I chose to use the Twitter platform in order to promote my piece. Any use of social media to promote something is a good choice but with Twitter I felt it was the best platform in order to easily share with a retweet, as well as because of the number of users that are on Twitter. The Twitter audience ranges anywhere from professional writers, authors, athletes, students, as well as normal citizens. This allows the piece to be brought to a wider audience and because of the topic of the piece, can appeal to all audiences as well. Since this is a popular topic in the world and something that is very serious, I did not think emojis were appropriate. This also lets the writing be at the forefront of the post. This post would gradually get more views whether it be within hours, days, or even months. In the Twitter world, word spreads quick and sometimes even gets to people far after you think the buzz has gone down. All it takes is one person, or the right person to see the piece for it to become something bigger than what it is.
Author: amurray6
Final GSR Submission
My Quarantine Experience
This time of crisis is something I will never forget. The level of fear and panic as each day goes by is something I’ve only seen in horror movies. People have gone into survival mode as if it were the end of the world. Although this pandemic is as serious as anything that has gone on in my lifetime, it is also important for people to understand that better days are ahead, even for those who have lost loved ones. This time of being locked away in the house has also opened my eyes to what is important and how much we may take the simple pleasures in life for granted. Being able to enjoy a day at the beach, going for a night out with friends, all seems so distant and something unheard of at this time. I’ve grown to appreciate having a roof over my head, and having people around me who make being in a house all day not feel like a quarantine. It’s given me the opportunity to come closer with my father, who I seldom see while being away at school for 10 months out of the year. Usual nights of being stuck in a library for hours on end have turned into nights of movies and laughter. Waking up in the comfort of my own home every morning has been something that I am learning to appreciate more each day. Simpler times full of health and peace are on their way, but in the meantime, I am choosing to find the positives in an otherwise fearful and negative time.
Style Sheet Exercise
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Liuj8R9_zjCr1Y7jeFEHHuXW26r7kQ0rCCUIrx60BSQ/edit#
Throughout this process I found it more difficult than I imagined it would be. The level of detail that is needed to edit something like this has to be very high. When reading through the pages needing to be on the lookout for every little detail that may or may not be correct. After reading it through one time, you then realize that there are things that may have been skipped over because of the lengthy checklist needed to be checked off. I also found it a little tricky of knowing if the correct edit is being suggested, as opposed to something that may have looked off in my eye. Throughout the assignment I learned that the amount of time for pieces can take a while because of the editing that is usually needed even for the best writers. After doing an assignment like this I feel more confident in myself when writing to know what needs work and what details are needed in any type of writing.
Coding Summary
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_wutzmBcIuBdQqwK4rpptS890Vu4FWmR9Mby6KdVv6c/edit
I completed this work by paying attention into close detail to what the coding was. In each element of the coding, there are little aspects that can either make it successful or cause it to fail. Being alert of these details was a challenge especially getting further and further down the list of tasks. These concepts were something I was a tiny bit familiar with from when I attempted to learn coding last year but had no luck. With even just the small amount of knowledge that I had, I think it made it easier to remember the codes and better understand the patterns. Right now I would not feel comfortable applying these to a real website. However, I feel that with more practice at it and repeatedly doing these codes, I could get to a level of comfort where I feel I could do it with ease.
Poster
The audience I chose for my poster is the student – athlete population. My reasoning for choosing this group is because it is something easily relatable for me being a student – athlete myself. Student – athletes are a large portion of any university’s population but sometimes get overlooked when it comes to being accommodated. This poster is just one example of information of how even the smallest things such as a website can make things less, or more difficult on a student – athletes academics. Student – athletes are a unique group of people with a tight schedule with minimal room for error. This can be preventable by keeping things simple, straight forward, and informative.
For my “do’s” and “don’ts”, they are things that are all about making things easy on the user. Meaning a simple layout, easily accessible information, and something that can be used on the go for the student – athletes busy schedule. Making sure that there is balance is a key factor in a successful website. Balance occurs when there is an equally distributed (but not necessarily symmetrical) amount of visual signal on both sides of an imaginary axis going through the middle of the screen. (5 Principles of Visual-Design in UX) Without balance in a website, there is not much opportunity for success. With my do’s and don’ts, they are all factors that can contribute to the balancing of the Greenspring Review.
My aesthetic choices were inspired by wanting to create something that was not too busy, but still had a touch of color to help it stand out. By using smaller art as I have done, it lets the content be front and center, while the art is a nice touch to put the content into picture. The organization was something that I wanted to keep simple and clean to provide the user ample opportunity to see all the information without being overwhelmed with a busy page. If a website’s information is hard to read or doesn’t answer users’ key questions, they leave. (Usability 101: Introduction to Usability) An easy website is a successful website, which can also be said for the poster. Making something easy to read and giving the user something aesthetically pleasing gives them more than enough reason to want to read.
Works Cited
World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “Usability 101: Introduction to Usability.” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/.
World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “5 Principles of Visual-Design in UX.” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/principles-visual-design/.
Rubin, Lisa M., and Ron A. Moses. “Athletic Subculture Within Student-Athlete Academic Centers.” Sociology of Sport Journal, vol. 34, no. 4, 2017, pp. 317–328., doi:10.1123/ssj.2016-0138.
Usability Summary
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/
The article I chose introduces us to usability as well as the components that make it what it is. Usability is described as how easy the user interfaces are for the user to actually use. The quality components that usability is defined by are learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors and satisfaction. Although there are many other quality attributes, these are seen as the five that are most important to a designs usability. The article then goes on to discuss the importance of usability and how it can be improved. The level of usability for a design or site is the most important thing to consider when creating. Without usability, no one is going to be able to enjoy or utilize the content to its fullest potential. Level of difficulty and lack of offering are two primary things that people look at when examining a website. No one is interested in having to figure out a website by themselves. People prefer there to be an organized lay out where it is clear what is going on as well as something that they can easily maneuver through. Usability is important to any website and design which makes it all the more important to test the usability every so often to ensure it is being used as it was created to do.
Accessibility Article Summary
The Embodied Classroom: Deaf Gain in Multimodal Composition and Digital Studies
The article gives several opinions on the school system in todays world and how children are being taught. So much of being taught is based solely off of verbal communication. This article goes to suggest that the teaching ways of using modes discussed in class and be beneficial in the teaching environment. Mostly commonly seen is gestural. The way someone will deliver their words whether it be through body language or hand gestures. Communicating without the use of words can be important in a young persons life as it helps them become more interactive and be exposed to a new way of teaching as well as learning. By changing the way we are taught, it is believed it can open up a different level to the education system. Face to face interaction between students and teachers becomes important for their ethical knowledge and adds value to the experience. We are more susceptible to learning and gaining more of an experience when there is a higher level of interaction as opposed to being glued to a chair the whole time. This meaning that we could see new forms of teaching, as well as different areas of teaching in the very near future.
Redesign
https://thegreenspringreview.art.blog
Effective:
- The logo for the website is clean and fits the purpose of the website.
- The front page is appealing to the eye with the title and use of books around the borders
- Layout is simple and easy to navigate
- Included search bar makes it easy to look up any particular piece of writing
- It does an effective job of keeping the colors simple and to a minimum
Needs Improvement:
- Although the logo is fitting and clean, it could be larger and really stick out to the viewer
- The website as a whole lacks graphics which is an important piece of UI
- For several of the categories the font seems to be a little faded which can be difficult for some viewers to see as well as others
- More graphics can add to the UX to help leave a more lasting impression
- Adding more content with the Stevenson community to better connect the website
https://jennaaye.wordpress.com
Effective:
- A big header allows it stand out and let the reader know right away what content you will be seeing
- The modern style makes for a clean and stylish look
- The use of graphics and pictures adds some needed color to the website
- The layout is simple and open making it an easy site to navigate through
- The difference of not using a sticky header is interesting and adds to the creativity and modern touch of the website
Needs Improvement:
- The header is large which is a plus but could use much better resolution making it more clear and appealing
- The logo does not seem to connect to the site or Stevenson as well as a shadow piece that can only be seen at certain angles
- No use of search bar on the website might make it more difficult for some viewers to navigate to what pieces or person they are looking for
- With the layout being as open as it is, I would expect the font to be a little larger and easier on the eyes of the viewer
- More information on the designers might help to better understand where the inspiration for the content and design came from
https://greenspringreview.art.blog
Effective:
- The website connects itself to the University with a quick link in the sidebar
- Promotion of events that will be held by Stevenson adds more content and shows the support from the website
- The use of art and media on the front page allow more for the reader than just looking up writings
- The added search bar for the website helps for easy navigation
- The headings are clear and simple in helping to find whatever it is the viewer is searching for.
Needs Improvement:
- The homepage does not include a logo which can be important for brand purposes as well as setting yourself apart from the other designers
- The piece of art used in the top of the front page is not high resolution and is not appealing to the viewer’s eye
- The layout feels a little cluttered and does not give much space between sections
- More use of colors and graphics especially with the logo could improve the websites front page
- Although there is plenty of content on the front page, more content regarding the website itself would be beneficial
UX Summary
Buley, Leah. “Are You Really Ready to Grow Your Design Team?”.Uxmatters, 21 May 2019, https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2019/05/are-you-really-ready-to-grow-your-design-team.php
The article and information I found came from the website uxmatters which helps to give more insight on UX and any questions someone might have about it. The site contains educated articles along with the authors who have been used as well as the different topics within the UX.
Throughout the years of technology, it has become more popular and complex. With this being the case, organizations have now begun to strengthen their design teams with the importance of UX becoming greater and greater. Many people have seen a screen become their primary touchpoint making the experience they have become all the more important. What has been discovered is that just because someone may have a larger design organization, does not mean the design maturity will be there as well. Many companies with design teams noticed that the return on investment was not as great due to their design team was not being properly calibrated. In order to give the users a proper experience it is important to apply design to solving strategic problems. Making sure the designers have a voice in the decision making process becomes important and have been noticed to have a great impact. Using data to make design decisions is also important as it is able to drive efficiency gains and savings costs all across the business. It has also been noted that most of the successful designers in the business have not come from a design oriented background. This means that people have come from all different disciplines and have been taught the fundamentals and keys of the design process.
The principles discussed in the article can be applied to the Greenspring Review in the sense that finding a proper design team is not as easy as it might seem with just finding a person with a design based background. The articles research has proven that many design teams can come from different backgrounds and studies.
Rhetorical Analysis Assignment
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BQokmmfO2_i2swEob1nqkyc5QNdGdsXu
Introduction
This rhetorical analysis will be on the website pshares.org which is home to Ploughshares at Emerson College located in downtown Boston Massachusetts. Ploughshares has been working on publishing quality literature since 1971 as well as their award winning literary journal which is published four times throughout the year.
Thesis
Ploughshares has created an excellent source to not only find literary pieces, but also be able to promote their own work and their well known journals. By piecing together the website in a clean, organized manner, it has allowed the content to be front and center in all aspects. The simple layout offers an easy experience for users to find whatever they need whether it be to read up on the yearly journals, place an order on an article, or subscribe to be a member of Ploughshares.
Audience
The audience which Ploughshares is intended for would be someone who enjoys very mainstream, simple literature, which can also include a professor at a college or a teacher in an elementary school. The content of the writings in Ploughshares is something that is easy to understand and gets to the point, making it easy for everyone to understand it. The audience can range from those of an older age who are teaching the writings, or those of a younger age who are interested in educating themselves on the poems and writings.
Purpose
The purpose of this website is to give readers simple access to some great pieces of literature for an affordable price. By giving access to different pieces, this not only creates good press for Ploughshares, but also satisfies the readers and gives them incentive to subscribe or purchase more content from the site. For prospective readers it allows the opportunity to explore and learn more about the literary journals and give them a chance to find their passion for literary pieces if they have not already found that.
Context
The context of the website and the content of the website is something that is meant to be sat down with and read over thoroughly and in a timely manner. Some of the users might use literary pieces such as these for educating if they are a professor, or for personal use if they are able to find enjoyment out of reading these pieces on their own. Since these pieces of the journals are spread out over a number of years, it can be educating on different times than some readers are used to and have not been very educated on.
Genre
The genre of this website can be labeled as educational pieces of writing used for multiple purposes. These purposes as mentioned earlier can be for self use or educating a particular group of people. Since the texts are all different in their own way pertaining to different events and sub genres, we can not accurately label this as one specific genre. Specifying a genre in the case of pshares would not be beneficial as some can see it as being labeled as one particular genre of literature.
Modes
Visual – The visual mode of the website includes a very simple layout, but something that is effective in bringing in the viewer and giving them all the information they need in order to purchase, subscribe, and read. You can see different style fonts used, different coloring on fonts, as well as bold being used in order to help a certain category stand out.
Aural – Throughout the website, the aural mode is not to be seen in the sense of music or sound effects, or any kind of noise that is typically seen when we think of aural mode. Much of the aural mode can be seen in the tone of sound used in the reading which the website contains.
Spatial – The spatial mode of the website allows easy access for all users and to help them navigate with whatever they are needing information on. The simple organizing used throughout helps keep it clean and look professional.
Gestural – Gestural mode is not seen with Ploughshares. Being that it is a website, there is no physical human interaction or expression going on, but rather in the readings contained in the website.
Linguistic – The linguistic mode seen in the website is written words. Being that it is a professional publishing site, the use of words and sentences might not be something that the user might see on a day to day basis. Regarding the content of what is being displayed, it can be professional or more casual depending on the topic of that piece of literature.
Conclusion
Ploughshares has been proven to be of the highest quality when looking for literary pieces. Through their history of being in operation, the website has been a goldmine for users of all kinds. Through the analysis of the site as a whole, this allows the perception of the site, and the publishing as a whole to be looked at from a different view in order to show its full potential and help anyone gain access to the articles of writing that are being displayed.