During the coursework, the student used various new technologies for research, planning, construction, and evaluation. For research, they used the internet and PowerPoint to find and present information. Planning involved using SlideShare, a still camera, and WordPress blog. Construction made use of iMovie and Paint Shop Pro software to create a music video, CD cover, and magazine advertisement. Evaluation saw the student uploading their video to YouTube and Viddler, then presenting results in PowerPoint and Excel. The hardest technology to learn was iMovie due to changed interface, while Paint Shop Pro remained easiest thanks to experience.

1. Evaluation How did you use new technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

2. New Technologies During this A2 Coursework I have used a number of new and different technologies for each section of my work. Below is a list of all the technologies used throughout. Research Internet PowerPoint PC Planning SlideShare Still Camera (Photo Function) Wordpress (Blog) Construction Mac iMovie 08 Still Camera (Video Function) Paint Shop Pro 9 Evaluation YouTube Viddler PowerPoint Excel

3. New Technologies - Research During my research the technology I used was a PC and the Internet. They were used to actually access information to research. To present my research information I used PowerPoint. I already had lots of experience with all 3 technologies so I didn’t actually learn anything new during my research part of the production.

4. New technologies - planning During my planning section of the coursework I used a Still Camera (Photo Function) to take photos for the storyboard. I also used SlideShare to upload and host all the planning to and I used Wordpress to present my information in an organised format. I already had experience with the Still Camera because I have one of my own and I had used one before this A2 Coursework. This was the first time I had used SlideShare so it took a little getting used to but by the time I was into my planning I knew how to use the basics of it. Again with Wordpress I had already used it before but this year I learnt how to put each post into a different category so it was much simpler to find each post.

5. New technologies - construction Music Video During the creation of my Music Video I used an iMac which had the program iMovie 08. I already had experience with the iMovie as I had used it for my Coursework the year before. Although last year I used iMovie HD and the switch to iMovie 08 took a little getting used to as most of the controls such as effects and transitions were located in different places and were inserted into the video differently. Once I had a play around with the controls I then knew how to work it and now prefer iMovie 08.

6. New technologies – construction continued To actually film to the Music Video I used a Still Camera (Video Function). I had previous experience with Still Cameras and it was easy to use. The only problem was that like the other cameras I am used to it had no zoom feature so I had to make my own way of zooming in which I managed in the end. CD Cover and Magazine Advertisement To create both these products I used Paint Shop Pro 9. I had previous experience using the program as I have been using it for about 6 years now so creating them was extremely easy and quick because of my previous knowledge of the program.

7. New Technologies - evaluation I uploaded my finished Music Video to YouTube and Viddler so then I could evaluate it. I had previous knowledge of YouTube although I had never uploaded a video but it was easy to do following the instructions provided by YouTube. Viddler I had never used before but it was easy to use although it took a while to upload the video. To actually present my evaluation I used PowerPoint and Excel. I had lots of experience using those 2 programs so it was easy to do although I had never used Office 2007 before so some of the controls were hard to find at first but once I knew where they were located it was easy to use.

8. New Technologies - conclusion The technology which was hardest to use would probably have to be iMovie 08 on the Mac because some of the editing tools were harder to use than the rest of the programs I used throughout the coursework. The technology which was easiest to use would probably have to be Paint Shop Pro 9 because of my previous 6 years experience and knowing where all the functions are and how to use them properly. Overall I think I have learnt a lot from using these new technologies and I hope to continue using them in the future.