Garrett's CS 1300 blog

Advice

2009-12-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

Try not to miss any class periods because you learn a lot each class. If you miss a class it is hard to catch up and learn what you missed. Since homework is given everyday, if you missed class it will be difficult to complete the homework.

My picture that lied

2009-11-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

I chose a picture of the golden gate bridge. It originated from the blog website: http://www.uptake.com/blog/landmarks/san-francisco-golden-gate-bridge_426.html. The bridge is in San Francisco California. I manipulated the picture to seem as if an airplane was crashing into it with both the pilots jumping off with parachutes. It was manipulated to show a disaster and national tragedy. The picture is not harmful to other people. It may be seen as shocking or scaring at first glance. However, it can be easily heard that it is only a manipulated picture. The picture is not racist nor does it harm the well being of any person. To make the picture i used many tools. I used the magnetic lasso to cut out the parachutes and airplane. I flipped the airplane horizontally from its original picture. I also changed the brightness and saturation of the airplane. I also used the dodge tool to integrate both the color of the sky's from the other pictures i cut into it. These are just some of the many tools i used to manipulate the original picture of the Golden Gate bridge.

Power Point Presentation

2009-11-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

Anthony Cockrell's power point really stuck out to me. He used great pictures to illustrate his passion for engineering. He also informed me of many important engineers of the past that I never considered engineers. The pictures and animations he used were not over board but they were appropriate. Even though there were only four slides, the layers he usedmade it seem like more. Anthony kept me in to the presentation with valuable pictures and slide design. He really showed his passion and love for the topic of engineering in his power point. Good job!!

I also found Elizabeth Lyon's power point extremely informational. She used great pictures of the eye and retina that i have never seen before. Having been to the eye doctor many times, i was able to relate to the tests dont and what the doctors actually look for. I also liked how she used a picture of her own eye to personalize the presentation. I learned a lot about her topic and it was a very solid power point. All her slide designs were consistent and to the point which made it easy to pay attention to. Good Job!!

Powe Point Presentation Tips

2009-10-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

After checking out each website, they all offered different ways to approaching power point presentations. Simplicity is key. When a power point has too many distractions, it takes away from the viewer's concentration. When it is simple and organized, information is easy to read and your ideas are aware to the viewer. Along with simplicity comes minimal bullet points and text. Reading makes the viewer tired and bored of what he or she is watching. The viewer is watching a presentation, not reading a book. Therefore, either read to the audience or let them read. They can either listen to you talk or read from the slide; not both. Furthermore, animations are attractive but it is wise not to add too many. Keep the transitions consistent and appropriate.

The design and pictures added to the power point are also essential to a well prepared presentation. Avoid using pre-made templates and background designs. Try to add an appropriate template that is unique to you. Make sure graphs and charts are used adequate with your information. Organize the charts neatly and color-organized. This makes analyzing your data easier. Along with the design, make the fonts suitable and readable. Simple and large font is easy to they eye even though they may not look as fancy.

Sound effects and videos are good when used wisely. Do not use sound effects given to you, rather take them off a CD or online. This will ensure uniqueness and creativeness.

My 5 Guidelines:

1.) limit the amount of text on each slide.
2.) keep the background design consistent and on topic. (do not use pre-made templates)
3.) keep animations appropriate and use them wisely. Too many childish animations looks corny.
4.) use legible fonts that are adequate size.
5.) Make graphs and charts organized throughout the slide to defend your point more thoroughly.

CLT Visit

2009-10-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Before our visit to the CLT center, i never knew about it. I found it to be a great place to study, work on projects, and use new technology. I wonder how come more students do not use that place because the computers are nicer and more applications are available. I will use the CLT center to complete major projects especially in my Entrepreneurship seminar and management of organizations class. I have 2 major projects in that class and the CLT center can be very helpful in making my project better. I was also informed of a music room. That is a great place to record music, mix music, and sing music. I would love to experiment with all the new technology there. I am also not comfortable woking with Macs. The CLT center is a great place to adventure into a Mac and learn about how to use it and all it's features.

Excel

2009-10-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Coming in to this class, i did not know anything about excel. I was always timid to use it because charts, graphs, and data always confused me and I did not know how to work it. I was also unaware of all the functions and formulas used to make the data accumulate. I am now proud to say I am confident in using excel. I learned many new things with excel. For starters, how to create SUM,AVERAGE, IF, and many more functions and formulas. I also learned how to add charts and spreadsheets into the excel page. I feel that this will be helpful in the future when i am presenting information and determining data. Being a business major, I know that i will have to use excel with future jobs and internships. Having knowledge with how to use excel will definitely be a advantage.

I also learned how to copy and paste data from excel into power point presentations and word documents. This special copy and paste feature is extremely important because presenting a creative and thorough power point is always good. Knowing a lot of key features with excel will help me organize and retrieve data a lot easier. Formatting cells and being able to use absolute cell reference saves time.

In conclusion, i came into this class with no knowledge of excel and am leaving feeling confident and intelligent when working with excel. I am glad we touched upon the topic of excel because being a business major this will come in handy very often!!

Chris Nolan's Visit

2009-10-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

I learned a lot of useful information from Chris Nolan. The newest information I learned was about how Google ranked the lists of websites in a keyword search. The ranking of Google searches are based on word phrasing, the amount of key words in the title of the web page, and the number of times other sites and search engines link to that site. I never really understood how certain web pages got to the top of the Google list. I was very surprised how easy it was to put false information of a website that is on the top 5 Google ranking list. For example, Chris Nolan showed us the site www.martinlutherking.com. The site sounds legit and correct, however, when analyzing the information on the site, it was racist, false, and harmful. Other websites similar to this are Wikipedia. I learned that anyone can put any information on the site and if enough people believe it, the information becomes "true." I also learned about the "cache" feature of Google. It is basically a copy of the page. This is useful because if the web page is not working, you can always use the cache site to gather local information of the page. This is just a handful of things i learned from Chris Nolan.

Photoshop Pictures

2009-10-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

I chose the picture of O.J. Simpson on the cover of two magazines: "Newsweek" and "Time Magazine." The picture was taken in 1994 soon after the he was arrested for the murder of his wife. The picture originally is his mug shot. The first picture was clear, bright, and in color. It was manipulated for "Time Magazine" and changed into a black and white picture, darker in color, and a dark circle surrounded his face. It is manipulated to make him seem scary, guilty, and dark. The manipulated picture obviously wanted to influence the people into thinking that he is guilty for the murder of his wife. Yes, the manipulated picture is hurtful for O.J Simpson himself because it portrays a negative and fearful picture of him. However, it did not change the result of the trial.

Copyright Education

2009-09-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Fair use is a positive defense against charges of infringement. It is not an assertive right under title 17. The only time you can invoke fair use is if you are charged with copyright infringement. Therefore fair use can only be used in times of defense. There are four factors in determining if fair use can be used in defense. The first is the nature of the work. This means that if it is used for commercial value and profit, it is harder to use fair use whereas if it is used for a non-profit organization, fair use would be acceptable. The next factor is the purpose of reproduction. This falls under the same lines. If it is being reproduced for commercial reasons and for personal profit, fair use cannot be used. The next factor is the amount reproduced. If only one or two quotes are pulled from the original work, fair use can be used in defense. However, if a full CD is burned into iTunes, then fair use cannot defend this case; it is too valuable. The last factor is the effect of the reproduction on the rights holder’s profit. This protects the rights of the original creator and allows him to keep making profit from his work.

I feel fair use helps those who are unsure or innocent when using another person’s work by accident. I understand that some people might accidently take a copyright quote or picture and not know. Fair use helps aid these people to not get convicted of copyright infringement.

My Network Diagram

2009-09-15T09:34:00.001-07:00

Joe Hatch's Visit

2009-09-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Joe Hatch's visit was very helpful to me. The way he described the hardrive as a disc with scattered information and how defragmentation fills in those gaps really helped me visualize the problem. I have yet to try defragmenting my computer but i will soon. He taught me how to reach the defragmentation process as well. (start—accessories—system tools—defragment). I will also try downloading the CCleaner because it sounds like a safe way to protect my computer and help it run faster.

Get to Know Me

2009-08-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

My name is Garrett Biel and I am from Northern California. I am located about 30 minutes inland of San Francisco in the bay area where we dance a little different. I was a division 1 soccer recruit and division 3 football recruit. I am a freshman this year and currently play football for Trinity University where I am the field goal kicker. I have 2 older brothers (Matt-22 Michael-34). My brother Matt is an Olympic Trial qualifier swimmer and he swam at the University of Arizona. My brother Michael is a lawyer in Chicago. I love playing any sport, partying, and just hanging out with friends. I listen to rap, hip hop, R&B, reggae, and a little bit of everything else. I love to dance and go to clubs and parties.

A secret about me is that I know how to do the moonwalk. After Michael Jackson died someone had to take his place. It took me a couple of weeks and hard hours of practice to get it down but in the end, looking in the mirror when i do it, its all worth it. I am going to major in business and possibly a minor in Chinese. My dorm is McLean. I love traveling, my favorite places are the Bahamas and Hawaii. I'm a beach type of person and enjoy all water sports. I don't have much experience with intense computer skills. I know the basics and hope to learn more through this class because that will help me in the future. When on the computer I am usually on Facebook, iTunes, or my email. (gbiel@trinity.edu).

gbiel@trinity.edu

Cite: www.youtube.com. epacitythug. December 17th, 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v4Fa39thvY