Chris Nolan - Searching with Google

Google can be a very useful tool for searching the Internet, as long as the user is careful to evaluate the results, and can distinguish good sources from bad. In his presentation, Chris Nolan gave us some good tips for finding results that have academic value. One that I found particularly useful and didn't already know about was the ability to limit results based on what kind of site they are. So, if your looking for academic results, you could try limiting the results to .edu sites or if you want government sites, limit to .gov. This is only an example of the things you can do with Google advanced search options, which can definitely improve your searches. Another thing to consider when looking for academic sources are blogs. While I would never have assumed a blog could be a legitimate academic sources, apparently it is becoming more and more common for researchers and experts in the field to blog about their findings, in which case the blog may actually have academic value. I was surprised by this, but I suppose it makes sense. However, I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable citing a blog as a source in a major paper...

Power corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.

PowerPoint. Such a useful tool, but so often abused by what seems to be sugar-crazed sparkle-loving 6th graders. Yes, we all know how to make PowerPoints with cool sounds effects, fun pictures, moving text, and other forms of "bling" but that doesn't mean we do it on a regular basis. In general, my 5 PowerPoint pet peeves boil down to "Too much/many...

1. sounds. Especially annoying clapping/cheering sounds, or a different sound for each slide transition.
2. pictures and colors. I believe PowerPoints should have a theme. And that theme should not be "Rainbow Throw-up."
3. sparkly effects. It hurts my eyes, stop it.
4. moving sh--, stuff. If every single image or item of text comes crawling in a snail's pace while your audience tries not to fall asleep, this may indicate that your PowerPoint sucks (or your topic is really boring).
5. slide transitions. Yes, they were fun to play with in middle school. They're not so fun now.

Ok, so I'll give you an example. Also note the wonderful spelling:

However, PowerPoints don't have to be bad. In fact, most PowerPoints can actually be very useful tools for conveying information. I find them particularly helpful when trying to take notes in class - if I miss something the teacher says, I can always go back and look at the PowerPoint, which can help jog my memory. There are a couple simple rules (and suggestions) that can help make sure your PowerPoints aren't awful. First off, limit text to bullet point-style notes, and don't just read them when presenting. And please, check your spelling and grammar to avoid an unreasonable number of mistakes. My biggest tip to making professional looking PowerPoints is simple - use the pre-programmed themes and slide designs that PowerPoint already has. And if you are going to create your own theme, then be fairly conservative and simple. Anything too complicated can subtract from the information you are trying to share.

You learn something new everyday...

Today in computer science, we had the opportunity to visit the unknown - the AT&T Center for Learning and Technology. I'd like to be able to say that I totally knew it was there, but had never visited, but this would be a lie. In fact, I'm not even sure I've ever heard of it before... or if I have, it obviously didn't leave a huge impression. However, having now visited and seen all the cool things that can be done there, I must say that I am sad I didn't know about it earlier. For one thing, the monitors are HUGE! While probably not useful for anything I'll be doing in the future, this still makes me feel high tech. More importantly, the chairs are really, really nice. Nice enough that I was seriously considering taking one of them on a "field trip" to see what it would look like in my room. On a slightly more serious note, CLT also has useful technology like scanners and audio recording devices, and fun software for photo and video editing. I'm a big fan of photography, so the photo editing capabilities are particularly exciting to me, especially since I don't have any of that software on my computer. And for all you Mac people, they have 14 macs available for use, unlike most computer labs on campus.
As part of our assignment, we were asked to draw a self portrait to scan and save in our groups folder. I now present "The Real Me" demonstrating ;P, a combination of :P and ;) which I mistakenly type all time,  affectionately called Seizure Face (because when I attempt to make this face in real life I look somewhat like I'm having a seizure) -

I used Picnik to adjust the exposure because it was too light, and add the border.

Pictures that Lie

This is a picture of a British soldier in Basra that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in April 2003, shortly after the invasion of Iraq. This photo is actually a composite of two photographs taken by a staff photographer, who put them together to "improve" the composition. He was fired when his editor found out. I choose this picture because I think that it represents a more politically significant "lie" than a picture manipulated to make someone skinnier, as it could actually act as propaganda (whether or not the photographer intended that, I can't say) and influence people's opinion of the war. Whether this manipulation is harmful or not is a matter of personal opinion. Some would say yes, that by portraying the British soldier in a protective role (that may not have actually happened) the news was influencing people into thinking the war was a good thing, which just leads to more death. Others could argue the opposite - that increasing public support for the war would help our soldiers, and help them help others. Regardless of your opinion of the war, the fact remains that the manipulation would have consequences, "harmful" or not.

Photo manipulation has other "harmful" side-affects - it is responsible for distorting our perceptions of reality, specifically beauty. As a society, we have been conditioned by constant photo alterations to have an unobtainable and ultimately false idea of what "beauty" is. As this video shows, even models with professional hair and makeup still are not good enough for a billboard without some computer alteration:

While I don't mean to advertise for Dove, I do think this video has an important message to share about recognizing true beauty, and not being fooled by what the media would like us to think.