Websites

After seeing everyones websites I was very impressed with how well though out everyones was. One of my favorites was Drew's. I thought he did a great job designing it and linking everything together. Also, I thought he had some great pictures. Another website I liked was Ashley's. I thought hers had a really nice layout. Also, I liked that she included her hometown postcard on her site. Another favorite of mine was Jon's because he is my best friend. He doesn't admit it but we pretty much hang out every weekend. Anyways, I think he did a great job including information about the sports he likes and Canada. To view my site where you can learn about some of my interests and see my friends and family go to www.cs.trinity.edu/~rsmiley.

Advice

Having completed CS1300 I have learned a lot of useful things about computers that I did not know before. One important aspect of this class is making sure you complete all of your homework. If you do that, you will most likely be prepared for any quizes or tests you are given in class. Also, it is important for your grade that you complete all your homework. Also, if you have any questions be sure to ask for help, it is important that you know what is going on because if you get behind it will likely be really hard for you to catch up again. Good luck new students!

HTML Code

It it important to know HTML code when working on a website even if you have a more advanced website making software for a variety of reasons.  Although it could be considered more fun to use software such as expression web it can be very useful to understand html code because there may be a problem on your site that you do not know how to fix and if you can check and understand the html code it can often be easier to fix the issue.  Also, not every computer has software such as expression web so if you want to create a site on a computer like this it is very important to understand html code because without it you would have a lot of trouble creating your website.  Html code can also come in handy when you are making small changes to a website such as only wanting to change the background color of a page because if you can read and understand the code you can simply find the part that controls background color and change that.  I am very glad we looked into html code and how to use it because I can imagine it may come in handy for me one day.  Also I thought it was so cool when we typed in the code and then created the page with the cat picture on it! 

Power Points

I though all of the Power Point presentations were amazing.  Everyone chose topics that were very interesting and I could tell everyone spent time on their presentations and really thought about them.  I particularly enjoyed Cristina's presentation on The Lion King because I could tell she was genuinely interested in the topic.  Also, I loved learning about how much work is put into the costumes for the show, that is pretty amazing!  Also, I thought she did a good job at finding images for the presentation that related to what she was saying and were interesting to look at.  Also, I really liked Ashley's presentation on French Wine.  I thought she did a wonderful job at picking a background for the presentation.  Also, the information she presented was relevant to the topic and I learned a lot about wine that I didn't know.  All in all I feel the presentations went very well and I enjoyed listening to them.  

Googled

Although I was not in class on Tuesday to hear Chris Nolan speak about search engines through the class website I was able to find some useful information about searching.  I most often use Google when searching for information on the internet and I was not aware of the different ways Google actually works.  Learning about the different ways you can limit or expand your searches to ensure that the information you get is relatable to what you are researching will be very helpful next time I am using Google.  I always hear about the dangers of using Google in research papers and how it can often not be accurate information, but I learned there are ways to check your sources.  For example, you can check the URL and the information about the creators of the website to ensure that it is more accurate.  Also, learning about Google scholar was very interesting.  I had no idea it existed and now I will certainly check it out next time I am working on a research paper or a presentation.  So, although I was not in class to hear the speaker, I learned a lot about Google that I did not know through the class website.  I will definitely keep all of this in mind next time I am using Google.  

How to Power Point

Being as I am not very experienced when it comes to making Power Point presentations, I found the articles about good presentations interesting and helpful.  I was not aware of the fact that less is more when it comes to a Power Point but the concept definitely makes sense.  i would much rather listen to someone speak about a topic that read long lists of print from a Power Point slide.  I found it interesting to learn about the types of images taht are best for Power Points as well.  Actual photos of people on slides can help the audience connect better with the presentation versus putting cartoon images on the slides.  Also, I was not aware of the difference between a Serif font and a Sans Serif font.  It is helpful to know that Sans Serif fonts such as Arial are easier to read and intended for things such as Power Point presentations.  Slide sorter is another aspect of Power Point that I was not aware of that would certainly be useful in preparing your presentations.  

Five guidelines I think are important when it comes to making a presenting a Power Point presentation are:

1. Do not read directly off your slides.  The audience can do that without you, you are there to elaborate on what is already there. 

2.  Do Not used too many visuals on one slide, they can distract the audience and keep them from listening to what you have to say.

3.  Include just enough information on your slides, too much bores the audience, while too little may leave you forgetting your points.

4.  Choose appropriate color schemes for your presentations, make sure colors fit with the tone and mood of your topic. 

5.  Speak clearly when you present, there is nothing worse than listening to a presentations where the speaker mumbles or talks too quietly.  

Good luck on your Power Points! 

Excel

Learning about all of the features Excel has to offer was really interesting. I had no idea that Excel was capable of so many neat things! I had taken a class in high school on basic computer skills and we learned some about Excel but we did not go into all of the features we did in this class. I had no idea there were so many different formula options. Also, making a fixed cell reference is extremely helpful and I did not know that you could do that before taking this class. I'm certain that if my major requires any type of Excel skills I will be much more prepared to handle it. Also, if I were to ever do an internship for a business, especially in one where I needed to keep track of financial information or data records, the skills I learned in Excel would be very helpful. Excel would be helpful for business or accounting majors because it has so many different formula options that make solving problems with a lot of data much more easy. I am very glad that I learned everything I did about Excel, it has been my favorite part of the class so far because I feel it is the most useful thing I have learned, and the most interesting.

Pictures That Lie

I chose the picture of Katie Couric because I think it is very interesting that they would change the picture to make her appear more thin and even in a different color outfit. The picture was originally released by CBS in May and then they slimmed her appearance down for rerelease. I feel that this manipulation is harmful because there is already a body image problem among women in the United States and doing things such as slimming a picture of such a well known public figure down can be hurtful. Also, it cannot be good for Katie Couric's self esteem to have her image made to look thinner. Manipulating images can be helpful in some cases but in this case I do not feel it is necessary and it does more harm than good.

AT&T Center for Learning and Technology

I was shocked when I visited the Center for Learning and Technology and saw all that it had to offer.  I did not know that the CLT existed and I never expected to see so much high-end, advanced technology in our library.  The room was genuinely like nothing I had ever seen before in person.  I was especially impressed by the Digital Audio Lab, it is really cool that we have somewhere with features that advanced on our campus.  It is neat that you can record music or any other audio to incorporate into your projects.  Also, the many computers available in the CLT are very useful.  I was not aware of the fact that there were so many other computers in the library outside of the third floor.  There have been many times when there aren't enough computers on the third floor to work in comfort there, especially in group situations, and now that I know that there are more located on the first floor I will most likely utilize them.  Since I am not that knowledgeable in the ways of technology, I feel that it would take me a long time to figure everything out in the CLT but if I did understand how to use the equipment the room would certainly come in handy.  When we start to learn about photography and computer editing technology in that area I think that things in that room would be more helpful to me.  

Copyright Entry

On Tuesday during class Diane Graves, the University Librarian came and spoke to us about Copyright. I learned a lot of interesting things such as the information about "Public Domain" and "Orphan Works." Public domain works are materials that can be used with out requesting copyright permission, also just because an author is dead or the work is out of print does not make it public domain. Orphan works are publications for which no author, publisher, or other copyright holder can be located, and in Canada if a work is researched for 6 months and during that time an owner cannot be located, then the work automatically becomes public domain, that is not the case in the United States however. We also discussed a lot about file sharing, especially in the University setting. I for one have never used an illegal software program to download music, nor have I done any other type of illegal file sharing, mostly because I have no idea how to. I found it very interesting to learn about how much more time associations such as the RIAA, MPAA, and the ESA spend locating college file sharers than people doing illegal file sharing in their own homes. I understand that they do this because it is much easier to catch people on a college wide wireless network than on one in a private home setting, however, I am not sure I feel this is fare. But as long as this is the case, I am glad that I have been educated on the punishments that can result from illegal file sharing and I will make sure to stay away from it.

My use of the wireless network

At Trinity I use the wireless network for a variety of different things. Most often I use it to check my e-mail which I do 3 to 4 times a day because I have to keep up with things like class notices and changes in time for swim practice. Secondly, I use the wireless network to get on facebook. I am a little embarrassed to admit that that is what I spend a lot of my time on the computer doing, but it's true. Another thing I love about having the wireless network at Trinity is that I am able to Ichat with my friends and family. It is really nice to be able to see someone who is so far from you on your computer screen and have a conversation with them! Also, I buy Itunes using the wireless network, I am always finding new music that I like and it is great to be able to get on my computer and buy a song that I just heard from a friend or on the radio. Also, as far as for school, I use the network to do research for papers I am writing. Most recently I needed to look up and article relating to a novel I was reading in my first year seminar and with the help of the wireless network I was able to find it rather quickly. Having a wireless network at Trinity is very helpful and I use it frequently, its nice being able to do all the things I listed above from almost anywhere on campus!  Also, it is important to not that Trinity has been named one of the countries most unwired campuses which is very impressive! To view an article about Trinity's success visit this link. 

My Computer Skills Blog: First Entry

Hi,

My name is Raelle Smiley and I am from Austin, Texas.  I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but I moved to Austin when I was just over a year old when my father was hired to aid in the restoration of the glass in the dome of the state capital building.  I love singing, but I am not involved in any music classes or anything like that right now, although I was in my school choir throughout high school.  I have been part of various swim teams since I was five years old and am going to be a member of the Trinity swim team this year.  My father was the person who originally got me interested in swimming since he went to college on a partial swimming scholarship and is currently on a USA Masters swim team in Austin.  Austin is a beautiful city, my home town is called Westlake Hills, here is a link to it from Google Earth Austin.  As of now, my computer skills are very limited, however right before I wrote this I did instill Microsoft Office on my Mac using the tutorials found on the Trinity website and a little help from some guys in my hall.  I have taken a computer class in high school though and I did fairly well in it.  I am confident that as long as I pay attention and keep up with my work I will do well in this class.  I am looking forward to this semester and all of the information I will learn about computers.