My Open Portfolio

Posted on by

As I slip back into this blog, after a period of absence, I am faced with the impact of decisions I’ve made to post my Comprehensive Portfolio in an open and digital way. I’ve crafted a fully open document using Scalar, where I’ve made edits and iterations to the look, feel, content, and flow of the information. I return to each page, path, and tag to change and revise as I create. My thinking and process is messy and non-linear, as most PhD work can be. Now, I’ve reached a point where I need to pull it all together into a completed, firmly captured, final document to share with my supervisor who will then forward to my committee. With every paper I’ve written since beginning this PhD journey, I am always reluctant to submit the final version to an instructor. No more corrections or revisions can be permitted after that specific point in time. How ready am I for that moment?

  • Version One
  • Version Two
Table of Contents – Iterations over time

As evidenced by the changes in the table of contents over time, I know that there has been extensive critical thought in the crafting of this document – if I can even call it that in the format in which it has been created. It is born digital, made with media in mind, and crafted with connections. Yet I keep a linear version in mind, and pull text into a linear word processed document, in order to adhere to expectations and conform to program requirements, should these be needed.

As I reflect on this work of crafting the portfolio in open spaces, I consider how others may be working in the open on their PhD research. So I turn to the GO_GN network and how this global collaboration of researchers in open eduction may be sharing their work. For now, I’m getting ready for the GO_GN network mini-seminar session in conjunction with the OER20 Conference. Several presenters will share their writing and one will talk about her process for sharing the dissertation in process in the open. This may add some new layers to my work.

The OER 20 conference should have been held in London, England on April 1-2nd, but has since gone to an online offering with pre-recorded sessions and just-in-time webinar sessions. Since I planned to present with Dr. Rekha Chavhan about our mentoring experiences while doing an OE4BW project last year, we have since prepared and posted this presentation on my Five Flames For Learning blog site: An Ethos of Care in Mentoring. This conference delivery will provide an interesting model for others considering open conference formats in the face of adaptations required due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Here is the link to the GO_GN Mini-Seminar planning document.