Website Development

Artifact 1: LINK to website design sketches.

Artifact 2: This website (https://sites.google.com/view/cindyspires/home). 

Software used: Google Sites

Reflection: 

Designer’s Perspective:

For the Website Design Competency Challenges, I chose to use a Google Site Template provided by the LDT Program for our Portfolios, but I added quite a few pages to it to customize it to my own needs and to meet the requirements of the Website Development challenges. Because I have already completed and earned two Technology Badges, and I have completed one Professional Communication Competency Challenge, I had a good idea about what needed to be added and how I wanted to supplement the basic template structure. The Google Site is a relatively easy web design template system, which allows for a plug-and-play approach to website design. This is very convenient for an ID because a website can be created and published in a very short period of time as long as the ID has a Google account; if he/she doesn’t have an account, it is very easy to create one. It definitely helps that it is free to create a site on Google. I pay for Go Daddy hosting for my other websites, and it is not cost effective to pay for the website design dashboard for an open-ended number of independent URLs which an ID might want to ultimately create during the course of his or her work. 

The use of a Google site allows for an easy and accessible presentation of information that an ID might want to use for a particular learning module or lesson. For example, an ID might want to use a Google site in place of a learning management system, when one is not available, with content that is logically organized and deployed using hyperlinks, buttons, embedded videos, and a variety of pages and template-based elements that lead the learner through the instructional materials. Google sites have so many content blocks and template-based elements to choose from that there are plenty of options for designing a website that do not take advanced skills. A challenge that someone might face, however, is that you do have to become familiar with how the content blocks and template-based elements work, and you have to be willing to make some mistakes and re-do some content areas as necessary after previewing the site and seeing how it will look to users. In this way, it is a good idea to draft content in a Word document first and copy/paste it into the website content blocks so you always have the original to pull from in case of revisions to the pages and site. Ultimately, using a Google site is a great way for an ID to deploy content on the web, and the more someone uses it, or any website design template-based software, the easier it will be.

User’s Perspective:

Because the user of my Portfolio website will be my professors, other LDT program staff, and future employers, I wanted to make sure my site was pristine in terms of design and page navigation. For example, I supplemented the Home page with a few new buttons to take users to new pages for my Technology Badges and to my CV. These are all important elements for a future employer to review and to learn about me as a professional within the field of learning design. The new and existing Badge pages of the website also provide an opportunity for me to show others about what I’ve learned through my reflections and the materials that I have created. In some cases, content I create will be used by me to teach and instruct learners. For example, if I were to one day create a learning module on how to create a website, I can review this Challenge and its corresponding artifact and reflection for inspiration. 

With regard to specific design choices, in reflecting on how I wanted to present my Technology Badges on my Portfolio website, I knew I wanted to use the actual badges that we are sent when we complete the challenges. Because I have completed two already, I went back into the announcement and saved the actual LDT-branded badges to use—they stand out really well and look professional and inviting to users. I designed the page to be visually appealing with the badge on top, a brief summary of the badge underneath, and a hyperlink to the page that has the full Badge Challenge materials. In designing this page with my target audience in mind, I have accomplished my goals of inviting users in with attractive graphics and minimal text in order to read more about my professional competencies, thus validating the purpose of the website in general. That is the general benefit of websites: that they are available on the web for the world to see, to use, and to learn from—whether it be learning about me as an ID or learning about anything on the spectrum of knowledge we humans have accumulated.