Powerpoint Pointers

The articles we read about the effective way to create a powerpoint presentation really made it easy to look at powerpoints from the perspective of the audience. Some of the information, such as too much information being boring and distracting, seemed obvious when the audience was taken into consideration. I think the problem most presenters encounter is that they become so focused on relaying what they want to say that they forget about the best ways to say it. Simplicity, accessibility, and creative design are the main ingredients to a successful presentation. Simplicity in both design and material make the presentation more visually and mentally appealing . Accessibility of the information presented is key to gaining the understanding of the audience and swaying their opinion in favor of the proposal. A creative design is helpful because it attracts the audience to the presentation and maintains hold of their attention, it also gives the subtle hint that if you can do a great job creating a powerpoint presentation your ideas must be worth while! If I had to outline what I feel are the five main attributes of a successful powerpoint presentation they would be as follows:
1. Give only simple, relevant information
2. Use only simple but appealing slide layouts
3. Make a clear argument or statements about the information
4. Avoid distracting or irrelevant information/pictures etc.
5. Create an original and appealing design that will attract an audience

Working with Excel

As an English major I initially found little use in learning how to operate excel. I typicially do not engage in activities such as calculating, or charting, or really even taking any kind of inventory whatsoever- so what need was there for me to ever use a program like excel? What I now have come to realize after learning more about excel and the ways it can actually work to help it's user is that the reasons I thought would prevent me from needing excel are actually the very reasons I should be excited to use it! Since I am not good at doing any type of mathmatical activity, or keeping track of statistics or finances, I can let excel do the work for me by useing formulas and generating charts and graphs at the click of a button. Now that the intimidating fascade has been wiped clear off the spreadsheet, I am ready and willing to explore the uncharted territory (pun intended) where I had never ventured to go before. Thanks excel :)

Photo Editing

O.J. Simpson made a splash when he was arressted for the murder of his wife, Nicole, and since the story made such big news it was natural for big name magazines to include his famous mug shot on their cover. In the comparison between Newsweeks's photo, which was unaltered, and Time's photo, which had been made darker using photoshop, I found no harmful methods employed. Time's magazine headline reads "An American Tragedy" and it is clear to me that the photo included on the cover is an altered one, therefore I doubt readers would actually take the menacing appearence too seriously. Newsweek's, on the other hand, would be less appealing on the shelf because it appears more plain and less interesting. Art is a form which transcends past the canvas an into many forms of modern day media, it seems evident that the rendition of Time magazine's photo was an artistic one and not one meant to harm O.J. Simpson directly. Anyone with the slighest familiarity of mug shots, or any legitimate photo for that matter, would plainly see that photoshop was used to darken Time's image, and if it is clear that it is not meant to represent reality, what's the problem?

The AT&T Tech Center

The AT&T Tech center is something that can be highly beneficial to all students, however I don't think many students are aware of all the resources it provides and therefore it is not used to it's full capacity. The resources at the Tech center include new model computers with updated software, printers and scanners, video conferencing, audio technology, and more. In fact, the center is more like a Kinkos mixed with a high-tech corporate office facility. Many of the resources offered there are ones that even I didn't know about after going on the library tour my freshman year or my use of the library since then. Now that I am better acquainted with the system, which can be a little intimidating at first, I feel much more comfortable with it and happy to use the AT&T center in the future to help me with all kinds of individual and group projects. 

Copyright Information

After the presentation given by Diane Graves on copyrighting I felt well-informed on the subject and much better equipped to handle copyrights within my own work and the work of others. The copyright law, which dates from 1790, is a very complex one that can easily be misunderstood. One common misconception about copyrighted work is that once the author is dead or the piece is out of print that work has entered the public domain. This is not the case. A privately published work (such as a novel) currently holds it's copyright status for the remainder of the author's life plus 70 years. In the case of a corporate-based copyright (such as a Disney character) the copyright stands for 95 years after the date of publication. This exceedingly lengthy amount of time can be attributed to the Sonny Bono Act, better known as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act, which was passed in 1998 and extended the term of any copyrighted material by an additional 20 years. Though this act may have been beneficial to the Disney company and perhaps some other copyrighted material of the day, I feel the legislation was largely ineffective because it limited so many other works from entering public domain. It is rare, as Prof. Graves mentioned, for a work of literature or otherwise to stand the test of time and retain financial value for the full term of it's copyright. Since some of these listed materials could be useful for educational and other purposes, it is a sincere loss to the greater good that they will be hindered in their ability to serve others publicly.