Advice

Coming in to this class I had little computer knowledge and I have learned a lot of useful information. My advice for students coming in to this class is to really pay attention in class and do all the homework because you will learn many new skills about computers.

Favorite Websites

My favorite websites are Bri, Amanda, and Teekha's because they all had great design techniques. Bri had some really nice backgrounds that went with the theme of each webpage. Amanda has a nice theme with all yellow backgrounds and a nice array of pictures. Teekha had a really cool nav bar that looked like a strip of film and the background was really well done.

My Website

Please visit my website at : www.cs.trinity.edu/~jbruce1. I created a website for my class that I expected to be difficult, but it ended up not being to bad with the help of Expressions Web that does all the code for you. My faorite section is probably the section on travel because it is clearly laid out and some of the pictures hyperlink to websites about the countries. The one thing I would probably change are some of the backgrounds to a pattern to make it a little more interesting. My biggest challenge was making sure the text in the tables all centered and lined up properly. I will probably show the site to my parents and friends becuase they will probably enjoy seeing it. I could definetly make another website for a future class becuase it was fun and easy to complete.

Pictures That Lie

The picture I chose is a rubber duck that has large wings spread out so it can fly over a harbor. The background image is of the Boston Harbor because I am from Boston and it is important to me. I manipulated the picture by putting wings on the duck and putting the duck in the air. I also put a person looking up at the duck in awe. I do not think the manipulation was harmful. It was done as a joke and a play off of if pigs could fly because I love ducks.
The article I researched is about digital manipulation in cytology. Researchers were given altered images were the colors were changed to see if it would affect their interpretation. In the altered images the agreement was poor between the cytologists about what the image entailed. My picture that lies is related to the article I read becuase the picture I created is a stretch of the truth or an alteration of what really is.

Source

Pinco, Jeffery, et al. "Impact of Digital Image Manipulation in Cytology." Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine 133.1 (2009): 57-61. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

HTML Code

Today in computer skills we learned how to create and design a website. When creating a website it is very important to use HTML code to design the web page. In order for a website to be made you must code every detail. There are programs out there, like Expression Web and KompoZer, in which the code is done for you. Despite these short cuts it is very important for people to know how to create code. When creating a website if even one small thing goes wrong you must be able to look over the code and figure out what is wrong. The basics of HTML are easy to understand and it is not very difficult.

Favorite Power Points

My favorite two power point presentations were Macy's and Bri's because they were very well thought out and I really enjoyed their career choices. The wide variety of career choices in the class was very interesting and I really enjoyed hearing about all of the different careers my classmates want to have. I enjoyed Macy's and Bri's the most becuase they were both well thought out and the slides were prepared and simply done. They seemed to know a lot about their future career and really passionate about what they are going to be doing.

Power Points

In my most recent computer class we discussed power point presentations and I read some interesting articles on the topic. One of the articles gave the top ten things to do on your power points which I found very helpful to better my presentations. Another article was about how to avoid bad power points and how to avoid them which also gave helpful advice. Another article was actually a YouTube video that gave a step by step tutorial that I found a little hard to follow because he goes quite fast. My guidelines for a good power point are: 1. Use as few words as possible for each slide 2. Have a visual theme through out 3. Avoid too many slide transitions and noise transitions 4. Use clear visuals 5. Do not hand out printed copies.

Photoshop

This composition is of different architecture around the Trinity campus. It shows a varied of different angles.

Chris Nolan

In my most recent computer skills class we had a guest speaker. Chris Nolan, the guest speaker, came in and discussed internet searches and ways in which you can get reliable scholarly articles for papers and classes. I learned about how to improve upon my searches by using the advanced search and opening up the show options button, so I can narrow my search and made it more effective. The show options button was something new to me that I think will be very helpful in the future because it has brings out a bar that has different types of sites and you can narrow your search to only those few sites. Something that surprised me was the fact that government sites with the .gov can be unreliable because they can be very persuasive and biased about the topic because it is a government run program.

Pictures That Lie

For this weeks assignment I chose a picture of Martha Stuart on the cover of Newsweek because it is digitally manipulated. The head of Stuart was digitally put on to the body of a model. It was made because they did not like her actual body and wanted her to look as good as possible. This manipulation is harmful to viewers because it portrays an incorrect image of her and is sending the message that her actual body is not good enough for the cover. They thought the body of a model was a better portrayal of the real Stuart then the actual body which is a bad message to be sending. The viewers should know that not everybody is model thin and you can be famous for your personality and not for your body.

CLT Visit

In my most recent computer class we made a trip to CLT or the Center for Learning and Technology. It is located in the library and is filled with desktop computers. All the computers divided up by section for what specialty you would like to use them for. There are Macs as well as PCs so you can have all the latest software programs. The center will be very helpful in the future if I need to do any digital media projects or I have to use any software programs that I do not have on my laptop. It will be helpful for my computer class if I need help on any assignments or need any special computer assistance. Overall I really enjoyed the visit and learned a lot.

Copyright Laws

In class on Thursday Jason Hardin who is the Manager of Access Services at Trinity gave a guest lecture on copyright laws. He led an interactive class that included a power point with electronic quiz. He talked about the difference between copyright and plagiarism and how the difference between them is copyright is punishable by law. One of the topics he talked about was file sharing and how it is a crime, but is going on around the world. Students are prime candidates for file sharing because they do not have the money to pay for music on a college budget. Illegal downloading of music, movies, and videos can cost you thousands of dollars if you get caught. Most of the time students and people alike download anyway because they do not think they will get caught. This is an issue that needs to be resolved in some way and I think that making music free in someway would solve all of the problems. Musicians want to make money, so if there was a way to pay a small fee and then be able to download all the music then there would not be this issue.



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My Trinity Network Diagram

Here is a screen shot of my diagram of the Trinity Network. As a class we went to see where all of the information is held on the first floor of Halsell, so the project was not to difficult to complete. The tour of the data closet was given by a Trinity graduate who now works with the system. He was very helpful and gave a good description of how everything works.

Joe Hatch Tech Tips

I learned a lot from the Joe Hatch presentation in class. He was very informative and I learned a lot about computers that I did not know before. We learned about phising, CCleaner, and trying to prevent viruses on you computer. The top tech tip that I learned and will use in my daily computing is about phishing and preventing it from happening to me. An example of phising is when someione sends you an email that asks for personal information like a fake online banking email. When you send the person your personal information they can then drain your account in seconds. I will now be on the look out for any suspicious emails and will call the bank if I see anything peculiar.

Scavenger Hunt

Today I completed the scavenger hunt for class and it was a great way to get to know everyone and all of their interests.
I commented on two classmates posts : sgtgonzalez09.blogspot.com and koverman.blogspot.com.

My Introduction

Hello! My name is Jacqueline Bruce, but my friends call me Jacki. I am from Boston, Massachusetts. I am a freshman studying international studies and business. I play intermural soccer here at Trinity and I used to row in high school for a near by club team. I am interested in art and music; and I hope to pledge a sorority this semester. I am not very good with computers and I purchased a Mac for school.
A secret fact about me is that I was a French exchange student in Northern France for two weeks my junior year of high school.
You may email me here: jbruce1@trinity.edu