Powerpoint Presentations

I thought everyone did a wonderful job presenting their PowerPoints! It was interesting to learn about all of the different opportunities out there. My two favorite presentations were Chelsea's and Lucy's. Chelsea had a very nice template, that was very relevant to her presentation on birds. She included beautiful and bright pictures which really captivated me. The video that she included really grabbed the audience's attention and provided a good laugh. Lucy also did a great job of keeping me interested throughout the presentation. Her picture were very nice, and she presented her information in a creative way, which really made me interested in neurology. The video that she included was moving, and was a great example of why someone might choose this major.

Powerpoint Tips

There really was a lot to learn from all of the links on PowerPoint presentations. The Microsoft Online Tutorial offered explanations for all of the major components of a PowerPoint.

The excerpt from "Really Bad PowerPoint" was very interesting. I liked that it gave a little background on the origins of the PowerPoint presentation. It also stressed to avoid distractions such as dissolving and spinning transitions, or greater than 6 words per slide.

The Top Ten Slides seems to be business oriented but I think that it is relevant to most presentations. It stresses the importance of simplicity while maintaining the quality with captivating graphics and well chosen fonts.

My Top 5 Tips:
1) Do NOT read directly from the slides. It is important to maintain eye contact with your audience.
2) Include audio/video. It really helps hold the interest of the audience. Plus it shows you are experienced with PowerPoint : )
3) Choose a relevant template. The template can really make the presentation. Make sure it is captivating, yet not too overwhelming.
4) Do NOT have too many words. You want your audience to listen to what you are saying, not frantically reading your slides.
5) Be enthusiastic. While enthusiasm can get on some people's nerves, it is much easier to enjoy a presentation from a presenter who enjoying themselves, than from someone who clearly wishes they were somewhere else.

Photocollage

This collage is meant to stress the importance of recycling by showing how much trash we create.

Searching the Internet

Chris, Nolan, the Assistant University Librarian, talked to our class today, and had some very interesting things to say about searching the Internet and using search engines. I learned a lot of things about Google, the most popular search engine that I was not previously aware of. I never noticed that there were advanced search options, right next to the search button. I learned how I can narrow my results by simply typing in a few extra things into the search bar. I also did not know that Google takes over 200 factors into account when organizing search results. Google uses computer algorithms to organize the results. I was very surprised to find that different search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, provide fairly different search results, and organize them in a very different order.

Pictures That Lie

I chose this picture because it is an example of how media manipulation can reach the general public at anytime, and exposes it as a common practice. This is a picture from a New Year's Eve report on CBS, which aired in December 2000. It seems completely natural, depicting a typical New Year's celebration in Times Square. However, it has been revealed that the CBS emblem in the background was originally the NBC logo. The logo in the background was changed because the show was aired on CBS news, and they wanted to promote their own station, not NBC, their competitor. I don't think that the manipulation is as harmful as it is disconcerting. With this technology it is easy for businesses and companies to promote themselves by manipulating a lot of the broadcasting that reaches the public. This makes it difficult to know what of what we are viewing is actually real, or whether it is merely a ploy by these companies. Everything, even the news, has become an outlet for advertisement.

CLT

Our visit was very informative. Robert Chapman, the Instructional Support Manager for Trinity, showed us the AT&T Center for Learning and Technology in the library. We first were introduced to the CLT Studio, which was an open room where people have access to Macs and PCs equipped with all of the latest software, as well as printers, scanners. Next, we saw the Digital Audio Lab, where you can edit your audio and and video. These computers have the editing software necessary for projects involving audio and video. We also saw the Media Presentation Lab, where students can give presentations in a private room and make use of the video projection equipment in the Trinity classrooms. Students can also partake in Conferences, for in CLT there is access to conference facilities. Faculty and staff can also be trained to use certain software in the CLT facilities, and sometimes students can too. This is a great place to go if you have a multi-media presentation and your personal computer does not have the necessary software. If a class needs to have a conference call with someone, such as an influential figurehead, they can use the CLT facilities.

Copyright Issues

I learned a lot from Jason Hardin's, the manager of access services, lecture on copyright issues. I t was good to have someone clearly explain what exactly copyrights entail, and how to avoid any infringement issues. Having something copyrighted means that the government acknowledges you as the creator of your own intellectual works, and protects your right to control the reproduction and profit of your work. This provides incentive for intellectuals to continue producing creative and innovative works.

There have been many copyright issues involved with illegal downloading and file sharing of files. College campuses are now being monitored closely for such illegal activities. What students download can be traced to their IP address. If the activities infringe upon copyright laws, the industry can ask the school for the students name, and then take legal action. While I understand it is important for the industry to uphold the law, this seems a bit extreme, as do some of the consequences. However, the Higher Education Opportunity Act which requires the university to explain copyright and downloading policies to students and offer alternative resources for downloading seems like a reasonable approach to the issue.

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