Powerpoint (minus the headache)

PowerPoint isn't my forte because technology is like Arabic to me. Because that doesn't make sense I'll explain: before starting college I was largely ignorant of both and I'm taking courses in each. PPT has becoming more difficult to circumvent as I ascended through grade and high school and into college. For me its a lot to digest, but I've discovered I'm not alone. Investigations undertaken in the name of CS 1300 have revealed that there are nations of people utilizing PPT at a level so base as my own. With so many in need there are useful articles that promise to return some measure of dignity to my PPTs, these are their stories:
Tips:
1) Make yourself the star of the show. Slides should be a sidekick.
2) Text on PowerPoint's should only contain the skeleton of what you have to say. Flesh out the details through savvy speaking.
3) Avoid complexity. Distracting animations and transitions turn the audiences' attention away from what is pertinent (hopefully this is the information you are trying to convey).
4) Be innovative. Give the audience themes and graphics that are sophisticated and not worn to death.
5) Consider the flow of your presentation. Look at all slides in the slide sorter and consider the logical progression of your information. Keep in mind that the less topics there are per slide the easier your presentation will be to follow.

Now that the clean business of considering ways to improve our PPTs is out of the way, I'll lament on all the dismal habits we shall have to give up: writing entire paragraphs onto one slide (let the audience figure it out for themselves!), inserting cutesy clip art (in a perfect world bunnies would always be considered appropriate), reading off the slide (why should I have to memorize stuff, I know too much silly information already), and presenting without enthusiasm (this is my default mode when it comes to school projects). Lousy presentations are awful to watch but they are wonderful to prepare for- because you don't! I'll miss rehearsing for lectures by watching Sportscenter and Spongebob but without sacrifice can we truly appreciate the good times?

The CLT

The CLT (Center for Learning and Technology) is housed in a lower level of the library. It's got a ton of glossy Macs and sleek video gadgets...almost like a tech. batcave. The staffers manage both electronic classrooms and TV systems across campus. They also instruct teachers in technological matters. So much power. Let's hope they use it responsibly.
Wonder where multimedia materials on campus are produced? Video equipment is managed? To go to loan out a video camera? That's right! The CLT (Cave of Learning and Technology).
Students are free to get a hold on these resources in addition to faculty. Video equipment, study rooms, and staff help are available. But be on your toes because you may need to reserve some ahead of time (more information at http://www.trinity.edu/departments/clt/about_clt/about.htm ).
An opportunity for me to utilize the CLT has already arisen. My Arabic teacher desires DVDs of her pupils speaking her native tongue in a couple social situations, trouble is I forgot my video camera and DVD formatting equipment at home. Before discovering the CLT I thought myself in a fix, but all I need for the assignment (except mastery of Arabic) is there. Assuming everything goes smoothly with that I'll probably return to burn some movies illegally. I'm kidding obviously...no one does that.

Excel with Excel

Before working with Microsoft Excel in Cs 1300 I didn't know much about the program except that it must perform some important function to merit it's icon a place next to Microsoft word's on my Macbook. It's actually a useful little program. Although not as essential as Word for everyday use, Excel's spreadsheets are excellent for financial and business ventures. The mathematical functions it performs especially caught my eye for this reason. Money matters can be messy and Excel does a great job of sorting and calculating data. I can foresee myself using Excel in the same real life situations that we did mock-ups of in class. It would do an admirable job of warning me just how much I'd have to shell out on interest for big purchases or on loans for a mortgage. Utilizing it for determining cost and earnings in business exercises, as with the KRTU fundraiser (which I participated in!), is equally useful. If I were to establish a primo lemonade stand in my neighborhood I'd better know just how much cash I'm bleeding on lemons, water, and sugar so I can determine what my prices ought to be in order that I make a decent return (luckily the most valuable ingredient in such enterprises -love- is free). Organizing figures in general is easier if your committed to Excel.

A visit by Chris Nolan!

No not the director of the batman movies! A Trinity Internet guru seeking to pass over his skills of web searching and site evaluation to the lucky (and rather sleepy) attendants of CS 1300 @ 8:30.
Because pretty much all college students use Google as their search engine of choice, the majority of his presentation centered around how to use Google more effectively. But first a tiny briefing on Google. Google ranks its search results by the occurrence of the words searched, where those words appear, and (their signature feature) popularity links. Google profit is derived from advertising certain websites, but these sites appear off to the side of the returned search and are not supposed to affect the ordering of results. However, the finer details of how Google ranks search results is kept secret so marketers, kept one step behind Google, can't manipulate the search engine.
What I found most fascinating about Nolan's presentation were all the extra tidbits Google provides to help narrow down a search to help you find precisely what you want. I'm talking about advanced functions. Only want a certain type of website (say .gov or .edu) or only Spanish ones? You actually have the ability to make these specifications. Not that I had any idea. Formerly, I tended to glaze over the actual Google page, spewing in my information and choosing the first websites that satisfied my not-too-high standards. The problem with this method was most glaring whem I searched for scholarly articles for school projects. Real scholarly sites tend to be less viewed than say Time.com, and are buried deep within search results. However, Google has a secret option called "Google Scholar", known only to those who analyze the homepage. Now the Trinity Library won't be my only source for academic articles!
Mr. Nolan touched on other topics as well, like how to evaluate a web page (check out the "about this site" tab), but the information on Google was the most useful for myself.

Faux Photos

A stunning, romantic cover of National Geographic. A fake. The Egyptian pyramids in the image have been moved closer together, better fitting the boundaries and increasing dramatic effect.
What's a little troubling is that just looking at the photo, you or I would probably have no idea that something was amiss. When I see such images in magazines or on TV I usually trust them to be true without a second thought. Who wants to go through life questioning every little detail? And having never been to Egypt, for all I know the pyramids might actually be that close together. Sadly, instead of viewing a landmark achievement of ancient man what we are presented with is a mirage.
But honestly is it such a big deal in this case? The photograph has been tampered with alright, but only minimally. The pyramids have been inched a bit closer and a little flutter in our hearts, heralding that common dream of romantic adventure, is meant to arise. Not a big deal- we are duped, but only to the result of reconnecting with our hopeful daydreams. What is troubling is that the supposed reality that everyday people are presented with could be a distortion of the truth. A lie that is almost universally accepted. Because National Geographic has, with this picture, essentially endorsed lying I say "booo on them". We need to be careful, wars have started because of such shifty acts- ask Bismark.