AS level Creative Critical Reflection 4.

Question: "How did you integrate technologies, software, hardware and online in this project?"

In order to illustrate my process of the different types of technologies i used in my project and support the answer to this question of the Creative Critical Reflection I have created a mind map (see below).

For the idea of the creation of a magazine with the topic of local sustainability efforts and eco-friendly practices I have relied on a large amount of digital and physical resources, both for my research and execution. I have looked for examples on magazine and newspaper structures on the internet, as well as previous physical copies of National Geographic magazines we had at home.

I have started my research by educating myself on environmental issues from browsing the internet for articles and webpages, and watching documentaries online (mainly on Netflix and Youtube) or on the TV (mainly on the National Geographic channel or Animal Planet). For a more detailed approach, I have relied on speaking to local experts from two NGO’s who provided me with information that I have later used in the first draft and final version of the magazine.

For the execution, I have divided my sources to software and hardware. For hardware, I have relied on traditional media such as pen and paper/sketchbooks for initial planning and sketching out drafts for the articles to help me plan the structure. As for digital equipment, I have used my phone to record the interviews I have done with the local NGO’s by using the Voice Memos application on my iPhone. I have also used my phone to take pictures that I have included in the magazine. To produce the magazine and for editing I have used my desktop computer and Wacom tablet.

I used a number of software to finalize my magazine, but I have mostly relied on the Adobe and Microsoft Office packages. From Adobe, I have used Illustrator to create small artwork and vector based images to add in the magazine as well as for the creation of the mindmap attached to this document. I have also used Photoshop to digitalize my hand drawn sketches for the cover, however I have also experimented with Clip Studio Paint to see the difference between softwares (Clip Studio Paint is more affordable, thus accessible). From Microsoft Office I have used Word and PowerPoint to create the cover and presentations (for the Critical Reflection), as well as to store written data. Then, I have relied on Publisher to put together the magazine and create a format that is similar to environmental newspapers.

Overall, for this project I have relied on traditional and digital technologies and combined my sources to create the best possible version of Go Green magazine. I have done research as well as practical work and I have learned a lot of industry standard software in the process that I have added to my skillset.

I also made a video about this topic: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ExCUKOlzQHkU_Mmlt_ql2SAgfEYJDyl2/view?usp=sharing