After having read the articles discussing the best and worst methods used in presenting powerpoint slides, I realized how important even the finest details are in ensuring effectiveness. I also discovered the reasons why some powerpoint presentations have been so easy to follow, while others have left me feeling slightly overwhelmed,confused or just simply unaffected. In my opinion, powerpoints that contain lengthy paragraphs with no bullet points or pictures are the most tedious to follow and will guarantee that little information will be learned! I also find that it's visually displeasing when a really well created background and body of text on a slide are destroyed by a cheesy, badly designed image that is inserted randomly onto the slide. Probably my top powerpoint pet-peeve is when the speaker fails to follow the order of supporting information on the slides in the presentation and talks ahead of the slides or backtracks to speak about information that was omitted. This becomes confusing and the meaning of the presentation becomes vague.
From color to layout to spacial proportions and even to fonts, there are so many factors to look out for when designing your powerpoint slides. Here are a few precautions that I felt were the most interesting to learn about and will create a good presentation.
1. Speaking with interesting examples that support the information on the slides and also using body language and varying tones in your voice.
2. Using professional images and good quality sounds to reinforce your topic. Make sure that the images are placed aesthetically in the slide.
3. Always ensure that the writing in your slides are visible in the lighting conditions- there's nothing worse than having to squint to see the presentation!
4. Never make the background too colourful or distinct as this will distract the audience from the speaker and also from the information on the slide.
5. Avoid using the default slides found on powerpoint so as to create interest of the audience by using a presentation format is presented that has never been seen before. Make the slide personal and relevant to the topi
I look forward to our class presentations on Thursday and seeing the variations in creativity and interests among us.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Excellence of Excel!
Well, I must admit that I never would've agreed with my blog title a month or two ago- in fact, the thought of using excel terrified me! I greatly underestimated it's potential, and never realized just how many useful tools it offered for so many varied tasks. What I have learned through completing this course will carry me well through the rest of my college career and life in general.
In Biology Laboratory, we're required to construct graphs using Excel based on our weekly experimental results. The first few graph-constructing weeks were miserable for me, as I'd never dreamed that such a daunting task was possible on excel and didn't even know where to begin! I had no clue what I was doing and probably spent hours trying to figure out a simple process that should've taken 5 minutes! Then CSCI came to the rescue and I realized how simple and comprehensive Excel graph-making could be. I have learned some really invaluable things that will undoubtedly be of great help to me in the future for my science major.
I also found creating budgets interesting, and learning all the different functions and formulae involved was so helpful too. I used to think that all the data in each individual cell had to be entered separately- no wonder I thought it was such a tedious and intimidating program! Now I'm able to keep track of my monetary budgets more easily in the future and collaborate data more efficiently and quickly. I especially found the "if" function and the absolute cell references useful to have in hand.
As many of my classes have presentations as part of the syllabus, I'm so grateful to have learned about the "link" feature between excel documents and powerpoint slides. I was dumbfounded we I realized that this was possible and will definitely be making use of this very often.
I would recommend the course we took on Excel to any freshman student, as I really found the information we covered so useful and surprisingly interesting! I also couldn't believe just how many features Excel has- there are unlimited possibilities for creating almost anything you desire with data. Making a graph, calendar, table or pie-chart doesn't have to be so boring and tedious anymore! It is also very user-friendly and has great trouble-shooting options and online tutorials. So if you cringe just at hearing the word "Excel," I challenge you to leap out of your comfort zone and discover this great program. I did and it has certainly been one of the most beneficial and rewarding things I could have done!
In Biology Laboratory, we're required to construct graphs using Excel based on our weekly experimental results. The first few graph-constructing weeks were miserable for me, as I'd never dreamed that such a daunting task was possible on excel and didn't even know where to begin! I had no clue what I was doing and probably spent hours trying to figure out a simple process that should've taken 5 minutes! Then CSCI came to the rescue and I realized how simple and comprehensive Excel graph-making could be. I have learned some really invaluable things that will undoubtedly be of great help to me in the future for my science major.
I also found creating budgets interesting, and learning all the different functions and formulae involved was so helpful too. I used to think that all the data in each individual cell had to be entered separately- no wonder I thought it was such a tedious and intimidating program! Now I'm able to keep track of my monetary budgets more easily in the future and collaborate data more efficiently and quickly. I especially found the "if" function and the absolute cell references useful to have in hand.
As many of my classes have presentations as part of the syllabus, I'm so grateful to have learned about the "link" feature between excel documents and powerpoint slides. I was dumbfounded we I realized that this was possible and will definitely be making use of this very often.
I would recommend the course we took on Excel to any freshman student, as I really found the information we covered so useful and surprisingly interesting! I also couldn't believe just how many features Excel has- there are unlimited possibilities for creating almost anything you desire with data. Making a graph, calendar, table or pie-chart doesn't have to be so boring and tedious anymore! It is also very user-friendly and has great trouble-shooting options and online tutorials. So if you cringe just at hearing the word "Excel," I challenge you to leap out of your comfort zone and discover this great program. I did and it has certainly been one of the most beneficial and rewarding things I could have done!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Should we Believe Everything we See?
I was really interested in the tampered photo of Oprah Winfrey because of all the women celebrities you could physically edit in a photograph, Oprah would definitely be the one to appreciate it the least! She has always been very vocal about being against the way the media create unrealistic stereotypical images of the way women "should" be, so I'm sure she really took this case seriously. I believe that the way adverts create "perfect" images of women really affect women in society today; we believe that having that specific look must be a trend and so we feel pressured to conform to these often unrealistic images. It is a very serious issue in the world at the moment, and defies the meaning of integrity- how will we ever know what to believe?
This picture was created by Hany Farid at Dartmouth College, and Winfrey's head was spliced onto another body, which happened to be that of actress Ann-Margret. Despite the fact that this whole procedure was morally wrong, what made it even worse was the fact that permission wasn't requested from either Winfrey or Ann-Margret. I'm sure this tampering would have been very offensive towards Winfrey, as the likely reason the photo was edited was because she didn't have the body type that the photographer thought would look adequate on the cover. It was probably believed that more copies of the magazine would be sold if Winfrey looked extra "perfect" on the cover.
This manipulation is harmful in many ways, as both Oprah Winfrey and Ann-Margret would feel violated and judged, and it is unfair use of someone else's property. It is also unfair for the customers buying the magazine, as it is untruthful information that is likely to have been paid for- why should we pay for lies? Society is becoming more and more immune to tampered media, and soon we aren't going to be able to differentiate between the "real" and "unreal" information.
This picture was created by Hany Farid at Dartmouth College, and Winfrey's head was spliced onto another body, which happened to be that of actress Ann-Margret. Despite the fact that this whole procedure was morally wrong, what made it even worse was the fact that permission wasn't requested from either Winfrey or Ann-Margret. I'm sure this tampering would have been very offensive towards Winfrey, as the likely reason the photo was edited was because she didn't have the body type that the photographer thought would look adequate on the cover. It was probably believed that more copies of the magazine would be sold if Winfrey looked extra "perfect" on the cover.
This manipulation is harmful in many ways, as both Oprah Winfrey and Ann-Margret would feel violated and judged, and it is unfair use of someone else's property. It is also unfair for the customers buying the magazine, as it is untruthful information that is likely to have been paid for- why should we pay for lies? Society is becoming more and more immune to tampered media, and soon we aren't going to be able to differentiate between the "real" and "unreal" information.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Technology and Learning on a Whole New Level
Wow, I really thought the AT&T center for learning was fascinating-in fact, I even had thoughts of changing my major to something like Media Production, just so I could spend more time in there! I couldn't believe how much effort has been put into producing a center as advanced and as educational as this, and I had so many creative ideas of what I could actually produce using this facility.
I have never really extensively gone into media production, but I know the basics, so hopefully with these I'll be able to extend my knowledge and have fun when using the AT&T center for various projects. I was really impressed by the advanced computer labs in the studios that offer the latest technological gadgets, which can be used to create and work with all types of digital media. For our benefits while working with Photoshop, there are advanced flatbed scanners and top-of-the-range printers, which would definitely come in handy, as well as the advanced computers and software themselves. There are extensive programs and facilities available to us that will enable help us use Photoshop to it's full potential. There is actually a whole section that is designated to photographic and graphic design, so I look forward to making use of these great facilities for at Trinity from now onwards. After the class has all completed a project on Photoshop, we would even have the opportunity to utilize the advanced Media Presentation Lab to display our work and use interactive media to evaluate each others' art. I would also be able to benefit from many other areas of this center ,such as the Video Conference facilities which would allow me to video conference with other institutions over ISDN lines or over the Internet. There is also a service offered whereby students and faculty are able to checkout various equipment such as Microphones, DVD players, Computer Data Projectors, or even have them delivered to you. These may be used for University-related projects, so I'm sure most of us will find this useful sometime in our careers here.
For those who are interested in film or music production at Trinity, there are amazing video/audio facilities available at the center too. In fact, we all love the fact that Trinity had Cable TV, and we actually have the AT&T center to thank for making this all possible! They oversee contracts with the commercial cable service providers and perform maintenance or organize repairs to ensure that the campus-wide coaxial distribution system is in order. This is also the home of the University's own TV Station TriniTV as well.
I really look forward to starting our section on Photoshop,as I've always enjoyed working with cameras, images and photography- plus, I'm really not the most avid fan of spreadsheets!
I have never really extensively gone into media production, but I know the basics, so hopefully with these I'll be able to extend my knowledge and have fun when using the AT&T center for various projects. I was really impressed by the advanced computer labs in the studios that offer the latest technological gadgets, which can be used to create and work with all types of digital media. For our benefits while working with Photoshop, there are advanced flatbed scanners and top-of-the-range printers, which would definitely come in handy, as well as the advanced computers and software themselves. There are extensive programs and facilities available to us that will enable help us use Photoshop to it's full potential. There is actually a whole section that is designated to photographic and graphic design, so I look forward to making use of these great facilities for at Trinity from now onwards. After the class has all completed a project on Photoshop, we would even have the opportunity to utilize the advanced Media Presentation Lab to display our work and use interactive media to evaluate each others' art. I would also be able to benefit from many other areas of this center ,such as the Video Conference facilities which would allow me to video conference with other institutions over ISDN lines or over the Internet. There is also a service offered whereby students and faculty are able to checkout various equipment such as Microphones, DVD players, Computer Data Projectors, or even have them delivered to you. These may be used for University-related projects, so I'm sure most of us will find this useful sometime in our careers here.
For those who are interested in film or music production at Trinity, there are amazing video/audio facilities available at the center too. In fact, we all love the fact that Trinity had Cable TV, and we actually have the AT&T center to thank for making this all possible! They oversee contracts with the commercial cable service providers and perform maintenance or organize repairs to ensure that the campus-wide coaxial distribution system is in order. This is also the home of the University's own TV Station TriniTV as well.
I really look forward to starting our section on Photoshop,as I've always enjoyed working with cameras, images and photography- plus, I'm really not the most avid fan of spreadsheets!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Catching the Music Pirate on Campus.
Although copyright has been around since 1790, there are still severe cases of infringement occurring on a daily basis today- sometimes we don't even know that we are violating a copyright law.
I never realized how easily university networks can be caught for illegal file sharing, so I found this process of identifying pirates on college campuses really fascinating. The Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) is able to catch the culprits by keeping a list of songs which are copyrighted, and hiring a company by the name of Media Sentry to search for the illegal downloaders using the peer-to-peer network Limewire. Media Sentry searches for the copyrighted songs found on the list and is able to see how many computers are connected to limewire that are offering these songs to the network. Once they have this information, they are able to see how many other files this user is offering for others to download, and all the IP addresses of all the active file sharers. So the IP address can be used to find the address of Internet Service Provider, and in our case, that would be Trinity University as we have our own ISP. Once the name of the ISP has been located, Media Sentry determines which users are on campus and asks that they be identified. This process is automated so it identifies the infringements quickly, then the information of the violators is sent to RIAA who determine if it is indeed a campus piracy. If it is, they send a take-down notice to the university, asking them to clear the network of infringing files. This notice even contains the minor details such as, the name of the file and the date and time it was discovered online by Media Sentry. In serious cases, prelitigation settlement letters are sent to universities and require the infringers to pay tens of thousands of dollars, instead of having to go to court and facing an even worse consequence. When you consider that all of this could happen to an ignorant one-time user of limewire, who wasn't aware that the files being downloaded were copyrighted, it's scary! Although the investigators can only tell when a song is being illegally offered for downloading, and not when a person actually downloads the song, they still acquire enough information to be able to terminate the infringement. Before I came to Trinity, I never knew just how serious the issue of illegal peer-to-peer sharing had become. In some ways, I feel that the fact that society has had to resort to this kind of snooping and interrogation to end copyright infringement is quite sad.
I believe that copyright laws are vital, and it's only fair that the owners of works are protected by such laws. Quite ignorantly, I used to utilize P2P networks such as Limewire at home, never realizing how illegal it actually was. Thank goodness the chances of ever being caught in little Zimbabwe were really slim! I had become a thief without even knowing it and I know that if it was my own song that was being downloaded in great amounts everyday for free, I'd feel robbed too. If every college campus could get away with obtaining and distributing files for free, imagine the financial losses that would be experienced by the owners of these files? That's something we should consider before feeling annoyed about having to pay to download songs on campus.
I never realized how easily university networks can be caught for illegal file sharing, so I found this process of identifying pirates on college campuses really fascinating. The Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) is able to catch the culprits by keeping a list of songs which are copyrighted, and hiring a company by the name of Media Sentry to search for the illegal downloaders using the peer-to-peer network Limewire. Media Sentry searches for the copyrighted songs found on the list and is able to see how many computers are connected to limewire that are offering these songs to the network. Once they have this information, they are able to see how many other files this user is offering for others to download, and all the IP addresses of all the active file sharers. So the IP address can be used to find the address of Internet Service Provider, and in our case, that would be Trinity University as we have our own ISP. Once the name of the ISP has been located, Media Sentry determines which users are on campus and asks that they be identified. This process is automated so it identifies the infringements quickly, then the information of the violators is sent to RIAA who determine if it is indeed a campus piracy. If it is, they send a take-down notice to the university, asking them to clear the network of infringing files. This notice even contains the minor details such as, the name of the file and the date and time it was discovered online by Media Sentry. In serious cases, prelitigation settlement letters are sent to universities and require the infringers to pay tens of thousands of dollars, instead of having to go to court and facing an even worse consequence. When you consider that all of this could happen to an ignorant one-time user of limewire, who wasn't aware that the files being downloaded were copyrighted, it's scary! Although the investigators can only tell when a song is being illegally offered for downloading, and not when a person actually downloads the song, they still acquire enough information to be able to terminate the infringement. Before I came to Trinity, I never knew just how serious the issue of illegal peer-to-peer sharing had become. In some ways, I feel that the fact that society has had to resort to this kind of snooping and interrogation to end copyright infringement is quite sad.
I believe that copyright laws are vital, and it's only fair that the owners of works are protected by such laws. Quite ignorantly, I used to utilize P2P networks such as Limewire at home, never realizing how illegal it actually was. Thank goodness the chances of ever being caught in little Zimbabwe were really slim! I had become a thief without even knowing it and I know that if it was my own song that was being downloaded in great amounts everyday for free, I'd feel robbed too. If every college campus could get away with obtaining and distributing files for free, imagine the financial losses that would be experienced by the owners of these files? That's something we should consider before feeling annoyed about having to pay to download songs on campus.
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