Hi! I’m Abby Tran, and I’m currently a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. As a PPE major, I’ve always understood the importance of a multidisciplinary education. The liberal arts, however, mostly center on theory, rather than practice. So when I heard about the Hoesley Digital Literacy Fellows Program, I embraced the opportunity to vastly improve my practical skills.
Our weekly sessions at Weigle Information Commons provided a lot of focus to our approach towards technology. Initially uncomfortable with spreadsheets, web design, and data sharing, I quickly gained confidence in all of these areas due to Anu Vedantham’s patient teaching and to presentations by a number of guests on topics ranging from Google products to PhotoShop. We were able to get hands-on experience working with these programs by following along as instructors guided us, as well as experimenting with them on our own. I also utilized other resources, most notably, Lynda.com, to independently hone my skills in InDesign, Illustrator, and PhotoShop.
While developing my final project for the Hoesley Program, I familiarized myself with different platforms for my personal website. After determining the content and focus of my site, I initially established an account on WordPress.com. While simple to use and functional, I was still unhappy with the design aesthetic. Fortunately, on the suggestion of a friend, I opened a Moonfruit.com site – and have never looked back. To check out my website, go to abbytran.moonfruit.com.
Before the Hoesley Program, I never imagined that I could produce work like this. Thanks to my training, I’ve become much more familiar with technological skills that are becoming absolute necessities in the modern world.
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