Advice

Hi New Class,
Here are a few words of advice about doing well in this class:
1) Go to class - this class moves at a good pace and if you fall behind, it is hard to catch up.
2) Keep up on the assignments
3) Ask questions if you do not understand something as soon as you figure out you need help. Ms. Belisle is wonderful and loves to answer questions.

Have a good semester!

My Own Picture that Lies

I chose to alter this picture in order to make a social statement about how parents need to protect their daughters from sexual abuse. The original picture, which is on the bottom, originated from a website that raises money to help orphans and needy children. I manipulated the picture with the use of the clone stamp to remove her hand and to gray and blur the background. I also adjusted the saturation and flipped the picture horizontally in order to fix the child's eyes on the viewer. I manipulated it the way I did in order to invoke a more emotional response. The less saturated colors and gray background make the girl in the picture appear more in need. I also added text to provoke emotional action from parents or guardians. This manipulation is still harmful even though the purpose behind altering the image is for a good cause. This picture can cause viewers to feel sad about the abuse of children. Altering images for public statements is wrong because it can cause unnecessary and exaggerated responses from others.

Original Website: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.budimas.org.my/image/littleGirlYelloLeft.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.budimas.org.my/&usg=__t-Iw1QF0lq8D-PXOSG3MC6FPsjQ=&h=300&w=311&sz=18&hl=en&start=251&um=1&tbnid=HYia6w0CEUGaIM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlittle%2Bgirl%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D231%26um%3D1

False Images

After looking at the "Brief History of Photo Fakery" website and reading the article in the "Chronicle of Higher Education", I think that altering photos that are to be used in mass media or academic contexts is wrong. Altering photos that the general public will see is not good because the image will deceive them. They will not know that the photo had been altered and it might cause them to think differently of the situation that the picture is representing. Deceiving the public is wrong. As Ms. Miller in the article said, "Beautification is not necessary. If your data is solid, it shines through." Even altering an image to make it clearer is not a good thing. If your data is legitimate, other researchers will be able to see that. I love how they have software's that can identify if an image has been tampered with.

My Favorite PowerPoint Presentations

I loved seeing Lizzy Lyon's presentation on optometry. I loved her graphics and design of the presentation. She used images of her own eyes, which I thought added a very nice personal aspect to this otherwise professional presentation. I could clearly see that she was passionate about this field of study. She explained terms and specific things within this scientific field well and I loved that I could follow her presentation even though I am not an expert in this field. She did a fantastic job.

I also loved Baylie Bunn's presentation. I was so impressed with the unique and creative background and graphics that she used. Her presentation was very informative and she explained her topic and ideas related to it well. She layered slides beautifully as well. I also loved getting the see her passion for this subject, which added a nice personal touch to her professional presentation.

PowerPoint Tips

After looking at the websites about PowerPoint, here are my guidelines for creating a good PowerPoint and hopefully avoiding a bad one.
1) Use professional graphics: The cheesy clip art selections provided by PowerPoint are childish and should not be used in an academic or professional field. I find the cheesy clip arts to be belittling and annoying.
2) Keep the slides simple: Too much information on one slide can be overwhelming to the audience.
3) Use color well: Colors can be used to convey emotions and can help you get your point across by using visual stimulants.
4) Use animation wisely: A little bit of animation is good, but too much can be distracting.
5) Vary the way you present the information: Use a mix of text, video, charts, or audio.

CLT

I loved getting to visit the CLT area in the library. I had been there a few times before for viewing films for classes, but I loved getting to learn about all the technology down there. I loved that it has both Mac and PC computers so that students have the ability to work with whatever they are most comfortable with or they can branch out and learn another computer's system. The technology that the computers have amazed me. If I ever have a project that involves some sort of media, sound, photoshop, or imaging, I will definitely use this multi-million dollar area. Thank you for taking us on that tour!

Excel

I loved learning about Excel. I had very little knowledge about how to work it and I greatly benefitted from learning about it in this class. I only wish I had known how to work in Excel earlier in my college career because I have had to use it in other classes. I loved learning how to put formulas in the cells and then use cell references to do the math for the rest of the spreadsheet. I also loved learning about charts and tables. Being able to analyze data and add color or a design was a great learning experience for me. I will definitely use Excel in the future for keeping track of my grades and expenses. I will also use it to analyze data for other classes or research. Excel is a key component for academic use and in the business world. Students can use Excel in an infinite amount of ways such as research, analyzing data, or keeping track of personal things. Businesses can use Excel to keep track of the financial aspects of the firm and to prepare presentations with data. Overall, my experience about Excel was extremely helpful and beneficial.