Flash

For the last couple of weeks we have been using adobe flash in labs and attempting to get to grips with the technology. It looks like Flash could possibly be even more “finicky” than Dreamweaver. I used Flash during my undergraduate degree and it took a solid week of concentrating only on flash for me to begin to understand how an animation is created. I eventually became familiar with the frames timelines and layers etc and once I did I was able to create quite a detailed animation. Like Dreamweaver though, one wrong move led to the complete disintegration of my animation which made the whole process quite tedious.

For my animation I created a timeline of Michael Jackson’s life. One frame involved the creation of a moving figure doing the “moonwalk” across the screen. During this process I found the following video really helpful in creating fluidity in the character’s movements. 

Essay 2

With all the buzz around the more hands on projects this semester, like the web design and flash assignments, the second essay in EL6052 module has been put on the back burner somewhat. The essay deals with the concept of deep learning, which we have dealt with in lectures. I intend to dedicate next week to it. I’m in such a practical mind set right now so I’m not sure how I will deal with reverting back to the more theoretical side of the course.  

World Cafe

I attended a World Cafe meeting yesterday as part of the Ennis Hub project. I found it to be a good opportunity to find out more details about the project and also to get to know those involved. I was made responsible for filming participants using a flip camera as they discussed the future of Ennis. Everyone was very enthusiastic and willing to promote the project for a better future for Ennis.

I also filmed locals as they gave their opinions at the local shopping centre. It was quite daunting approaching strangers, but most people were very helpful and forthcoming with suggestions and ideas. 

Both events were very well run due to the enthusiasm and willingness of the organisers to give up their own time fr a good cause.

                                                                                                                                   

Career Presentation

We received a really practical talk this week from a guest speaker from SAP. She is a former employee of a recruitment agency and she currently works in SAP as a recruitment advisor. She provided us with helpful tip and guidelines on how to approach an interview for SAP and similar companies.

For me the most advantageous part of the talk was when we were shown what she considered to be an excellent CV. There are so many different CV layouts out there so it was good to see what is expected of us as technical writers when creating an effective CV.

It is quite difficult to present yourself and give the potential employer a sense of how you might add to the company in just one page. She advised us to convey as much information as possible through the CV in a concise and enlightening manner.

The practicality of this talk was great, particularly in an extremely competitive job market and it should hopefully give us the upper hand in job interview.

Interview

I’m actively seeking an interviewee for the TW5212 module at the moment. It has proven to be quite the task so far. My strategy to begin with was to target e-learning, technical writing and graphic design companies through e-mail addresses found online. This did not provide me with much feedback so I decided to go down the old calling route, from which I received a few positive response but nothing concrete. Linkedin proved to be an invaluable tool for me in seeking out an interviewee. I have made contact with several experienced technical writers in the Limerick area, two of whom I am waiting to hear back from about possible interviews. The fact that I can see on each Linkedin profile previous work experience and employers leaves me in no doubt that this interview will be extremely beneficial in gaining “insider information” on my possible future career.

                                                                                                                                  

Dreamweaver – Some Difficulties I experienced

Having just submitted the web design and development project, I think it’s important to note that this project is possibly the most underestimated one I have encountered so far. By underestimated, I mean I think I misjudged first of all, how long it would take to get to grips with Dreamweaver, and also the technical difficulties I experienced along the way.

Dreamweaver

Having used Dreamweaver prior to this project, I knew that there was quite a lot involved in creating an informative and visually appealing website. After opening up the Dreamweaver application I realised I was again completely in at the deep end and would have to basically “relearn” all the different processes involved in creating a website. This threw me a little bit as I hadn’t planned to spend two days just playing around with it and getting to grips with it once again.

Technical Issues

Once I had finally familiarised myself with Dreamweaver (again!), I didn’t really take into account the fact that I might experience some technical difficulties along the way.  I created my template page, created my html files and my final task was to link them up. At this stage I thought I was nearing the end, but of course an issue arose with my spry menu when I attempted to link each page. I eventually worked it out and managed to submit the project on time.

From my experience I found that Dreamweaver was quite tempermental and at times restrictive in the creation of the website layout, particularly when using templates.

Guest Presentations

The guest lectures that have been given so far this semester have been beneficial in terms of the practicalities of job seeking. We received a talk from a member of staff from the Information Development department of SAP, which was informative and helpful in coming to terms with what jobs we as a class may have in the future. The presentation made us aware of the intricacies involved in a career in information development and technical writing. I felt as though the presentation invaluable as we were lucky enough to see how what we are learning every day is actually put into practice. Information gained during the presentation will also be helpful in an interview situation as we were made aware of exactly what the job description is and what it entails.

Similarly, guest lecturer Marie Flannery’s presentation was extremely beneficial in that it highlighted the importance of being passionate about and enjoying your chosen career path.