Writing New York: Using Google Maps as a Platform for Electronic Portfolios

English 302: Writing about the Arts is a practicum course offered at the University of Windsor for upper-level English undergraduate students. The course asks students to write about a variety of art forms and requires engagement with multiple genres of writing as a way for students to effectively order their experiences, reconstruct meaning in those experiences, and communicate that meaning to their readers. This version of the course involves a two-week introductory reading and writing commitment at the University of Windsor campus and then a three-week visit to New York City. In New York, the students work toward building a final portfolio using Google Maps as a showcase for their writing. In this article, the authors discuss the institutional context and theoretical rationale of the course and describe how they use Google Maps as a platform for electronic portfolios. (Contains 5 notes.)