Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The End...

I can't believe the semester is over! I have learned so much in this class and enjoyed all the work we have done. Though I thought I knew a lot about computers, the information we learned was shocking, even what I learned on Word! Some advice I have for the next classes is to make sure you pay attention to details because that is usually the hardest part to get right. Also, make sure not to blow off written tests and quizzes because they DO count and are very important for your grade. The most interesting section we did in my opinion was Photoshop, and probably where i learned the msot. Enjoy this class!!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Photo Fakery

"Doctored images are troubling because they can mislead scientists and even derail a search for the causes and cures of disease."
After reading the article and seeing this quote, I am strongly against this type of tampering. It really does nothing for the researcher if it is not accurate and instead has the potential to harm many other researchers who would have counted on its veracity and any individual who would have benefited from the discovery. The fact that Ms. Roovers did not see the magnitude of her actions, since 'she is not the only one,' makes me feel like this really is a huge problem because faking results should NEVER be acceptable. I am really glad after this occurred actions have been taken to detect the violations and prevent them from happening again.

Pictures that Lie

For my pictures that lie, I chose two images: one of a phone booth in London and one of the Eiffel tower. I chose these because i really like to travel, I also thought the picture of the phone booth was really interesting and artistic. Both pictures come from the stock exchange. I manipulated the pictures in many ways because I wanted confusion between which city it was. The gray scale made it feel older and ore classic while the color of the phone booth makes the picture more interesting. I don't feel the alteration is harmful in anyway other than confusing the viewer because it does not affect any specific person, rewrite history, or change the news.
  • I used the magic extractor to get rid of the background around the Eiffel tower
  • I used the stamp tool to get rid of a Ferris wheel where the tower now is
  • I used the pattern stamp tool to add trees at the bottom of the Eiffel tower
  • I changed the opacity of the tower to match the rest of the background
  • I added an adjustment layer and made the whole picture gray scale
  • I painted the red back on using the mask feature (black paintbrush)


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Powerpoint Presentations

My Favorites:

I loved all of the presentations we have seen! My two favorites were Noelle's because I thought the topic was really interesting and her explanation was really clear. Also the graphics (lightning at the beginning, and water ripple) were really cool and smart. The other power point I really enjoyed was Melissa's. I thought the black background added a lot since the topic was so complex, I also really liked her use of diagrams to explain what she was describing and the gif she used was very smart too.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Powerpoint Presentation

Guidelines
  1. Limit use of text and bullets so the slide is readable and the point is easy to find
  2. Use big (at least 28-point) font on slides
  3. Avoid using the presentation as a 'teleprompter'
  4. Don't use distracting transitions on EVERY slide because this takes away from the presentation instead of adding to it
  5. Have a 'visual theme' to bring cohesion to the presentation so it does not look like random slides pasted together

Thursday, October 22, 2009

CLT

I actually did not even know the CLT existed so I found the visit really interesting. I was really impressed by the number and variety of computers they had. Also, the kinds of softwear/stations the CLT is divided into are really cool!

I will definatly be comming down here to use the Adobe suites beacuse the definition and monitors down here are a lot better than my personal lapotop. I'll probably also come down here to edit pictures just for fun for the same reasons.

Since this is my only computer oriented class right now, I am not sure how much I will use it for other classes but given the opportunity I will definatly come here!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Excel

Before we started the unit on Excel I did not know a lot about it and, to be completely honest, I was intimidated . However, after everything we have done with it I can honestly say that I really enjoyed learning about excel! I did not know about most of what we learned and all of the applications the program had.

I loved how functions worked and the ease of using them. The running balance was probably the most useful function for me because I can start using it to keep track of how much money I have and avoid over-drafting (again!). I also learned a lot with conditional formating because it can make a table a lot more clear or highlight specific portions that are important. The function I found MOST interesting however, was the 'if' function. I think its amazing how much Excel can compute and organize with just a couple of parameters. These tables will also be really useful to keep track of grades (as we do in class) and to quickly makes charts from specific data.