For the New Kids on the Block

Hey there, newbies! To be honest, I was a bit upset at the beginning of freshman year when I learned that I had to take this computer skills class. I thought, "I took computer science in highschool, what could I possibly learn in this class?" Boy, was I wrong! Ms. Belisle has taught me so many tricks for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Photoshop. I can create spreadsheets, charts, and presentations now in no time! Ms. Belisle made everything seem so simple. We even learned HTML coding and created our very own website! (Check mine out here!) I have a few tips for success for you:

1. Make sure to complete every assignment. Most in-class and homework assignments are only worth a few points, so it may seem like skipping a few of them would be okay. But beware! These points can add up very quickly. You'll need every single point you can get!

2. Come to class. I know it's hard to wake up in the morning. Believe me, I had class at 8:30 am. Though you may want to stay snuggled up and warm in your bed, you must come to class. We cover a lot of information every day, so missing a single class could make you fall far behind, and it won't be very easy to catch up.

3. Have a good attitude. Don't come in to class with a bad attitude, like "Oh, I know how to type and use the internet, that's enough" or "Seriously, why do I have to learn this?" All of the skills I learned in this class have been very beneficial, and I have even been able to use them in other classes.

4. Update your grades. You should constantly check your grades on T-learn and add it to your grades speadsheet. This helps you keep up with your class average and makes you aware of how you need to improve throughout the semester.

5. Stay on task. I know that it may be tempting to check your e-mail, facebook, or play games during class. However, you need to pay attention and stay on task. You don't want to miss anything during the lecture!

This class is definitely worth your time, so come in with a good attitude, and be ready to learn and work hard! So, good luck, and have fun!

Her Heart in Your Hands

The pictures I chose (both from separate people's blogs) were open hands and a flaming heart. At first, I was searching Google for images of butterflies, but some how I stumbled upon this picture of the heart, and I thought it looked pretty cool! It actually reminded me of some lyrics to a song by Keith Urban: "She laid her heart and soul right in your hands..." Sorry if you're not a country music fan, but I love that song!

The image of the hands was originally in color, so I had to change the picture to black and white. I also changed the opacity a little bit. Then, I took the picture of the flaming Sacred Heart and used the oval elliptical marquee tool to feather the edges. Then I placed the heart on top of the hands, changed the opacity, and used the smudge tool to kind of blend the edges of the flames.

There wasn't really any particular reason to manipulate the photos, I just thought it would look awesome. I wouldn't consider the manipulation of the images to be harmful, unless a person actually believed this was a picture of someone literally holding a heart bursting in flames... It was just for fun!

Now, on to the article "Journals Find Fakery in Many Images Submitted to Support Research." It is absolutely not okay for scientists to manipulate the images they use to support their research data. Science is all about backing up or disproving previous scientific findings, so changing something that a scientist uses as evidence will totally disrupt the scientific process and "delay progress in...scientific inquiry."

Student Presentations

On Tuesday, most of the class presented their PowerPoint about their field of interest. I enjoyed all of them and thought it was awesome that every single person did something totally different! I loved Will Prudich's slide show about bonobos; I found it to be quite entertaining. His presentation was informative, yet at the same time, engaging and casual. He seemed comfortable talking in front of the class, and I applaud him for keeping his cool when his music wouldn't play. (I, on the other hand, was so incredibly nervous that my voice was shaking! Public speaking is definitely not my forte.) Also, the pictures and music he used were perfectly fitting, and they just cracked me up! Also, I really liked Aaron Bishop's presentation about preserving national parks. He seemed to be well-informed on his topic. Also, his scenic pictures were absolutely beautiful! I think it's important to have items in your slides that are visually appealing to capture the audience's attention, which is exactly what his photos did!

Good job, everyone!

PowerPoint Presentations

Everyone always dreads sitting through PowerPoint Presentations. They are always the same bulleted, boring slides. I hate that what the speaker says is almost always just a regurgitation of what the text on the slides say. I thought the various articles on PowerPoint presentations were particularly helpful. Some of the examples from "Really Bad PowerPoint- and How to Avoid It" were so terrible, that I just had to laugh at them. After reading the articles, I've found several points that I deemed most helpful. First, don't use annoying transitions or sounds. To me, these can be distracting. Second, keep your theme consistent throughout the entire presentation. It's more visually appealing that way. Third, don't clutter up the slides with clip art pictures and verbose sentences. Fourth, use more visual objects, like graphs or professional images, to get your point across, rather than more text. Lastly, do not read directly off your slides. Only put a few words on each slide, and verbally communicate your points.

The CLT

On Friday, our class was introduced to Trinity's AT&T Center for Learning and Technology. I've heard of this place before, but I had no idea where it was located (which I learned is on the first floor of the library) or even what it was really all about. I thought maybe that there would be a few computers with some people to somewhat guide you along if you were confused about a certain computer program. However, I was blown away the moment I stepped into the room; I was quite impressed. It was so high tech! There were different stations within the room to satisfy all your technology needs, with both Macs and PCs. The knowledgeable staff at the CLT will help or train you to use any of the technology provided, like digital imaging, multimedia editing, and graphic design. When we design webpages for class later in the semester, I will definitely use the CLT as a resource if I need any kind of help. It seems like there is an endless amount of up-to-date technological resources in the CLT that can be used for both academic and personal purposes. You can check out laptops, video cameras, digital cameras, or utilize the electronic classrooms and videoconferencing facilities. I could use the CLT for class when we have group projects or have to prepare a presentation. We were told that we could video chat on a big screen with someone in China if we wanted to! I don't know if I would actually be allowed to do this, but one of my friends on the tennis team is abroad this semester in Australia, so it would be an awesome surprise for her if our whole team could reserve the video conference room and talk to her all at once! Also, you can transfer movies from VHS to DVD in the CLT! Which is awesome, however, I can't (legally) convert all my favorite Disney movies to DVD--sad day. But all in all, the Center for Learning and Technology is a great resource for both students and faculty. I feel that many unfortunate people are completely clueless of the existence of the CLT, so I'm definitely going to spread the word!

EXCEL

Before this class, I absolutely hated Microsoft Excel. I more than hated it; I completely abhored it. Every time I tried to make a chart, the axes would be wrong or everything would just be completely out of whack. I would get so frustrated. Now, however, Excel and I are on our way to being friends. I used to waste so much time fishing around the program trying to figure things out, but now I can pretty much do anything without thinking about it. I have to use Excel frequently to enter data and create graphs and charts for my biology and chemistry classes, so knowing how to use Excel proficiently will definitely be beneficial. Previously, my knowledge of spreadsheets basically consisted of entering simple formulas and functions and filling them down a column or across a row. I think that knowing things like the difference between absolute and relative cell references, conditional formatting, and the "if" formula will make my future Excel life much easier. I will be much less wary now when a professor creates an assignment utilizing Excel.

Searching the Internet

Chris Nolan, the University Assistant Librarian, came to speak to our class on Thursday about searching the Internet using a search engine. He started his presentation asking the class what search engine we most often use. I thought it was pretty crazy that EVERYONE in the class used Google. I knew it was popular, but I thought there would be at least a little bit of variety. I never knew how Google actually ranked the sites that came up when you searched for something. Apparently, Google ranks the sites not only by the number of hits the sites get or how often the search terms appear in the site, but also how many these sites are linked to other sites. Also, I did not know that “.com” stood for “commercial!” I really appreciate that Mr. Nolan showed us how to use the Advanced Search option on Google and taught us some helpful tricks to use, as well. For example, if you use quotation marks, only sites with that exact phrase will come up. Also, if you add “+” before a word it will make sure it is included in the sites, or if you add “-“ in front of a word, this will leave out sites with that word. This really helps you weed out websites that are not relevant to what you are searching. I knew the advanced search was there, but I’ve never really actually used it, but now I will!