Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In order to successfully create my magazine, I had to learn how to use various new computer programmes such as PhotoShop, CorelDraw and Prezi. These all contributed towards my creation of my front cover, double page spread and contents page.

For my photoshoot, I used a digital camera with a standard lens to ensure that I got professional results. Because I took my photos during the evening, I had to use 2 lamps to correctly light the camera shot. After taking the photos, I uploaded my favourite ones to Adobe PhotoShop to adjust colours and lighting. Ideally, I would of liked a different background for my photos- maybe just plain white?- and less shadows. Unfortunately this was not possible due to the facilities that were available to me, so I edited the photos to the best of my ability to make them look as professional as possible. I have experience with PhotoShop due to Art GCSE, so I was pretty comfortable with using it to enhance my photography.

            I used CorelDraw to create my preliminary task and main tasks. This was my first time using the programme, and I found it very difficult at first, but after learning the basics, my understanding of the programme became clearer, and it was therefore easier to create a product that I was happier with. However, I would of liked to of learnt more about what CorelDraw can do, as I feel that if I did have fuller knowledge of how to use it, then my final product would have been of a much higher standard.

            This project also introduced Blogger to me, which I have used to present all my work on. Although it was my first time using it, I felt that I grasped the concept of how to use Blogger fairly quickly, therefore ensuring I was able to successfully document my work clearly and efficiently. I really liked working on Blogger, as it was easy to upload photos and write about them. I also learnt how to create labels for each of my posts. These tell you what each post is about so it is easier to find what you are looking for. I would probably use Blogger again as it wasn’t difficult to understand, and it was very simple to use.

            During the creation of my magazine, I also tried using Prezi. Honestly, I didn’t really like using this website as I had no clue how to work it and there wasn’t clear instructions. I managed to make one prezi and post it up to my blog, but I decided not to use it again as it took up way too much time by just trying to figure out how to work it. I decided I liked the simple way of just typing up my work and posting it onto Blogger, it was much more efficient and I wasn’t wasting time trying learn how to use various programmes.