The document discusses the various technologies used to create and present the coursework for a media studies course. These included Prezi, Flipsnack, and SlideShare for presentations; Photoshop for editing photos; Dafont for fonts; Blogger for the course blog; Survey Monkey for a questionnaire; and a DSLR with photo studio for photos. The key things learned were how to use these technologies effectively, though some like Word and PowerPoint were already familiar. Advantages included free access and presentation options, while disadvantages included reliance on internet connectivity and limited access to equipment like the photo studio.
How technologies shaped my media evaluation project
1. Evaluation
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF
CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?
2. Prezi – Presentation Software
I used Prezi for presenting and embedding the different parts of research and
evaluation that has been completed throughout this course to present it in a fun and
interesting way which is completely different to how Microsoft PowerPoint presents
presentations.
The things that I learnt about this technology are all the unique and interesting ways
things can be presented and they don’t all have to be the same. I further learnt that
how to use this new piece of software and how to use things like inserting new frames,
images and text as well as also learning how to embed it into my blog, so it was easily
accessible.
The advantage of Prezi is that it is free and easily accessible on any network, in addition
to this it gives you a variety of different ways of presenting making presentations look
dynamic and unique. The disadvantage of this software is that you have to be
connected to the internet to use it meaning you have to rely on the college network
being up and running as well as not lagging.
3. Flipsnack
The things that I used flipsnack for was to present my word documents, such as
the questionnaire analysis, and current music magazine analysis in a way that they
would be easy to read and also easy to put on my blog.
This was a new software for me to use so I learnt how to use it from scratch. This
included how to upload and merge two files together to make one flipsnack and
then embed it on the blog.
The advantages of the software is that it is free too use and because it is accessed
through the internet it means you can access it anywhere as long as internet
connection is available. However some options do cost and everything you create
is public, furthermore you have to rely on internet connection to use it which
further means having to rely on the colleges network.
4. SlideShare
SlideShare like the previous two technologies is also a presentation software
which I used to present PowerPoints that were created in Microsoft PowerPoint,
this made the presentation easier to present and also upload to the blog further
making it easier to read.
The things I learnt was how to transfer a PowerPoint into this software and like the
others how to embed it in the blog so it was visible to viewers
The advantages of this are that it is free to use and you can access it anywhere as
long as you have internet connection. However the disadvantages are that you
have to rely on the college network to be up and running if not you cant access it.
5. Photoshop
I used Photoshop to create the main products, contact sheets, this included me using it to edit
photos which during that process I learnt how to add strokes, using the blending options as well
as this I learnt how to remove the background using magic lasso tool and the eraser to get rid of
the finer pigments of backgrounds left.
The other things that I learnt about this new technology was how to use all the other different
elements in Photoshop this included things like the crop tool, quick select, how to insert text and
change it to suit the style of my finished products. To further create the look I wanted to attract
my intended audience therefore I learnt how to use image filters which meant changing the RGB
sliders to get the exact hue that I wanted. The other thing that I learnt to do in Photoshop was
create contact sheets and merge images together to make them look like one image.
The advantages of this programme is that it allows you to create high quality products using a lot
of different techniques, however the disadvantages are that you cant use it for free and you have
to rely on the colleges network and their version to be up to date and not crash with the amount
of usage.
6. Dafont
I used dafont to find some interesting font styles that represent musical theatre, this
website allowed me to browse through hundreds of different styles and view examples
of them before allowing me to download them and use them for my products. Overall
this website helped me get a different unique look to the final products.
The things I learnt through using this technology is that there are many other different
styles of font out there not just the ones that have already been installed in the
programmes that I was using (Photoshop)
The advantages of this is that you can access and download the fonts for free allowing
you to experiment with different styles of fonts, also the website is very easy to
navigate around and download your chosen fonts. The disadvantage however, is that
you need to have internet connectivity to access the site which means relying on the
colleges network to be running smoothly.
7. Blogger
Blogger was one of the main technologies that I used, this was used to present all
the coursework that was completed during the process of the media studies
course.
From this software I mainly learnt how to embed things from other websites like
slidshare and flipsnack that I have previously presented my work in so they were
also on my blog.
The advantage of this technology is that it allowed all of my work to be kept in
one place and in some organised fashion, however since it was reliant on internet
connectivity it meant it could have been unreliable especially with the colleges
network or having several people use it at once.
8. Survey Monkey
Survey monkey was used to create and upload a questionnaire for my target
audience to complete, it also allowed me to analyse results once completed.
From this piece of technology I didn’t particularly learn anything new as I had used
it before.
The advantage of this is that it allows you to create a quick and effective
questionnaire for people to answer that they would easily understand and also
allows you to evaluate the results efficiently and it creates the charts itself.
However, it also to relies on internet connectivity and other people also having the
internet to be able to complete the questionnaire therefore making it unreliable.
9. DSLR and photo studio
I used DSLR to take high quality photos of my models for the magazine, which
made them more eye catching and appealing to the target audience. I also was
able to use the photo studio to create some different shots using the DSLR as this
enabled me to use a green screen as well as lights to make my photos clearer and
look more professional.
Nothing about the DSLR was new to me because I had previously used one,
however I learnt how to use all the different photo studio equipment like the
lights, and found out what brightness was best.
The advantage of using both the DSLR and photo studio was that it allowed me to
create high quality photos for my magazine, however the disadvantage was
finding a time slot to access the photo studio as with several other people wanting
to use it, it was hard to find a free slot.
10. Word and PowerPoint
I used Microsoft Word and PowerPoint to create the original documents that were
then uploaded straight to the blog or onto slideshare or flipsnack.
I didn't learn anything new using these technologies because I had, had pervious
experience in using them.
The advantages of these were that it allowed you to get spelling, grammar and
formatting right before it was uploaded on the block, the disadvantage however is
that you can`t access it anywhere to edit it or change it. If you needed to do this
you would have to re-upload it which doesn’t save time.