Week Two Workshop Reflection

In this week’s workshop; our main focus was Microsoft Office Publisher, which made me really happy! Previously working as a full time executive assistant, my word processing skills were strongly influenced and I really enjoyed using software such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Microsoft Publisher however, was always the one aspect in Office that I was really uncomfortable with, which is a shame because it comes across as being such a useful tool.

I initially contemplated using Microsoft PowerPoint to compile my ePortfolio but wasn’t really satisfied with the ideas I was bringing together. I guess I simply chose PowerPoint because it was software I was familiar with and it was potentially my ‘comfort zone.’ Being a more paper based person, my only concern was the presentation of my final copy.

When asked to design a brochure of any destination, I chose Istanbul (a city in Turkey). A copy of my brochure produced has been posted in the image above. This simple exercise allowed me to play around with the different templates, different pictures of different sizes and different alignments and different colours, themes and styles. I was really grateful for today’s workshop because I’ve constantly wanted to excel my knowledge using Publisher. Having the chance to play around with the software in this week’s workshop was a fantastic way to help me overcome my fear. 

I now have a better insight of the program, which I will definitely be using to produce my ePortfolio. Using a web site template, I believe such a design has the capability to work well in both the soft and hard copy format. This workshop has encouraged me to be extra creative with my ePortfolio; whereby I have already started brainstorming different ideas, the summary of my pedagogy and a consistent quote which can be followed throughout my portfolio. I sincerely believe an extra resource such as an ePortfolio can be the edge, which allows me to stand out within the recruitment process.