Maria Jose's CS1300

Advice

2009-04-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

My advice to new students taking this course is to complete all homework. Although Dr. Belisle does a great job in explaining step by step what was completed in class, you should not miss class because the practice you get is essential for that night's homework. When photoshop comes around, my advice to you is to download the free trial that Dr. Belisle suggests. I did not do that and I had to come to the lab every time we had homework. The computers at the library or Murchison don't have photoshop installed. The computers on the first floor of the library have photoshop but an older version; so I definitely recommend that.
Have fun!

Websites

2009-04-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

Three of my favorite websites were those of Ryan Beall, Natalie Toto, and Ali Kimura.

Ryan's website is very interesting because the monopoly board background is very catchy. His idea of creating a website where you can play games was very creative and unexpected. He ahad a wide selection of games. He also did a good job on his main page, choosing a picture that made you want to actually browse the website.

Natalie's was very unique. It was apparent that she spent a decent amount of time on this website. There is so much information that is well organized. My favorite part was the image map at the top of every page. The pictures used for that were well chosen. I also liked that she linked videos, names, and pictures to different websites.

Ali's website was very well organized. It's style and design was impeccable as the pictures were all organized as well as complimented with the background colors. The black and white image map at the top of the page is a very effective way of design, especially as she compliments with faded pictures in other pages of her website. My favorite part was the briefcase with the stickers that link to other websites. How creative!

You can look at my website by going to : http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~mtrevin2

My Two Favorite Presentations today

2009-04-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite presentations today was Stephanie Hill's. This presentation was very personalized. Not only did Stephanie relate it to her experience as she traveled to Washington D.C. and encountered multiple homeless people. These people clearly made an impact on her and her other travel companions. Her presentation touched me and the pictures were outstanding, especially the city view on the Title slide. The stories she was telling drew the audience's attention because of her interesting storytelling.

Morgan Latin's presentation was also very interesting. Her graphics were great, especially the first picture. She was very passionate about her topic. I loved how she introduced her presentation by relating it to her personal life. That makes the presentation much more effective. The issue she chose was well explained.

Presentations

2009-03-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Two very effective presentations were that of Lachlan Fogarty's and Nick Alexander's.

Lachlan's presentation, "Beach Conservation and Surfing" had a couple of slides with vivid photographs of beautiful beaches that he knew a lot about. With few or no words on each slide, he explained the importance of each and their pertinence to his presentation. The use of his examples were very effective and interesting. The vivid pictures helped the audience pay close attention to him as a speaker as well as kept us awake and looking at the slides.

Nick Alexander's presentation on Coca Cola's advertising also had very good graphics. The use of his background (Coca Cola image) throughout the presentation was a good way to decorate each slide. His presentation was interesting, especially the way he narrowed the subject down to the "secret formula". The Youtube video was a good way to catch the audience's attention, demonstrate the effective advertising, and explain further his career path.

Power Point

2009-03-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

The articles gave me further insight on Power Point. All tips that are given should be easy to follow and are definitely useful guidelines for when creating a powerpoint presentation.
Five guidelines that I believe are pertinent to powerpoints are:
1.Keeping it simple.
The more pictures and text you fill the space with, the more distraction and less powerful the slide is.
2. Keep it simple with the transitions.
I find it annoying when every slide has different transitions (swipe, fly in, checkerboard). It is even more annoying when the transitions are slow. This bores the audience.
3. Use photographs instead of clipart.
Using photographs helps the audience relate the message to themselves more. It also increases interest. If the text is more important than the picture... make it opaque, blur, or fade the image.
4. Always use slides that reinforce what you are saying.
Do not create slides that contain every piece of information. It annoys me when speakers do this because it switches my complete attention to the powerpoint instead of focusing on the presentor.
5. Use font, color, and pictures (visuals) to trigger emotion.
The audience needs to be able to engage with the presentation and be able to relate to it. Choose carefully.

These five tips are only a piece of advice that leads to a powerful powerpoint presentation. However, these articles reveal much more. By taking every tip into consideration, I will make my powerpoint presentation the best it can be.

Microsoft Excel

2009-03-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Office's Excel offers a spreadsheet that allows users to organize data properly. Before this class, I knew the basics: how to type in data into each slot. However, this is merely nothing compared to what I have learned. These spreadsheets give us the opportunity to calculate with different formulas that I have learned to use. It is the most useful program that I have yet encountered so far. I feel like having had this experience with Excel, I will be able to use it with future business interactions, with school work, or even in my personal life. Whether making lists, keeping track of grades, or balances on your accounts, Excel facilitates life. I had no knowledge of how to sort, calculate or perform different functions that exist. Ms. Belisle has taught me well!

CLT

2009-03-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

I had never been at CLT. To me, it was just the bottom floor of the library. I learned, however, that the most up to date technology you will ever need exists at this lab. Not only is technology offered; help is always offered as well. Photoshopping projects or presentations that require different software will be good assignments to take advantage of the technology offored at CLT. Not only do school assignments have priority over these software; hobbies such as photography, video making, music, and art can be developed and improved.

Altered Picture

2009-03-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

I chose picture number 9 which depicts a very patriotic scene. There are rows and rows of soldiers and the American flag sticking out from a crowd that is looking towards the soldiers. I chose this picture because it carries a sense of uniformity. It is also very patriotic. The number of soldiers lined to perfection are very impacting. This picture was an ad for the March 2004 Bush campaign. This photograph was changed by coping and pasting the rows of soldiers and lining them up with the rest and just continuously copying and pasting. Therefore, the same group of five or six soldiers is replicated throughout in order to create an impact. This removed George W. Bush from a podium that was originally there. It was manipulated to impact Americans and enforce the idea of patriotism in his campaign. It was harmful because it creates a false representation and an inaccurate idea to the American people.

Chris Nolan's Google

2009-02-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

Chris Nolan exposed us to very interesting and knowledgable information that is useful to us on a daily basis since we rely on the internet so much. Something that I learned was using the Advanced Search in order to limit our search results. For example, limiting our results to websites ending with .gov or .edu in order to get more educational information. Something that he mentioned that was very interesting is how we can use Google as a dictionary and a calculator.

Copyrights

2009-02-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

The "copyright" topic is a subject that one must be familiar with. There are four circumstances in which individuals in the United States can use works without permission. The first, is the nature of the work, followed by the amount produced, the purpose of reproduction, and last, the final damage that has been done by having taken previous unlawful actions. As Jason Hardin explained, one cannot compare the illegal actions taken by a church choir director who produces multiple copies of a song that will be sung by his choir in order for each member to have their own copy for practice in comparison with a situation involving illegal production of CDs that will be sold to the public.

A major copyright issue is downloading free music. The Music Industry deserves to have their share of profit, therefore, paying for iTunes is fair. Softwares like Limewire exist, giving free access to music. This is an easy approach for individuals who do not want to pay. I believe a solution to this problem is charging under $0.99 per song. Currently, adding 100 songs to your iPod means paying $100. Many iPods have the capacity of more than 700 songs-- That is a lot of money for music!

FACEBOOK Today.

2009-02-02T22:52:00.000-08:00

I consider Facebook to be a social network, a connection, a web of stories, and a link to current information. When in high school, at summer camps,or traveling, you make friends. Facebook is the perfect mean of communication. Not only are most college students in the United States on Facebook, but so are people all around the world. I use it constantly to catch up with friends I met years back. It's the perfect way to keep in touch by messaging each other and looking at their recent pictures. It feels like you have been at their side throughout.

Not only is it great to keep in touch with friends that don't live in the same city that I do, but it is also an easier way of communicating with people around the university campus. We all know that people constantly check Facebook. Therefore, we know our message will get to them. Events and committees post recent news or announcements continuously. This is a way of everyone to be connected and well informed.

I however am not in favor of the fact that employers and universities judge your abilities to work from Facebook profiles. I believe there should be a line drawn to a certain extent between work/school and each individual's personal lives. It is a good way to be informed yet a terrible form to be judged.

For more information on this topic, read this article:

Facebook: A campus fad becomes a campus fact

My WORD experience

2009-01-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

Word has been my life savior for years now. It has basically saved me from having to handwrite. I have taught myself by trial and error throughout the years. I therefore can say I can do the basic things. Having read through the information on Word made me realize the easier it can get. Techniques such as finding a certain word that has been repeated more than once and then replacing it with another by clicking a few keys instead of manually going through a paper and finding and then replacing is one of the tricks I wish to review. Other things such as formatting and using charts would also be interesting to look over. I hope that by taking this class all these challenges and tricks that facilitate assignments will become clear. With this, I can become a more efficient.

About me

2009-01-15T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hi my name is Maria Jose!
I was raised in Brownsville, Texas but come from a Mexican family. I lived in Brownsville for many years and later went to boarding school in Dallas. My family commute from Monterrey, Mexico to Brownsville; however, spending most of the time in Monterrey. If you want to see exactly where I live, go to: http://maps.google.com/
Traveling, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, and learning different languages has always intrigued me. Because of this, I have spent months at a time in both Spain and Switzerland. Studying in Switzerland for a summer enhanced my french language study. My love of languages continues to grow, as I have now studied French for eleven years and Chinese for two. Having lived with people from all over the world in boarding school has made me become richer in both culture and interest in the diversity of communities that exist.

Although I am not currently involved in any sports at Trinity, I have always enjoyed playing tennis. Painting and drawing however, is my passion.

My secret fact is: I have never in my entire life chewed a piece of gum. I promise and swear. I know some people still won't believe me.

Computers have always been a part of my life: Messenger, Facebook, Word, etc. Although I have taken Computer literacy, I do not remember how to do most things that are not common sense. My only concern is that I now own a MAC and honestly hope that I do not get confused with the different techniques that are used with an HP.

You can email me at: mtrevin2@trinity.edu