Website Reflection
For my final project I had the pleasure of coding, compiling, and creating a website where the majority of NSC 491's class member's final projects are posted for the public to view. The goal of the website was to be a final output for all of the projects and would hopefully be viewed by the public in an effort to inform and create awareness. While creating the website I feel that I have applied the competencies regarding civic engagement and critical thinking.
One of the challenging parts of designing the website was to incorporate the diversity of class members and their projects. Most students did individual projects in which they illustrated what sustainability is to them and how they are affected by it. By identifying these perspectives and grouping the projects, I think that the website offers information on a wide range of topics and illustrates the holistic nature of sustainability. These topics include recycling and reusing, 'green technology', community, ecosystems, and art. These are just a few of the components of sustainability but the diversity illustrates one of the primary issues of sustainability - it can mean almost anything to anyone.
This project required me to be in contact with not only my class mates and professors but also other members of the MSU community. It was fantastic to see the excitement felt by many about this project and the potential for us to leave a piece of what we had learned this semester for the public to see and use. As part of the process of creating the format for the site, I had to determine what each class member was doing and find some method of expressing their project on the site. By doing this I was able to illustrate not only their viewpoints but also the roles that they have played in our community at the free market, in an article, or through a video. These various interactions and contributions form a complex mosaic of the diversity within our class. It was gratifying to compile these projects because I was able to examine each project in depth and come to a fuller understanding of my class members and their thoughts and views of sustainability. In this class we truly mirrored a community in which all participate, share, and contribute to a common goal. The website is a visual representation of the relationships that we established and the community that we formed.
~ Kristen Bross
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