Last class, on March 26, my classmates presented their slideshows for their major, future job, or topic of interest. Among them, I had two favorites: Adan Gonzalez's presentation and Jenny Zeberlein's presentation.
Adan's PowerPoint was particularly impressive for many reasons. For one, his background and general slide style was very casual, yet professional. His slides were well organized and well used. I especially liked his use of high quality pictures when discussing successful music producers; they must have been difficult to find. But the most striking thing about his presentation, was his obvious preparation and passion towards the topic of producing music. He spoke clearly and adamantly about what it takes to become successful and the necessary skills that must be mastered in order to do so. These things resulted in a great presentation.
Another slideshow that I found impressive was Jenny's. She also used a unique slide design that added to the presentation. She used bright colors, tilted photos, and faded edges to give the slides a fun, light sentiment. Like Adan, Jenny's obvious interest in the topic was clear through her words and tone. Her personal experience with camps for handicapped children and young adults strengthened her presentation overall.
There are actually still some PowerPoint presentations to come in the next class. Maybe I'll have more to say later!
John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
PowerPoints
After reading the articles regarding ways to improve your powerpoints, I definitely learned a lot. I found the last article "Really Bad Powerpoint - and How to Avoid It" the most helpful. Although it was tedious to read, the information was much more in depth and constructive than "Top Ten Slide Tips" and "Recommendations for Faculty on Powerpoint". Still, "Top Ten Slide Tips" offered quick and simple ways to clean up a presentation. "Recommendations for Faculty on Powerpoint" provided insight on how to better make a PowerPoint presentation, but was not as specific as the other articles.
I encourage my fellow students (including those not in Computer Skills) to read these articles in order to improve presentations. I actually used them for a presentation in my Mass Media class just after reading them! The suggestions made in the articles are helpful and accurate. If trying to sell a product to a potential investor, would you have silly dancing letters fly in and out of the screen? Likely not. So here's my five favorite ways to improve a Powerpoint (or criticize a bad one):
1. Don't write too many things on a slide.
- I think that a few transitions can actually be beneficial to a presentation, but kept to an absolute minimum and may not be appropriate depending on the subject being discussed.
3. Don't use cheesy clip art.
- It lowers the maturity of your presentation.
4. Use backgrounds that are appropriate and original.
- If you're going to use a Powerpoint template background, at least change the color theme.
5. Reinforce your words with your slides, don't repeat them.
- This works on many levels. Your presentation will be balanced and interesting, you're not simply killing time with a useless slide, and you will stay on topic.
These are important ideas that I gathered from the articles selected (Top Ten Slide Tips," "Recommendations for Faculty on Powerpoint" and "Really Bad Powerpoint - and How to Avoid It"). My presentations have been far from perfect, but these ideas will undoubtedly improve them. I hope they will be beneficial to you!
Thanks for reading,
John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu
I encourage my fellow students (including those not in Computer Skills) to read these articles in order to improve presentations. I actually used them for a presentation in my Mass Media class just after reading them! The suggestions made in the articles are helpful and accurate. If trying to sell a product to a potential investor, would you have silly dancing letters fly in and out of the screen? Likely not. So here's my five favorite ways to improve a Powerpoint (or criticize a bad one):
1. Don't write too many things on a slide.
- I know I've tuned out speakers to read the difficult slides or I've completely zoned out because I didn't feel up to reading all that material.
2. Avoid overwhelming transitions into slides.- I think that a few transitions can actually be beneficial to a presentation, but kept to an absolute minimum and may not be appropriate depending on the subject being discussed.
3. Don't use cheesy clip art.
- It lowers the maturity of your presentation.
4. Use backgrounds that are appropriate and original.
- If you're going to use a Powerpoint template background, at least change the color theme.
5. Reinforce your words with your slides, don't repeat them.
- This works on many levels. Your presentation will be balanced and interesting, you're not simply killing time with a useless slide, and you will stay on topic.
These are important ideas that I gathered from the articles selected (Top Ten Slide Tips," "Recommendations for Faculty on Powerpoint" and "Really Bad Powerpoint - and How to Avoid It"). My presentations have been far from perfect, but these ideas will undoubtedly improve them. I hope they will be beneficial to you!
Thanks for reading,
John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Application of Excel
Hello again,
I really enjoyed the time spent with Excel this semester. I am confident that I can successfully use Excel for most common necessities. I will provide an example in which I was unable to help a project group because of my issues with Excel. This fall semester in Biology, I was asked to collect and present data on Alligators. The data included information such as body length, tooth size, and other reasonable measurements. I was so poorly educated with Excel that the only thing I could do was create a table. A generic, no special fonts, no background color, table. I ended up having a group-mate help me use Excel to turn the data into a professional grade presentation. It would be obvious to note that my group-mate tested out of the Computer Skills requirement during New Student Orientation.
But after the exercises and assessments regarding Excel I received much more education about the program than I had ever received before, and can confidently assert that I will no longer be handicapped in terms of tables, charts, and the like.
Still though, I learned much more about Excel than simply tables and charts. I now know how to balance a checkbook (a handy piece of knowledge) and calculate many things by using the programs "Functions". Excel is used by so many people for so many things its incredible! While on a flight back to San Antonio from North Carolina at the end of Spring Break, I looked up the aisle of the plane and noticed a man had his computer open and was using Excel! I could not exactly see what he was working on (probably better that way) but I could tell that he was using background colors to indicate important cells in a table. It's cool and exciting to see people applying education to daily life.
Excel can be used for so many different things that it is easy to understand its popularity and success. I look forward to using my knowledge too!
It's always a pleasure,
John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu
I really enjoyed the time spent with Excel this semester. I am confident that I can successfully use Excel for most common necessities. I will provide an example in which I was unable to help a project group because of my issues with Excel. This fall semester in Biology, I was asked to collect and present data on Alligators. The data included information such as body length, tooth size, and other reasonable measurements. I was so poorly educated with Excel that the only thing I could do was create a table. A generic, no special fonts, no background color, table. I ended up having a group-mate help me use Excel to turn the data into a professional grade presentation. It would be obvious to note that my group-mate tested out of the Computer Skills requirement during New Student Orientation.
But after the exercises and assessments regarding Excel I received much more education about the program than I had ever received before, and can confidently assert that I will no longer be handicapped in terms of tables, charts, and the like.
Still though, I learned much more about Excel than simply tables and charts. I now know how to balance a checkbook (a handy piece of knowledge) and calculate many things by using the programs "Functions". Excel is used by so many people for so many things its incredible! While on a flight back to San Antonio from North Carolina at the end of Spring Break, I looked up the aisle of the plane and noticed a man had his computer open and was using Excel! I could not exactly see what he was working on (probably better that way) but I could tell that he was using background colors to indicate important cells in a table. It's cool and exciting to see people applying education to daily life.
Excel can be used for so many different things that it is easy to understand its popularity and success. I look forward to using my knowledge too!
It's always a pleasure,
John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Field Trip to CLT
The class went to the CLT the other day and it was really cool! I've been down there several times by accident, usually while I was on a study break and looking at the music. I would pass by the area and not really know what it was or who could use it but I learned a lot more about it during the visit on March 2nd.
Officially called the The AT&T Center for Learning and Technology (because AT&T gave Trinity University $4million in sponsorship for the facility), the CLT contains many things that are available to all students, Firstly, the facility has many rooms and computers (both Mac and PC) that can be used for any thing school related. You can edit photos and greater your knowledge of important software and use the most recent technology available thanks to the grant from AT&T and financial backing from Trinity University. Also, it rents out digital cameras and other devices to students for projects for school. Most importantly however, is the expertise and help provided by the staff. According to the speaker, if you have interest in anything regarding technology, photo-editing, or simply need help for an assignment, the staff is happy and welcoming. Although I have little experience in the CLT, I believe that it can be very helpful to aspiring technicians. For example, my brother William is extremely tech-savvy and he developed his skills just as the speaker described and encouraged: asking questions, building relationships, and genuine desire.
The CLT is a great place to work on an exciting presentation, edit some of your favorite photos, learn about new gadgets, or simply enjoy friendly and helpful company. I will definitely head down there next time I am working on a project that I really want to blow out of the water. Most likely, I will use the Media Presentation Lab for its large seating and projection screen or the Studios @ CLT in order compose and prepare for a slide show presentation later I have later in this semester. If I didn't visit the CLT, I would not have had the opportunity to practice presenting my project in a classroom setting. I look forward to using the CLT's fantastic facilities and learning from the experienced staff.
John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu
Officially called the The AT&T Center for Learning and Technology (because AT&T gave Trinity University $4million in sponsorship for the facility), the CLT contains many things that are available to all students, Firstly, the facility has many rooms and computers (both Mac and PC) that can be used for any thing school related. You can edit photos and greater your knowledge of important software and use the most recent technology available thanks to the grant from AT&T and financial backing from Trinity University. Also, it rents out digital cameras and other devices to students for projects for school. Most importantly however, is the expertise and help provided by the staff. According to the speaker, if you have interest in anything regarding technology, photo-editing, or simply need help for an assignment, the staff is happy and welcoming. Although I have little experience in the CLT, I believe that it can be very helpful to aspiring technicians. For example, my brother William is extremely tech-savvy and he developed his skills just as the speaker described and encouraged: asking questions, building relationships, and genuine desire.
The CLT is a great place to work on an exciting presentation, edit some of your favorite photos, learn about new gadgets, or simply enjoy friendly and helpful company. I will definitely head down there next time I am working on a project that I really want to blow out of the water. Most likely, I will use the Media Presentation Lab for its large seating and projection screen or the Studios @ CLT in order compose and prepare for a slide show presentation later I have later in this semester. If I didn't visit the CLT, I would not have had the opportunity to practice presenting my project in a classroom setting. I look forward to using the CLT's fantastic facilities and learning from the experienced staff.
John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu
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