PowerPoint!

After reading the articles on PowerPoint the first thing that came to my mind was, "you can do a lot with PowerPoint." The range of options with PowerPoint seems endless from different chart styles, themes, pictures, audio, video, etc. I did not know that even the font type used was so important in conveying the message or clarity for the audience to see. The main point that I feel is imperative to a good PowerPoint presentation after reading the articles is to remember that it is used as a communication device with your audience and not as a teleprompter or list to read off of. 5 guidelines that I recommend to my classmates are:
1. Less is more, the PowerPoint slides should be kept simple and clear of what you are trying to get across.
2. Never read down a list off of a slide during a presentation, your audience can read.
3. Your text should be large because one you should not have many words on a single slide and two so that people in the back can read what is on the slide.
4. PowerPoint is animation friendly, do not use all text in your slides, use pictures and charts to help send your message and it will keep your audience awake.
5. Know your material and be familiar with your slides before your presentation so that you do not come upon a slide and wonder what it is talking about.

Excel

I did not know that excel could be used in so many different aspects of our lives not only for school but for our work and personal life. I have used the old version of excel and now that we are working with the 2007 version, it seems simply "smarter" and more user friendly. I am pretty bad when it comes to spending my money and I now know how to use excel to manage my money. I am a finance major and know for sure that excel use will come up in the future for me.

CLT

On the first floor of the library there is a dynamic resource that many Trinity students are unaware of: CLT. The Center for Learning and Technology is sponsored by AT&T who has given Trinity $5,000,000, yes that is million for making CLT what it is today. When you first enter the room you will notice that relatively half of the room is composed of PCs and the other half MACs. These computers are on the high end of the market with large flat screen monitors and latest software technologies. The Apple's are ran with leopard software and the Dell's with Microsoft Vista. There are also scanners, audio and video digitizers and other high-tech developmental tools in order to assist students with their homework projects, presentations, or any technological related work.
Whether you are interested in working with video/audio, photographic, or graphic related work, CLT has the resources for you. CLT also delivers and sets up electronic equipment for faculty and all student class presentations. CLT is a great place for students to get together for presentations or just to study because of the different rooms available. These rooms include a Digital Audio Lab, Media Presentation Lab and a Video Conference Center. Another great aspect about CLT is that there are workers there who will help you with any of the resources and answer any questions related to CLT. So give CLT a visit and lets not waste 5 million dollars because this center was built for the students to utilize and help with our education process.

COPYRIGHTTTT

I did not take copyright very seriously until recently my parents told me of a story that happened to a friend of theirs. So one of my parents' friend who runs a business in LA has an import clothing business. Pretty much he runs his own line of clothing but he recently got caught for copyright violation. The family friend called his own line "reaction" (which is copyrighted under the clothing company Kenneth Cole) and I am not sure if he knew that he was stealing the name or not, but now is battling Kenneth Cole in court. I do not think that there will be any jail time for him but my parents tell me that he was wealthy (a multimillionaire) and could possibly go bankrupt after the lawsuits take place. And the main point from all of this was the fact that if he had not used the same name then none of this would happen.
After hearing numerous stories about Trinity students being sued from artists and record label companies for downloading or sharing several songs, I know how serious copyright violation can become. I definitely do believe that copyright laws are there for the right reasons and without the world would be in chaos. I cannot imagine creating something of my own like a music album I have been working on for a year and then someone stealing it and calling it their own. I do agree that being sued for thousands of dollars over a song or two is ridiculous but I know that they are just compensating for all the ones that they do not catch. I know how serious violating copyright laws are especially after hearing the story that happened to my parents' friend and you should not violate them too!