CS 1300 Blog

For the Newbies of CS 1300

2009-12-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

As the semester comes to a close, it's time to leave a final word of advice that may come in handy for other students taking this course.

1. Get to know Dr. Belisle during office hours! Whenever you have questions, she is more than willing to help you!

2.Do the assignments ASAP! I found it helpful to do the hw assignments right after class so that I know I got it done. Also, it helps not to blow off the assignments because those points really do add up!

At first, I thought this class was going to be just book reading and doing assignments from the book. Boy was I wrong! We worked with Photoshop, learned tricks on Excel, and learned how to make our own personal webpage! Not only that, we get to tour places in Trinity where others are not allowed! Cool, huh? Well, I wish you guys luck and enjoy the time you're here at Trinity!

To Dr. Belisle: Thank you for teaching me some very helpful and awesome tricks in the Microsoft Offices. It was also fun working in Photoshop! All the skills I learned in your class will definitely come in handy in the future!

To Amy: Thanks for helping when I had questions. I hope you and your parents like The Woodlands!

Peace,

Grace Ungchusri

Photoshop

2009-11-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so the picture I chose was one of my own eye because it looks really cool! I added a hue/saturation layer to change my picture from color to just black and white. Then I uploaded a picture of earth incorporated it as the pupil of my eye. Finally, I added a text layer. I changed my picture to make a point that it takes effort to step into other people's shoes. Most of the time we make assumptions about others based on their (inter)actions without really considering the situation in another perspective.

Now, personally I think my manipulation of my photo was detrimental since my photoshop skills are not that great. I couldn't smooth out the edges where the globe touched my eye to make it look more natural. Generally speaking, I don't think this manipulation is harmful because I see it as making a statement; it is meant to sway the viewer towards my point of view, whether it's the truth or not. It's my view. Besides, there are many levels of 'truths' that one can choose to believe, but we'll leave that for another discussion. However, if one were to edit a picture of a country's flag to depict another nation's people burning it, then I would say that's harmful. That could cause a scuffle.

Powerpoint Presentations

2009-11-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed listening to Noelle's presentation because she sounded very relaxed, not nervous, and her flow of words matched the powerpoint. The theme of her powerpoint fit together, the texts were easy to read, and the added sound effect of the waterdrop was effective.

Another one that I enjoyed was Will Prudich's. The jungle theme in the background worked well with his topic of the Bobonos. The music and pictures of the primates was fantastic. It created a light atmosphere and I could see that the audience was enjoying every bit of it. The way Will presented the Bobonos' background was brief and not overwhelming so that the audience can follow him. And even though he had trouble with the music, he resolved it calmly and continued his presentation as if nothing had happened.

A job well done to the both of you!

PPT Evaluations and Tips

2009-10-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

After reading Top Ten Slide Tips, there are some things that I agree with and don't. Powerpoints are meant to be short and to the point while at the same time entertaining or pleasing to the audience. However, I don't find anything wrong with using cheesy clip art, sometimes they're intended. Keeping information on the slides organized would help the audience, even though their main focus should be on the speaker.

Recommendations for Faculty On Powerpoint was very interesting. It pointed out exactly the flaws of most presentations and how to correct them. Funny, they were all bulleted and to the point. There was only one advice I don't really agree on: the background. I don't think having something other than a plain background will make text harder to read (as long as the presenter takes the time to coordinate color, text size, and font). Really Bad Power Point- and How to Avoid It also has similar tips, with the exception of giving picture examples. And the YouTube video was removed by the user.

So, five tips I think are essential:

1. Keep the data short and to the point, but not boring...so have some color and pictures!
2. Color coordination please! Don't go all out with neon colors because I'd like to be able to see things normally by the end of your presentation.
3. Don't go overboard with animations and effects.
4. Don't read your slides, I'm literate. Besides, that's boring.
5. Don't let Power Point take over your presentation, the audience should be more focused on what you say than anything else!

CLT Not TLC

2009-10-22T07:45:00.001-07:00

The Center for Learning and Technologies is located on the 1st floor of the Coates Library. Down there, you will find Macs and Dell computers, all fully loaded with multimedia authoring and editing software, scanners, printers, and rooms for audio and video editting.

The Center hosts classes for faculty to learn how to use certain software, but it also provides for individual needs. It is beneficial to go there for help with photoshop. If one needs to scan a photo or document, CLT would be the place. When working on powerpoint presentations that need video and sound, CLT can help show you how to incorpate both. Like what Mr. Chapman said, he dabbles in all areas of needed expertise, but can only aid with more basic questions.

For personal use, a student can actually borrow the CLT's digital cameras as long as they get permission from a professor. The CLT is open to anyone, and it can also be used for video conferences.

Excel Experience

2009-10-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

In the past, I dreaded using excel because it just seemed more complicated than the rest of the Microsoft applications. I have used it in the past, but my dad or brother would always have to edit or double check my work. Excel has all these formulas, functions, and so much data input! However, after this section on excel, I feel more comfortable with it.

I learned how to select data using shortcuts and absolute cell references. The "If" function was definitely new to me, I didn't know that it existed prior to this class. Also, with the newer version of excel there are more cell conditioning options. I find this useful for making my data look neat, professional, and reader-friendly. Knowing how to format numbers is another plus for having data with particular units/symbols or decimal places.

In general, this was a good review of excel for me and I find it helpful, especially for all the science lab reports that require data sheets and diagrams.

I am Catchin' Some Waves...

2009-10-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Surfing the Internet! That's right, I'm looking through Google for some information on Amy's Ice Creams for a management project. After sitting in on Chris Nolan's lecture, Searching the Internet: Finding High-Quality Information on the Web, I've learned how to refine my search so that I get exactly what I want.

Well, this may sound odd, but I really did not know what a domain was. In essence, it's the .com, or the .net, and so on at the end of a URL. I never thought that those actually meant commercial and network. These little details are actually really helpful in screening through search results.

For example, adding the "+" sign in the search box with a certain phrase will make sure that Google searches for those exact words instead of commonly looked up synonyms. If one wanted to exclude certain words or domains, all one would have to do is put a "-" in front of whatever phrases they do not want to see(ex: "-site:.com"). There is another special feature on Google that I really like. It is the advanced search feature! I love how I can choose the file type, language, and even little details like usage rights!

Thank you, Chris Nolan, for a very informative session!

LOLZ CAT

2009-10-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I didn't pick a LOL Cat picture for analysis, but it relates to the mission assigned.

Looking through the multiple, manipulated photos posted on the CNET website, I found an image titled "Shark Attack". Anything with sharks is bound to be epic. Originally, this photo was just a regular picture of a U.S. Air Force helicopter hovering over water with someone hanging down on a rope-ladder. Someone, I'm guessing from Museum of Hoaxes, had horizontally flipped the picture and photoshopped a shark lunging towards the man on the ladder. The manipulation was for the "wow" effect since it made its circulations around the internet in 2001.

Now whether this manipulation is harmful can be seen in two ways. From one side, this manipulation distorts the truth and originality of the picture. It has destroyed a frozen frame of history and created a fictional, fun-size cartoon in its place. On the other hand, photography is art, and manipulating photos is now a part of art. Art expresses opinions, views, and ideas. It is through art that human imagination is seen at its greatest.

I'm downloading WHAT?!

2009-09-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

Copyright. The big word we see, hear, and breathe everyday. It's all around us and yet I learned alot from Jason Hardin today. I seriously did not think that copyright goes way back to 1790, before the Bill of Rights! That simply blew my mind away. And who would think that a term for a U.S. copyright product is the author's lifespan plus an additional 70 years?! I've always assumed that once something was copyrighted it would always be. Little did I know...

Another interesting reason for the presence of copyright policies, which I never thought about, was that it encourages creators to create because they will be able to hold credibility for their works. Thus, the domino effect ensues: creators want to invent and new sciences, arts, and technologies are created. How cool is that?

There is some copyright issue concerning downloadable music. Musicians (artists) compose and sing (or play) their creations. They sell CD's or downloads through mediums such as iTunes. However, there are places(BitTorrent, Limewire, etc.) on the internet where music is downloadable for free. Sure, it's great for us, the consumers, because we don't have to spend money purchasing something that's readily available. However, I really do think that as fans (consumers) of a certain artist, it would only do a great disloyalty to the artist to upload or download their music for free! How else are these people going to make money and continue their venture without our support? Besides, I'm pretty sure that whoever uploads the music, didn't ask the musicians for permission. Therefore, uploading and downloading free music off the internet could put one at risk of violating copyright policies. And, we really don't want to put our musicians out of business. The sound of monotony gets old pretty fast.

Trinity Network Diagram

2009-09-15T06:49:00.001-07:00

Word from the Wise

2009-09-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Since Joe Hatch's visit last week, I have downloaded CCleaner. After running it and the disk defragmentation program, my computer does run faster! Amazing!

So, the word of advice is:

Download CCleaner. Run it and the Disk Defragmentation program at least once a month to prevent your computer from slowing down and becoming a victim to viruses, hackers and the like.

And remember, if anything goes wrong with your computer or if you have any questions related to your computer, ITS is located in Winn Hall.

Howdy, My Name Is...

2009-08-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Grace Ungchusri and I'm a sophomore! My hometown is The Woodlands, Texas. That's about an hour's drive north of Houston. I have an American Foxhound, Shelby, who I simply adore! I am currently interested in Health care, especially nursing and radiation therapy. Even though I am still not sure what major to declare, I will find out by the end of this semester!

I was a part of Team Trinity and moved in early to help freshmen move in! It was very fun and a great workout! I am involved with TUVAC, which is an on-campus volunteer group that does many things (i.e. graffiti wipeouts). I am auditioning for a position in the Trinity orchestra tonight, so wish me luck! I also plan to join P.A.W.S and an organization about sustainability.

I have very basic experience with computers. For example, I know how to use Microsoft Word and Excel, but I wouldn't say that I know everything about it. I know how to use Adobe Photoshop, but I haven't touched it for at least a couple years. So, I've forgotten everything!

My scavenger hunt fact is that I really like moogles, which are fictional rodent-like animals from the Final Fantasy series. In Final Fantasy IX, they are known to be savepoints and helpful aids to the main character. Moogles love to eat kupo nuts and nearly every sentence they say ends with "kupo".

If for any reason you need to contact me, my email is:
gungchus@trinity.edu

And one of my favorite places to go to is Bangkok, Thailand, my father's home country:
http://www.tourismthailand.org/about-thailand/about-thailand-108-1.html