions are becoming more mechanical, and we are losing touch with social etiquette. 

I am sure that I have read far too many science fictions books and watched too many movies that has led me to be a little pessimistic about the future. I realize that humanity always has a way of persevering and somehow, someway it all works itself out. We will rise to the new obstacles with the creative problem solving skills we all have within ourselves. I look forward to seeing what predictions come true and pray that some of the more scary ones will not.  

Community of Practice Model launched Social Media

 

When we think about how comfortable we have become with the use of social media on our smart devices and computers, we might wonder how we there. It can partially be attributed to the Community of Practice Model, proposed by Etienne Wenger and Jean Lave, which is a group of people who have a shared common interest collaborating for the sake of furthering their education. Yet, these men simply classified and defined a practice that has been around for centuries. It could easily describe the learning process in general such as someone interested in learning how to build a house learns from someone else that is experienced in doing so. It is an observation of how we commune and share knowledge and thereby thrive. 

Social media has only enhanced this practice because it eliminates the boundaries of time and distance. It can be a casual grouping or made to be a professional setting depending on the shared interest. The applications designed to connect people from all over the world - Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram etc. - are easy to navigate finding the right group that fits your purpose. It saves time and energy to get access to others knowledge by the use of filters written into the code of the program. Doctors can be found sharing successes and failures with medicine cross culturally helping to progress that field thus saving lives! In the times before the internet, knowledge was much more localized except for the circulated published journals and library resources. It took longer for news to travel than it does now almost instantaneously. 

The application that I found the most helpful was Reddit, because of how you can find your specific professional forum. There you can post what thoughts or questions you might have for your peers in that field. The community is strong on Reddit, with many people being happy to respond and lend their advice or support. The Community of Practice illustrates how resilient humans are, as we strive to know more than we did before often for the sake of the greater good. This means it will continue to evolve as we grow more intelligent, and technology enhances. I cannot wait to see what more will happen in my lifetime!