the information on this page will help you to develop your project
Your project information
What is your project about? Who is it for? What are the needs or issues of your project you need to consider? What digital technologies will you use during your project?
Visualise your project ideas
What are your project ideas? Draw your ideas & critique them with others. How can you make your ideas better? Develop your ideas using the iterative design process. Visualise your ideas, create your own original content with drawings, images, models, videos, audio, code etc.
Present your ideas to others
Create a Pecha Kucha of your ideas using your original content. Present your Pecha Kucha to others, get their constructive feedback. Use this feedback to improve your ideas.
Pecha Kucha ~ the art of concise presentations. The Japanese translation of Pecha Kucha is "chit chat". Pecha Kucha's are a visual presentation only using 20 images on screen for 20 seconds per image. You describe your ideas by discussing your images. Pecha Kucha presentations are approx 7 minutes long. There are worldwide public Pecha Kucha functions where people present whatever there specialist in or something they have created. Watch presentation videos on PechaKucha.org or PechaKucha.co.nz
As part of your project you need to use file management to organise your project content, learn to use software, create original content & use time management.
File Management
Use good file management techniques to name & organise the digital content you create during your project. Its easier & quicker to find your files if their organised properly. In your Google Drive DTEC folder create 5 sub-folders called: Documents, Photos, Images, Video, Other. - Save your Google documents in the Documents folder. - Save photos you take of your drawings & models in the Photos folder. - Save images you create with Photoshop & download from the Internet in the Images folder. - Save screen recordings & 3D animation videos in the Video folder. - Save other files like audio or Minecraft files etc in the Other folder.
Name every digital file you create with a correct description. For example: If you download an image of an apple, name your file apple, not what its random download name is. Save this file in your Images folder.
Save all your digital content in the correct folders. This means you will be able to find your content faster & you wont loose any files over the course of the project. It also makes it easier to backup your work.
Save your work on more than 1 device. Dont just rely on having your work on 1 USB stick. For example: save your work on; your AC 'My Documents' drive, your AC Google Drive, your personal Google Drive account, a portable hard drive, multiple USB sticks, your phone, your laptop or tablet or home PC.
On the school computers, all downloaded images from the Internet saves in your "downloads folder". You need to cut this file from your downloads folder & paste it into the correct folder in your folder system. Rename the file to describe what the image is.
Learning how to use software
To create your original content you need to draw & use various digital software's to visualise your ideas. Learning how to use software is like learning a new language. You need to have the the patience to start slow and take time to understand what the software does. - Keep it simple, learn the software basics by trial & error. - Watch Youtubevideo tutorials to learn how to use software. - Use headphones to focus listen to what the youtube tutorial instructions are. - Practice using the software by copying what the tutorials describe.
Dont get frustrated if your having trouble learning the software. - Make notes to remind you how use software features. - Grow your confidence by practicing the same thing over & over until you get the hang of it. - Use the software's hotkeys as much as possible, this will make you way more productive when using software. For example: look at this page for the Photoshop hotkeys digital.school.nz/photoshop
Original Content
Original content are the drawings of your ideas & the digital media images, models, videos, audio, code etc you create with software.
NZQA authenticity guidelines determine what 'original content' is. Create your own content (images, text, video, audio etc) to visualise your ideas. - Reference all copyright content from the Internet that you use in your Pecha Kucha. - Use the APA referencing system to reference Internet content. - Use Creative Commons images where possible. - Do not commit plagiarism.
Project Management
Use to project management techniques + tools to manage your time during the project. - Pre-determine what you need to do to achieve your project, set time schedule goals. - Use a Google Doc to keep regular diary notes of the progress of your project. - Include goals, accomplishments and your next learning steps. - Track your progress over time, self reflect on your learning at critical review points. - Discuss your learning with others. Constructive feed back & feed forward from others is important. - Be productive by sticking to a pre-determined project time plan.