John's Computer Skills Blog

Advice

2009-05-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Enjoy this class. It really is a wonderful experience and you learn a lot!

Student Websites

2009-04-28T05:49:00.000-07:00

Last class period, my classmates presented their websites. Although I was absent due to a tennis match, I have since looked at three sites that I found particularly impressive. The first website that I thought had the most original design and showed a lot of creativity was Hannah's. Her website was well organized and coordinated. The color themes she chose worked well for the pages, and they each had a unique design. Another website that I looked at was Jenny's. I liked Jenny's site for her overall unity of design. All the pages flowed together and had a consisten layout (the green background was constant as well). She had interesting topic of Ireland and included fun pages such as Things to Do and beautiful pictures of Ireland. The last website I will talk about is Taylor Hoyt's. It was clear that Taylor put a lot of work into his website. He had a link bar that was located on the side of the screen (uncommon among the sites I saw) and had many pages covering a vast array of topics such as his brothers, resume, and a story about his trip to Britain.

I really enjoyed looking at everyone's website and learning about them! You can visit my site by following this link: www.cs.trinity.edu/~jrunge

It's always great,

John
jrunge@trinity.edu

Take Two: Next Day of Slideshow Presentations

2009-04-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

More people presented their slideshows in last class. Just as last time, there were many interesting and creative topics and designs. My two favorites from this class were Taylor Burden's and Ellen Desmarais.

Taylor's was really cool for several reasons. The first thing that caught my eye, or in this case my ear, was his use of music in his presentation. The song he chose was complementary to his topic, "D-Day", and reinforced the emotions involved in such an event. He also used slide and font techniques that helped add a specific tone to his presentation.

I was impressed with Ellen's because her interesting topic "The Science behind Attraction". It was a impressive step to take with the assignment and she handled it well. Her topic immediately engaged me because it was so original. Regarding design, I really enjoyed Ellen's use of romantic pictures and appropriate transitions between them and the slides.

These presentations easily rivaled those of my previous post, because they were creative and original!

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu

Slideshow Presentations

2009-03-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

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

PowerPoints

2009-03-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

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 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

Application of Excel

2009-03-18T19:40:00.001-07:00

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

Field Trip to CLT

2009-03-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

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

Pictures That Lie

2009-02-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

Many people take pictures, but people's use of pictures varies. Some put there pictures in photo albums for future generations and others put there's in magazines and newspapers for profit. Occasionally, someone will doctor a photo by cropping someone out, resizing, adding an object, or some other type of manipulation. Doctoring a photo is not problematic for anyone who does not intend to present the photo as a media or historical document.

After looking at many pictures that had been doctored, I chose one that was first edited in 1910. Click on the link to see: <http://news.cnet.com/2300-1026_3-6033210-20.html?tag=mncol>

This photo is an instance in which an extra addition is not harmful to anyone looking at the picture. The fish has obviously been enhanced to make it bigger and the man was clearly added to the photo. The photo first showed up in Ottawa, Kansas. The changes made to the photo are not harmful because the picture is of a postcard. Because it is a postcard, no benefit will come to the photo other than an interesting story. However, if the photo had been submitted to a newspaper and printed for showing the largest fish ever caught, then it would have been found as fraud and undergo disciplinary actions.

In this way, the manipulation of this photo is not harmful because it provides comical value and does not expect to be taken as absolute truth.

I chose this picture because of its aesthetic appeal and because my father once showed me a similar picture when I was a child and did not tell me that the situation didn't actually happen until I was 10 years old.

Well, that's it for now!

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu

Using Search Engines for Research

2009-02-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I learned some valuable information from Chris Nolan during his presentation to my Computer Skills class. Most notably, I learned the difference between the different kinds of web sites that exist (i.e. ".org", ".gov", ".edu", and ".co"). A ".org" website is a non-profit organization, a ".gov" website is run by the Federal Government, a ".edu" site is one that is sponsored by a school, typically higher education, and a ".co" website is a "commercial" website and can be connected to a foreign country (for example, ".co.uk" is a commercial website from the United Kingdom). A search can be limited to a certain type of website in Advanced Search options.

Something that surprised me from his presentation is that results from a Google Scholar search are in a general Google search, but have been selected because of their scholarly qualities. I wrongly assumed that the results from Google Scholar search were made available only through Google Scholar. Also, I was excited to hear that by typing in "define:" before a word in a search, Google will define the term for you.

Chris Nolan's presentation was both informative and interesting. I left class knowing much more about search engines than I would otherwise have the opportunity to learn.

Until next time,

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu

Copyright

2009-02-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

I'm back, and I'm fresh full of new information. When Jason Hardin came to talk to our class about the rules and regulations regarding copyrighting, I learned a lot. One thing he brought up that I find particularly interesting is the handling of "Orphan Works." These publications have no author, publisher, or copyright holder that can be located. Issues that arise include "Is it in Public Domain?" and "Who do I pay royalties to?" along with "What can I do about it?" Well, the publication in question may not be in Public Domain, but you do not have information supporting either side of the argument so one must assume that it is NOT a part of Public Domain. Furthermore, there really isn't anyone to pay royalties to since a copyright holder cannot be located. Therefore, the best way to handle the situation is to document your attempts at finding the copyright holder so that if there's a conflict, you can simply prove your steps through the process and would have contacted to correct copyright holder had the information been available.

One issue regarding copyrighting that is in serious debate is in movie clips and film pirating. Recently, the balance between a clip from a movie for a presentation versus mainstreaming a pirated form of a film has been changing. Friends send clips out via email and things constantly and no less use them in school presentations. But how often do they cite them? Is this lapse in proper citation and violation of copyright law as bad as pirating an entire movie? Well, no. And yes. No because the clip does not make money nore is it substantial (and also it might actually advertise the entire film). Yes, though, because the bigger issue is that any type of fraud is illegal and should be frowned upon. But where do you draw the line? When does a clip become too long to be considered dangerous? I think that regardless of length of clip, both forms of video use is a form of pirating. I do not support the abuse of bootlegging movies or collecting clips. Clips can turn into substantial parts of movies. To me, the line seems unclear, so don't go near it. Everyone has a different opinion, but I'll stick to mine.

Thanks again, keep in touch,

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu

Facebook

2009-02-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

As the article "Facebook: A campus fad becomes a campus fact" from The Christian Science Monitor suggests, Facebook is everywhere. I use it. My suite mates use it. I've met people who have sworn never to sign up for it create one. The point is that it has become an important part of interactions between students and organizations. The article says that anyone not just Google or Yahoo would benefit from the purchase of Facebook because of the advertising possibilities. Not like it lacks ads now, but political parties of major advertising companies would benefit immensely from its use.

Facebook is a great way to casually interact with your peers, but it can be overbearing sometimes. It's a great procrastination tool and you could argue that it's addictive. I check mine daily but I have friends who check it every hour or use their phone to send the latest updates. It's crazy!

It has been great for organizing University events too. I learned about Concert for the Cure via Facebook and people create groups dedicated to going to sports activities. It should be regulated some, but you can already control your own security levels and can accept or deny a friend request from anyone you want.

There it is. I like Facebook, but don't want it to take over the world.

Link to the article:
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1213/p13s01-legn.html>

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu

Microsoft Word Experience

2009-01-27T05:50:00.001-08:00

Hello again,

The last few weeks have been both hard and fun as I am getting used to my workload for this semester and enjoy the company of my friends. Hopefully you can say the same too!

I have had a lot of experience with Microsoft Word since almost every class I've taken since middle school requires it. I can easily crank out an essay and am confident with more advanced skills such as adding Headers and Footers and using the shapes (thanks to last week's class). However, I do forget how to do a few things occassionally and have to ask a friend. Oh well! Before I came to Trinity I used only Microsoft 2003, but now I can use both and even prefer using 2007 as it has a straight-forward format. Even though I consider myself well versed in Word, there are likely some aspects about it that I don't know about. I tend to use and reuse the same functions many times over. Therefore, I am eager to learn about new uses of Microsoft Word that can be applicable to my next assignment.

Until next time!

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu

An Introduction

2009-01-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is John Runge. I'm a freshman from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The town itself is relatively small, but it is the home of the University of North Carolina which basically doubles the town's population during the school year. Although from North Carolina I've always considered myself a Texan. You see, I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, then moved to Galveston where I spent 6 wonderful years. Both my parents' families are spread throughout Texas and we also have a family ranch. These qualities led me to always desire coming back for school (and hopefully longer). Location, academics, and athletics were the big three factors in my school selection. Trinity is a perfect fit because it's in Texas, a great school academically, and has a fantastic tennis team of which I am a proud member.

Unfortunately, my computer background is limited. I'm pretty sure that I have not taken a computers course since middle school and I honestly can't even firmly assert that I did then either. I have never made too much of an effort to become technologically savvy, other than knowing enough to get through assignments in my classes and use the internet for my favorites http://www.espn.com/ and http://www.atptennis.com/ (and http://www.facebook.com/.) One of my brothers though, is incredibly well educated with computers and even travelled from Chapel Hill to Kansas City for a national web design convention during high school. He actively mods video games and is currently an engineer at Vanderbilt and leader of a Aerospace Club that receives grants from NASA. Pretty impressive, I know. But then there's me, who has a lot to learn about computers and am excited about the possibility of new experiences with Excel (a popular foe of mine) and other helpful programs like Photoshop.

(Oh yea, and my secret fact is that I'm ambidextrous!)

John Runge
jrunge@trinity.edu