The Peer Review Process

Reviewing other students’ ePortfolios was an eye opening experience. I learned so many things from it, but most importantly, I learned that everyone expresses themselves in different ways. Every ePortfolio was unique and personal to the designer, and was a creative reflection of that person’s learning journey. I really liked seeing the various approaches to presenting the content that they learned. Every person had an original layout and theme. I learned that it was the creative, yet simple designs that I found to be appealing and professional. I liked seeing the flow of the content, and the organized structure of the sections. Not only was there professional content, but personal expression as well. In essence, the ePortfolio is not only a resume, but it can be used for storytelling. I found a lot of it to be engaging, and they gave me new ideas on how I could improve on my own ePortfolio. I liked seeing the growth that was made, and also felt growth in myself.

  I also learned that it can be difficult to receive feedback from others. Even though it can be nerve racking, it is one of the most valuable parts about the process. For the most part, I felt that the feedback given was helpful, and the things that were suggested were things that I might not have thought of on my own. It was a new perspective that I appreciated having. I received information that navigation through the pages could be improved on by adding a button to the bottom of each page that allowed users to go back to the top as they reached the bottom. In essence, I agreed with this suggestion, and thought that it was useful. Another suggestion was to add course section numbers, and put the content that was created under the course section based on these numbers. I actually did not do this because I felt that adding the course number to my work would then make it seem like actual assignments that I had to do versus a reflection of what I have learned from the program. Overall, the feedback helped me refine my ePortfolio, and allowed me to have room to continue to evolve. It is always work in progress, and something that I will continue to look at along my learning journey.

I learned so much from switching ePortfolio platforms, and the amount of time and work that goes into it. Going from Google Sites to using WordPress was both challenging and an opportunity to grow. I struggled with the technical aspects, but the switch had its benefits because I was able to learn something new. It gave me an opportunity to gain a growth mindset, and allowed me to overcome challenges, which I never thought was possible. I feel like I overcame so much, and loved that I felt accomplished in the end. In summary, the peer review process was valuable and enriching. This experience helped me grow in my skills, and with my mindset. I understand that feedback is useful and can help me grow, and have self improvement. I can learn from my classmates, and it is actually better to get opinions and suggestions from others, so that I can gain more than one perspective.