Your “My Journey” page is a chance for you to talk about how every aspect of your experience as a student at SIUE is informing who you are.
Your “My Journey” page should tell a story using artifacts that are records of your work and achievement. That might be something you did in a class, like a paper, video, or group project. Or it might be something you did outside the classroom – a club you participated in, an organization you collaborated with, a team you played on. Your achievements don’t just happen in the classroom!
Put those artifacts in context. What did you gain or learn from the experience of producing that artifact? How did you feel about the activity before, during, and after you did it? How does it fit in with your goals, values, and/or priorities? Reflection is a crucial part of the learning process
You should use digital storytelling to take those individual artifacts and reflections and puts them together into a story of your growth and your identity. What do those artifacts tell you and tell your audience about who you are, what you value, and what you’re capable of? That can feel like a weighty task, but the “my journey” page is something you can come back to and update or revise at any time. We constantly grow and change, and so will this page.
Reflection/Storytelling Ideas
Here are a few prompts that might help you articulate your journey:
- Outline a chronology of significant events and “Aha” moments. Why do these events and “Aha” moments stand out? How did they help you develop as a student inside and outside of the class?
- Consider how you have changed over your time at SIUE. What factors caused those changes? What do you want to do next and why?
Artifacts
Artifacts could include a significant learning moment, like a major project revision, that math problem you finally cracked, or a speech to student government about which you were nervous. How do you decide what artifacts to collect, what experiences to feature in your ePortfolio? These resources will help you choose your artifacts with an eye toward reflection.
- “Learning Portfolio Resources: Using Artifacts,” Learning Portfolio Initiative (University of Utah)
- Heather Stuart, “Artifact Examples,” University Writing (Auburn University, January 2019)
“My Journey” Timeline
Your will revisit and add to your “My Journey” page at several key points throughout your CODES coursework:
- CODE121: you will set up your page and add your first artifacts, with a chance to reflect on how what you learned during your first semester at SIUE. You might consider what your expectations of college were, what challenges you faced, and what you still want to work on in the future.
- CODE123: you will reflect on your first full year as a student and revisit your plans for your major. How have your goals and ideas changed? What have been your biggest accomplishments? How have your ideas about community changed and developed over the last year?
- CODE221: you will add artifacts to consider how you have continued to develop and how your goals have changed during your second year at SIUE. As you move into your final CODES course, how has the program informed your sense of self in the context of your community? How has your work in CODES informed your approach to coursework in your major and your career plans?
- CODE420: you will work with your mentor to turn your portfolio into a showcase including your best work, a resume, and a career plan.