Staci's Compatibility With Computers

Websites!!

2009-04-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

I just looked through everyone's websites and saw some things that I really enjoyed. Robert's website of martial art's I thought was really well done and interesting. The format of his site was really easy to understand and to locate other topics. I liked how his navbar never changed and he kept every page the same format and color.
Another website that I really enjoyed was Hannah Linn's. Her website I thought was really well put together and really easy to follow. Her home page was really unique and different. I liked how everything was really neat and organized and very easy to understand.
The last website that I really like was Hye-won Kim's. She had a lot of little creative objects that were really unique and made the website very interesting. All of her pages were put together really well and I really liked the color schemes she had. I enjoyed flipping through her website and that's what really counts!
To reach my website follow this link:
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~srobins1/

Future Computer Nerds

2009-04-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

This class though at first seeming like a waste of times is actually extremely helpful. I learned a lot about excel, word, and microsoft expression web. I would advise to do all your homework and keep up with the class because a lot of information is provided each class and you need to know every detail.

My Favorite

2009-03-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

My two favorite powerpoint presentations were Hannah's and Jenny's. They were both well made and they both ensured my attention for the duration of their presentations.
Hannah did a great job presenting her powerpoint like a television set when her topic was of media broadcasting. Transitioning her slides like TV channels was very different and captured my attention (and I'm sure others) completely. Her use of the video was also very neat, and again made me want to watch her presentation even more.
Jenny's I liked just because her she discussed a subject close to what she wanted to do with her life and not the actual subject. This saved me from being bored since I would rather learn of why she chose this field rather than hear her drone on about the field. Her slides were very neat with a white background and her font color was very playful, matching her topic of a summer camp.
Both presentations were well made and I enjoyed listening to them more than any other.
Another presentation that I really liked was Ellen's. I really like how her theme and color remained the same. The pictures matched her subject really well and her presentation grabbed my attention the whole time.

No More Boring PowerPoints

2009-03-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

After reading the three articles about PowerPoint presentation I discovered that all three of them were generally saying the same thing. Most of the points the articles made were points that I was learned never to perform in high school with my own PowerPoint presentations. In the past I've learned my lesson with long and drawn out power points that without helpful hints such as these I would have struggled through some parts of school. Five important guidelines that I believe should ALWAYS be executed in a PowerPoint presentation include:
1. Simple is best
Try not to overload the slide with too much information, instead limit the amount of info and embellish it with your own words. This will make it easier on the audience and yourself.
2. Be creative
Don't try to use the preset themes on PowerPoint. I love to see different styles and I'm sure other people agree that unique slides draw the eyes more.
3. Limit noise
I really dislike any presentations with noise, especially sounds with slide transitions. If your going to include sound, please make it professional and part of your whole point of the presentation.
4. Pictures are key
The more pictures you have the more attention your presentation will bring. Pictures draw interest so try to replace words with pictures if possible.
5. Big font
Some people, like me, have horrible eyesight and as a result sometimes get stuck straining our eyes for itty bitty font that by the time we read it all we don't know what we read. The bigger the better when it comes to font, try not to harm your audiences eyesight.

The Powers of Excel

2009-03-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Excel is a powerful tool that provides multiple means of computing data. Through this class I've learned many things that I have never known or have forgotten in the two years since I've taken a computer class. I had forgotten what anchoring the cell meant, a very important tool of computing data. I also freshended up on creating tables using excel, another VERY important feature that is useful for powerpoints and on word documents. Excel can be used in the future to create company spreadsheets and to compute data in a fast and easy way that would otherwise take a lot of time. Even now I'm using Excel for my workstudy job and which I wish I knew some of the info that I know now for excel; I would have saved a lot of time and hassel. Businesses and companies use excel to keep track of employee salaries, business statistics, employee numbers, etc.

CLT

2009-03-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

Today in class we went to the CLT center, a place that I had never been. I learned that the CLT center is good for projects that require any media photoshopping and recordings. CLT is also a good place to go and work on projects due to the quiet lab and helpful assistants. I also learned that CLT provides all of the equipment found in the classroom from the projectors, screens, and computers rather than ITS.

"Pictures that Lie"

2009-03-02T15:57:00.000-08:00

Apparently National Geographic warped this cover photo in order for the Great Pyramids of Giza to better fit together in the photo. I chose to analyze this picture because National Geographic magazine is my favorite magazine and I religiously read it every month. I especially admire this magazine for its amazing photographs it produces and although this photo has been manipulated and I feel let down, I still think I should defend their cause. This particular photo appeared on the February 1982 issue. The magazine altered the photo by squeezing together the two pyramids pictured so that they can be pictured in one shot. National Geographic obviously wished to enhance the look of the cover by capturing both pyramids in one shot and making the magazine more known for its superb photography. In the end this picture was not harmful at all to the audience although the readers might feel jipped. The manipulation of one photograph of a scene that merely depicts two pyramids instead of one ultimately does not cause any harm to anybody. The only harm done, in this instance, was to the magazine and to their reputation rather than to the readers.

Google Unveiled

2009-02-25T16:46:00.001-08:00

Apparently I don't know as much about google as I thought I did. Yes, there is more to the google search engine than just typing in need-to-know information and pressing enter. First off google not only searches randomly for all the hits matching your typed words, but google can also define terms, search media, books, and also search through scholarly journals if you wish to limit the field of results. This search is called (not-surprisingly) Google Scholar and would have saved me a bunch of time if I had just known of it. Throughout high school the librarians repeated over and over that google was not a legitimate search engine for scholarly articles, but despite this mindless imprinting the students used google anyway (when the librarians weren't looking). If only I had known of this feature before coming to Trinity I could have shown those strict librarians that google is not the annoying search engine that it appears to be but a well thought out resource that could potentially save a lot of time. But I should not dwell on the past and I should use this Google Scholar resource with the best of my abilities from now on.

Copyright and Disney?...hmmm

2009-02-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

I will confess to you I LOVE DISNEY!! Disney movies are my picker-upper when I'm down and make me joyous when I'm happy. But recently I have found out that the Disney characters are presently only Disney because they are protected under Copyright laws that may soon expire. The law protects works under copyright laws for the lifespan of the author plus 70 years and with the death of Walt Disney in 1966 this time period may be shortened if the present law is modified to 50 years. The old law gave only 50 years after the author's death but the Sonny Bono Act added 20 years to change the law to 70 years in order to protect the Disney characters from public domain in 2016. Once I discovered this threat, I could not believe that my precious Disney characters may soon be thrown to the jaws of society. Disney deserves better than this!

I understand the whole purpose of public domain and that it allows citizens to freely scope out work without the threat of breaking copyright laws. The world would be chaotic with infinite amounts of infringement happening all over the world! Every family would most likely have some sort of law suit occurring over historical familial works that hundreds of years later would have some case of infringement. Works need to be set free and public domain allows society to freely breathe without law suits haunting us every second of the day. But I still cannot get over the fact that Disney characters will eventually succumb to public reign maybe sooner rather than later.

For work, such as Disney, that is a marvel in society and in which truly places a historical mark on the world I believe some kind of exemption should exist. Some kind of hall of fame that no one can touch despite the copyright public domain. Maybe this is wishful thinking but I cannot seem to imagine that public domain can be such a good thing with masterpieces such as the Disney characters. I know I will see the day where the Disney characters will fall under free public reign and that day will be a tough one for me who feels Disney deserves better for providing happiness and laughs when gloom threatened.

Thoughts About Facebook

2009-01-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

Yes I'm on Facebook...but it took me awhile. I first created a Facebook page less than a year ago more out of the realization that college means leaving friends than for the fun of it. Before that I had always questioned the point of sites like Facebook...I mean I saw my friends every day what was the point of just "friending" them again every night? But now I have come to realize that Facebook gives me the chance to keep in touch with people that would otherwise have been virtually impossible. Yeah sure there is IM'ing and texting but those things take up a good amount of time when all you want to do is say hello. Facebook only requires a sentence or to on a "wall" and that's all, which is much more convenient and gives more time for thoughtful responses rather than awkward silences. Therefore Facebook in my opinion is the King of the social world and grants students like me to keep in touch with friends of old that would have otherwise dropped to the end of the Earth.

To read article click link:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1213/p13s01-legn.html

Word Experience

2009-01-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

In the past I have discovered Word in detail through my BCIS class my Junior year. In the class we had a book very much like the Microsoft Office textbook that we followed step-by-step and discovered how to use the various tools on Word. The class taught me how to use so many more tools than the obvious ones, tools that I still use consistently today.
I would like to rediscover some of the tools that I have forgotten and learn how to use the shortcuts that I never seem to remember. The shortcuts would save me time and allow me to swiftly move through a document.

Introducing: Me

2009-01-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

On October 11, 1989 my mother produced her second out of three children and named her Staci after a character on the comedy "Alf". I have since never been called anything else since (excluding of course my middle name on certain precarious situations). I am a native born Texan, born in Houston, and am from a town, sorry "village", named Pleak; population 946. Pleak is located about 25 minutes southwest of Houston and currently houses only a village hall, two gas stations, and one stoplight. (You can follow the link from Google earth to view itty bitty Pleak with this address, you might have to zoom in): http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Pleak,+TX&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.082817,78.75&ie=UTF8&ll=29.483764,-95.807304&spn=0.037656,0.076904&t=h&z=14
In this respect, living in Texas, I have grown up with numerous animals including two horses, two dogs, three cats, one rabbit, one pig, and one chinchilla named Chico. Also, being a Texan, I've grown up living next to a barn bigger than our actual house which is a product of my dad's imagination. Growing up, I fought with two siblings, an older sister attending TX A&M and a younger brother currently attending my old high school and competing on the school's swim team. In high school my only computer experience was my Junior year for a semester when I took a BCIS course centered around computer programs. We learned the workings of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. Trinity was a spontaneous decision for me since I never imagined attending anything other than a state public school; but I am grateful over my decision and am loving the experience so far. I am on the club volleyball team here at Trinity since volleyball was a major part of my life throughout my school years since the fourth grade. Additionally, I am an avid environmentalist and as a result most of my friends know to recycle when within my vicinity. I plan to make traveling a major part of my life and hopefully complete a study abroad program for a semester.

My secret fact for this class is that I have a pot-bellied pig named Harley. I know a pig is not a conventional pet since most of them are sent to a slaughter house but Harley enjoys the treats of a rather spoiled dog. He takes walks at night up and down our driveway and relishes in his own house/shed set up beside our garage.

e-mail: srobins1@trinity.edu