Although we have been blessed with the innovation of technology and the human pursuit to make thing simpler with web-authoring software, understanding and knowing how to use the standard HTML code is still imperative.
As complex as it may seem, it is still the fundamental basis of the World Wide Web. Every single web page, image, sound, even details down to the color of the background of the page are coded for in the Hypertext Markup Language code. Thus, whatever we may see on the webpage is guaranteed to have a specific code in the HTML sequence that dictates the format of webpage. If a problem is ever encountered in the design of the wepbage, and it cannot be rectified by the sophisticated web-authoring software, the HTML form of the document can always be retrieved. Errors that occur on websites can never be detected while viewing the actual page because browsers are designed to recover from an author's errors in the HTML code. Once the HTML code for the webpage is displayed, the entire framework is available to us, and by knowing how to correctly code different elements of the webpage, the problem can be identified and rectified. This is just one example of why knowledge of the HTML code is really important and should be understood by anyone wanting to design a webpage- similarly, you cannot run before you are able to walk. Another reason the HTML code is really useful, is because it is a universal code, webpages may be viewed and manipulated by any operating system.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
My Personal Favorite Presentations for 1300
Firstly, I thought that all the presentations were done exceptionally well and reflected the creativity possessed by each individual in the class. I found it really difficult to choose only two favorites, but I managed to narrow my choices down and selected the following two: Jordan's presentation on Alexander the Great and Anna Kern's presentation on Petit Hameau. It was such a close decision between Jordan's and Reuben's though !
Jordan's presentation was appealing in many ways, he spoke very well and knew all the facts and the general layout of his slides was very professional and relevant too. He seemed to have spent a lot of time on the research and sourcing good images for the presentation. I thought his animated GIF file was good and the use of appropriate fonts and color combinations were effective as well. His slide transition and image stacking was good and the whole presentation seemed to flow and came together well. Good job!
Anna's presentation really illustrated her artistic and design abilities, and I was especially impressed by the appropriate background theme and general slide layout. The title slide really grabbed the audience's attention. It was so relevant to her topic and I also thought she spoke well and on a personal level throughout the presentation. She was able to play the background music during her slide which no one had managed to achieve before that and she also had a very well designed animated GIF. I thought she used the space very effectively in her slides and also had steady transitions from slide to slide making the presentation enjoyable to watch. I also found the facts in Anna's presentation very interesting. Well done Anna!
My presentation may be found at the following location : \\Tucc-tiger\groups\computerskills\Belisle\nkopecky\19present\Presentation
Jordan's presentation was appealing in many ways, he spoke very well and knew all the facts and the general layout of his slides was very professional and relevant too. He seemed to have spent a lot of time on the research and sourcing good images for the presentation. I thought his animated GIF file was good and the use of appropriate fonts and color combinations were effective as well. His slide transition and image stacking was good and the whole presentation seemed to flow and came together well. Good job!
Anna's presentation really illustrated her artistic and design abilities, and I was especially impressed by the appropriate background theme and general slide layout. The title slide really grabbed the audience's attention. It was so relevant to her topic and I also thought she spoke well and on a personal level throughout the presentation. She was able to play the background music during her slide which no one had managed to achieve before that and she also had a very well designed animated GIF. I thought she used the space very effectively in her slides and also had steady transitions from slide to slide making the presentation enjoyable to watch. I also found the facts in Anna's presentation very interesting. Well done Anna!
My presentation may be found at the following location : \\Tucc-tiger\groups\computerskills\Belisle\nkopecky\19present\Presentation
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Searching the Internet
Although an infinite amount of information is just a click away from us on the internet, there are a few precautions that should be taken when trusting the sources of this information. Chris Nolan, the assistant university librarian at Trinity, had plenty of valuable information to offer us during his presentation and I definitely learned some interesting and useful things about how to use the internet wisely as a student.
It was interesting to note that Google is used by 58.80% of the population in America, and I believe this search engine has the most user-friendly and reliable system. As a student, the main purpose of searching the internet is usually for research papers so although Google is useful in retrieving a broad range of websites on a particular search, it is unlikely that the necessary academic journal articles will be near the top of the search list. Websites that are found at the top of the list are usually the popular sites that are heavily cited and contain many links to other related websites. These websites are not usually trusted sources of information for academic purposes, so Google have provided us with the option of using Google Scholar. This search engine was specifically created to help students narrow down their topic search to academic sources alone. The Advanced Search option was also something that I was enlightened about; it has elaborate ways of narrowing your search, such as finding information within a specific domain or institution for example. This really helps to focus your searching into the specific area of interest and will more than likely result in more valuble research sources.
We were also informed on how to write information in the search bar more effectively by using the +, _ and " " signs to highlight, include or exclude specific aspects of your search. I never realized that this was possible, so knowing this useful shortcut now will definitely help save time searching the internet. Another interesting fact learned is that some webpages that Google have indexed can be viewed without having an active internet connection by selecting the "cached" link for the searched item. This feature further highlights the extent to which Google have gone to provide their clients with great internet searching options. Contrary to the general belief that sources such as the National Geographic Magazine and governmental websites are credible, these actually have to be dealt with carefully. Articles in National Geographic are most often written by a reporter, thus making the article a secondary, possibly distorted source and governmental websites may possess biases because of their political affiliation.
I felt that I definitely gained a lot of useful knowledge about using the Internet to enhance my academics at Trinity and have acquired more useful methods of searching information efficiently.
It was interesting to note that Google is used by 58.80% of the population in America, and I believe this search engine has the most user-friendly and reliable system. As a student, the main purpose of searching the internet is usually for research papers so although Google is useful in retrieving a broad range of websites on a particular search, it is unlikely that the necessary academic journal articles will be near the top of the search list. Websites that are found at the top of the list are usually the popular sites that are heavily cited and contain many links to other related websites. These websites are not usually trusted sources of information for academic purposes, so Google have provided us with the option of using Google Scholar. This search engine was specifically created to help students narrow down their topic search to academic sources alone. The Advanced Search option was also something that I was enlightened about; it has elaborate ways of narrowing your search, such as finding information within a specific domain or institution for example. This really helps to focus your searching into the specific area of interest and will more than likely result in more valuble research sources.
We were also informed on how to write information in the search bar more effectively by using the +, _ and " " signs to highlight, include or exclude specific aspects of your search. I never realized that this was possible, so knowing this useful shortcut now will definitely help save time searching the internet. Another interesting fact learned is that some webpages that Google have indexed can be viewed without having an active internet connection by selecting the "cached" link for the searched item. This feature further highlights the extent to which Google have gone to provide their clients with great internet searching options. Contrary to the general belief that sources such as the National Geographic Magazine and governmental websites are credible, these actually have to be dealt with carefully. Articles in National Geographic are most often written by a reporter, thus making the article a secondary, possibly distorted source and governmental websites may possess biases because of their political affiliation.
I felt that I definitely gained a lot of useful knowledge about using the Internet to enhance my academics at Trinity and have acquired more useful methods of searching information efficiently.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)