four learners responses to e portfolio meta-genre 2013

Four Learners Responses to an Emergent ‘Visual Arts Showcase e-Portfolio’ Meta-Genre

Learner EG1’s homepage (2013) Learner AH1’s homepage (2013)

Learner CG1’s homepage (2013) Learner MV1’s homepage (2013)

2010 - 2012

Action research project with Visual Arts educators at an independent and government school

2013/09/07 Prepared by Travis Noakes 2

Profiledescription

Profile image

Folders of digitised artworks

About button Portfolio title

Contact details

Areas of expertise

SkillsFooterArtist. Date.

FolderName,Description

Artwork

TitleDescriptionTagsClient tags

1 ‘Home’ page template

3 ‘Artwork project folder’ page template

2 ‘About’ page template (artist’s profile)

Carbonmade Artist. Date.

Availabilityfor freelance graphic

Carbonmade portfolio’s page types

4 ‘Search page results’ template

Work button

Creative’s name

Portfolio title

Carbonmade banner logo

FooterArtist. Date.

FooterArtist. Date.

Prepared by Travis Noakes2013/09/07 3

Aligned with a national curricular statement module.

Appropriated at school to help learners improve their ‘Management and Presentation’ skills.

• Online portfolio syllabus taught for two weeks each year;• Ultimate aims are matric-exhibition preparation and preparing for post-school reality.

Screenshot of learner MH’s Carbonmade ‘homepage’, November, 2010

Screenshot of learner MH’s Carbonmade ‘homepage’, December, 2011

Screenshot of learner MH’s Carbonmade ‘homepage’, May, 2012

Prepared by Travis Noakes2013/09/07 4

The research questions of my PhD in Media Studies

Question 1. What are the e-portfolio design choices that Visual Arts learners made?

Question 2.How do e-portfolio design choices and sub-genre practices relate to the learner relationships and the possibilities and constraints of their circumstances?

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For research updates, go to travisnoakes.co.za or follow @travisnoakes on Twitter

Prepared by Travis Noakes

Defining the e-portfolio design choices by layer.

Prepared by Travis NoakesApril 10, 2023

Bateman (2008) proposes an empirical approach to multimodal document analysis showing how it(s design) ‘functions’ and what it does in its ‘own terms’. The GeM framework decomposes multimodal documents into six key structures:

•The ‘navigation’, ‘linguistic’ and ‘genre’ structures of the webpages are simple as these are largely defined by the rules of the online portfolio software page templates;•The ‘layout’, ‘content’ and ‘rhetoric’ structures feature the most variation.

In my ‘Four Learners Responses to an Emergent ‘Visual Arts Showcase e-Portfolio’ Meta-Genre’ conference paper I focus on differences in a cross-section of learners’ design choices in ‘layout’, ‘content’ and ‘rhetoric’ structures.

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Define 29 learners’ choices in response to a meta-genre?

Enact Genre

Reinforce/Undercut

Ongoing use

Observe genre use

Be influenced by genre use

Identify a situation

Identify a change of situation

Identify genre rules

Reproduce genre

Elaborate genre

Replace with different genre

Undercut genre

Select genre

Characterization of the cyclic process of genre change according to Yoshioka and Herman (2000); sourced from Bateman (2008: 191).


Design and the Visual Arts Showcase e-portfolio classroom sub-genre ecology

Learner subject

Exemplary corpora

Guidelines on choices that constitute a ‘Visual Arts e-portfolio showcase’ meta-genre

reproductionextendreplaceundercut

Multimodal design choice creates design syntagms and pages

Choice matches

Choiceelaborates

Choicesubstitutes

Choice isabsent or is opposing

Other corpora? Non-corpora?

Educator and researcher

Several choices constitute a webpage ‘text’

Choice helps constitute a home-, about- or artwork project folder page

http://www.travisnoakes.co.za/p/online-portfolio-lessons.html)

All webpage types contribute to creating the Visual Arts showcase e-portfolio sub-genre


Visual ArtsShowcasee-portfolioclassroomsub-genreReferences the School Visual Arts genre and itssub-genres

‘Online Portfolio Exhibition’ super-genreReference the‘Traditional Portfolio Exhibition’antecedentgenre and its sub-genres

‘Homepage’ ,‘About’ and ‘Artwork’ webpage sub-genresReference related sub-genres; i.e. ‘CV’, ‘Exhibition history’

http://www.travisnoakes.co.za/p/online-portfolio-lessons.html


This project adopts a SSMC research framework (Kress, 1992, 2006, 2010) to understand aspects of significance to the learner:•‘Who produced it?’•‘For whom was it produced?’ •‘In what context and under what constraints was it produced?’ (Kress, 2000)

Social Semiotic Theory of Multimodal Communication (SSMC) research framework

The meaning of learners choices cannot be explained by the ‘constituency’ approach commonly used in Linguistics, where learners create meaning from the “bottom up” through specific modal choices.

Four case studies


Learner EG1’s profile image (2013) Learner AH1’s profile image (2013)

Learner CG1’s s profile image (2013)

Learner MV1’s s search image (2013)

The value of Learner EG1’s e-portfolio design for him


He identified the value of his e-portfolio as adding another dimension to his art in supporting; sharing with audiences, organizing artworks for display (Int2 EG1, 7 November, 2012, R124, R129) while also revealing his artistic identity and the evolution of his artistic creativity at school (Int1 EG1, 15 November, 2012, R50, R51, R53).

He intended to use his e-portfolio as a drawing archive post-school:He enjoyed drawing and contrasted his e-portfolio focus on drawing to a friend, learner AK1, who had foregrounded photography; ‘But he had always been focused on his photography and was very passionate about it. Whereas I was more passionate about the work that we had done and, like, presenting the work that I enjoy.’ (Int1 EG1, 15 November, 2012, R79).


The e-portfolio’s significance to Learner EG1

‘Who produced it?’Learner EG1 with feedback from his educator and some from parents, peers and friends.

‘For whom was it produced?’Learner EG1 produced it to reflect his emergent identity as a fine artist to his audiences.

‘In what context was it produced?’ Although Learner EG1 had successfully applied in matric for admission to the Medical School of the University of Cape Town, his admission could be withdrawn if he failed to continue achieving a high subject average.

‘Under what constraints was it produced?’Learner EG1 ‘flipped the classroom’ to work at home and overcome slow Carbonmade use at school.Did not publish extra-mural photography and many extra-mural artworks.

Case Study 1. Learner EG1’s homepage

2010 2012


Learner EG1 adopted a unique design approach that differed from all his classmates in serving as a metaphor for the ‘clean type of gallery look’ he likes (Int1 EG1, 15 November, 2012, R66). He wanted it to look simple, elegant and not to distract from the actual works (Int2 EG1, 7 November, 2012, R113). He extended the Visual Arts showcase e-portfolio sub-genre through consistent application of this metaphor.


2012

Case Study 1. An ‘artwork project folder’ page by Learner EG1

‘I think a sketchbook almost forms the strongest basis of our art, especially at <school name>. Even above other schools, we use sketchbooks so much, where at other schools might be doing bigger projects at a larger scale, where we always have a sketchbook that we are updating every week or every two weeks.’ (Int2 EG1, 7 November, 2012, R126).


- Many learners struggled with the online concept of ‘ongoing design’ (this explanation was written in 2011, while his ‘about’ page featured the current 2012 revision)


2012

Case Study 1. Learner EG1’s ‘about’ page


The e-portfolio’s significance to learner AH1

‘Who produced it?’Learner AH1 with feedback from his educator and some from parents and peers.

‘For whom was it produced?’He created a ‘… more mature rendition’ (Int2 AH1, 23 November 2012, R47) that could merit a ‘passing grade’.

‘In what context was it produced?’ ‘Obviously it can be quite useful in terms of showing, like if I am going into advertising say, I can reference this to interviewers to see my own art portfolio. Instead of lugging a whole handheld thing in, which is nice.’ (R48, R49). Learner AH1 said that he would update his Carbonmade portfolio with new work from his advertising projects in Business Science.

‘Under what constraints was it produced?’Learner AH1 ‘flipped the classroom’ to work at home. He did not publish extra-mural photography and many extra-mural artworks.

Case Study 2. Learner AH1’s homepage


2010 2012

If he could, he would have changed the whole Visual Arts curriculum; ‘I don't like being given, like 'Protest art' and 'Search for African Art in the 50's and 60's.' That sort of stuff does not interest me. What interests me is more of like.. not fictional stuff. Like characters from video games or, or like nice tribal designs and more, er, more imaginative, er, imaginatory pictures.’ (Int1 AH1, 2 November 2012; R5).


Case Study 2. Learner AH1’s ‘about’ page

2012

‘…why would you have a thing that you could share your stuff with the world, if people can't contact you and be like this and you can't get feedback from it. Otherwise, it just sits there.’ (Int1 AH1, 2 November 2012, R22).


Case Study 2. An ‘artwork project folder’ page by Learner AH1

2012

‘… the work that is on there is mostly work that has been set and we don't really get a choice as to what we do at (school name). It is more of a curriculum that is set and you have to do this, this and this... these tasks in order to pass. I mean ... I guess I could have put up some of my stuff that I have been doing personally, but then again... I am not too sure that I am very self-conscious about my art as well. So, I am not too sure that it is good enough to put up... and... if it will be judged in a negative or a positive way.’ (Int1 AH1, 2 November 2012, R9).


The e-portfolio’s significance to Learner CG1

‘Who produced it?’Learner CG1 with feedback from his educator and some from parents and peers.

‘For whom was it produced?’Learner CG1 produced it for an assessment audience only.

‘In what context was it produced?’ Boarding house

‘Under what constraints was it produced?’Learner could not upload videos to free version of Carbonmade, nor customise his template to the extent he wanted.Published extra-mural photography and many extra-mural artworks.


Case Study 3. Learner CG1’s homepage

2011 2012

‘So, you have the three, three portrait faces. So that gave quite a cool effect and also... I don't know, Mr Rupert said that he would prefer if it's like that and I am not going to go against what he says, because I want marks...’ (Int CG1, 6 November 2012, R32).


Case Study 3. Learner CG1’s ‘about’ page2012

‘I would say that most, or some of the artwork does express my interests and if you look at my 'about page' there, there is a percentage of what is me... like what my interests are. And if you can what their interests are, you can see what they are like…’ (Int1 CG1, 6 November 2012, R45).


Case Study 3. An ‘artwork project folder’ page by Learner CG1

2012

- Learner CG1 was keen to show the full range of his creative production and extended the sub-genre by adding links to his videography and boarding house blog sites. However, he also did not pay sufficient attention to detail and this resulted in multimodal disjuncture on some pages.


The e-portfolio’s significance to Learner MV1

‘Who produced it?’Learner MV1 did not involve his parents, peers or others.

‘For whom was it produced?’Learner MV1 produced it for marks from his educator.

‘In what context was it produced?’ Learner MV1 only did work in class that was marked in the lesson.

‘Under what constraints was it produced?’‘I don't actually have a passion for art. I never really enjoyed doing art. I suppose I don't get enough satisfaction out of doing it, because I don't even particularly enjoy my own work, I suppose. You know with Mathematics, I can see that I have done something correctly or I have done it right and it gives me a sense of achievement. Whereas art, I do it, and I still feel it is not good. It is not nice, and I don't enjoy it. So, and I don't really enjoy other people's work that much either…’ (Int1 MV1, 3 November 2012, R29).


Case Study 4. Learner MV1’s homepage

2010 2012

‘Ja, I think I probably went onto the website and... ja, I went onto the website to update it and then I created the folder. And I didn't know what to call it, firstly. And then I did not have much work to put into it. So, I just sort of closed it. (laughs) I did not... I don't know how to work it that well. I wasn't trying, er, I didn't try that hard to get it to work, so ja.’ (Int2 MV1, 7 November 2012, R29).


Case Study 4. Learner MV1’s ‘about’ page

2012

The paucity of e-portfolio content and customisation reflected ‘…laziness, more than anything else. It wasn't really me not wanting to exhibit my work, it was just,... ja.’ (Int2 MV1, 7 November 2012, R97).


Case Study 4. An ‘artwork project folder’ page by Learner MV1

2012

Learner MV1 was also ‘… not really sure what went, what goes into categories. Because, you know, he (Mr Rupert) wanted something like ‘Exploration of Colour’. So, I wasn't sure about what goes into which category, and that sort of thing... I am also not generally very good with like just management on the Internet. I am not very good with computers.’ (Int2 MV1, 3 November 2012, R15).


Conclusion

This cross-section of case studies highlights how the curricular compliance and coherence of e-portfolio design choices by learners does reflect the significance that the e-portfolio holds for them and their corresponding levels of interest and attention. In particular, the aspects of; who was involved in the production of an e-portfolio, its current and future audiences and the relationship of the learner to the Visual Arts subject are strongly reflected.


The ‘Visual Arts Showcase e-portfolio’ meta-genre has changed and matured since 2010 to become one that assists learners by providing in-depth guidance on each design choice. This approach resonates with the ‘constituency’ approach of Linguistics, where learners create meaning from the “bottom up” through specific modal choices. Although this proved successful in encouraging compliance for particular choices, it is unlikely to help learners in appreciating how different combinations of choices can be used to create successful examples within the ‘Visual Arts Showcase e-portfolio’ sub-genre.

To address this, Visual Arts educators should encourage learners to think about the cultural and social significance that the e-portfolio may have to them; at their school, in their professional life and in hobbies, the relevant curricular and extra-mural disciplines they want to feature, who they want to involve in its development and their orientation to potential audiences. In addition to supporting coherence, this should also give more freedom to learners to develop their emergent identities and voice.

Pedagogical Review

THANKS to supporters of my research project

National Research Foundation.

University of Cape Town,Department of Film and Media Studies.Dr Marion Walton & Digimobs SA & SAME research group colleagues

Cape Peninsula University of Technology,Department of Informatics and Design.Prof Johannes Cronje& TERPS MA & PhD Colleagues

2013/09/07 Prepared by Travis Noakes

Video screengrabs fromJohn Salt of

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four learners responses to e portfolio meta-genre 2013

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