In the production of my magazine the technology that I decided to use were macs, macbook, laptop, iPhone and different editing websites such as pixlr and fotor.
Macs/Macbook - When editing my magazine I mostly used the macs to do so. These were located at school and I could gain access whenever I needed to. As I have a macbook at home I was very familiar with the software and how to work the mac which was an advantage as I could quickly figure what to do and get on with the production. I prefer using apple products like macs and MacBooks as they are fast an there are lots of different softwares already on the computer that I used to edit such as preview that helped me quickly crop out my image from the background it was taken in. However at school your work can only be stored onto one mac as the data storage can not be connected to all the macs. This became a disadvantage as if someone else is using that mac at school then you can't do any work for that lesson. Also if the macs do not automatically have Microsoft (like the school macs) I found it hard to find an alternative software to edit my double page spread on. Lastly another disadvantage is that when transferring your work from laptops to macs you must remember to go to the process of exporting your work into word as if you don't then you can't use that work on a normal laptop as it isn't compatible.
iPhone - When it came to taking practice pictures I used my iPhone to take test shots and to see what kind mise en scene I liked to use. I also used it to record my target audience feedback. It is quick and easy to upload my work to either a laptop or mac from my phone. Also I could take a video and photo and I would always have access to it as it is my phone so I wouldn't have to wait or ask permission to use unlike the macs and school and the canon camera. I was familiar to my iPhone and therefore I knew how to work the technology so I could quickly scan through photos taken and delete unnecessary photos. However when uploading the photos from my iPhone it is only compatible with one device so it is hard to make lots of copies or as my laptop would be at home if I did need to upload it to a computer at school I wouldn't be able to without erasing everything from the device.
Blogger - The curriculum asks students to use blogger to upload their research and production as a way of showcasing their work. Blogger allows you to quickly look through different blogpost and also see when they were published and the labels down the side indicate what the each blogposts are about. However a disadvantage that I found that it was hard to upload photos and videos as sometimes take a long time to do. Also blogger relays on the internet so if it isn't working then you can't post which sometimes happened. Overall I didn't like using blogger as I just found it difficult to use and work and it took a lot of my time to figure out how to function things on the website.
Pixlr Express - When it came to editing my magazine I used pixlr express most of the time. We got recommended to use this website by school as all the editing tools needed where on there and it was very easy to access and figure out how to work it and use them edit or pictures. I thought that pixlr express did have a variety of tools and even though I only used a few, the ones I did use were helpful and everything was there what I needed. However a major problem I did find when using Pixlr Express is that once you had done/edited something with your picture you weren't able to undo it. This was very annoying as say if you added in text that you wanted to change or move around you couldn't so you would have to either keep it there or start all over again. This took up time to redo all the editing, especially if you had nearly finished or you wouldn't get the final result that you wanted. I think that the website should change this, to allow you to undo any fixtures set onto your picture as editing is all about experimenting and it vital that your able to see what works and not and that you are allowed to change it when needed to without starting from scratch.
PicMonkey - This is why for my double page spread I decided to change website from a recommendation from my peer who also had the same problem with pixlr express. I changed to PicMonkey which was another editing website and also very quick and easy to use. With PicMonkey I was able to change the size of the canvas so I made it larger in size to make it look like a double page spread and so that you could see the difference in size. I was also available to all of the same tools that Pixlr Express offered but another advantage was that I was able to undo any wrong editing on my spread so I could keep on experimenting and going back. Overall I think I was more pleased with PicMonkey's website as it was so much easier to control. But the only problem I did experience with it was that sometimes it would freeze for a long time and I was unable to press on anything but then it would eventually return back.
Internet - During this course the internet was a crucially software that was needed. I was able to access google which I also used a lot of when researching different magazines finding their different issues. I also used it when it came to blogger and uploading my work, and the two editing websites as well. If it wasn't for the internet I wouldn't have been able to do most of the researching and the production side to this course. I didn't have any problems with the internet or search engines as I always was able to go on it.
Prezi - I really found using prezi very useful in presenting my work and information. I liked how there was a variety of designs that I could chose from and it was very easy to function. Also you could keep saving your work as you went along without having to save it and it closed down (like PicMonkey and Pixlr Express). However when it came to uploading my work to blogger it wasn't at all easy to understand. I had to google how to do it as it was a complex process. But once you knew how to upload it, it became quick to do
SlideShare - Another way I uploaded my information on my music magazine is by using slideshare. I preferred to use this website as you were able to make a powerpoint separately, then upload it to slideshare and then upload to blogger. It does sound like a long process, however it is quick to do. However, because I used my macbook to do the powerpoint I had to export it into word in order for it to be compatible with slideshare website which can become again confusing if you don't know how to do it but it is very clear after a few times. Besides that there was no other problems with slideshare.
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