Week Twelve -29/11/10

This lesson I finalised my sketches and began to work on my website.

This is a print screen of my website so far. This is the first lesson of beginning the website so I believe I have made a good start, however this is still a lot of work to be done to make this an effective homepage.

Week Eleven -25/11/10

This lesson I worked on the sketches for my web pages. I have decided that one of my pages will be a page for 'your stories' and drew the layout for it. I am considering whether or not to have an 'Events' page, as I think it would be a good and interactive page to have. However, it is also difficult to think of what kind of events they would be as drug charities don't often have events. I have thought of having a 'Needle Amnesty', Drug Education Workshops and Famous Speakers who have come off drugs and are successful.

Week Eleven -23/11/10

This lesson I continued to work on paper. I began to sketch the layout for my websites homepage.

I have also been researching the type of information that I would like to include on my website.

One of the links on my website will be to Drink Aware as this can be placed in my self help section. http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/?gclid=CJ_nxvTyu6UCFY9O4QodnzoZuw

I also sketched a page for "Work Placement" as this is going to be my USP. (unique selling point) As a part of it being a drug charity website it will allow people to get back into work. I think this is a positive aspect of the website as it shows what is available to help people who feel like they have no help getting to get back into work.

Week Eleven -22/11/10

This lesson I completed my mind map and began to story board my ideas for the video I will create for the website. The idea I have at the moment is that the video will be filmed in the scenario of it being at a party, where there will be drugs such as marajuana. One of the people at this party will then find themselves being pressured into doing drugs which will result in them becoming addicted.

As well as the points written on the mind map I will also consider having an Events page and an About Us page. On the 'Your Stories' page I will include a question and answer section with frequently asked questions and answers to them displayed.

Week Ten -16/11/10

I began to research types of drugs so that I can decide what my four pages will feature when I am creating my website. I found this website: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/drugs-law/Class-a-b-c/ which gives information on the classes of drugs and the penalties given if you are found in possession of them or if you are dealing them.

Most drug websites are not only for drug users, but also for those effected. Therefore I shall ensure that I have a section.








After doing this I began to design a mind map of the features that I want my website to include.

Week Ten -15/11/10

This lesson I looked over my research and I feel that I have done enough work on it as I have decided on what I want to do. Although there are numerous drug charity websites, this area of the market is less saturated then others which gives me a chance to make my website stand out. This research has been a key factor in helping me decided what I will do for my charity website as I have gained knowledge on the stereotypes of websites and also what works, as well as what doesn’t. This will help me to achieve the grade I am aspiring to get.

For inspiration I will be looking at Talk to Frank as I believe that this is by far the most successful drug charity website.

I especially like that there is a "Join in" page as it involves the audience. There is also a page where you can experience how Cannabis can 'mess with your mind' which gives the website a more interactive interface.

Week Nine -11/11/10

This lesson I worked on my blog and tried to find other drug charity websites. I did not annotate these on my research as I feel that I have done enough, however I did take note on the features that I liked. One of the websites I looked at is called Youth 2 Youth which is run by young people and is targetted at young people. This is different to the other websites I have looked at as they have been created by adults.
http://www.youth2youth.co.uk/about_us.htm?gclid=CLbtgNzooqUCFQFO4QodWhU3jg

When looking at the Talk to Frank website I saw that there is a page where you can submit pictures or writing about why people should stop taking drugs. This is good as it allows people to express their views and try to teach people from their personal experiences.

Week Nine -09/11/10

This lesson I began to focus my research and chose to do either drugs or women charity website. I then chose to do drugs and refined my research by analysing numerous drug charity websites. On my research page I wrote  - "I have begun to narrow down my research and I will be focusing more closely on charity websites for Child and Drug abuse. I feel that I would be able to create an appropriate and professional website for both as I am within the target audience and therefore I can create something that I like and be within the brief."

Week Nine - 08/11/10

Throughout this lesson I have worked on  my charity website research. To ensure that I have a wide range of knowledge I have chosen to do five very different websites. This lesson I analysed the RSPCA and Talk to Frank websites. I have tried to avoid making my work too text heavy so I have included print screens to evidence my writing. I feel that I have worked effectively this lesson as I have got a lot done, however I am still not sure about what type of website I would like to do. From a practical perspective it would be easier to do a child abuse website as I have a little sister who could be my actress. On the other hand, I would much prefer to do a drugs website which is similar to Talk to Frank as I am a part of the target audience so I would be able to create the website to a high standard. I am glad that I have done website research as I definitely need it to help me decided what I shall do.

Week Eight -04/10/10

This lesson began with a slide show presentation displaying exemplar blogs. We were also given the marking criteria for our blogs. I know that this will help me a lot throughout the course as I will know exactly what I need to do so I can achieve the best grade possible. I then worked on my blog to write about the last three lessons and ensure that my blog posts are written eloquently with print screens included.

This is the current layout on my blog

However, I am going to change the theme to one that is more difficult to find so that I can add some originality to my blog. The images below show the way that I was able to select a theme as well as my choice of background.

Week Eight -02/10/10

This lesson we were introduced to the mark scheme that would be used for the main task so that we are able to achieve the best grades possible. I will do this by keeping the criteria in mind so that I know that I am successfully fulfilling the tasks that are required of me. I then continued to add to my charity website research by analysing the Women’s aid website.

As you can see, so far I have evaluated Women’s Aid, Oxfam and NSPCC. These are all very different websites and I chose them purposely so that I could explore the different type of charity websites; which will mean I'll be able to make a well informed decision about what I chose to base my own charity website around. One of the things I have written about the colours used and how it relates to their target audience.

Week Eight -01/10/10

This lesson our teacher was ill so we were given a task to complete at home. This was to continue with the charity website research. I chose to write about NSPCC

Week Six - 21/09/10

For the beginning of the lesson I continued to edit the blog by adding images and print screens to support the text.

As I had finished all the set tasks for the Preliminary task I have begun my Charity website research. This is a print screen of the first page of my evaluation that I completed this lesson.

This was a successful lesson as I have got a fair amount done and it also means that I will have less work to do next term when we begin to create the charity website for the main task.

Over view of my preliminary task



I completed my preliminary task within the allocated time we were given and infact I have one lesson of this half term left where I shall begin working on my charity website research for the main task. Overall I think I have coped well with the time restraints and worked effectively. To help me to improve and ensure that my main task is as good as can be I was given feedback from several students in my class, who wrote about the pros and cons on my website. The feedback given by one of my classmates said "I like the amount of information and pictures, it makes the website feel genuine. I think the pink is a bit strong in contrast to the purple, also I would fill the blank space at the top." This is the sort of advice that I will keep in mind when creating my main task for an adult audience as they prefer having less bright colours.