Evaluation

EVALUATION

In this assignment we needed to manage a successful theme park using the popular games software Rollercoaster Tycoon. There were four learning objectives: creating publicity material to promote the park, giving and using feedback to enhance the products, developing a profit and loss financial model, and using goal seek to model variables. In order to apply these objectives to our learning, we created a poster for publicity, a leaflet to introduce the product, and a spreadsheet model to predict profit and loss with the use of goal seek. Based on the design cycle, I broke the problems into a number of smaller more manageable activities. It was a lot easier for me than trying to solve the entire thing at once. I indicated my problems, listed things that should contain in the publicity, then chose the solutions such as poster, spreadsheet, and leaflet. Before we started on designing, we needed to do a sketch plan. After that was to evaluate things we made using either report or voice thread. Finally we embedded it to our blog to present.

First thing was my poster. The target audience for the poster was kids from above five to teenagers. At the outset, to reach the target, I needed to design a poster that was colorful, with visual words, informal written for the kids’ understanding and finally attractive. It sounded easy, but I was having difficult time with it. There were requirements from the rubric that asked us to follow while processing the poster. The poster must contain an original company logo, which we designed ourselves, details of the attractions available, price details, and dates available. The most complicated obligation was to design a logo, which many people I knew were struggling with. Although I finished making my logo earlier than anyone in class, but I never found me ready to present what I made. My poster contained most of the requirements in the rubric, except for the use of descriptive words. It was tough for me because my design could only handle fewer words but also not long letters also. Descriptive words like: ‘extraordinary’, ‘exclusively’… were nearly impossible to put in such little stars. But really I did it anyway in order to meet all of the needs. Even though it received a pretty good score, I wasn’t glad about the design along with the information on it.

The leaflet assignment was a pleasurable. I thought my creativity really showed through that. Back on track, this time, our goal was to introduce the park to the children also with young adults. I went really detail followed the plan I had sketched out, even though it didn’t look the same as it was supposed to. My idea was not to use blue tone like poster but every kind of green and mostly green with special font style and color, so that my audience could recognize the Vanilla Hills Park easier. Based on the feedbacks, the poster had gotten a theme ran throughout all of the pages that could make young audiences exited and gave them the directed information they needed. I finally reached my objectives there, where I had gotten all the needs of the leaflet, like maps, information, attractions pictures… I tapped my back and felt proud with the score I got.

Generally, the spreadsheet was okay. It seemed that the age of my audience increased through three projects, from kids, to young adults, and now for adult business people. My target audiences were adult and business people, as I chose a very simple design, and concentrated mostly about the formulas and functions, in order to calculate profit or loss. To change the color of cells and decoration, I used cell formatting, even though it was hard to make the spreadsheet looked satisfactory. There were requirements: four pages with expected number of guests, income, cost, profit/loss prediction if statement, and logo. I had gotten it all, with formulas all set up and a pretty logo. It was really difficult to set up formulas in different pages, but to think of linking up pages using formulas and hyperlink was even harder. It seriously took time, efforts to finish it.

Throughout the assignment, I realized I didn’t manage my time very well. I always finished my work before the deadline and handed in assignments on time. But it took me too much time to finish my works. I am a type of person who lives for and enjoys compliments. I would not mind of staying up from 4:00pm until 1:00 am to finish ICT poster (which I already did), and make it pretty as I possibly can, just for a compliment from teachers or even my friends. But sometimes, because of spending too much time on a piece of work like that, I forgot other homework and had to stay late till 1 to 2 o’clock or so to finished, which is not a very good idea at all.

By making the poster and leaflet, I got a chance to understand more about using PowerPoint, because I did all the drawing and designing on there. I dislike using pictures on internet, because it is really not yours, and they never have the pictures that I was looking for. So I drew it, which wasted lots of time but made my work really unique. While doing the spreadsheet, I got a chance to get review on all lessons that I didn’t remember from last year ICT like: formulas to calculate in Excel, hyperlink, page setup… Also a chance to learn more new techniques using Excel such as formulas to calculate profit or loss, cell protection, and lastly was sheet protect. Overall, running a business was way stiffer than I thought it could be. It was an extraordinary experience for me throughout this quarter though. I had learnt many new things, also so got to know many mistakes of mine. I will continue my great fortune of learning, but also study my mistakes in the past in order to not repeat them again.