Course Overview, Website Creation Process, and Chapter 8

 Course Overview

I took the course, "Exploring Your Digital Portfolio", for my freshman fall semester at Stockton University. During the course of this class we have learned many tools, resources, and spoke too many professionals as to how to use the internet to your benefit to create your online persona. This persona that you create online can be used to help you find jobs in your desired field of work if used correctly. For example, we have been using Twitter to tweet about our desired field pf work to help create our PLN and show potential employers that we are up to date with all the changes happening in our career field. We also created a LinkedIn account that is intended to be used throughout our careers to help build up our PLN for employers to reference too. We often referenced to the book Light Bright and Polite, many of times that gives us tips and tricks to better ourselves online and maintain professionalism at all times. Along with this we had many beneficial class discussions to further our knowledge on proper social media etiquette. With the knowledge that we gained from this course, we would reflect on it in our weekly blogs which helped further our understanding of the course content. Overall I found this class to be very beneficial for me and my future endeavors as I enter to process of applying for teaching jobs in the near future. I was not disappointed taking this class my first year as both the content and professor were easy to follow and understand.

Creating a Website

When creating a website for the first time many people tend to feel overwhelmed and do not know where to start in the website creation process. In the article, Where to Begin When Building a Website, it gives the run down of some of the basics to focus on when just getting started. The first thing that is mentioned is that before you design your website, you must create a domain for your website. This will allow for only you to have this domain and it will make your website easily shareable amongst different platforms. When creating your website you will then create pages with content pertaining to the subheadings of content that you wish to share on your website. The different pages will keep your easy to navigate and will allow you to easily share your information with your viewers. Once you create your website it is important to maintain and update it as you complete new projects and job opportunities. Your website can have a huge amount of professional power as you enter the realm of employment.  As I create a website for my final project, this is very useful to refer. I will definitely apply these skills as I continue to create and keep up with my personal website that can be used to show future employers.  

An important element of your website is the "About me" page. This page should give your viewers a sense of who you are and your intentions within a quick paragraph. In the article, The Definitive Guide to About Me Pages, gives the ultimate guide as to how to construct an about me page in your article. The three main questions you want to address in your about me page is, who you are, how you can be contacted, and what you can do for those visiting your page. By answering these questions briefly in your about me page can help the viewer decide if your area of expertise and skills are what they are looking for in a timely manner. If these skills that you have meet their criteria it is important that you leave your contact information so they are able to get in touch with you. Another important element is your photo that you put on this page as this is the first visual the viewers are getting of you. With this said you should create a professional photo that encapsulates your personality at the same time. Having a photo of yourself is not optional when creating an about me page. I will relate back to this article as I create my "About me" page for my final project. 

Not only is it important to understand how to create a website, but it is also important to acknowledge some mistakes that can be made when creating your website. In the article, Top Mistakes Creating High- Quality Website Design, addresses some common mistakes that remade during the creation of many websites. One mistake that is mentioned is navigation and its lack of flow and easy maneuvering. It's important to make your website flow and organize so visitors can easily find what they are looking for at a click of a button. Another mistake that is often not taken into consideration when creating a website is the design of it. It's important to not have too many graphics and elements that can distract the reader from the actual information that you wish to get across. If your design takes away from the content or if there is a lack of content it could result in people loosing interest and leaving your website without any of the information that they had wished to gain. When I create my website I will keep in mind to not include too many graphics as I want future employers to gain the information about me and have my website be a resource to use when applying to jobs.

Chapter 8

In the book Light, Bright, and Polite for Professionals, John Ochs gives advice as to how to portray yourself on social media and how it can influence your reputation and in return your chances of getting a job. In chapter 8,  Ochs talks about how to avoid and handle negative posts about yourself online. Ochs' brought up a point worth mentioning that although you may create a professional and positive atmosphere on your social media, someone with a similar name as you may not. This can cause for confusion to potential employees when the search up your name and find inappropriate posts by someone they mistake for you. That's why its important you search yourself first to know what they are going to find and you have time to create a plan and explain to them that they are a different person and you can give them access to your social media accounts. Ochs compares this to flipping a house in the sense that the interior of your house may be in tact, meaning what you post, that you forget about the exterior of your house, which would be the search results that could affect your reputation by what others post. Ochs also touches upon that instead of posting negative posts in response to a bad experience, think twice and phone a friend and rant to them. This will save you from getting in any potential trouble and help you maintain your professionalism online. As I continue to use social media to grow my PLN I will take Ochs' advice into consideration as I want to keep a positive and professional reputation online to impress potential employers. 

Final Thoughts

Overall it is important to note that a personal website can further your PLN and have an advantage yo use as a reference when applying for a job. This emphasizes the importance of making sure your website is organized, concise, and easy to navigate. It is also important to recognize John Ochs beneficial tips towards addressing negative posts online and how to maintain a professional manner online that will benefit your social media etiquette.