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!

Photo Manipulation

I chose the manipulated photo of Katie Couric, because this is the exact reason why so many girls and women in the world are obsessed with their physical appearance. The picture was the first-released photo of her from NBC. The photo editors slimmed her down so that she could look physically "more appealing". I believe that this manipulation is definitely harmful. The mainstream media is a major source of society’s obsession with physical perfection. This obsession has become a very serious issue. The media basically decides for us what we should deem as attractive. They have no right to tell us what is beautiful. When we see these skinny models and spokespeople on T.V., in the back of our minds we know that only an exceptional few actually look that way, and a lot of what we see in the media is air-brushed or fixed up by computers, but for some reason we still try to fashion ourselves to look the same. People strive to mold their bodies in order to match that stereotypical “perfection,” while potentially hurting themselves along the way.