Alex CS 1300 Fall

Advice

2007-12-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

I would recommend that the students next semester always go to class. The homework every night followed what we covered in class, so it really helped on completing assignments.

Classmate's Websites

2007-11-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

Out of all the websites that were created, my favorites were Natalie's, Samantha's, and Kate's. Natalie's site layout was well organized, and I especially enjoyed her music page. I liked Sam's collage on her website and I liked her idea to link to the websites of the bands she likes. I enjoyed Kate's website because I felt it was very informative and had a lot of pictures that show things about herself.
To see the comments I made on their sites, click below:
Natalie
Samantha
Kate

I enjoyed Nicole's and Mary's stumper photos because they were outdoor areas around campus that I really like. Paul's picture seemed very familiar and yet I couldn't quite remember where I had seen it before, and so it was the hardest for me to guess.
To see the comments on the stumper photos I liked best, click below:
Nicole
Mary
Paul

Stumper

2007-11-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

I took this photo somewhere on Trinity's campus. Can you guess where it is?

My Website

2007-11-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here is my website. I hope you enjoy it!

Bad PowerPoint

2007-10-23T11:55:00.001-07:00

I thought that the three best PowerPoints were Mary's, Juan's, and Paul's. I liked Mary's because she put the slides out of order and gave a lot of good examples of bad things to do. I liked Juan's because it was very simple yet funny because of all the blank white slides with hard-to-read text. I also enjoyed Paul's because it had a lot of distracting images and you could tell it took a lot of effort to put together.

The following is a list of things to do and not do in a PowerPoint:

Things to Do:
1. Use colors and fonts for text that are simple and easily read.
2. Use simple backgrounds that are not overly distracting.
3. Use simple animations and sounds so they don't distract. Make sure that they are relevant to the topic.
4. Always use a spelling and grammar check.
5. Always cite images taken from other sources.
6. Use titles on slides so that the audience can know the primary topic of interest.
7. Use consistency between slides

Things to Not Do:
1. Do not read off the slides during the whole presentation. This is boring.
2. Do not make the text's color blend with the background or the size so small that the audience can't read it.
3. Do not use so many images, animations, and sounds that the audience is distracted.
4. Do not think that you can use images without citing them.
5. Don't put too much information on one slide. This can generally be avoided by using bullets instead of long paragraphs.
Don't go over the time allotted to present.

Link to my bad PowerPoint presentation:
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~acheek/bad/bad_files/frame.htm

Alex Cheek

Copyright & Citations

2007-10-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

Copyright is the ownership rights that the original creator of an object has. When taking a picture from the Internet for a published page, it is almost always a good idea to cite the source from which it was taken in order to avoid copyright infringement. Certain sources have pictures posted in the public domain that can be used without being cited, but this is not very common. Images can also be taken without permission according to the Fair Use policy, which asserts that individuals are able to freely use copyrighted materials as long as they are used in limited amounts and for the purpose of criticism or commentary. Sometimes sources will have specific copyright policies or explicitly state that permission must be given for use. In these cases, you must obviously follow the requirements for use. At other times there are not specific directions for usage, in which case you should still cite the source but do not necessarily need to get permission (unless your work will be published).

My Reaction to the Articles

2007-09-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

Time Magazine's person of the year for 2006 was you. This was chosen because of the impact that a large variety of individuals were able to have on popular media and intellect. The concept of Web 2.0 has allowed people from diverse backgrounds and interests to collaborate and contribute in their own respects to the world wide web. The Internet now gives individuals a chance to divulge their opinions in a format that was formally unavailable with such medium as Wikipedia, Myspace, Youtube, and Facebook. I agree with the magazine's choice of person of the year because of the ways in which I can see that the speaking platform has been broadened to include virtually any person with a computer. This can sometimes be annoying because people are able to post information that is not from a reliable source so that it makes it difficult to discern academic resources from other information. Overall, however, I find that there are many more positive than negative effects that result because of this broadened platform for discussion.

The article I read about 2.0 Web was entitled "Will the Web 2.0 bubble burst?" by Jim Rapoza. Technology analysts are supposedly discussing the approaching burst of the Web 2.0 bubble. Jim Rapoza, however, finds this development to be unsurprising, especially when considering the constant cycle of bubbles bursting and then reforming. The first stage of the bubble is when the technology is first being developed. At this point the primary participants in development are the inventors who have little marketing experience. The next phase is the point at which the equilibrium between technology and marketing is found. This is where entrepreneurs and marketers with some knowledge of technology make products. The final stage of the bubble is when the participants involved are only concerned with the marketing aspect of technology. Here, products are likely to be made that don't achieve all that they claim they do. The products achieve more acclaim than they deserve, and so leads to an eventual burst bubble. This can actually cleanse the technology of all its hype and allow it to do its intentioned purpose.

I think that the future of Web 2.0 is immense. I believe that people will continue to get more access to opinion outlets on the web than I can even imagine. This will include both academic resources and popular media that are not available at this time. This could be problematic, particularly when deciding what does and doesn't constitute a legal posting.

Alex Cheek

My Microsoft Word Experience

2007-09-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

I have primarily used Microsoft Word for school-related topics. I know many of the basic functions that are applicable for writing papers. I learned some of the more advanced techniques that can be used in my BCIS class, but I've forgotten a lot of them. I could particularly use a review of ways to insert various objects. I've also never used the mailings tab.

Introduction

2007-08-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello!

My name is Alexandra Cheek, although I prefer to be called Alex. I am from San Antonio, TX and have lived here for the past fourteen years, prior to which I lived in Dallas. I attended Incarnate Word High School which is right across Hildebrand Ave. from Trinity. Although I haven't yet decided what I will become involved in on Trinity's campus, during high school I participated in my school's National Honor Society and acted as the Piano Club president. I love to watch movies and read great books. One of my favorite things to do is to travel and learn about different cultures, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to take many great trips during the past years. Since my parents are divorced, I often take a summer trip with each of them. Last summer I went on a two week trip to Spain with my dad and stepmother where we traveled through Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, and Granada.

I do not have very much experience with computers besides using them for Microsoft Word and the Internet. I took a BCIS class during high school to fulfill a requirement, but I still feel as though I could learn a lot more.

Alex Cheek