What have you learnt about technologies from the process of making this product?
- 1. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of making this product
- 2. Mac When I first used the macs, I really didn’t know how to use them and so struggled with all of the new software on them, but as I did more work on them I began to become more familiar with them and was able to use them effectively. However I still found it more comfortable to use my home computer, and so I only used the macs for simple blogging and research,which was proven very helpful. I also made my double page spread interview on the macs as I could not get a landscape page on my usual software at home. Even though I did not use the mac for most of my final task, I can confidently say I have improved my knowledge of how to use them, as I can easily use them, now that I know what program does what and how to work them.
- 3. Home Laptop (Acer) For most of my work I used my laptop at home, this was good as it was portable at so I was able to do my work practically anywhere I went. Because it is my own laptop I was able to use it confidently from the beginning, and I knew my way around it. Even though I did not have publisher which is what I had to do my final task on, and so I used word instead to plan it out and I then put it on a memory stick to transfer it onto publisher on the school computers. Apart from that I found it much easier using my own laptop than the macs or school computers.
- 4. Pages This is the program I used to make my preliminary task and my double page spread, it is a piece of software on the mac, when I first used I was unsure of how to control it and so I decided that I would not use this software when making my final production. I thought it was just to different from the programs I am used to and so I found it to difficult to go on. However I did gain some knowledge on how to use it as I had to do my preliminary task on it, and so while I was doing that I did actually figure out how to use some of it, however even though I figured that out I still found it difficult to do my tasks on and so I decided not to use it.
- 5. Google When researching for my magazine my main source was google, I used it for information and pictures, I use google a lot not just for school but outside as well so I am very familiar with it as it is very simple, easy to use and is a great source of information. I could access it anywhere, whether it be at home or school I was able to gain information and research thoroughly.
- 6. Picnik This is the website I used to edit all my photos, it allowed me to find the right effect to match my genre and magazine layout. I had used this website before so I knew how to use it correctly and effectively. The website was actually closing down however its closing date was the day before our coursework was due so it did not affect my final task in any way, as I had plenty of time to edit any photos. Also due to the fact that it was closing down the website allowed me to use its premium effects which usually you have to pay for this gave me more effects to work with and in turn help me make the photos better quality
- 7. Blogger Blogger is obviously the website I used to record my coursework on, and so it was the main piece of technology I used as it played a big part. before starting my coursework I had never had a blog before and so never used blogger so for the first lesson I had to figure out how to use it and how to navigate myself around it, it didn't take me long to become familiar with it and I found it very easy to use, the website is very simple and straight forward, so I had no difficulty working it. Also because it is a public website I was able to access it at home as well as at school, which was very convenient for me as I could do work on the computers at home and then do some at my own pace at home. It being public meant that me and my classmates could comment on each others work which is very helpful and useful, as this way I could give feedback to them and receive it in order to improve on my work.
- 8. Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo This is the phone I used to take my final pictures on, as I was unable to take home the on I used on my draft because it belonged to the school and I wanted to take my pictures of school premises, however I made sure I got a phone with excellent quality camera. It was very easy to use as I had used it many times before so I already new how to operate it. when I had taken my pictures I was able to use a USB cable to transfer them onto my laptop within minutes so this was proven to save time.
- 9. Internet Explorer Internet explorer is easy and fast to use, so I used it as my web browser throughout the course, it was very fast and so did not freeze my computer at all. Without this I would not have been able to do many things with my coursework or visit a lot of websites that helped my such as picnik, google or slide share and so this piece of technology was the most important to me.
- 10. Slide Share I used this mainly for my evaluation piece, I was able to make a power point and transfer it onto blogger using slide share. I loved using this because it made my work look more professional and organised, also, it also made a change from just writing it on my blog, instead I was able to customise it and make it more interesting to read. I found it simple making the slide and putting it onto slide share however I had difficulty trying to figure out how to put it onto blogger, as the website was not clear on how to do that, so I had to ask a friend that knew how to do it, it turns out it is quite difficult to do, but once I had found out, it got easier each time.
- 11. Publisher this was the program I used on the school computers to make my mock up, drat and final magazine, I had already used it many time before so I was familiar on how to use it. It was easy and simple to use. It gave me an outline to work with and so it was pretty straight forward. However when I wanted to transfer it onto my blog I had difficulty finding out how to do that so I had to ask someone for help, once I found out it was easy to do for all of my magazine pieces. Overall I liked this program as I had used it before so made it easier for me to use.