A little piece of advice:

As cliche as it sounds-- if you go to class, pay attention, and do your work then you will excel in this class!

Website Review

I really like Tess Oliver's page because she really capitalized on showing others something that she enjoyed.  Her site is very orderly but fun-- plus the color scheme is, for lack of a better word, fashionable!  I also really loved Lauren Henderson's website because not only am I a Trinity Women's Soccer Player, but she made it look very professional.  I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been the team's actual page.  Finally, I really enjoyed Luke's site.  He really worked hard to add a little of his own personal flair to the project and it was very entertaining to navigate around his links.  Overall the sites look really good!  

Web Design

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~kgarrett

Making a website turned out to be an interesting balance between fun and utter frustration.  I found myself very annoyed with the Microsoft Expression Web program because, although it wouldn't let you drag images throughout the page, I constantly felt the need to do so.  I found myself constantly turning to Photoshop to construct the site because I couldn't layer the way that I wanted in Microsoft.  I am most proud of my home page-- I worked very hard to manipulate the icons to look and work the way that I wanted; moreover, I spent a long time on the embedded video.  Overall I feel like it turned out really well.  

If I were to change anything, I would take the time to make a really cool slide show of my pictures from Africa for my benefits page.  I had trouble inserting a YouTube video that I wanted on that page and feel that a photo album would be a really cool addition.  Technically, embedding the video that I made was the most difficult task. I will show my site to my family and the friends who joined me on my mission trip.  Clearly I didn't intend for this to be an actual marketing site-- just a cute spoof on it to show the work that my friends and I did in Africa through the shoes that I made.  

I actually have to make a site for another elective course in the very near future, so I'm looking forward to being able to use my computer skills to do that!  Although it took a long time, I'm very glad that I know how to make a website. 

Larry Hechler Presentation

I actually really enjoyed the Larry Hechler presentation last Thursday.  I felt that he was really knowledgeable in regard to hardware and I thought that he made asking questions very comfortable and easy.  I had no idea that it was necessary to completely run your battery down for a few times when you first buy it-- I feel like the battery life on my laptop is not nearly what it could be; therefore, on my next battery purchase, I will definitely follow that rule!  Likewise, I feel like I have a whole new appreciation for computer science experts who can diagnose complicated computer problems-- after Mr. Hechler opened the computers, I realized the complexity of each component.

Pictures That Lie

I chose to manipulate a photo of Gene Kelly from the hit musical "Singin' In The Rain."  The movie is a well recognized classic and the photo was used on the movie's poster; therefore, I was confident that the image would be easily recognizable to the general public.  Initially I took the photo and used the Polyganal Lasso to crop just Gene Kelly's image swinging from a light post on a rainy evening.  Likewise, I found a photo of the Eiffel Tower and adjusted the Hue, Saturation and Lighting to match that of the poster.  I then layered Gene Kelly over the tower and resized him to look, although not technically a realistic, but relatively believable size without making him too small to see.  I then placed text on the foreground to match, as well as possible, the "Singin' In The Rain" advertisement, and following at the bottom, "Goes To Paris," as a slightly humorous addition.  The manipulation was intended to look like an old-time movie poster as a spin on an American classic.  It was not meant to offend or harm anyone and I do not believe it did so.  I chose to read the article, "Journals Find Many Images In Research Are Faked."  It put an interesting perspective on the work done in the sciences and, specifically, the measures being taken to scrupulously analyze submitted images to check for photo manipulation.  I found it particularly applicable to my life because I am very interested in the sciences and as I learn more and more about Histology, I see the ease in changing a photo of a slide to meet academic expectations.  Likewise, the article specifically points out the ease of manipulating a photograph to make something fake look real, so I really emphasized the outrageousness of my photo to make the fake semi-unbelievable.  This added a humorous aspect to my photo because, let's be honest, Gene Kelly is no King Kong. 

Young, Jeffrey R. Journals Find Many Images In Research Are Faked.  Chronicle of Higher Education; 6/6/2008, Vol. 54 Issue 39, pA1-A11, 3p, 3 Color Photographs.  9 November 2010. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=7&sid=9ad64d42-7f29-499e-ba82-adbec5b529a9%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=32538039

PowerPoint Presentation and Critique

Last Tuesday morning I made a presentation on Medical Anthropology and malaria using Microsoft PowerPoint as a visual aid.  The presentation consisted of five total slides:  a title slide, a slide describing the facts and dangers of malaria, a slide presenting potential solutions to the malaria problem in many susceptible countries, a page describing Medical Anthropology as my basis for for honing in on "malaria"-- as it is a relatively morbid topic-- with a commercial of FC Barcelona uniting with the organization Malaria No More to provide mosquito nets to families in Africa who are unable to get them, and then, of course, my "Resources" page.  I felt that the presentation went relatively well; however, I felt that it could have been better executed.  I feel very passionately about the organization and hope that I did it justice.  Likewise, I used malaria as an example of one of the many focuses for Medical Anthropologists in the field because it is essentially a profession that provides western medical resources to cultures that do not have or understand them by gradually integrating the into daily practice, i.e., hand washing.  I am not positive if I want to completely delve into this field, but it is one of my options and I find it fascinating.

As for the other presentations, I really enjoyed Lauren Henderson's PowerPoint regarding Overuse Injury in Young Athletes.  I am an athlete and have been playing organized sports for many years; therefore, I find it very interesting that kids are getting hurt so seriously at such a young age.  Likewise, Luke Tibbits' PowerPoint on Biological Weapons was not only funny, but interesting.  I know Luke well from science classes and believe that he could do very well working with biochemistry in the military someday.  All of the presentations were really good, but these definitely stood out!

Chris Nolan Lecture

Last Thursday, my roommate, Laurent Henderson, and I woke up in a frantic when we realized that the time was 8:35 am... clearly we were missing class.  I'm not good at missing class.  I know it sounds silly, but whatever.  She and I are both very diligent about making it to every class;  therefore, we were very disconcerted with the idea of not making it in.  Clearly, we missed a great lecture by Chris Nolan-- the information from whom we will never know.  From what I understand, Mr. Nolan is an Assistant Librarian at the Trinity University Coates Library.  I'm sure it was a fantastic lecture and I'm sorry to have missed it!

Powerpoints

When making a powerpoint, the most basic goal is to asthetically appeal to the viewer while transmitting information in a clear, understandable way.  It is not an easy task to, when compiling data and information with which you are very interested or knowledgable, convey that knowledge in a ledgible, helpful way.  When I am viewing a presentation, there are a few critical things that can make or break a powerpoint for me:

1)  There can't be too much text on a single slide.  Bullet points are much more helpful in giving the presenter a starting point from which to speak; however, insterting entire paragraphs onto a slide is risky and can often overwhelm the viewer. 

2) Poor quality clip art can really throw me off.  If there is a poorly drawn/designed cartoon or, even worse, animation, then it not only distracts from the information but it also makes the project appear less professional. 

3) Tacky sound effects are the wrost.  If the powerpoint is casual and the presenter uses a funny sound to humor the group, then that is one thing; however, excessive use of noises just distracts and takes away from the integrity of the presentation. 

4) Even worse than lengthy text on a single slide is use of wordy language or grammatical/spelling errors on a slide.  Just use Spell Check!

and 5) When presenters jump through slides too quickly.  I hate it when a professor won't allow students time to copy information from slides.

In a communications class in high school I was exposed to several great powerpoints that looked professional in their simplicity.

CLT Adventure

This Thursday we were greeted by Mr. Robert Chapman on the first floor of Coates Library for the grand tour of the huge technological resource known as CLT.  CLT is essentially a space open to students and faculty alike that houses 26 computers-- 14 Macs and 12 PCs-- and 11 scanners with countless software capabilities.  Likewise, CLT hosts an expansive conference room with the ability to facilitate visual feeds from 20 different sources and 100 simultaneous audio feeds.  Not that I think that I could keep track of 100 different voices trying to talk to me at the same time, but it is definitely an impressive option if I ever need it!  While Mr. Chapman spoke, I sketched out a quick self-portrait of myself on my notes page; moreover, I was overjoyed to scan it afterward and save it in my Y: Drive.  It was a relief to know that it was secure on the Trinity network if harm were ever to come to the original masterpiece... ha. 

I love the idea of using the scanners because I like to make study guides via Microsoft Word but I will sometimes take notes by hand; therefore, if I am able to scan large amounts of hand-written notes and compile them onto a single document, they are much more organized and easier to read.  Likewise, if I am unable to draw out a certain, say, biological process, then I can scan the image from my textbook to place into my study guide.  I will definitely take advantage of that aspect of CLT.  I was also really excited about the audio center, where I could potentially compile and mash some of my personal music.  I think that could be a fun thing to do if I find the time.  I am definitely excited to utilize the resources that CLT has to offer in the very near future!

Photoshop and the Media

I chose to snip a picture of a British soldier in Basra from April of 2003. The war in Iraq had only begun a month prior and the media upset was phenomenal in regards to the US’s presence there, both from a political and an ethical standpoint. At the time there was a significant liberal bias from the media and a hard press for President George Bush to withdraw the troops. LA Times photographer, Brian Walski, was apparently fired for retouching this photo in what he described as an improvement to the composition. I’m not exactly sure what the photo originally displayed; however, in all likelyhood, it did not depict the military presence in such a negative light. The manipulation, prior to the discovery of Walski’s retouching, surely sent a negative message to the public regarding the British and US forces working within Iraq. This is a perfect example of the news’ ability to spread choice propaganda throughout the public.




This video is a perfect example of the news' ability to manipulate photographs and change the way that the public views those in the spotlight.  It enables the public to sway in whatever direction the news dictates.

Excel and the "Real World"

I have used Excel before and considered myself to be somewhat less-than-proficient when it came to organizing and calculating. I am a biology major and it is definitely a critical element in lab work; therefore, I am actually really excited to learn how to maneuver around the program. Excel is clearly a handy tool in not only sorting data, but calculating and creating charts and graphs. These are all really important for research and I know that understanding the different aspects of the program will definitely help me in the future!

Copyright and Creative Commons

Copyright is a permanently fixed original work in a “tangible” form.  This means that the “owner” of the work is solely authorized to their intellectual property and is completely responsible for the distribution and use of that property.  Copyright, included in the original draft of the US Constitution in 1790, was considered a very important issue to the founding fathers.  The fathers understood that when artists, scientists, creators and thinkers are assured that they will benefit from the fruit of their labor then the society will much more rapidly benefit from new ideas.  Currently, much debate has risen in the music industry in regards to sales versus illegal downloading.  Legally, artists are protected under copyright laws that give them complete access of their music distribution and sales.  Illegally, the seemingly infinite bounds of the internet allow users to access, download, and utilize this “intellectual property” with neither permission nor compensation to the artist.  Ethically, it is clear that illegally downloading music is an infringement of copyright law; likewise theoretically, when artists do not believe that they are to be compensated for their efforts, it discourages the production of new, original work.  Upon considering the concept on the whole, users understand the importance of abiding by such laws; however, rarely do people believe that their single music “share” will stunt the intellectual progress of the music industry.  Consider this:  A single new Beyonce hit costs $1.29 on iTunes—a purchase that is considered legal and ethical.  A college student consciously buys “generic” toilet paper in attempt to save $1.29;  likewise, in knowing that Beyonce averages about $87 million/year (meaning that that single song purchase amounts to a whopping .00000000015% of her annual income) if he is able to access music for free then there is little incentive to buy it.  Therefore, illegally downloading music may be both illegal and unethical, but it is easy for individuals to justify doing so without seeing immediate consequences. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br /><span xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text" property="dc:title" rel="dc:type">Copyright and Creative Commons</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://katherinegarrett.blogspot.com/2010/09/copyright-and-creative-commons.html" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Katie Garrett</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.

My Trinity Network Diagram

This is a network diagram of Trinity University from the perspective of my dorm room on Prassel third.  It's extremely exciting, as you can see.  Essentially, the diagram shows that while I'm just chilling on Facebook or here on Blogger.com in my room, a lot of things are going on behind the scenes.  From my laptop the Ethernet cable carries data through the wall port to Prassel's Data Closet with its own access point.  From here, the data travels all the way up campus to the Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Center then to the Internet... in a split second!  It really makes me appreciate modern technology! 

Trinity Mystery Spot

Of course this image is one that many, hopefully most, here at Trinity would recognize; however, in a valiant attempt to save the world from poor recycling habits, I modified the photo a bit.  I chose this location because it is somewhere that I spend a lot of my time, but whose resources are often unused and undervalued with the technology era.  Using Picnik, I adjusted my original photograph by sharpening the image, adjusting the lighting and adding a warm tone to arouse an overall... affection, of sorts, for the picture.  Likewise, I rotated and cropped the photo to express a more unorthodox perspective of the very commonly seen subject.  Finally, I added a frame that resembled a Polaroid and added some sketch-like drawings around the bottom to overemphasize the message.  I had a bad experience with GreenPeace, so I wouldn't necessarily consider myself your average "Tree Hugger" but I did enjoy this project and I encourage good recycling habits!  Can you figure out where this picture was taken?  Try to figure it out and leave a comment!

Best Tech Tip

I typically consider myself to be relatively computer-proficient; however, even from the brief chat with Mr. Hatch today, I am realizing more and more the things that I could learn about them.  Sure, I can navigate around the basics, but it became pretty clear that I neglect to take care of some of the most basic of the security essentials on my laptop.  I have a 2009 HP, which I love, but it has become increasingly slower... Sometimes REALLY slow.  Granted, I understand that internet connection can be a factor (yadda, yadda), but for the most part, it has become pretty annoying.  I have every intention of downloading and using CCleaner in essentially the next 24 hours because my computer absolutely needs it.  I knew that it was possible to access your history and I was sure that somewhere in the depths of my computer there was some way to access it, but it was very interesting to learn about the way that your hard drive stores all of the places that you go and how it can quickly accumulate bundles of unnecessary information.  Likewise, I use online banking methods frequently, and had no idea that it would be so simple for someone to access my account if they were equipped with the right software!  I will definitely take into consideration the security methods that Joe mentioned and, moreover, not take for granted the protection that Clean Access provides... even if it is slightly annoying to log in every day.

Day 1... Hello!

Hi there!  My name is Katherine Ellane Garrett (the first), but everyone calls me "Katie."  I am a nineteen-year-old sophomore from Joshua, Texas.

"Where is Joshua?" You may ask.  About 20 minutes south of Fort Worth, Joshua boasts a population of roughly 6,000 residents; however, Joshuans once prided themselves in having the largest Future Farmers of America (FFA) group in the United States.  Now that's saying something.  Back home live my two parents, Ralph and Kim, and my younger brother, Jordan, who is a Junior in high school.  Here at Trinity I play for the TU Women's Soccer team as the goalkeeper, which I really love, and am a member of SPURS sorority.  Although an odd combination, I am a Biology and an Art Major with a plan to graduate pre-med.  I haven't decided exactly what I want to do, but my dream job is to work for National Geographic someday.  Having said that, I am currently planning to go on to Med School after Trinity.

I have never taken a computer science course in college; however, I did take a technology course in high school my senior year which focused primarily on efficiently navigating through and using Microsoft Office programs.  I would consider myself relatively computer literate and am not afraid to tackle new programs.  I am eager to become more "tech savvy" in the following year and am confident that it will help me to better work through future college projects and beyond.

For any further questions about myself, my e-mail address is katherine.garrett10@gmail.com!