ADVICE FOR THE FROSHIES!

Hey computer skills class of 2013! My best advice for you is to attend every class and really follow along with Ms. Belisle when she does the practice in class. If you do this, your grades will be perfect and you will truly learn the skills that can be valuable in all your other academic endeavors. Have fun! Be nice to Ms. Belisle...she is a wonderful professor!

Websites Galore!

My three favorite webistes were Stanton Burkes, Natale Toto's, and Nick Alexanders. Each one was focused on something different and I enjoyed that diversity. Stanton's website was centered around his love for music and hopes for a future in the music business. I was really impressed by the music clips he included on his page. Natatlie's website was really nice because she included so much information about herself and her hobbies and interests. Finally, I enjoyed Nick's website because he featured his trip to Brasil. I really liked how he included so many pictures of his favorite places and wrote a little paragraph describing each place. All the websites were awesome!

Please visit my website at www.cs.trinity.edu/~akimura
Thanks!

PowerPoint Presentations: Part 2

Like last week, all the presentations were brilliant again this week. There was such a diversity of topics and I really learned a lot from each presentation. From homelessness to dance, marketing to the Whydah Shipwreck, this project has given me the opportunity to take a peek into so many different realms of education options and interest levels amongst my classmates. I really enjoyed Kwame's presentation because he included a video clip that really enhanced his presentation; actions often speak louder than words and I think Kwame's video was really powerful. I was very inspired by several of the other presentations, especially Stephanie's and Morgan's. These girls chose very controversial topics and both did a great job at explaining how important their issues were. Great job everyone!

PowerPoint Perfection

All the presentations that were presented last week were spectacular. Everyone did a great job, and each PowerPoint was very unique and special in its own way. There were a few in particular however that really interested me both in their design and their content. The first was Katie Leonard’s. Katie chose a topic that I am very passionate about and share the hopes of being involved in some day. Katie researched and presented about international development and the different facets of this process. She included some great information, and formatted it in such a way that was clear and easy to understand. I think that simply based on the topic she chose, Katie was able to invite the audience to share in her concern for international development, yet she did a great job presenting as well. The second presentation that I was very impressed by was Lindsay Marotta’s. Her topic choice was so creative and I could tell she was very passionate about art therapy. Her original idea was matched with her artistic design and use of resources. She included very nice images and animations, and I really enjoyed the music she incorporated. Aside from the great design and care for detail, Lindsay included great information that helped me to learn about art therapy, something I had never heard of before. Overall, all the presentations were great!

PowerPoint Blog

The majority of the information presented in the three articles we read was common knowledge, yet I was reminded of a few tips that I had forgotten about, and even learned a few new things that I had formerly not considered significant in the PowerPoint development process. I was most impressed by Seth Godins article, "Really Bad PowerPoint" because he included some valuable information concerning the emotional engagement that each PowerPoint presentation should induce. I think that he makes a good point when he says that PowerPoints often become merely reports and fails to communicate the ideas which he defines as "getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you’re excited (or sad, or optimistic or whatever else you are)". I think it was helpful to be reminded that communication is not simply presenting information and allowing the audience to respond, instead communication is igniting activity in both sides of the brain and interacting with the audience to convey your ideas. Godins says "You can use the screen to talk emotionally to the audience’s right brain (through their eyes), and your words can go through the audience’s ears to talk to their left brain" and I believe that with a well throughout PowerPoint this is completely feasible.

When creating a PowerPoint Presentation, whether it be for a school project, a business meeting, or a sales pitch, the following rules are great guidelines that will help anyone ensure that their PowerPoint is engaging and convincing.

1) Avoid at all costs including large chunks of text. Bullet points are a much better alternative, but remember that even bullet points are sometimes unnecessary. The information should be coming from your own spoken words and the PowerPoint is there to help support your claim with images and videos.

2) Don't go color crazy! Professional presentations typically use muted and coordinating colors with perhaps a few accent colors to add a little color. Too much color however takes away from the main focal point of the presentation and can tend to "cheapen" the show.

3) Limiting and coordinating colors does not mean however to make the slideshow boring. Often times, images and videos can be great enhancements to any presentation. Beware, however, don't use too many animations and wild transitions because, again, they detract from the vital information.

4) A good presentation is well-rehearsed and the presenter is prepared with note cards in case they should slip up. There is an option to print notes on the PowerPoint program and this might be a good ideas especially if the show is lengthy.

5) Along these same lines, remember to print out some sort of summary or notes for the audience to take with them after your presentation. While they may seem engaged and interested during the presentation, they will easily forget the moment they leave the office and printing them out your slides would be nearly useless (assuming you created a GOOD PowerPoint) without you to present. Thus, a sheet of notes and main points to hand out after is probably a good idea.

GOOD LUCK!

Excellent Exel

Prior to this class, Excel had always been a program that was difficult for me to navigate. I had dabbled with using it in my senior year in high school, yet I knew very little about the features and “quick tips” of the program. For instance, I never knew about locking cells, absolute cell preference, or even that my graphs and charts could be “special copied” to a Powerpoint presentation in its original Excel format. The knowledge that I gained about Excel throughout the past few weeks has been very beneficial in other aspects of my college career. Over spring break I organized an Excel spreadsheet containing all my financial aid information so that I could budget for next year and organize my scholarships. Using the formula for a running balance was very helpful because by the end of the sheet, I could calculate exactly how much more money I needed to pay for the rest of the year and see all my calculations in a clear and organized manner.
In the future I hope to become an anesthesiologist. I know that Excel will be a vital resource for bookkeeping and organizing of any office, especially a doctor’s office which has to keep organized the information of hundreds or even thousands of patients. Before I reach that point, I am certain that I will use Excel throughout the next three years of my college career. Undoubtedly in my classes like Chemistry and Physics where there is often a large amount of data collected in labs and often many calculations that need to be made, Excel and the skills I learned will come in handy. I am so glad that we have worked with Excel so much because this program offers a lot of different features that are very helpful and make organization a lot easier.

CLT: The hidden treasure of Trinity's Library

Wow! I was so impressed by the presentation Mr. Chapman made of the facilities down in the dungeon of our own library. It was rather ironic that we toured CLT when we did, because just days prior I had visited resource center to watch a film for my Spanish class. Although I had merely watched a DVD on one of the nice wide screens, I had been very interested in what other resources were available. Unfortunately, I wasn't adventurous enough to ask or even explore myself the programs available so I left CLT with only a small scope of what it offers to us students. After our tour and presentation however, I realized that CLT is an excellent place for students of all skill levels to be introduced to new programs, gain experience, or even perfect their skills. I was especially pleased to learn that the technicians that work in CLT are so friendly and eager to help students that have perhaps never worked with any of the programs. As of right now, I think that CLT offers for me personally a quiet study place, and a center for watching films on large screens, but I hope that as I spend more time down there I will have the opportunity to explore the myriad of programs they have. I was especially interested in the film editing programs that are on the computers because my floormates and I are preparing to record a video, yet we have no experience with editing. Furthermore, I know that over the course of my four years here at Trinity I am bound to have other assignments that will most definitely require speciality programs like those available in CLT. My goal is to gain some experience with these programs before being assigned a project that requires them so I will have some sort of comfort level with them. Look out Robert Chapman! I'm going to be coming in and asking for some expert help!

PRETTY PICTURE. Or is it?

I chose a picture that was featured in a campaign add for President George W. Bush in 2004. The photo includes a sea of soldiers all apparently in support for President with a child holding an American flag in the middle of the picture. The soldiers had been copied and pasted so as to cover up the image of George W. Bush speaking at a podium. In this case, the photograph appears much more pure, a pure patriotism in the absence of the candidate that I think can reach deeper than a picture of the candidate himself. Often, valiant, inspiring images are used as a symbol for the candidate and the candidate themselves don't even need to be pictured; instead, their name can be associated with the inspiring image. I chose this picture because its influence was much more than a trivial enlarged cricket, or even the face of a celebrity on a model's body. This manipulated picture holds value, and potentially had the power to affect our country's leadership. While one ad may not have drastically altered the elections, I think that it most definitely could have affected some voters. This was undoubtedly what the editors were attempting to achieve. They hoped that by creating a scene in which soldiers and civilians were showing their patriotism and support for George W. Bush as president, they could persuade some voters that voting for Bush was a reputable choice and highly promoted by our military forces. I think that this manipulation was smart, although I'm not sure I agree with the motives behind it. While I don't think the manipulation was necessarily dangerous, I think that the outcomes could potentially be dangerous because people could be deceived or mislead into voting for someone that may not be the best person for the job. I should hope that the American people however, are not basing their presidential votes on a few images they see. If that is the case, we have bigger problems than a few manipulated photographs in the news.

To view the picture and many other manipulated images please visit: http://news.cnet.com/2300-1026_3-6033210-9.html?tag=mncol

Chris Nolan

Unfortunately I was not here for Mr. Nolan's presentation but thanks to Dr. Belisle, I was able to read over the links that she posted to gain a bit of insight into what was discussed during the class period. I was most intrigued by the "invisible internet" and the many ways there are to get around it. For students, this is an especially valuable piece of knowledge because these hidden articles undoubtedly provide great information. The other great feature I learned about was the google tool that "adds on" when an individual is searching terms. It suggests terms and eliminates cookie tracking which can be very useful for students searching because it often provides vocabulary that one might not ever think about to use in their search.

COPYRIGHT

Unfortunately I was not in class to hear Mr. Hardin and Mrs. Graves speak about copyright laws, however I did read the additional documents that were posted and I discovered some very valuable information about copyright laws and even exemptions from the laws that I was unsure about prior to my reading. I think the most interesting aspect of copyright laws is the “fair use” policy which allows special situations such as “commentary, parody, news reporting, research, and education about copyrighted works without the permission of the author”. The “fair use” rule was in part created so that all people have the freedom to create and publish their original work with the only restraint that they cannot republish someone else’s. The rule in whole states that there are several principles to think about when deciding if “fair use” can be implemented. The first thing to remember is whether or not the work you are creating is original or simply a copy of someone else’s. While small excerpts or quotes from another’s piece of original work is acceptable to use, copying more than is necessary to be used in an individual’s work can be considered against copyright law. Individuals should also remember that whatever they create using another’s ideas cannot be generating competition with the original source. One of the hardest things to remember about the “fair use” rule is that just because recognition of the source is given does not mean that the author’s material can be used. Copyright is truly about getting permission directly from the owner of the work to use his or her material. Finally, the quality and quantity of the material a person wishes to use does not distinguish whether or not the work is protected under the “fair trade” rule. Everything from a child’s finger painting to a two line poem can be considered copyrighted because it is “fixed in a tangible form of expression”.

I think that learning about the copyright laws is so crucial for all people because many people undoubtedly violate these rules without even realizing it. Students and others alike use images off of the internet very frequently, and some people may even use entire documents as inspiration or pieces of reference without knowing they are going against a national law, and indirectly disrespecting the original author. But how many times have we, as students, copied images or even small video clips off the internet to use in a presentation. We certainly weren’t maliciously violating national policy by using a copyrighted piece of material. I think that in instances like this, the copyright laws may seem very extreme. Can you imagine being sued by another because you used an image he or she had posted and copyrighted? While many students are unknowingly breaking copyright laws, using images and video clips not for personal benefit, yet merely to enhance a presentation, these laws seem absurd. However, laws must be enforced on all levels or else they become ineffective at any level. As an author or publisher, they certainly want to know that their original work is being protected and kept under their name and their name only. I think the best way to limit conflict between the two sides is through education, exactly what we are doing now.

For more information on copyright laws check out:
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/catId/DAE53B68-7BF5-455A-BC9F3D9C9C1F7513/objectId/C3E49F67-1AA3-4293-9312FE5C119B5806/310/276/ART/

Or the following for details on Trinity University's policy:
http://www.trinity.edu/home/copyright.htm


Thanks for all the great links! Until next time….

FACEBOOK: the entity connecting students all over the world.

Facebook is such a peculiar thing to think about. A profile on the internet where people post their relationship status, their email address, pictures of their family and friends...all for the entire public to view! I am so bewildered by the amount of information people post and make accessible. I made a facebook several years ago and I have found that the site can be a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, but it can also prove to be a huge problem for many students. I constantly find myself procrastinating doing homework or staying up later than I should because I'm on facebook. Facebook has become, for many students, a time-waster. Aside from that, however, I find Facebook very useful in maintaining long distance relationships one might have. I was an exchange student my junior year in high school, and through Facebook, I have been able to not only have instant communication with my friends all over the world, but also share pictures and videos with them. The idea that I can be sitting in my dorm room here in San Antonio and chat with someone half way around the world is reason enough for me to support Facebook and its growth. My only advice to people with Facebook profiles is to be wise and precautious about what information you choose to include on your page.

In the article "Facebook: A campus fad becomes a campus fact", the author explained how easy Facebook has made networking amongst students. I would agree that Facebook has provided students with yet another outlet to reaching and recruiting others to join their cause. This is quite inspiring to think that one student can post his ideas or hopes and have the possibility of being joined by others simply because of a page online. Facebook has made life so much more convenient, planning events easier, and I am so glad that technology keeps progressing.

To learn more about Facebook on college campuses visit: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1213/p13s01-legn.html

I have used Microsoft Word throughout elementary, middle and high school and I am now very excited about the new Microsoft Word 2007. This upgraded version seems to have so many more options and exotic features that the previos editions didn't have. The only downside about new technology is that it often confuses us more than it helps us. I usually just use Microsoft Word for simple documents like reports, but with all the new gadgets Microsoft Word 2007 has I want to take full advantage of the other neat things I could be creating with this program. I feel fairly comfortable using Word and I have found that through a process of trial and error, I can usually figure out how to manipulate my documents. I know, however, that there are so many shortcuts and features that I don't know how to use. Even in reading A Guide to Microsoft Word 2007 I learned how to make notes on documents while reviewing them. I was very impressed with this tool when my teachers in high school used it, and very excited to have finally learned how to do it myself.

Throughout this course I hope to learn more about tabs and tab stops because in the past I have simply clicked around until my document looks the way I want it to, without ever truly understanding how the tabs worked. I also hope to gain more experience inserting graphics into my text and understanding how these images can be formated with and around the text.

Ali Kimura: Day 1

Hello everyone my name is Alison Kimura but most of my friends call me Ali. I'm from a small, rural, coastal town in northern California called Eureka. You can see exactly where this is at: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl. Eureka is small, but has so much to offer. I live ten minutes from the beach and I have massive redwood tress in my backyard. These two features alone have helped our small community become known throughout the world. I was born and raised in Eureka so moving to San Antonio was a big change for me. I think San Antonio is a beautiful city and I can't wait to explore it more over the next three and a half years. Growing up I was a competitive gymnast and competed for over eight years all over the country. In high school I played volleyball and was the varsity team captain for two years. Here at Trinity, I am part of the cheerleading team which is a completely new experience for me but a lot of fun. I have met so many great girls and even many Trinity fans which is fantastic. I am part of the Christian organization RUF and I am currently rushing sororities. I love to travel and I have traveled to five of the seven continents. Some of these continents were merely places I stopped on the way to my final destination so I can only say that I have spent time in Japan, Kenya and most recently I spent a year in Argentina. Meeting new people is such a thrill for me and learning and experiencing other cultures is something I find to be a priceless opportunity. Family is probably the most important thing to me next to my faith. I have just one younger sister and my two parents and we do everything together. My parents are both teachers which has both its pros and its cons. I think that the benefits outweigh the cons though because our family puts a strong focus on education which has helped me to strive to be the best student I can. It's also nice having both my parents around on vacations throughout the year and the entire summer break. I grew up in Eureka's First United Methodist Church where I teach Sunday school, was the past president of the youth group, and help with the current youth group.

I can navigate my computer well enough to do the most simple and basic things but I have very little experience with computer applications. In high school I was introduced to Adobe Photoshop and Publisher, two programs I truly enjoyed working with. Unfortunately these programs are the most advanced I have dared to dabble with and I haven't used either of them recently. I am looking forward to learning even the most basic things about programs that will be essential to me in my college career and most likely after as well. I hope that after this course I feel more confident with in my computer skills and hopefully know some new tricks about my computer and it's programming.

My email address: akimura@trinity.edu