My Defense

Introduction
This paper is a written defence explaining, in detail, why and how I made the choices I
made in creating this e-portfolio. This defense will be split into three sections: formatting
choices, documenting choices, and a reflective summary. Within these sections I will discuss my
selection of background, colour scheme, navigation bar, headers, font and formatting of my
pages in relation to PARC, Dodge and the Good Principles of Web Design.
My intention for creating this e-portfolio was to prepare a more interactive portfolio that I
would be able to present to any future employers. While the main intention for this e-portfolio is
to demonstrate the knowledge and skills I have in order to be considered a skilled and competent
teacher, this assignment had the dual purpose of showcasing my skills with technology, and more
specifically web design. This e-portfolio required me to be able to think ahead as to what my
final intention would be, how I would present my information, and ways to make that
information easily accessible.
The initial design of my e-portfolio was made relatively easy since I used the web-design
host Weebly. This website allows the user to shift through many pre-made themes in order to
choose one that best suits the users needs. My goal in choosing a theme was to find one that
reflected my personality while still presenting the information in a clean and professional
manner.
Formatting Choices
Background and Colour Schemes
I chose a panelled wood design as my background as it reflects my personality. As a
person who enjoys nature and has a love for rustic, earthy feeling things, I feel this background

reflects a bit of that side of my personality while still appearing professional and non-busy. As
well, since it is a fairly dark colour, it allows my information on each page stand out to the user.
I decided on a brown, white and black colour scheme since those colours are all fairly
neutral and work to complement one another. Since the background is brown, I wanted the
sections containing information to be white as it makes that information more visually appealing
to the reader. White is also a colour associated with being clean as opposed to a cream or
coloured background. Again, this helps associate the information with professionalism. Lastly, I
chose a black font as it is easy to read, and adds to that idea of being a professional.
Navigation Menu
I chose to keep my navigation menu fairly simple. The main headings include Home,
Teaching Philosophy, Professional Qualities, Background Knowledge, Capacity to
Teach, My Video and My Defense. Under each heading are subheadings such as my
teaching philosophy, and additional navigation tools. Since a visitor might be reading my website
on a tablet or cellphone, which doesnt always handle drop down menu, I decided to add a
navigation page under each heading excluding the heading My Defense. This separate
navigation page allows the user to click on a heading then scroll through the contents located
under that heading and decide what area they are seeking. For example, under the Home
heading, I have placed links to all eight of the standards, while under Professional Qualities I
only included those standards which are relevant to that section. In this way, I hope to ease the
navigation of my visitor and make my information more easily accessible.
Pages Headers
For each page of my e-portfolio I have incorporated a header which is then followed by
the title of my page. If the page is an overarching page or a parent page then the headers are

wide. My subpages or child pages have a narrow header. I chose to do this because my parent
pages contain information that is more personal and/or subjective. It requires the user to make
the conscious choice that they are seeking that information. However the child pages are where
the bulk of my information is, therefore the narrower header presents that information
immediately in order to draw my reader in.
Each header contains some type of abstract or nature focused picture. These pictures
reflect my personality and provide my visitor with insight into who I am as a person. While not
all my headers match I dont believe they have to. I want each page to stand on its own, and
having a unique picture makes them distinguishable from the others.
Font and Titles
As stated before I settled on a black coloured font as it is easy to read, and portrays
professionalism. I didnt choose a specific font for my title, subheadings, or main body of
information and instead chose to stick with the default font the theme originally came with. My
reason for doing so is that the theme I chose was specifically designed to be visually appealing. It
is easy to read while still providing a sense of playfulness to it. Once again, this style of font
one neither too rigid, nor too curvy represents an aspect of my personality. I am not the type of
person to aim for perfection, nor do I believe in being sloppy. Instead I attempt to always do my
personal best in all aspects of my life. In my opinion this font represents that side of me since it
is doesnt quite fit into the box of professionalism, nor does it fit into the category of carefree.
Instead in falls in between.
The title on each page is made to be as simple as possible while clearly stating the
intended information for each page. Instead of inserting my title directly into the middle of each

page I have started on the left hand side. Starting from the left hand side makes the page read
more like a scholarly article, and once more aids the goal of professionalism.
Formatting of Each Page
The theme I chose was originally designed for a restaurant menu, which appealed to me
as a simple format in which to present my artifacts. Each artifact is presented in a neat little
column which displays my evidence at the top along with a title, then exhibits my information at
the bottom. This format makes it easy for the reader to quickly identify what the artifact is about,
and then read the presented information. The lines which separate each artifact from one another
only adds to this sense of neatness lending its hand to the concept of professionalism.
PARC, Dodge, and the Fine Points of Web Design
When creating a website it is important to consider PARC. PARC stands for proximity,
alignment, repetition, and contrast. As I designed my website I kept all these principles in mind.
My artifacts are all presented in close proximity of one another in order to demonstrate a
relationship between them (the fact that they are examples of my ability to meet the educational
standards). As well they are all labelled using the same format, once again adding to the concept
of sameness. When considering alignment I chose to create all my pages in a similar manner with
my title and subject at the top, and my evidence at the bottom. The title is on the left hand side as
to mimic a scholarly paper, and my evidence is presented in a column format in order to make
my information appear less dense and compact. The fact that all my pages are all designed to
look the same meets the repetition piece of PARC. Lastly, my dark background in combination
with the white informational boxes creates a contrast which allows the reader to know exactly
where information will be located. As stated previously, I wanted a white background as opposed

to a coloured background because it makes the information immediately clear and presentable to
the reader.
In addition to PARC, I also considered the Fine Points and Dodge when designing my eportfolio. I attempt to keep my information between 8 and 15 words per line, and my paragraphs
short. I was consistent with my font choices and sizes so that information is easily identifiable.
As this e-portfolio is intended for those in the work force I have tried to keep all my language at
the level of a professional, mature adult. When choosing my initial theme I made sure to choose
a background that wouldnt interfere with my visitors experience. This decision extended to my
graphics which were placed in areas which highlighted the information while not drawing
attention away from it. I made sure that all the graphics I used were high quality. Lastly only my
links are underlined, therefore represented a hyperlink. Once again, it makes the navigation of
my website simpler for the user.
It is in my opinion that based off all the information presented above that my website
meets the criteria of good web design.
Reflective Summary
Creating this e-portfolio forced me to consider the aspects of myself that would be best
presented to my future employers. I found the assignment challenging as I had to narrow down
my artifacts to key points I thought were important, and then further narrow down my
explanation. I also struggled with bringing my own personality into this portfolio while still
meeting the requirements of the assignment. However in the end I feel I have an e-portfolio that
represents who I am as an educator. I have provided a sample of who I am through my artifacts
and I believe they highlight my assets to a future employer. This task was an authentic piece of
work, and will benefit me when I enter the professional world upon graduation. I truly enjoyed

the experience of creating my e-portfolio including the reflective thinking skills, organizational
and pre-emptive planning it required.

References
Documentation: Eportfolio Basics/Elearning. (2012, February 23). Retrieved December 1, 2015,
from http://wiki.ubc.ca/Documentation:Eportfolio_Basics/Elearning
Dodge, B. (1999). Fine_Points_Checklist_Dodge.pdf. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz2o1gULaZRBMXkyRUZoNk5GZWs/view
Web Design Basics. (2011, August 12). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from
http://webdesign.about.com/od/webdesignbasics/u/webdesignbasics.htm
Williams, R. (1994). PARC. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz2o1gULaZRBVHdXaEU2UnRJMWs/view
EPortfolios. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://bcopened.org/resources/eportfolios/