The SUGGESTIONS Below Are

COPIED/PASTED FROM YOUR CANVAS ASSIGNMENT

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Each of your webpages will include FIVE multimodal strategies:

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• Orienting Information (Bold Title That Identifies Genre + Topic, Author (your name), last updated, and a Brief Summary + Headings and Subheadings within the project are also welcomed)

• Visuals (pictures, images, infographics--at least two)

• Hyperlinks (at least two)

• Pull-Out-Quotes (at least two)

• White space between paragraphs (double-space between paragraphs to help guide your readers as they scroll down a page)

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These five basics allow you to engage readers through your content (the writing) as well as meeting the genre expectations for basic web pages. 

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ORIENTING INFORMATION

When your readers click on a tab, there should be orienting information that catches their eyes and lets them know what is on that page of your website. For W131/W140, always include four data sets to orient your readers:

1) Bold Title (The title should include genre--like Documentary Review--and topic specific to your review--A Closer Look at Honnold's Fearlessness)

2) A "By" line with your name (This lets readers know you're the author of the writing on the page)

3) Last updated date in international format--day, month, year (13 October 2020)

4) A brief overview of what is on the page to entice the reader to continue reading. The overview can be COPIED/PASTED onto your landing page, then hyperlinked to the Documentary Review tab. Having the same OVERVIEW in both places creates INTERNAL REDUNDANCY -- which is ideal for your W131/W140 ePortfolio.

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PULL-OUT-QUOTES ADD EMPHASIS

People refer to pull-out quotes or call-outs in different ways. What I mean when I say "pull-out-quote" is a short part of a sentence in your writing that you "pull-out" and place in a larger font on the page. This is an excerpt from your writing. The excerpt emphasizes a point or moment in your writing.

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Known as puquios, their origin has been a puzzle – one that could only be solved from space.

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Many readers will notice the pull-out-quote first, then track it down at the paragraph level to see the context and purpose. For example, if you visit Jennifer Percy's New Republic article online, there is a big-bold headline (title); then, about three paragraphs down, there is a pull-out from Percy's sentence:

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"They called her Commander Pigeon

because she moved and killed

with the elegance of a bird."

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Making this larger and bold adds emphasis. You'll use this strategy with your webpages to create moments of emphasis that are directly connected to your writing.

 

There are several ways to do this. Three design option you might use are: 

• BOLD within the text [not in a paragraph],

• BOLD and BIGGER within the paragraph, or

• TEXT BOXES to the side of a paragraph.

 

With WIX, the simplest way is to simply copy/paste part of the quote in a space prior to where it appears in your project. Then, center the comment and make it bold--like I did above with the "elegance of a bird" quote. This inserts the quote into your text as part of your text and avoids formatting challenges you'll face if you insert a text box--which may float over your writing based on the reader's browser.

 

Another simple way to create a pull-out is to make the area you want to emphasize bold and larger within a paragraph, like you see in this example. This is the fastest, easiest way to create a variation that more closely aligns with call out quotes.

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                                                   A common choice for pull out quotes used by popular magazines places a quote BESIDE the                                                      paragraph where the quote appears. You can create a text box, then copy/paste the short         

                                                  excerpt and make it bold. If you place these in the left or right margin of your page, you can

                                                  avoid issues with the text box floating over your paragraphs. Access the Website tab at the top

                                                  of the page to see how a page looks with images to the left of typed text:

                                                  https://oeschminor.wixsite.com/w140/argument

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HYPERLINKS

After inserting the pull-put-quote from Jennifer Percy's article, I copied Percy's article URL, then used the "link" tool (usually this looks a little like a paperclip) to make the excerpt a hyperlink.

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Notice the hyperlink four lines up for Website tab, then the URL is also provided at the end of the sentence. If you're concerned that a hyperlink may not function correctly for your readers, you can include the URL. This allows them to cut/paste the URL into a browser if the hyperlink is broken.

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VISUALS

If you visit Percy's New Republic article, there's a photo of Commander Pigeon under the title.

 

WIX does not have a simple copy/paste option for images. You have to upload images to WIX to have them in a cache to use on your page. You can borrow images from the internet to add visual appeal to your web page. BE SURE TO CITE WHERE THE IMAGE CAME FROM -or- AT LEAST MAKE THE IMAGE A HYPERLINK to the webpage where you harvested the material.

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USE IMAGES/PHOTOS YOU TOOK WHEN POSSIBLE

A better way to add visual engagement to your ePortfolio with photos is to upload your own images and use those to connect the audience to your writing. (Percy had a photographer who took images for her--this was the best choice for The Guardian and Percy to visually document the trip--much better than than finding an old picture of Commander Pigeon on Facebook to borrow.) You should take photos of your immersion experience--even if it's online--to include on your WIX.

 

Screen Capture/ Screen Shots with Online Immersion Experiences

You can use screen capture to save what you're seeing/doing from your online immersion experience. Then, you can insert these images onto your WIX page.

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WHITE SPACE

Be sure to double-space between paragraphs to help the reader engage the page spatially as well as with the text. This helps create division between shorter and longer paragraphs in a way that will help the reader find her place on the page if she gets distracted by an advertisement then returns to your project.

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WANT EXAMPLES?

This W131/W140 support ePortfolio is one example of an in-process ePortfolio. We'll add to it this semester.

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I've provided links to several well developed previous students' websites below. Their assignments were similar to yours. Notice that they made some very different WIX page choices.

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WIX ePORTFOLIO SAMPLES

Ana a Second Gen Immigration Story https://anapfel.wixsite.com/portfolio

Andy Discusses Disney  https://andyvennemann.wixsite.com/mysite/film-review

Allison Visits a Temple https://akeiser2329.wixsite.com/eng131/immersion-experience

Kelly at the Oscars https://kj1083.wixsite.com/mysite

Luke on Athletic Injuries https://lkieper.wixsite.com/luke131

Payton Learns Spanish https://pbayliff.wixsite.com/mysite

Valerie Starts a Business https://valeiken.wixsite.com/eportfolio

                                  **Note that these URLs are also HYPERLINKS. You can't just add a URL and have it work as a hyperlink. Add

                                     the URL, then use the HYPERLINK tool to turn it into a hyperlink.

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GETTING STARTED ON YOUR WIX

To begin your multimodal adventure, go to WIX and open an account. There are free versions. Scroll down for free options. After you get an account name and establish your password, copy/paste this access information into an email to yourself with the subject line: WIX username and password. Having a formal way to get back to your username and password ensures that you can track it down if you forget it.

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Several years ago, an IUPUI teaching assistant, Melissa Yarger, created a WIX tutorial for a suite of courses: W130-W131. It is outdated because WIX is routinely updated. However, it hits the big ideas, and WIX still has variations of the tools Melissa uses.

https://yargermelissa.wixsite.com/ll1617/creating-your-wix

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If you would prefer step-by-step typed directions, here's my best attempt:

• Visit WIX 

• Click: Start Now

• Enter the email and password you'd like to use for verifications (email this to yourself)

• SKIP the personalized mode by finding "skip" in the lower right corner

• Next, select the option on the right "Create Your Website with the WIX Editor"

• In the search window on the left side of your page, type "interior design" and hit return

• Find the Demi Watson interior design template [I'm familiar with several designs and you can select any template you'd like to--but this is a simple one that meets our class needs: something with independent tabs to access webpages.]

• Select EDIT for the Demi Watson interior design template

• Watch the brief tutorial to get an idea of WIX options

 

Select the "Site Menu" to see tabs for webpages on your website. Anytime you want to edit a page, you'll visit the SITE menu, and click on that page -OR- access the page using the drop-down to each tab in the top left corner beside the WIX title.

In the SITE menu, change the TAB headings.

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• Leave HOME as home.

• Double-click on Public; change this to Film Review.

• Double-click on Commercial; change this to Immersion Experience.

• Double-click on Residential; change this to Argument.

• Delete Services by clicking on the three dots beside Services and select delete.

• Double-click on Contact; change this to Reflection.

• SAVE (WIX will autosave, but it's good to SAVE occasionally to be sure you don't lose your progress). Save is the little square icon in the top left corner beside Preview.

 

Next, still under SITE, select ADD A PAGE, which is an option below the Home, Public, etc options you just updated.

• When you ADD A PAGE, type Immersion Experience Notes

• Grab this tab and move it under the Immersion Experience area by sliding the tab up and down the contents ladder. If you shift it slightly to the right while under "Immersion Experience" it will create a sub-tab. 

• ADD a second sub-tab under Immersion Experience for Pictures and Research.

 

It's time to start editing your pages.

 

EDIT YOUR HOME PAGE

First, in the same SITE area, double-click on HOME to get to the Home page.

• Change the name to your name by double-clicking on Demi Watson.

• Change "Interior Design" to W131 Writing ePortfolio.

 

Later, when you have time, you can change images on your Home page to insert your own photos as well as editing/updating the text portions to introduce your website and your Writing Projects.

 

There is a tiny copyright and name at the bottom of the page; change that to your name. Feel free to delete and add at will to become more comfortable with these tools.

 

TROUBLESHOOTING

If you have issues with WIX, and would prefer to use a different web-design tool, you're welcome to.  If you have issues and want to meet with me to get support, you're welcome to schedule an office visit. My office hours are listed on the course syllabus. Want to figure it out on your own? Many of the best WIX tools are searchable on WIX or on YouTube.

 

WHY ePORTFOLIOS?

There are many reasons I've shifted to digital portfolios in W131/W140. The primary reason goes back to the Rhetorical Triangle and knowing your rhetorical scenario. IUPUI students are consistently more aware of the audience when they know their work will be on the internet, accessible by family and friends they share URLs with.

 

As writers, it's important to think of your purpose and have a clear idea of the context you're writing in. This context will often include multiple audiences, like a boss and a client. In our case, I'm one of your audiences, your peers are an audience that understands the W131 context, but your internet readers will not have W131 to anchor their understanding of your page and why you're writing what you're writing. Using a website allows you to accommodate those outside readers and tell them exactly what each piece of writing is and why it's on your website.

 

ADD YOUR FILM REVIEW

Next, access the SITE area and open Film Review. To add your title, click on the "Public" heading to the left of the page. You can type in the title of your film review, or copy/paste it from your paper. If you want to move the title, click and drag it anywhere on the page. After that, copy/paste your film review into the TEXT box. Once you do, go back and double-space between paragraphs.

 

BUILD HYPERLINKS

WIX has much better tutorials than I can create. Use Google to search: What I need and WIX. This will help you get the best online support. For example, I searched: how to create a hyperlink on WIX. The Google search top hit was https://support.wix.com/en/article/adding-a-text-hyperlink

 

This link provides the support you need to add TWO hyperlinks in your Film Review. You might link to the Director's IMBD page or to another critic's review of the film or even the trailer. Making the page extra-linky is ideal. 

 

IMAGES:

To learn more about updating and changing images, visit the WIX tutorial. 

 

Add at least one image to your Film Review page. This might be a photo you borrow from another website. If so, provide a caption -AND- hyperlink the image to the original source as a quick way to give credit to the other page. [We'll create citations for borrowed images in the Works Cited later this semester.]

 

PULL-OUT-QUOTE

To learn more about creating and editing new text boxes, visit the WIX tutorial on adding text boxes.  You can use TEXT boxes to copy/paste a short phrase or partial sentence from your text, and make it LARGER to create a pull-out-quote.

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MANAGING THE Works Cited Area

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WORKS CITED: PLACE it BELOW YOUR PROJECT -OR- IN A TABBED/HYPERLINKED AREA

For W131/W140, please place the Works Cited below the body of your writing project -OR- in a separate TAB located within the project. In MLA, this always starts on a new page. Since webpages do not have page breaks, simply center Works Cited, then copy/paste your citation below the Works Cited text. This can be part of the text that is the project; you don't need to make a new text box unless you want to for mobility sake--to be able to move the Works Cited around on the page.

 

Tabs are tricky on some WIX templates, so keep the Works Cited in a simple format: single space the citations. Double-space between source citations.

 

ONLINE TIME: COMMIT ABOUT AN HOUR TO LEARNING WIX OPTIONS

In face-to-face classes, we take lab time to build the WIX together. It usually takes 15 minutes to open a WIX account, add tabs, and start inserting the film review. Learning to use hyperlinks, images, and text boxes takes another 15 minutes. Then, students take another 15 minutes to experiment with the tools, shift to other templates they like better and rebuild, or play with design options. Since you're also working independently to upload/share each writing project on the date it is due, please commit 45 minutes to an hour experimenting with WIX.

 

PUBLISH YOUR PAGE AND SHARE THE URL

Then, publish your WIX page and SHARE a live URL to the page in the discussion below. To make the URL a hyperlink, hit the return key after you copy/paste the link.

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Be sure the link changes colors so that it's live for other users to see.

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DOUBLE CHECK the URL

If the word EDIT or EDITOR appears anywhere in the URL, it is not the published version and no one can open it. Publish your page, then go to that published page to harvest a working URL to share on Canvas and with peers.

 

BACK TO YOUR CANVAS ASSIGNMENT

COMMENT ON TWO PEER PAGES: THE ONE ABOVE YOU IN THE THREAD AND THE ONE AFTER YOU

After you upload your link, visit two peer links to see what they're designing and to borrow ideas. Leave at least one positive comment for two different peers--ideally the peer who posted above you and the peer who posts below you. [The first person to post will only have to comment on one peer--the one below--although it may take a while for folks to upload/share, then revisit to see a peer's entry.]

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WANT MORE EXAMPLES?

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Here are links to previous students' websites. Their assignments were similar to yours. Notice that they made some very different WIX page choices.

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WIX ePORTFOLIO SAMPLES (also included on the HOME page of your ePortfolio Support Site)

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Chesney: Attending an AA Meeting [Award Winning Feature]

https://cnmcilra.wixsite.com/w140

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Elicia: [Unique Design for WIX HOME Page] Rock Climbing

https://epluymer.wixsite.com/w171

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Gabby: Going Vegan [Well Organized WIX Design]

https://gabemart3.wixsite.com/w131

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Jill: Touring a Haunted House [Rich Descriptions]

https://jilmhale.wixsite.com/w140

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Michael: Running a 5K [Solid Pacing]

https://taylormn0.wixsite.com/mysite

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