Revert to type

The typography unit has been an interesting one. Timed tasks made this unit quite unique, as we were never sure of what to expect. I enjoyed the timed tasks, and managed to work quite well through them. I am glad that Steve gave us a mock task, as I failed this one dramatically. I hadn't managed my time well enough, which is something that I got better at as I progressed. It felt like a real timed assignment, as Steve hadn't told us it was a mock until we had reached the time limit. This was very sneaky of him, although it made everyone prepare better for the real ones.

I did my best with my Don Weller newspaper, as I feel that I have used more typographical skills than in the others. I feel that the work I produced was better each time we had a timed task. To prepare better next time I would learn more typographic skills that I could implement into my work. I would also try to manage my time a bit better, as some of the assignments I only just made the hand in time.

The practice presentation that we did last week went well in my opinion, although I knew straight away what changes I needed to make. My presentation lacked technical terms such as: baseline, counter and apex. I did however manage to do the presentation without too many pauses or errors. I also managed to gain some valuable feedback on my presentation and my leaflet. I feel that this feedback was very important, especially because the deadline was only a week away. I feel that I made sufficient practice runs through my presentation before our practice one, although more practice would have been better. I think that you can never practice enough, and there's always something gained each time you practice. The next time I would definitely add more technical terms into the presentation before the practice one. This would enable me to receive feedback that will be more effective, as I could pick up on more errors that are made.

The actual presentation didn't go as smoothly as the first attempt, but I did feel that it was a good run. I came in and tried to be calm, although this was not an easy task. My nerves got the better of me in the end and I took a breather before we started. I am glad I had this breather as I don't think I would of calmed down for the presentation. I had managed to turn my presentation into a .pdf using some software I found on docudesk. I did however find some limitations to this software, but only until I opened the file ready for my presentation. I found that it had rotated my PDF clockwise so the whole presentation was now facing the wrong way. I am glad that me and Steve could find a way to rotate it back to it's original state.

I had two major pauses in my presentation, which is probably why my presentation went over the limit. I know Steve will of picked up on these so I am worrying about the result. I did do quite well on the surprise questions that he had in store for me. I feel I did pretty well, which should pick my marks back up hopefully. I feel that next time I would make sure that my presentation is 100% complete and right before converting it. I would also check that the method of conversion doesn't affect any of the work that I produced. This was something that I feel I lacked on this time. I do hope my grade was worth the effort.

The timed task Steve dropped on us this afternoon was very hard. I didn't manage to complete it at all. I feel this will drop my marks back quite a lot. I hadn't managed my time efficiently enough, as some tasks took longer than I had anticipated. I had spent over 25 minutes creating a list of things I could include, which turned out to be a waste as I only managed to use half of them. I did however manage to spell and grammar check my work, which should make it a little bit better. I would definitely plan my time better next time. I would also prepare before hand by learning terms more fluently, as some of my definitions are a bit short.

Overall I really don't know what to expect. My timed tasks I felt were quite good and should improve my marks, but the final task and the pause in my presentation will drop my grades. Would I pass?? I hope I do.