The document discusses the various digital technologies the author used to create their product, conduct research, and for evaluation. These included Blogger to create an online diary of the process; Photoshop to create images; InDesign to assemble the final product; Adobe Bridge to organize photos; Final Cut Express to create videos; Apple Macs for research, planning and evaluation; cameras to take photos; internet research; SlideShare to share PowerPoint presentations; Prezi to creatively showcase information; GoAnimate and Scrapblog as alternative ways to present information besides text; Poll Junkie to conduct audience research; and Pixton to create a comic strip showing the process. The author learned how to use the features of these

1. Using Digital Technologies

2. Blogger I used blogger as an online diary to record to process of making my product. It started out with my research and planning giving me an easy way to displaying my research. In it I could put pictures, videos, sounds etc. From using Blogger I learned that recording everything from beginning to end is incredibly useful. That way I could go back and refer to everything I’d researched and learned early on in the process of making my product. It allowed me to explain my research and the process in full through loads of online software. I could write supporting notes to the applications I’d used and explain the reasoning behind. It gave me the chance to be more detailed and explanatory.

3. Photoshop I used Photoshop a lot. I used it to create collective images such as collages and posters during my research. Using it in this way, I learned how to change the sizing of the document and what setting’s were best. I learned how the main features worked such as downloading, installing and using brushes, becoming familiar with the tools such as crop, selection, magic wand etc to manipulate the shape of images. I learned how to construct things around the layers and how to change colours and add effects to it. When it came to making my product I learned a lot about the layout of the page and how everything snaps together. I learned how the layers worked around photos such as making certain parts of a photo overlap other things by separating them from the main image. I learned how to physically manipulate the photo, making the shadows and lighting change to make the photo look more professional on my product

4. InDesign I used InDesign mainly to assemble my final product. I added 5 pages into the document and changed it to fit with the desire layout of my product. I learned how to add photos to it and how to export the final layout into a JPEG format. I learned how to add text into the document and change it’s effects. I learned how to add any final touches to it and how to ensure that it all was correctly aligned and looked professional.

5. Adobe Bridge I used Adobe Bridge to clearly show and display my collection of photographs. I learned how to import my photos into Adobe Bridge and how to display them as a large collection and show them all clearly, saving scrolling and previews of each separate photo. I learned also how to filter the photos, from Adobe Bridge, I could open and delete photos to show them in their full potential.

6. Final Cut Express I used Final Cut Express to create artistic videos to represent the variations of my target audience. I learned how to cut and divide pre-existing footage and change it’s order to run chronologically according to questions asked or the topic of conversation. I learned how to add sound to my footage and add a narrative voice over. Changing the duration of shots, adding/changing text and the effects used on footage was also effects and settings that I used.

7. Apple Macs I used the Apple Macs a lot during the creation of my product, my research and planning and also my evaluation. It was very different from a normal PC and getting to work the changes in the options etc. was difficult to get my head around at first. The Macs had a lot of extra options like the graphic and sound quality against normal PCs available. The Macs were easy to use after a while and I learned mainly how to use them to my advantage to assemble my entire foundation portfolio. I used the iMovie and iPhoto to import movies and photos from outside sources onto the Mac hard drive and into my blog. I also used Photo booth for the webcam to record my focus group, take photos for my model release forms and for my editors note in my actual product. It gave me the chance to use Final Cut Express to make videos creatively with more options than a normal movie maker such as Windows.

8. Cameras I used the cameras a lot during the main assembly of my product. The photos were a huge part of my product and so using the cameras was essential. I hadn’t used a professional camera like these before so getting to know the different techniques and settings was something I had to familiarize myself with. I learned how to use the gridlines and apply the rule of thirds to my photos. I learned how to change the brightness, shutter speed and ISO on the cameras to create better quality photos. I also learned how the lighting in the studio worked alongside the camera and how they produced natural effect lighting to my photos.

9. Internet Research I used internet research a lot. I learned that knowing how to use the internet correctly and effectively is a great benefit to producing something of accurate and professional appearance. The internet was often misleading, information presented online wasn’t always correct and so correctly finding information was a task. Using search engines like Google and recommended sites helped me fish out the right information and use it to my advantage. The benefit of the internet research facilities, enables a more time efficient method and there is a lot of choice when it comes down to finding different kinds of information.

10. SlideShare I used SlideShare to put PowerPoint documents I’d created online. This was beneficial because I could create detailed slides and show pictures also without adding them into one essay based text entry onto my blog. It also gave me the chance to work on my PowerPoint without having internet connection all the way through producing the slideshow. SlideShare also made it possible for more than specific people view my PowerPoint, it could be embedded into my blog and shared with all the people who viewed my blog.

11. Prezi I used Prezi to add a creative flare to my research. It allowed me to showcase the various techniques that had been put into products, professionally and on my own product. I could add a timeline/path to my information to show it to a viewer easily and in the right order. The program was hard to use in the beginning but it became easier the more I used it. It was useful in showcasing my products and explaining in detail about the different areas in detail rather than showcasing them in one big text paragraph.

12. GoAnimate I used GoAnimate a lot in my evaluation. It was a more creative way of presenting information and to keep viewers interested. I could make different characters say what I wanted. Using this program was interesting, it took a while to get to grips with the different elements of it but otherwise it worked smoothly and the final outcome was creative and fun. It was an alternative to using huge text documents crammed with information that would just get boring to read.

13. Scrapblog I used Scrapblog to easily present my ideas in a photo form. Like GoAnimate, it was used as a fun, easy on the eyes, alternative to huge text crammed detailed posts on my blog. It was easy to load and I learned how to assemble the photos I wanted into an ordered, chronological categorized layout.

14. Poll Junkie I used Poll Junkie to access my audience research. I set up a range of questions, posted the link to my target audience and asked them to answer the various questions effectively in relation to my product, my research and my evaluation. I learned how to change the format of a persons answer and change the content of the options. I learned how to export it as a picture and post my results as a JPEG into my blog.

15. Pixton I used Pixton to create a fun comic strip to show, in chronological order, the circumstance, situation and process of things such as production factors, distribution and editing. I learned how to alter the characters used, the background and the setting from this program but I also learned the content of what went into it. I became much more familiar with the status and process of different situations because of the detail I included into my comic strip.

16. Evaluation Question 6: Using Digital Technologies Over the duration of the course I have come to use a number of different technologies. If they’re online software or computer software I’ve come to learn the different creative aspects of making my final product, research and planning and evaluation more appealing to a viewer. I have learned about the different effects and settings that are used that are more than just simple and basic tools. I also learned in detail the work that goes into things such as the composition of photography, the process of production and distribution and the assembly of a video in Final Cut Express. I have learned how to give my blog more dimension and also learned the ins and outs of the blog itself, learning more about the different settings- changing the layout of it, adding videos and photos and adding in software from online places such as Prezi, Pixton and GoAnimate.