Technology changes very rapidly, how current is the information you found? 

Of the three sources I found, Canva seems to have current articles, LinkedIn Learning has graphic design courses that were released within months of this writing, and Creatnprocess is a YouTube channel continually putting out content. Depending on the kind of information (design tips vs software instruction), it is possible to be able to use older information, like for design layout and general design rules, but for software specific things, it would be best to have the most recent information as possible.

Who is posting the information? Are they an authority on the matter? How can you tell?

Canva is an actual organization putting out articles written by staff, LinkedIn Learning is similar to YouTube in a way that you can search for specific courses/tutorials, and Creatnprocess is a YouTube channel who seems to specialize in putting out videos for learning Adobe software. All three are authorities on the matter (Canva, because it is a graphic design software company, Creatnprocess, because they are a graphic designer, and LinkedIn Learning because you can see if the person putting out the course is a specialist in the subject).

What types of gatekeeping mechanisms are in place for the source you found? (i.e., is there an editor or are posts up/downvoted democratically?)

For each source:

• Creatnprocess has comments sections open for discussion and questions and can easily see if people liked the video (though with YouTube’s recent update you can’t see dislikes on any videos now).
• Canva has multiple writers for their articles so there isn’t one person’s opinion in all their articles.
• LinkedIn Learning has reviews on their courses to see how many stars they were rated and people’s comments on them.

Discuss the quality of the information. Is it well written, clear, and easy to follow?

All three are clear and easy to follow. The Canva articles are well written and get to the point without any confusion. Both the LinkedIn Learning courses and Creatnprocess usually have good instructions that are easy to follow and show what is being done on screen (And can use subtitles if you so wish!)

Finally, is this a resource you might use in the future, and if so, why?

All these are resources I may use in the future. Canva has lots of articles that may have the answer to my problem or question, LinkedIn Learning has lots of choices for information, and Creatnprocess has up to date video so there are minimal worries about whether the information is current.

Check out these sources! I personally found them very helpful.

~Katie