PowerPoint Do's and Dont's

Throughout my years of being a student I have been assigned numerous amounts of PowerPoint presentations. After reading all the information on PowerPoint, I now have realized how bad my PowerPoint presentations were when I previously did them. I took very valuable information away from reading the tips to making a presentation better. There were five main guidelines that really stuck out to me though. The first guideline was to keep the slides simple. I learned not to overdo any slide with adding things that are unnecessary or not pertinent. A second guideline would be to include visuals on the slides when necessary. Incorporating visuals act as aids to the viewers and will keep them interested because it will relieve them from reading text the whole time. A third guideline would be to use fonts that are easy to read and can be followed by the viewer. It's important not to use small writing where the viewer can't read, and also to write in a way that's easily followed by ones looking at the PowerPoint. A fourth guideline is to use animations that are appropriate, meaning not using animations just because you can, but being smart and putting them in only when needed. Too many animations will make the viewer bored and will make the presentation drag on and on. My fifth and final guideline would be to choose a color scheme wisely and keep it consistent throughout the PowerPoint. Keeping the color scheme in an organized way will make the PowerPoint look more professional and better as a whole. These guidelines should help tremendously when making a PowerPoint. I know that I personally get annoyed when I see a PowerPoint presentation and it's all text because I get bored really fast. These guidelines will help fix that problem and many other problems that people face with PowerPoint presentations. I am very glad I now know what makes a PowerPoint presentation a successful one.

Zack Garcia

My Excel Experience

I feel very fortunate to have learned so much in excel. Honestly, before taking this class I knew very little about all of the components that go into it. I particularly really enjoyed learning about all of the different functions that were available in excel. They came in handy on many of the assignments we did. I got a perfect score on the hands on part of the test where we had to do all of the functions. If I hadn't of taken this class I probably wouldn't have even gotten half of the points for that section. I feel like I can definitely use it in the future when I am creating a budget or when I am doing my taxes. If I go into business, I know I will use excel for many things so it is very good that I have learned skills that will help me be more of an efficient worker. Everything I have learned will be used at another point in time I know it. Especially in my future career in college I will be using excel for many things. I'm so glad that I took this class. I have learned so much in this short amount of time it's almost unbelievable. I know for sure I will take everything I have learned and will put it to good use when the time calls for it. Excel is something that I will use for the rest of my life and I have this class to thank for everything I have learned so far.

Zack Garcia

Helicopter-Shark Picture

I decided to pick the shark attack picture for several reasons. I picked this picture because my first reaction to the photo was Whoa! I thought it looked really cool how the shark was coming out of the water trying to attack the U.S. Air Force helicopter. The picture originated in 2001 and was originally a picture of a U.S. Air Force helicopter hovering on top of water with someone on a ladder coming out of the helicopter going into the water by what it looks like. The picture was manipulated with the addition of the shark. There was no actual shark attacking the helicopter, but someone added the shark to make the picture look more dramatic. The picture was manipulated because someone wanted the picture to have more of an effect on the viewer, and to maybe to emphasize the fact that being in the U.S. Air Force is no walk in the park, but a very serious job which could be very dangerous. I don't necessarily think that the manipulation was harmful because all it does is give the picture more of a dramatic effect. The original picture is interesting to look at, but the picture with the shark added is way more appealing to the viewer I think. Whoever added the shark just wanted to give the picture more flare that's all. No harm done. Overall, the picture is something that will definitely catch your attention and this is why I think I chose this one out of all of them.

Zack Garcia

Trip to the CLT

I am very glad I took a visit to the AT&T Center for Learning and Technology. Honestly, before I went down there I had no clue any of that equipment was even there. The first thing that really stuck out to me when visiting down there was all of the new technology that was offered for use. Another thing that really stuck out to me was that there weren't very many people down there and mostly everything was available for use. I thought the Digital Audio Lab was really cool with all the features it had with it. I learned that I can record music or anything that I want to incorporate into projects. They have everything they need from synthesizers to editing equipment which is very hi-tech. Another thing that I found very useful was the Studios at CLT. It had some high end computers, both windows and macs, which were easily accessible. It also had laser printers that were very nice as well as scanners on hand as well. This is a great place to come if I need to do some work because it has everything I need to do my work. The CLT is also equipped with the Media Presentation Lab which is a place were a class can come and present projects or any other things. I learned that there are rooms were a teacher can show movies or instructional videos to a class which is also very convenient.

In all, I was very impressed by everything I saw in the CLT. I will definitely use it's resources when the time calls for it. I know in the future the CLT will be very helpful when I need to use hi-end software and technology.

Zack