1. Unit 1 – Improving Productivity Instructions ~ 100 words per box

2. 1.1Why did you use a computer? What other systems / resources could you have used? I used a computer because its faster and its easy to use. I think its easier to use because I work better on a computer then making a poster or doing it on a whiteboard. If I created a paper based hand drawn poster, this could be easily ripped or rubbed off if it was done in pencil and I would have to re do it where as if I did the presentation on the computer I could easily edit my presentation and to avoid loosing it I could make a back up copy. I could also have done a verbal presentation but the problem with this is that people may easily get bored or I may miss out some important information. Creating my presentation using a computer means that I can add interactive features like; videos, sounds and animation to make it more engaging for my audience.

3. 1.2What skills did you need to learn in order to use PowerPoint? In order to use PowerPoint I needed good ict skills. I also needed to know to use good spelling techniques. I also had to use skills such as how to print screen, how to add a text box, how to animate things, how to use the tool bar. I also had to use my creativity skills to make sure the power point looked appealing and professional. I made sure that the layouts of each of my slides were constant in the way they looked. I also had to develop my organisation skills I made sure that all my files were saved using appropriate file names and by creating a suitable file structure. This meant that I was able too find my work quickly.

4. 1.2What resources did you need to make the presentation successful? When I made my made my presentation successful I used many resources such as; a computer, the internet, I added videos and pictures. I used a computer because it is easier and I can add pictures and videos off the shared area on my computer. I used the internet so I could go on the school website and use the information and pictures off there. I added videos and pictures so it looks nicely presented and to make it more interesting to look at. I also added sound into my presentation to make it sound good and make it more interactive.

5. 1.4What factors might have affected how well you completed the presentation? (e.g. time / attendance / knowledge of software) The factors that have affected how well I completed the presentation are my knowledge of software. The things that let me down during the presentation are my attendance and my time keeping. Even though I have been using PowerPoint since a young age I knew how to use the basic features but not the advanced features such as slide master, custom animation and slide show timing. As I took a number of days of school I had to make sure that I completed my work in my own time, this often meant that I had too attend catch up sessions after college time.

6. 1.6Why did you use PowerPoint to make your presentation? What other software was available? Why did you choose not to use them? I used PowerPoint to make my presentation because It was the quickest and fastest way of doing it. There was other software's I could of used such as ; Word, publisher, excel and access. I choose not to use any of the other software's because I don’t know how to use some of them and the other ones such as word take longer to use and it wouldn’t of made it look nice, so I just used PowerPoint to make my presentation. I could have used an online software called Prezi or another software called matchware mediator however I did not use these because the college never had the software downloaded and it would have cost the college money and I would have had to use the software from scratch.

7. 2.2Which tools within PowerPoint made it appropriate for your presentation? The tools I have used while making my presentation are adding images and videos, I also used different fonts and different sizes and colours and bold text and underlined text and different designs. The tools I could have used are things like; shape fill, shape outline,shape effects, and shapes. When I used bold in my presentation it made things stand out. I had things in different colours and fonts so it didn’t make it look boring. I also used different sizes of fonts because it made it look better with big writing at the top and littler letters towards the end.

8. 1.7Were there any legal constraints or local constraints that changed the way you created your presentation? (e.g. copyright, file sizes, AUP) When I completed my power point I had to make sure that I did not break any copyright rules. Copyright law prevents people from using some one else work without there consent. When I created my presentation I used videos, images, sounds, animations and text. Where these were taken from the internet I made sure that I referenced the source of each element. The college has an agreeable use policy witch must be followed, when I was completing my course work I made sure that I did not break any of the ict rules stated in policy. Some images and video files were large in file size, if I had saved these in to my home drive I would have used all of my storage space, too avoid this I made sure that I optimised my images and compressed any videos.

9. 2.4What improvements do you think you could do to your presentation? If I wanted to improve my presentation I could have added more text, videos and sound. I would have added more sound and videos so my audience would be attracted to my power point. I believe my PowerPoint presentation had too many slides, I think six slides would have been better because the audience could get bored with too many slides. I would like to change a few things within the PowerPoint if I could do it again, I would add things like information about the schools trips away.

10. 3.2What improvements do you think you could have done to improve your work rate? (keyboard shortcuts, file names & locations, backups, work after school, templates, planning) The improvements I could have done to improve my work rate are to come and work after school in the catch up sessions, or even work while I’m in my lessons instead of getting distracted. I could also put my files in the appropriate locations with appropriate names and back up my work frequently. I could also plan my work out better #, instead of just doing it as I go along, I need to plan because I have started to get confused.