I have learned to use many new technologies through this project that I had no prior experience with, including Prezi, Animoto, screen recording, survey monkey, and professional photography equipment. I have also expanded my skills with programs like PowerPoint, Movie Maker, and Blogger by learning how to use them for academic and professional purposes. The process of constructing my final product required me to learn how to effectively use each technology and overcome challenges through trial and error.

2. I was already quite confident in using PowerPoint before I started AS Media
studies. However I have learnt new things while using PowerPoint such as how
to upload them to my blog via slideshare and different ways of presenting a
PowerPoint. PowerPoint presentations wont directly upload to blogger,
therefore you first have to upload them to slide share then copy the embed
code. You also have to ensure your blog post is in HTML view before pasting
the embed code otherwise the PowerPoint does not display. These are all
things I had not known about before this project.
I also learnt how to display my PowerPoint in a way that is easy to be read on
blogger instead of a large screen. Ensuring the font size is important to make
sure it can be read on my blog.

3. Prezi is a software that I had never used before, nor had I ever heard of before
I began AS Media studies. However, I have really enjoyed using prezi and I
find it is a great way of presenting and adding muli-media to my blog. At
first I initially struggled with getting my text/imagery to appear in order. But
with experimentation, I found the “Edit path” button which allows you to edit
the transitional order of your text/imagery. I also learnt how to use the
different ways of presenting a prezi. For example the “Journey” themed
Prezi’s tend to be better for
Showing progress and the
Mind map themes are
Better for displaying and
presenting idea’s. Choosing
the theme adequately is
something I have learnt
during this project.

4. Animoto has to have been my favourite way to present. It was not a program I
had used before, or heard of, but I found it very straight forward and easy to use.
All I really had to do was upload my desired photo’s, place them in order and add
text. One thing I leant about was choosing the most appropriate theme for my
animoto presentation. For example on my Rock music themed presentations, I
used a darker theme with slightly heavier based music. This complimented the
imagery being used. I had to copy the embed code onto my blog when I had
completed which was also something I had not done before and was something I
have learnt while doing this project. Finally, I learnt about using the spotlight
tool which enables you to add longer time on the desired photos/text.

5. Before I started AS media studies, I was already quite confident in using movie
maker. However I have learnt new skills while using the program because, I had
never used movie maker in a professional manner, such as for school/college
work so I gained understanding in how to make a professional movie maker as
apposed to a leisure based one. This required altering the themes, colours and
fonts used to make it suitable for AS levels and my blog. I also have learnt how
to insert a video recording into movie maker. I discovered this after desiring to
create a live interview during my surveys. Adding video’s to movie maker is
something I had never done before and it was interesting to try for both my
blog/AS level and also for my own personal knowledge and experience. My
previous knowledge in movie maker was based around picture/text movies but
now I am able to incorporate video clips too.

6. I was really keen to add as much multi media to my blog as possible, so when
thinking of new idea’s, I thought of producing a screen capturing. I had never
taken a video of my on screen activity before, I had only taken screen shots. So
this was a big step for me. I also added a voice over which I found difficult to
time in with the screen recording. The screen recording was also quite difficult
to do because I had to start again after every mistake which made it quite time
consuming, but I found it worth while. To take a screen recording, I opened the
software and had to select the part of the screen I wanted to record. Then it was
just a case of recording it. Afterwards I created the voice recording and put the
two together using windows movie maker. I have learnt a lot about screen
recordings due to this project, and as it is something I had never done before, I
am happy with the out come.

7. Survey monkey is another program I had never before used. I found survey
monkey relatively easy to use . It took a few attempts to get the hang of the
layouts however I soon got used to it and made a successful survey. I then
copied my surveys link onto my blog and again on to my twitter account.
This allowed my survey to gain a much wider audience. I’m happy with what
I have learnt about survey monkey during the course of this project.

8. For my photo shoot, I was lucky enough to be able to use a professional
photography camera. I had never before used a photography camera so I
had to learn and progress quite quickly. At first I struggled to produce a
good quality image but with practise I managed to produce good results.
While having the opportunity of a photography camera, I learnt all about
changing the aperture , lense and shutter speed which where all things I
did not previously know about, yet made my final images all the more
successful. Learning about changing the shutter speed was particularly
useful because it allowed me to be present in the photo’s which is what I
wanted. It also gave myself and other models to get into position before
the photo was taken. Using the tripod also helped create steadier, clearer
images. There was so much I learnt during this project about using the
Canon EOS and creating better quality imagery.

9. Powtoon was a program I stumbled upon while looking at alternative ways of
presenting my work on blogger. It was not a program I was recommended or
told about by my lecturer, however I decided to try it out and experiment
with it in order to gain knowledge and add multi media to my blog. Powtoon
is a very informal/cartoon style based program, so I had to discover ways to
give it more a professional feel in order to make it more appropriate for my
blog. I also learnt how to add different animations to the text and imagery to
make it more interesting. Powtoon was not a program I had used before so I
am happy with what I have learnt.

10. Before I began AS media studies, I had never before used blogger or had
even so much created a blog before. So it was much a case of trial and
error. I found finding my way around blogger difficult and at the start I
was not sure about how to post things onto my blog and I struggled with
embedding things. But Now I have learnt how to add power points,
animoto’s, movie makers and powtoon presentations too my blog. I’m also
comfortable doing written blog posts and adding imagery. I now find
blogger very easy to use and I’m confident in using it. I have gained a lot of
knowledge in blogs and creating blogs through out this project and I am
happy with what I have achieved.

11. In summary, There is a wide range of things I have learnt about technologies in
the process of constructing my final product. I have used a wide range of
programs that I have never before used, I have expanded my knowledge on
software's I already had previous experiences in and I have gained confidence
and skills in all the technologies I have used. Learning to use Photoshop was my
biggest learning curve however I feel I have been successful with my progress
and have went on to make a good quality product.