Interactive Brochure Project Reflection

     Last time we left off we made a brochure in InDesign. In this project we used the same brochure to create an interactive brochure using InDesign. An interactive brochure is different from a regular brochure since it has animations and includes things the user can interact with such as hyperlinks. The way we added these interactive feature was to go to Window/Interactive and explore the many interactive features, but we primarily worked with Animation and Hyperlink under the Interative submenu. My brochure included shapes that were the background to white text and my brochure had a primarily white background besides those shapes. So I wanted to add an animation which would initially hide the shade and then reveal it, revealing the text hidden in the white background in the process. Exploring through the animations I found that Fade In, Fly from Top/Bottom/Left/Right, and Appear had the effect I was looking for. The shapes were bullet like so I chose Fly from and the direction chosen was in accordance to the direction the bullet was facing. My brochure included pictures which I envisioned would slowly appear after all the text would appear. The animation I chose for this effect was Appear, very fittingly. I changed the duration to be longer since it would slow down the time it took for the pictures to appear. Last but not least was the front page. The title was meant to have a dramatic effect I increased how dramatic it was through animation. My title consisted of three lines and I used Fly in from top to load the title. However, I changed the duration so it would be more faster, almost like if it slamed down. I didn't want my name to have this effect so I chose Fade In, since it would load subtly. Now were the hyperlinks which were very easy. I included a sources section which had links. I made those links clickable by highlighting them, right clicking, and choosing hyperlink from URL. To end it off I added a page transition (flip) and that was that.

My Fourth WBL Workshop

     Our Fourth WBL Workshop was about writing resumes and getting hired for jobs and internships. A resume is how a candidate advertises themselves to potential employers and can get candidates an interview with their potential employers. Employers use resumes to prescreen candidates, looking for the required skills and abilities needed for the job. Resumes compete with each other so it must include lot of valuable information in order to come out on top. Skills, accomplishments, abilities, past work/school activities, and educations are valuable pieces of information that can help a candidate compete with others. Besides having a name, address, and phone number a resume must be error free, have a clean/professional format, and have brief/well organized content. The content itself must list include information, such as skills and abilities, that make a candidate look good for a specific position. If someone is applying to be a teacher they must list their degrees in teacher, experience teaching, etc. and not other information like experience working at a deli. Overall, a resume is a personal brand  that advertises one's self to employers.

Power Skills Synopsis

     So, in conclusion Power Skills are very important in getting and keeping a job. This course prepares me for a job by teaching me all the non-technical skills I need to prove myself worthy in the workspace. Having a network with the right people help you gain information about finding a job. It can also connect you to people who are important in getting you a certain position in a job. Showing positivity and enthusiasm will be key for me in gaining and keeping job. It can also help me advance and get promotions. Another key thing to keeping and being good at a job is communication. Communicating well means that you'll be able to receive and convey information well. This is important in helping work flow well and eliminating possibility of misunderstandings which can hinder work. It is also important in Team Work. By using good communication skills in team work I can help get more work done in an efficient manner. It is important to work in teams since it helps make big daunting tasks easier to deal with. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving is another thing that helps work flow smoothly. Many times during work a problem will arise which may seem like it is stopping all progress of your work but if I'm able to analyze the problem objectively and then find a solution based on my analysis it can help my work progress and it will make me more productive. Productivity shows Professionalism. In addition to being productive being on time and conducting myself in a responsible and accountable manner with integrity and excellence also helps me show I'm professional. Being professional helps me be a more valuable employee and boosts my job security. Power Skills will help me be a better worker, make you successful in life, and will help pay the bills.

Power Skills Interview Skills

     Choice C in the interview was a fail safe which failed at being a fail safe. Perhaps on a multiple choice test choice C may be the one to go for questions you're stuck on (research proves otherwise) but in an interview it is one of the worst fail safes. There are no choices, just responses that must be made, so choice C doesn't work (it doesn't exist in an interview). The interview that choice C person gave was pretty sub par compared to the following interview. Choice C person struggled to answer a lot of the questions and reverted to choice C while the following interviewee answered many of the questions properly and when she didn't something she asked proper questions and gave proper responses. Choice C person didn't look like she was enthusiastic about the job while the following interviewee showed a lot of passion about the position. Additionally, the following interviewee seemed like she knew what sh was talking about through her answers. In this case the applicant I would like to be is the following interviewee. She has the skills needed for the positions and is more confident, all important things needed for not only getting a job but keeping it. Additionally she was passionate and showing you're passion for a position is more likely to get you that position.

Power Skills Networking

     Currently I am networking with my friends and teachers mainly to gain information about school related subjects. Besides verbally networking with them (in person) I also use Jupiter Ed, texting, Skype, and Discord to stay in touch with the people I network with (the latter 3 being used exclusively for my friends) since these platforms are heavily used by the people I network so it is convenient. I know that I am networking with the right people since the information I always receive from them is valuable to my school work. My teachers always keep me informed about certain assignments or plans and my teacher for VD always keeps the class informed about opportunities like internships or community service which help us complete some requirements for the class. Additionally networking with my teachers keep me in touch with them so if I need a recommendation for an internship I can go to them. My friends always remind me and keep me informed about schoolwork and the opportunities for our VD course. Also if they learn something outside of school which may be beneficial to me they let me know and I do the same for them. All in all, these networks do more good for me than harm so I know that these are the right people I'm networking with.

Power Skills Communication

     Communication skills are important skills to have regardless of if you're working a job or not. Communication is the basis of being able to have conversations with others and the circulation of ideas. It is important that one can communicate well (written or verbally) in order to have productive conversations and get their ideas out. In real life (outside of jobs) we communicate verbally with others for small things like asking for an item, conversing with friends, etc. If one couldn't have such verbal conversations life would be difficult since something as little as asking someone what the weather is like would be a hassle. If good communication is not established in the workplace the work experience will also be difficult. In an environment such as the New York Stock Exchange communication is crucial since every second is the difference between a gain or loss. In that workplace people are constantly communicating, filling orders for their clients. If verbal miscommunication occurs it could mean a great loss or an epic missed opportunity for a client. It is easy to see why communication is important in the NYSE and the same applies to other workplaces. Good communication helps work flow smoothly and efficiently and reduces the chance for confusion and delay to occur. It is this reason why it is important to be able to communicate well.

Power Skills Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

     Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are very valuable assets of an employee. They can also be very valuable to a web designer. A web designer will constantly face problems with building their website and so must always be able to asses the problem and find a solution. For example, the typography/layout of the website will have to be constantly assessed to make it optimal as well as the actual content of the website. A website must look good and have good content but  a problem that may arise while trying to do so is the load time of the website. At a technical level (coding) trying to make the website look good and have good content may be too much and will cause the load time of the site to suffer, which may be bad for impatient viewers. In this case a good web designer will asses the problem at a technical level and will find a solution. Maybe by changing the organization, cutting content, or moving excess content to other pages a good web designer will find a way through. All in all, being able to asses and solve problems helps you get out of sticky situations. Having these skills will help you make progress when the going gets tough and will make you a more productive worker since you're able to make progress and get more done.

Power Skills Professionalism

     Professionalism is something expected out of employees in the workspace. However, it can also be presented in school. Professionalism involves conducting yourself in a responsible and accountable manner with excellence and integrity. One of the basic ways to show professionalism in the school environment is the be on time to class. It makes your teacher happy and you don't miss out on anything important. Another basic way of showing professionalism is wearing proper clothing. Some schools require that you wear a specific uniform while others just have a dress code to follow. Whatever it is just dress in accordance to your school's policy. 

     Besides the basics you need to be responsible and accountable. If there is an assignment it is your responsibility to get it done on time. If the teacher gives you a task (put up the bulletin board, deliver papers to the office, etc.) you need to be responsible in completing it. If you're a leader of a group you must be accountable, or able to justify your decisions on how you lead and organize the group, and you must communicate well with your teammates so you can get the job done. If you are done with an assignment or task and you know that you have more work to do you can be professional by doing what's next without being told to do so. This shows you're taking initiative as well as showing you're a productive student. More ways to show productivity is concentrating and your current work and not getting distracted in conversations with your friends. Managing your time efficiently also shows you're a productive student. Being professional in school not only makes you a good student but it gets you ready to show some of the same qualities in the work place.

Power Skills Teamwork

     The main skill needed to work with others as a cohesive team for common goal is communication. Communication is crucial to a team because it gets ideas and messages around. It is primarily through communication that you have discussions with your team on how to achieve a goal. You must have good communications skills for many reasons. One is to ensure you do not mislead any of your teammates. If you are not clear with how you communicate there will be misunderstandings in your team which will cause confusion and delay which does not look good. Another reason is to ensure members of your team don't have any difficulties personally. Communicating with your teammates not only lets you get the job done but it helps you learn more about the people you're working with personally. Knowing your teammates personally can ensure that it is more comfortable to work with them. It also ensures you will be able to identify any discomfort or conflict your teammate(s) may have even if they don't express it verbally.
     Organization/coordination is another skill important to teamwork. A team is assigned a task which must be broken down in order for it to be done efficiently. Certain people are better in certain technical skills than others. You must be able to identify these strengths and weaknesses of yourself and others so you can assign tasks accordingly. This ensures that there is little struggle to get a task done and you are more likely to get the task at large done faster this way with your team. Good organization makes it less likely there is misunderstanding in your team so work can flow more smoothly.