The Final Blog...

Wow, this semester has flown by... I have been so impressed with the amount of knowledge I have gained over the course of this course! From word and excel, to PowerPoint and Photoshop, this class has expanded my horizons immensely. In order to have success in this class one must do all the assignments, and do them with a lot of care. A lot of assignments have intricate point totals that require students to focus and make sure they follow every instruction and guideline. I have enjoyed this class thoroughly, and I'm sure everyone in the future will as well.

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"OUCH, Charlie! That really hurt!"

The game of soccer has been around for a longgg time and playing at the professional level is something to be proud of. But some, if not most people, say that soccer is not a contact sport. Well, I beg to differ. I chose a picture of a professional European soccer player getting an absolute facial during the course of a game. The game of soccer is very intense and physical, which is why I chose this particular picture.
I had no luck with stock exchange, but I did however find this picture on Google Images – when I was redirected from treehugger.com. I manipulated this picture by raising the brightness/lightness, upping the level of hue/contrast, nearly eliminating saturation, and adding a well-deserved text box caption. I worked in this way to emphasize the impact on this poor man’s face, in order to take attention away from the background. Although painful to observe, I do not believe the manipulation was harmful. I simply changed the overall color scheme to stress the terrible, but hilarious, collision between face and ball. Professional soccer is a man’s game… it is pretty easy to see why. I wanted to highlight the pain and agony that is stretched across his face, and retort any nay-sayers that contend soccer is a game for the light hearted.

PowerPoints

From the first round of presentations, my two favorites thus far have been Noelle’s and Melissa’s. Noelle’s presentation on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex was a perfect 5 out of 5 in my book, because it had it all. Starting with her first slide, I just knew it would be a quality PowerPoint display. I especially liked the lightning-bolt animation (gif) that she used on the first, opening slide that really showed her craft. Following this, she stayed very organized and consistent with her color scheme and kept the information very organized and easy to follow. Also, her use of pictures throughout the presentation was very helpful and added another layer to her description of Rex. Melissa’s presentation on TandemHeart was another perfect 5 out of 5 in my book. I was blown away by all of the amazing information that was presented about the TandemHeart and medical field in general. Right off the bat, she used an amazing interactive pacemaker animation (gif) and heart beat sound to go along with it. Both of these things got me hooked on anything and everything she had to say after that. Moving on, she stayed consistent with the black background and white font, as well as avoiding clutter all together by moderating her information from slide to slide. Overall, the presentations were excellent and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store!

PowerPoint

I think everyone has made a PowerPoint that they have been proud of. But, on the flipside, I also believe that everyone has made a PowerPoint that they just wish they could do over again. These informative articles bring up some very interesting points concerning PowerPoint tricks and tools of the trade that can make every user successful. In these ways, it is very important to avoid the mundane ritualistic styles of bullet and information repetition. These readings help us to investigate other options and steer clear of potential problems that we see every day in PowerPoint.
1. Stay consistent and to-the-point. Although it is important to use different effects, I hate it when people use 10 different effects on one slide… because sometimes this makes it confusing and hard for people to follow.

2. Come prepared, even for the worst. I can’t even remember how many times a presentation hasn’t gone exactly as someone planned, and, because of this, the person was lost. I think you must come prepared, whether it’s free-hand notes or print-outs, be ready for anything because you never know what could happen.

3. Moderate your slides and avoid clutter. I hate it when people overload a particular slide with information. Sometimes it is hard enough to follow a presentation, and packing a slide with a lot of info just adds the difficulty to this sticky situation.

4. Integrate pictures, images, and clips. Be aware, tread lightly in these waters because just enough will solve your problems but too much will kill you. I think it’s important to use the capabilities that we have learned about in class, but be careful because this could make or break the flow of a presentation.

5. Finally, be confident in your work. If you have worked hard on a presentation, then act like it! We all know how difficult public speaking can be… but we all put a ton of hard work and effort into the presentations. So, in light of this, we need to be assured in our ability to convey whatever message we are bringing to class.

T.H.E. C.L.T.

The visit we paid to the AT&T Center for Learning & Technology was pretty mind blowing and incredibly informative. Until today, I had no idea that this place was even in existence, especially in the dungeons of the Coates Library, or what it could be used for… I could not have been more in the dark. I was definitely surprised by the amount of different outlets that are available to us as TU students. From MACs to PCs, all of the equipment in the CLT lab are brand new and always kept state-of-the art. I feel like all of these options are just waiting to be used by the faculty, staff and student body here at Trinity.

Personally, I am not exactly sure how I might be able to use this outstanding resource. I may not have a need for all of the film/video editing material, but I could most assuredly use to projection screens and meeting rooms for presentations or preparation for different things. I know that I will have group projects that will require collective work to achieve some kind of goal, whether it is a presentation or power point, and I know that the CLT lab can meet every single one of my technology needs. Mr. Chapman opened my eyes to an infinite number of possibilities just waiting at the tips of my fingers. I hope that sometime during my career here that I will have a video, music clip, or presentation that will require some hard work in the CLT lab.

The Excel Experience

I can’t remember exactly… but I think my first encounter with Microsoft Excel was in eighth grade at Forest Meadow Junior High. Since then, I feel like my knowledge has increased exponentially over the years, especially in this class in just a few short weeks. Thus far, my overall Microsoft Excel experience has been very enlightening and I have learned new functions and purposes, but, at the same time, re-discovered old ideas that I found out years ago.

From charts to cell references, we have covered everything I could have possibly imagined in a very short amount of time. In addition, formatting and functions that can knock the socks off of any school or business report that we might have in the near or distant future. Honestly, I feel if I had the time and means, I could play on Excel for hours on end just fidgeting and fighting with different ideas and schemes that it allows one to explore.

The future remains very hazy as far as Excel is concerned, but it is safe to say that I will be looking for any and every opportunity to maximize Excel’s capabilities. Although I am not majoring in Business or taking a math/statistics course, I am quite positive that I will need this program sometime. Whether it is sales documents or bank statements, I know Excel will come in quite handy whenever I need it most. Our work in Microsoft Excel has helped me immensely and I am eternally grateful for the information I have obtained.

Chris Nolan... Genius or Scholar?

I have read some of my classmates’ blogs and accumulated some pretty cool information about what Chris Nolan spoke about last Thursday. Obviously, Google and other search engines are absolutely crucial to our lives as students because we use it every day as our lifeline to the latest and greatest stuff on the Internet. I knew you could find a bunch of useless junk on these sites, but I did not know that there are legitimate sources that deviate from the beaten path of normal, everyday World Wide Web searches.

According to Chris, there is a far better way to sift through the endless amount of blah that you find on any ordinary Google search. I had never heard of Google Scholar…until just now. This is an extra feature of Google that I never knew existed, but I am so glad that I do now. Google Scholar is a great way for students to break down searches to information that is relevant to their needs. This particular feature offers articles, books, magazines, and anything else you could possibly need for your academic quest. Furthermore, Google Books is an effective way to limit your search to only books and narrow your investigation down even more. Honestly, I feel like I have learned an entirely different way to search the Internet… The Google possibilities are endless, and now quite controllable.

The picture I have chosen is the one of Katie Couric. Personally, this is the most astounding of all of the photographs, and I chose this picture because it especially highlights the pressure on women today to fit the “perfect” mold. Her original pictures were taken in May for the cover of Watch Magazine, and the fixed pictures hit shelves on the magazine’s cover this past September. The image was manipulated by making Katie’s dress darker, therefore, making her appear to be more slender than the original suggests. This picture was changed for one simple reason, to make Katie look like she “should.” Her picture has been altered so that she will look more like a newscaster “should” look, rather than any ordinary human being. Honestly, the altered photo looks great, but I think she already looks just fine in the original copy. I don’t think CBS should have to change a picture due to the public’s expectation. She is a beautiful woman just the way she is and I think it is important that we see it that way.

Copyright... Relax, don't do it!

For me, the hot-button Copyright issue of note that was presented today was the information on BitTorrent and other mass file sharing programs. I thought these programs were only used to illegally download music and movies from the Internet… I was wrong.
Jason pointed out that these programs can be used to download/upload files of all different kinds by grouping files from all over the Web together. These files can contain anything, from music to movies, and even to Rosetta Stone Language software. It is amazing to me the lengths some people will go to avoid paying for a simple service, whether it’s a song or another program. It is one of the sharpest double-edged swords on the Internet these days and sometimes it will kill you.
In some ways it’s not all bad that people are attempting to download/upload these files and programs from the Web. At least this shows that there is some kind of demand for the Copyrighted products, and that is good to know for the ownership companies. I understand why people would search for this easy way out, but, in the end, it is stealing and there is no doubt about that.

Joe Hatch's Computer Survival Skills

Mr. Hatch's knowledge and keen insight into the infinite world of computing really got my attention. The two things that really sucked me in were the CCleaner and Disk Defragmenter, so much so that I got back to my room and immediately put them to use. I downloaded CCleaner and it got to work at once, deleting and erasing erroneous information left and right... It was pretty cool watching it work right in front of my eyes and I look forward to using it quite often. Next, came the Disk Defragmenter and this was just as cool as the previous. Once complete, my computer became 44% faster and more efficient... WOW, I felt like I had a brand new PC! Thanks to Joe Hatch my computer has a new life!

Howdy y'all!

Hello Friends,

My name is Chesley Hendrix Farmer IV, and I am from Dallas, TX. Although my permanent residence is in Dallas, I am a sophomore transfer student from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. So, needless to say, my journey from high school to Trinity took just a little bit longer than it should have. My home in Big-D is located in the Lake Highlands area on the north side of downtown, where I live with my mother in a cozy two bedroom townhome.

Some of my interests and hobbies include: soccer, fly fishing, hiking, reading, and taking long road trips. I love being outdoors and active in trying to make the world a better place for everyone. As a transfer student, I still don’t know what my campus activities will include, but I am on the TU soccer team and the rest is kind of a blur at the moment. In the future, I would like to get involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes or RUF and maybe find some other groups to get plugged into for meeting new people on campus.

One interesting fact about me is that I am PETRIFIED of spiders. But, on another note, in our class this semester I would really like to increase my knowledge in the Microsoft Office programs and learn how to operate Photoshop. Oh yeah, I guess making my own web page would be pretty cool too… I don’t have anything special in my computer background, just a couple of classes in high school and that’s about it. Well, that does it for me; I will see you all in class on Tuesday!

cfarmer@trinity.edu