advice to new students

So long as you keep up with the homework assignments you will be fine! The homework may seem like a lot of work but don't wait till the last minute or it will seem like more. Have fun with photoshop becasue once you learn how to do everything, you can make just about anything. Try not to miss alot of class because it can put you really behind. Have a great semester!

Wonderful webpages

My three favorite web pages were Lindsey Marotta's, Ali Kimura's, and Kendra Doshier's. All three were very colorful and well organized with a touch of personality. They were not like a typical web page that you see a lot which is great because is shows off their creativity. I loved the music that Lindsey added to her page. It is just another hint at her personality and the fact that she put her art online is great. Kendra's videos were really funny and slightly confusing but still awesome. I loved the suitcase with the stickers placed on it on Ali's page. It was so clever and a great visual effect. Everyone's websites were great but these stood out for me. If you would like to see my own website go to www.cs.trinity.edu/~mhazelwo!

PPT 2

So yesterday, I really enjoyed Stephanie's presentation. It was very informative but entertaining at the same time. He information was presented in a logical order and not too much info was on the slide so that the class had to listen to her speaking in order to learn about her topic. Her animation was fitting and every slide stuck to a certain color scheme and theme. Overall it flowed very well and was enjoyable. I look forward to hearing Steve speak here at Trinity!

Power Point Presentations

I really loved Lindsey's presentation! I didnt know that art therapy even existed so it was really interesting and engaging. The music that played throughout the presentation was very soothing and fit the presentation very well. She used a nice theme and continued the color scheme throughout to present a nice visual. Her animations were also very fitting to the topic and her presentation of the material was very well said and organized. My other favorite presentation so far was Allison Kimura's. The use of the video, even though the sound didn't work provided a nice example of her topic and the information was presented very well. She maintained a color scheme and there wasn't one slide that deviated from this theme. Also very interesting and I can't wait to see everyon elses!

Power Points

The website that list the top ten tips for a power point presentation is very informative but I don't agree with all of them. One of the tips it gives is to not have cluttered slides, which is true, but lots of white space on a slide is not very interesting and won't hold the audiences attention. The purpose of the powerpoint is to back up the speaker so bullets are not always a bad idea. The can help to summarize what the speaker is saying if the audience looses track. The youtube video was quite funny and it does help point out that a speaker must be prepared to entertain his/her audience by himself and not the powerpoint. So here are my five tips to help present a logical and well organized presentation.
1. use the templates provided by powerpoint if you have trouble creating your own because it will help to keep things organized. The layouts are easy to read and don't look cluttered.
2. Pictures provide a good visual and make the presentation more interesting but you don't want too many becasue this will distract the audience from what you are saying
3. bullets can be used to summarize points made while speaking but don't place everything you are going to say on the slide.
4. be prepared and have notes for each slide. the audience can tell when you just present the information from the slides because it is less informative and you will forget to mention the small details.
5. NEVER have just plain white slides with paragrphs of text on them. It is very boring and no one wants to look at a white screen during a presentation. Choose a color scheme based on what you are presenting and a layout that suits as well.

One extra little tip- transitions between slides are nice like the top ten tips lists, but too many is distracting. Keep things simple by only using one transition style

Excel (10)

Learning how to use excel is very important for all students our age because I feel that most of our jobs in the future will involve computers is some way and at some point we will have to use excel. Excel gives the user the ability to create graphs of information that can be used in presentation for organization and visual facts versus just lists. It is useful for most businesses because it can help keep track of the budget and expenses in a paperless form and help to compute numbers in an easy efficient way. I did not know that excel graphs and charts could be linked up in a power point presentation and that the formulas were so easy to use. I know that I will have to use excel at another point in my career whether and a student or professional, so it was nice to have the review.

CLT

I found out on today's field-trip that anytime I have a project concerning graphics or web design and don't know where to start, I can come here for help. Robert Chapman was very informative and answered my questions concerning itunes. I  don't know that much abut using computer for graphic design or editing so it is helpful to know that i can come here and ask for help. Also, I like the atmosphere because it is very quiet and secluded.