When it comes to doing something, there’s a chance you’ll need some kind of pointers, guide, or hands-on walkthrough on how to do it. Unfortunately, a majority of the latter isn’t always available. So, with the internet, let’s look at what IS available, starting with some examples of these guides and walkthroughs. I looked up sources for three different forms of tutorials or advice related to things I’ve been doing in my classes (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) and here’s what I’ve found:
- “Photoshop Tutorial for Beginners 2021 | Everything You NEED to KNOW!” by Vince Opra (uploaded March 26th, 2021)
- “Illustrator Tutorials – Learn how to use Illustrator” on the official Adobe website (unknown creation date, assuming it’s updated as early as possible)
- “Best Advice for College Students You Need to Know About” on the official site of the University of the People
1. All three of these sources are fairly current, considering two out of the three have been created and/or updated within the past year or two.
2. Vince Opra is an online entrepreneur. He doesn’t appear as any kind of authority, but skimming through his other videos showed me that he uploads efficient tutorials on different topics (outside of Photoshop). Adobe’s official site should be a form of authority on itself since Photoshop and Illustrator are their programs, so it makes sense that they’d have some of the most tutorials on their products. I wouldn’t be so certain on what authority was in the University of the People in their source, because I couldn’t even find an author for the page. No author was shown for the blog post found on UoPeople’s site, but some form of authority on the site permitted it; even if it only has 2.5 stars.
3. In terms of the “gatekeeping” around the sources displayed, all three of them differ. For the YouTube video, it has its like/dislike bar, along with YouTube’s community guidelines that videos must follow when being uploaded. Adobe’s site has an account system for people to sign up and log in (along with a free trial for people not very comfortable with signing up), and sorting out its tutorials between different functions about its products, along with separating them into different groups for newer or more experience people; most likely that these tutorials are kept up to date since Adobe’s constantly updating its systems. UoPeople’s blog posts have a star rating system to help filter popular results out to make it more efficient find them, especially when they might contain info that the reader needs for certain aspects.
4. The information offered from all three sources follows a clear path of being straightforward with what they’re teaching. Vince Opra is thorough and understandable with his video tutorials so that the watcher isn’t thrown off by something confusing or accidentally missing a step; Adobe’s tutorials on their site are brief, straight to the point, and variable for people with different levels of experience to help them adapt to their programs. The blog post from UoPeople divides into different points in case certain individuals need more advice on one topic over the other. Overall, these three sources provide information that is well-written, clear, and easy to follow.
5. If I were to use any of these resources in the future, I’d definitely start on Adobe’s site or Vince’s video if I’m new to the services like Photoshop and Illustrator. I’m often a visual learner with new stuff, so it’s better for me to watch examples and take hands-on approaches with demonstrations of the things I’m learning.
Sources:
Photoshop Tutorial for Beginners 2021 | Everything You NEED to KNOW! – YouTube
Illustrator tutorials | Learn how to use Illustrator (adobe.com)
https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/best-advice-for-college-students-you-need-to-know-about/