Xtranormal.com

www.xtranormal.com is a website designed for making animations. I found this website very easy to use and simple to navigate. There is a video on the homepage where a teddy bear reassures me that if I can type then I will be able to make an animation. There is also a 'How to' video which can be reached by using a 'How to' tab on the homepage. The 'How to' video features an animated Gandhi guiding you through how to make an animation.
            I had to log on through my Google mail account and agree to let then site use my information before I could start my animation. The offers a basic package that is free to use and also offers an educator package that costs $10 per month and a professional package that costs $50 per month.
            I found the process of making an animation very easy to use and there is a lot of choice for characters and settings. Once you make an animation it gets saved and you can then access it again through the 'My stuff' tab on the homepage.

Catchphrase Animation

Mr Potato Head Finds Love

Mind Map about reflective learning

This is a mind map about reflective learning. I drew on past experiences of learning when creating it such as learning I've undertaken in the work place through training and day to day learning on the job I also used academic experiences like school and distance learning courses.

Rugby

In last weeks visual communications lecture I found a website and a blog about rugby and compared the similarities and differences between the two types of publication. The website looked more professional than the blog, they both had facebook and twitter links, the website had hyperlinks to and advertising from betting websites but the blog had no advertising, the blog discussed things other than rugby, where as the website did not provide information about anything else. The website had a lot of photos where as the blog only had a handful.

              If I was going to create a publication about rugby for my own interest it would probably 'Top 10 Fittest Rugby Players from Around the World' I would find images of rugby players from around the world and rate them on their attractiveness. I would create a small biography for each of them state which country they live in, what team the play for, if they are single, their age and any hobbies they have. I would allow members of the public to add things onto the website and comment. 

What is a Blog?

The word blog comes from the term web log and can be described as an informal discussion on the world wide web. Blogs can provide commentary on a particular subject or can act as a personal online diary or journal.

          The word blog reminds me of an episode of House in which a patient is an avid blogger and from her hospital bed, she blogs about her symptoms, her doctors and their prospective diagnoses to her dedicated band of followers and solicits their advice on a course of treatment.

A blog has similarities and differences from a website. A blog tends to be an individual or a small group of peoples opinion on a certain subject, where as a website is usually more factual and not biased. Websites tend to give more information than a blog and a website is more likely to have hyperlinks to other related sites, however a blog can also have hyperlinks. Lot's of blogs are set up by individuals and are not designed to make a profit where as a great deal of websites will have advertising in order to generate money. There are though, some professional bloggers who will make money from their blog through advertising. A website tends to be about one subject and doesn't stray away from it where as personal journal blogs can talk about any topic relevant to the writer. A website tends to have more photo's than a blog as a blog is more text based.

Hello :D

Hello my name is Cat Powell and I am writing this blog as part of my Education Studies degree course for a module called ICT and visual comunication. This blog will follow my experiences in this module and it acts as an assessed piece of work. I am currently in my first year of a three year degree course with the hope of completing a PGCE afterwards.
        I am originally from Cwmbran but I now live in Cardiff with my boyfriend Ben. I also work part time at the Halifax bank in Cardiff city centre.
         My favourite film is Back to the Future, my favourite singer is Stevie Wonder, my favourite animal is a baby otter, my favourite book is 'The long Walk', my favourite food is doughnuts and my favourite colour is purple. I once met Kevin Spacey and he was drunk and my second and third toes on each of my feet are webbed.