ePortfolio
My name is Aaron Thomas, I am an Information Technology student at the University of Central Florida with a passion for all things computer-related. Outside of my major, I’m an avid retro gamer, I usually spend my time playing retro games, and or repairing retro game consoles! Restoring these old consoles is one of my ways of preserving and restoring a bit of history!
Course Outcomes & ReflectionsENC 1102 helped me grow to be able to reach a wider range of audiences through the use of various genres, ultimately culminating in this ePortfolio! Here’s how I personally engaged with the course outcomes through my work this semester:
- Generating Inquiry: I explored a line of inquiry that genuinely mattered to me, as I’m a retro gaming hobbyist, how retro gaming communities preserve their history through different genres .
- Multiple Ways of Writing: I created a multimodal final project that was a combination of different academic research, fan-created texts and visual story telling to present my various findings .
- Information Literacy: I went through and evaluated both fan-created documentation, and various scholarly sources on a number of factors to use in my research on retro gaming genres
- Research Genre Production: I wrote in multiple genres, from literature reviews to proposals, reflections, even in a presentation, each tailored to the specific audience I was aiming for and of course for the purpose of the assignment.
- Contributing Knowledge: I was able to connect my own findings with various academic theories, I was able to show how fans contribute to preserve retro gaming history in different meaningful ways.
- Revision: I revised each major assignment with peer reviews and instructor review in mind, making sure each change was deliberate and well executed to make sure each assignment hit its mark.
Research Proposal
This section outlines the early development of my semester-long research project. I introduce the critical conversation I joined, describe the questions I set out to explore, and explain the personal and academic relevance of my topic: how retro gaming communities use writing to preserve gaming history.
Literature Review
A synthesis of academic research that informed my project. I analyze key sources from scholars like Devitt, Jenkins, Wulf, and others to build a theoretical foundation for my exploration of fan genres like READMEs, patch notes, and forum posts in retro gaming spaces.
Process Work
This section highlights my drafting, coding, and research development throughout the semester. You’ll find early drafts, peer feedback revisions, coding tables, and reflections that show how my thinking and writing evolved over time.
Reading Responses
Throughout the course, I engaged with assigned readings by responding critically and reflectively. These responses helped shape my approach to writing, research, and genre, and really laid the groundwork for my final project.
Final Project
My final multimodal presentation really brings everything together. This project goes in-depth with how fan-created genres function as tools for cultural preservation in retro gaming communities. It combines primary genre analysis, secondary source integration, and visual storytelling to present my argument all in presentation form.