Now that's what I call Powerpoint 17!

Hello loyal followers,

During the past couple of days in class we have been presenting Powerpoints to each other and there were a couple that I took a particular liking to. Abby Talley's presentation on radiation warning levels was extremely impressive in that it not only kept the attention of the audience but also was quite informative. It showed off Abby's future presentation which to many would be hard to present due to its depth but not to Abby! Despite never liking to have fun, Abby brought a detailed subject matter to life, blooming with excitement and clarity. Another presentation that knocked my socks off was that of Moira Allen. Moira presented on being a museum curator, speaking specifically of The McNay and Witte museums in San Antonio. Moira's presentation stood out for its awesome animations and inviting colors. Moira was Steve Jobs to an audience of eager fans. Lush colors kept everyone's eyes glued to the screen as Moira serenaded us with words of exhibits and the such. Well done ladies, you're making me proud.

Shake on my children,

Travis "why does Abby look at me like that, doesn't she know I have a girlfriend?" Halff

Articles on Powerpoint

The articles giving tips about powerpoint were interesting and informative. I liked the structure of many of them because it is easier to learn about something if you are learning about it in a fun way. My guidline for keeping your powerpoint interesting is
1) Slide transitions! Make it interesting!
2) Sounds! Nobody only wants to hear your voice.
3) Pictures! Color color color, the more there is for the eyes to see the better!
4) Quality Information! It is always annoying when people have a great slideshow but nothing of actual relevance in the show.
5) Keep it fun! Remember, powerpoint can be a fun tool!

Life as a Ladybug

My photoshopped image is of Rory Davidson, a freshman at Trinity University, imposed onto a ladybug. There is an overlay of roses that is opaque as to show the background. The story of my picture is that Rory, once a mighty human, sinned one too many times by continuously disrespecting the Great Lauren Wilks. Zeus, seeing this debauchery, decided to turn Rory into a ladybug. The image is a snapshot of the middle of Rory's epic adventure to find Ladybug love. Far from the human world, Rory must attempt to live like the critters that he once killed for sick sport. Rory must learn the Ladybug language (he is quite bad at spelling) while still retaining his human schooling.

Cheers Rory.
To Be Continued,
Travis "She is my girlfriend" Halff




Milo.

Let's Get Googled Up

During our last class, Chris Nolan (The Assistant University Librarian) came to talk to us about finding high quality information on the web. The concentration of his presentation was Google. But the Google that Mr. Nolan showed us was far different than the Google I was expecting. Right off the bat I was introduced to new information, as I found out that Google does not retrieve information from everyone on the web; databases protected by passwords hold their information out from Google. I was most suprised by the Timeline feature, which shows users when the term they are looking up was most searched. This feature has a lot of potential and I am excited to look up some terms whenever I get free time. Overall the presentation took the most commonly used search engine and revealed features and facts about it that so many people don't know.
Sincerely,
Travis

Pictures With Their Pants on Fire

I chose to analyse the CBS New Years Eve photograph because I found it particularly interesting. I am interested in advertising and marketing and the tactics employed in this photoshop certainly deal with that concept. The picture originated on New Years Eve, December 2000. During a video clip of a CBS anchor reporting on the event, CBS photoshopped an NBC logo in the background out and replaced it with a CBS logo instead. This photo was manipulated in an attempt to not do any inadvertent advertising for a rival network, NBC. I do not believe the manipulation was harmful at all; however I can see how some people think it is. I personally feel that they are simply making their broadcast look slightly better, not making any permanent or significant changes. I understand that some people would be irritated that advertising space NBC bought was taken away by CBS on their broadcast but in my opinion it was CBS's broadcast so they have the right to do whatever they want with it.
Merry blogging,
Travis "You know you want me" Halff

CLT (Cool Legit Techplace)

Last class during Computer Skills we ventured to the depths of the Trinity University Library to visit the Center for Learning and Technology. What I saw and what I expected were completely different things. I did not expect the center to be equipped with Macs and PCs (both filled with software that can be very costly yet very useful), I did not expect for there to be specific areas designated to specific tasks such as editing film, and I certainly did not expect to find a fully equipped classroom available for students to use any time they need it. After reflecting on the uses of the CLT (which I have come to call the Cool Legit Techplace as I feel that describes it quite well) I can see how it would be an extremely useful asset with many of my classes, especially Computer Skills. The center has multiple computers, Macs and PCs, with Photoshop installed and ready to use. As we are just starting to deal with Photoshop in class, I predict that this center will become a very familiar location to me. It also is a quite place to do work and to use computers for projects in my other classes that may require specific software. I am very excited about all of the possible scenarios when I will get to use this useful, peaceful, and complete tech center.
See you in the CLT,
Travis "Computer Wizard" Halff

Copyright and Its Importance to the Art of Writing

Fellow computer enthusiasts, while I was not in class during the presentation about Copyright Violation, I read over the fabulous and marvelous Abby Talley's notes and feel that I have a fairly solid understanding of the lecture. I did not know very much at all about the details of Copyright and the violations that come with breaking it, until I read over Abby’s Pulitzer Prize worthy notes. Essentially, a Copyright is a right to make copies, a right recognized by the United States government. Copyright began in 1790 and says that anything that you write is copyrightable and stays that way for the your entire life plus 70 years. While I did not know much of the information about Copyright, the most interesting information to me was that colleges and universities that have computer networks are required by the Higher Education Oppurtunity Act to provide alternatives to illegal file sharing. I found this intriguing because it was a very direct and smart approach to the issues regarded Copyright and illegal file sharing. There is some controversy about the idea of copywriting things. Some people believe that it is putting too much of a restriction on writers, while others feel very strongly that it is a neccesary protection of author’s work. I believe that while it may cause some writers difficulty, it is a neccesary sanction. Without the fear of one’s work being copied, one is likely to feel completely unrestricted and free when it comes to their work. There is no fear of one’s time and efforts being discounted because their work is stolen.
Until next time,
Your Computer "Big Papa"
Travis


Copyright and Its Importance to the Art of Writing by Travis Halff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.