COMP 3: Technical Skills (Online)

 A Level Media Studies

Here are the online technical skills that I've acquired throughout this music promotion package project. This blog is written by me (Sharon).

Embedding PDF to Blogger

As the statement of intent (table guide) was given via Google Docs, I had to work on it there, where simply copying and pasting it into Blogger would present a messy look. So, I tried publishing the document (in Google Docs) to the web, copy the embedded link, and paste it into Blogger. However, as I enlarged the size of the box as much as possible, it still appears really tiny and is fixated as shown below.

However, after many attempts, I decided to look for a video guide on YouTube with guidance from my Media Studies teacher, and found one that explained it clearly and all through and through titled, "How to upload pdf and related file on blogger || how to upload documents in blogger ||" as inserted below. Here are the steps that enabled me to embed PDF to Blogger:

1. Download the Google document as a PDF
2. Click "Share" once uploaded to Google Drive and copy the link of the PDF document. Ensure that "Anyone with the link" has access
3. In the blogger page, open up the "HTML" view right under the title (click the pencil icon)
4. Paste the link
5. Remove "usp=sharing" and change "view" to "preview"
6. Add the code <iframe src=" " width="640" height="480"></iframe> and insert the PDF link into the "src=" "
7. Click "Publish"

The updated link should look somewhat like this now.

Now, it can be viewed easily as the box is larger and the entire PDF document is presented.

Google Drawings

Throughout my school years, I wasn't familiar with Google Drawings as none of my subjects needed it up until I had to compile pictures from this Comp 3 project. One of the most recent ones was compiling all the trials/mock-ups for the digipak cover. I couldn't find any other website that enabled me to gather pictures neatly, so my teacher suggested Google Drawings when I reached up to him about the problem. Organized and aligned pictures allowed me to compare all the trials more effectively side-by-side instead of scrolling through Canva (the site we used to edit them, such as the fonts/typeface and pictures). Moreover, I could simply download the file in Google Drawings and upload that to my blog post on the digipak development all in one picture (instead of 10 separate pictures where you must scroll a long way down).

Unzip '.zip' Files

Related to the 'Google Drawings' technical skills that I learned, I was facing problems in uploading the pictures I downloaded from Canva of the digipak covers. This is due to that the downloaded file was in '.zip' form, which I have never encountered. I first tried to open the files one by one in WinRAR format, but it was too time-consuming. To not waste any time, I've learned that YouTube is the best way to find solutions to technical problems. The link below was the YouTube video I got help from after searching 'How to unzip files':

 

However, I found simpler ways since some of the pop-ups didn't show up on my laptop. Here are the following steps that I have concluded:

1. Create a new folder
2. Move the '.zip' file to that folder
3. Right-click the '.zip' file
4. Click "Extract Here"

Creating a new folder for the '.zip' file

Right-click the '.zip' file and choose "Extract Here"

All the files unzipped

Embedding Instagram Post to Blogger

To improve the appearance and organization of my blog, I chose to embed the Instagram post which was quite self-explanatory (I was able to find out how on my own instead of YouTube). The following steps are what I did to embed an Instagram post:

1. Open the Instagram post on Instagram web: instagram.com
2. Click the 3 dots in the corner of the Instagram post
3. Choose embed
4. Change your blog post setting to "HTML view"
5. Paste the embedded link

Self Reflection: Embedding PDF to Blogger was quite a problem for me since I have never encountered coding before (by which this situation can be fixed through coding), however, with a wide range of YouTube videos, specifically for this problem, I was able to find one. The video was explained really well and ensured that we understood every step of the way. I was afraid that it still wouldn't work out, but, as I followed the steps thoroughly, I managed to solve the problem. Now, with a well-viewed embedded PDF, readers can look through the statement of intent with ease and apparently. I was satisfied with how compiled images turned out with Google Drawings since organization is key to effective viewing. I felt worried seeing '.zip' files as I've never encountered that format before, but YouTube assisted me throughout the problem and gave me a satisfactory solution to it. The next time we face technical problems, I can assure my group that we can always check YouTube for solutions.