Hello, Media Arts Scholars and Professionals!
The purpose of this website is to help you design your final portfolio that you must submit prior to graduation. You should already know how to navigate WordPress, but this will offer a refresher and provide detailed instructions about the contents of your site. See this sample portfolio site so you’ll get a sense of what you’ll be making.
If you need WordPress help, refer to this WordPress tutorial or do some basic web searching to get answers to your questions.
Note that your site will be public unless you password-protect each page (under “page attributes”) or download a plug-in. If you make it private, you must share your password when you submit your portfolio.
If you have questions about the portfolio design process, you should discuss with your Seminar instructor.
Why do you have to do this? A few reasons:
- You should be able to demonstrate basic competency in using a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress.
- You should have an online presence that demonstrates your skills, talents and proficiencies. You are encouraged to customize your portfolio to meet your needs as long as you meet the minimum requirements detailed below.
- The department will use the information you provide to assess the success of our program. In other words, have you learned what we want you to learn?
The online portfolio should demonstrate your ability to meet the three main learning objectives of the Media Arts program:
- Create, develop and produce a message in a variety of media formats
- Analyze and critique media messages and their contexts using theoretical frameworks
- Demonstrate how media arts can promote a civil and just society
So without further ado, let’s get started!
In Part 1, you’ll see the basic requirements. If you are a WordPress pro, this should be all you need to know to assemble your portfolio site.
In Part 2, you’ll see more detailed instructions in case you need more guidance. Remember to refer to the WordPress tutorial or other web resources if you need help.
PART 1: BASIC REQUIREMENTS
You need to create five separate “pages,” one for each of the following.
Important: In the free version of WordPress, there is only one scrolling blog post page. The other “pages” you create contain only static single posts. We recommend using the “home” blog post page for your work samples, each in a separate post.
- Work Samples: Several examples (at least 3-5) of your best professional or creative or academic work showing your overall abilities in the area(s) most relevant to your field of study.
- Selections should reflect your post-graduation goals. Selections should be of professional quality. At least one selection should include visual components.
- We recommend that each work sample appear as a separate blog post on the “home” page. The most recent post will appear at the top, so make that your best work. (You can use the “menus” feature if you want to rename the page, and you can change the order of posts by adjusting the time/date of publication under “status.”)
- At the end of each post, you should include a sentence or two that explains the “purpose” of the work and the “skills” it demonstrates. For example:
- Purpose: Communicate the adverse effects of HIV stigma to young people in Idaho as a means of creating a more equitable society.
- Skills: Conducting investigations, reviewing official documents, collaborating with a co-author, writing on deadline.
- About: A photo of yourself along with a brief bio and current resume. You can upload an existing resume and provide a link to it.
- Capstone: Your capstone project from your Seminar class. You can upload files and/or link to other sites.
- Essay: One of your best analytical papers you wrote for one of your media classes. The paper should show your mastery of theories and concepts in the study of media. Copy and paste the text into the text box.
- Reflection: This page should have two items. Type them or paste them into the text box in the following order:
- A statement of your personal post-graduation goals (200-300 words).
- Reflection essay. See the Reflection Essay page on this site for instructions.
Submit your portfolio site by emailing the link to your Seminar instructor.
PART 2: DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1. Create a WordPress site.
- Go to www.wordpress.com and click “Get Started.” (Note that we are using the free wordpress.com, not wordpress.org, which is a paid CMS.)
- If you already have a WordPress account, log in and click “Add New Site” at the bottom left. Click “Start Now” on the left side under the WordPress logo.
- Step 1 of 4: Answer the questions as prompted.
- Name your site something simple like “Jane Smith Portfolio.”
- What’s your site about? Journalism? Public relations? Filmmaking?
- For your primary goal, select “Showcase your portfolio.”
- How comfortable are you with creating a website?
- Step 2 of 4: Create your web address. It should be something like “janesmithportfolio.wordpress.com.” You might need to try a few times to find an available site name. Be sure to select the free domain option.
- Step 3 of 4: Click the “Start with Free” button near the bottom of the page. You do NOT need to pay for your site.
- Step 4 of 4: Create a WordPress account.
- Provide an email address.
- Create a username.
- Create a password.
- Check your email. You’ll need to click the “Confirm Now” button to validate your email address.
- Once your site is created, click “View my Site.”
Step 2: Set Up
- Click the “My Site” tab at the top left.
- Click “Themes” on the left sidebar.
- Select a FREE theme you like. A good option is “Hemingway Rewritten,” which is the theme of this site. Use the search bar to find it. You can choose any template you like, but make sure it allows you to display each of the required items in a clear way.
Step 3: Create Pages
- Click “Site Pages” on the left sidebar.
- Click the “Add” button next to “Site Pages.”
- You’ll need to create four new pages in addition to the “Home” page:
- About
- Capstone
- Reflection
- Essay
- Be sure to click “Publish” or “Update” each time you make a change.
Step 4: Complete the “About” Page
- Click “Site Pages” on the left sidebar.
- Click the “About” page.
- Click “Add Media” to upload and include a photo.
- Write a brief bio.
- Click “Add Media” to upload your resume (PDF recommended).
- Create a link to your uploaded resume.
Step 5: Complete the “Capstone” Page
- Click “Site Pages” on the left sidebar.
- Click the “Capstone” page.
- Present your capstone project in a way that makes sense. Upload files and/or provide links to external sites.
Step 6: Complete the “Reflection” Page
- Click “Site Pages” on the left sidebar.
- Click the “Reflection” page.
- The Reflection page should have two items. Type them or paste them into the text box in the following order:
- A statement of your personal post-graduation goals (200-300 words).
- Reflection essay. See the Reflection Essay page on this site for instructions.
Step 7: Complete the “Essay” Page
- Copy and paste the text of your best analytical essay. This is a sample of one of your papers you wrote for one of your media classes. The paper should show your mastery of theories and concepts in the study of media.
Step 8: Complete the Work Samples Page
- Click “Blog Posts” on the left sidebar.
- Click the “Add” button next to “Blog Posts.”
- Choose at least 3-5 work samples that represent your best work and overall abilities in the area(s) most relevant to your field of study.
- Selections should reflect your post-graduation goals. Selections should be of professional quality. At least one selection should include visual components.
- Each sample should appear in a separate blog post, so select “add” to create a new post for each sample. Each post title should reflect the title of the sample.
- The text box can include a brief description of the work as well as the work itself. You may post only a portion of the work and provide a link to the full sample (for example, post the first two paragraphs of a news article followed by the web address where it is published).
- At the end of each post, you should include a sentence or two that explains the “purpose” of the work and the “skills” it demonstrates. For example:
- Purpose: Communicate the adverse effects of HIV stigma to young people in Idaho as a means of creating a more equitable society.
- Skills: Conducting investigations, reviewing official documents, collaborating with a co-author, writing on deadline.
Step 9: Fine-Tune Your Site
- Feel free to embellish your site by adding images, creating a tag line, adding widgets, and so on.
- You can find additional instructions on how to use WordPress here: https://en.support.wordpress.com/
- There are many other resources online that can help you build and improve your site.
Step 10: Submit!
- Submit your portfolio site by emailing the link to your Seminar instructor. Remember to include the password if you used one.
Boise State Media Portfolio 