Words of Thought...

...For next semester's classes. In my experience, this is a really valuable class, and I feel that all will benefit from it as you will learn things that are actually useful for a change. I am now a whole lot more confident and capable with a computer and am not afraid to take on any project. Prof. Belisle is a great instructor and you all will enjoy the spring computer skills class.

Websites!!

This website project proved to be somewhat of a challenge to me, however with a little bit of work, and help from Prof. Belisle and friends, I was able to successfully complete my site. Overall I am very happy with the finished product which I ended up with, and hope all enjoy my site. After looking at some of my fellow classmates sites, I was even more impressed. I really liked Casey's site and how well everything flowed together and was highly organized. I also liked Joy's site because of how different it was from everyone elses. To me it looked like she spent a lot of time on hers. I also viewed Greg Kerr's from the 8:30 class and his impressed me as well due to how professional it looked. All in all, everyone created a really good, and individually unique website.

If you would like to visit my website, just go to this link: http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rparker/

HTML Codes

While I am in no way a qualified or experienced web designer by any means, I do know a thing or two about HTML codes, thanks to my computer skills classs and professor Belisle, and one thing I can tell you is that they are a vital thing to know, especially if you are a computer designer. For one, it is the code, that makes the website. The html codes serves as sort of the DNA of the website. If you know how to decifer this code, then you will know every component of a website, for example the exact color, and fonts. This could serve important to a designer if he/she needed to duplicate a website or make one similar. However, now with the creations of programs such as expression web, codes do not serve as much of a severe purpose as they used to, for these programs make it possible to create websites without using html codes.

Chris Nolan

When Chris Nolan came to talk to our class last Tuesday, I will admit that I was a little sceptacle over if I would actually learn anything new. But shortly into his presentation, this mind set changed as I imediately began to learn. I thought i knew the basics of how to search on the Internet, however I was wrong. One thing I learned from Chris is that when you search on google for instance, the list of results is not by which website is best, but by how often they are used everyday. So its not always the best information that shows up first on your list. Also, .com sites are not always the best sources of infromation, and .org sites are usually form religous or political groups trying to sell something to you. .edu and .gov sites however are usually highly relaible on the other hand and provide fact filled information. Thanks to Chris' presentation, I now feel more comfortable in searching for information in order to do a project or write a paper.

The Power of Powerpoints

Powerpoint presentations have become a highly popular form of teaching these days and for many reasons. The presenter can display things such as information, as well as pictures and graphs and other data all with the click of the mouse. They are easy to make and provide a much better presentation as compared to just reading off from a sheet of paper or writing on the board. However, when making a powerpoint, there are some useful tips one must remember. First of all, less is more. You dont want cluttered slides, so plan on simple notes and oral present the rest of the information. Next is to make sure that you use colors that are easy for the reader to follow and do not blend in with the background. Also, it is wise to insert pictures to help grab the readers attention, just be careful to not insert too many pictures. Sound is also a great addition to any powerpoint. Finally it is crucial that the powerpoint have some flare to it in terms of background and slide effects. This helps set it over the top and makes the audience of the presentation enjoy it more. If you remember these simple things, you can make an over top powerpoint presentation with ease.

Spread Sheets

To be honest, when i came into Trinity this year, and enrolled in Belisle's computer skills class, i really had no idea how to make and use spread sheets on excell effectively. However it didn't take me very long at all to figure out the basics, and then learn almost everything a person needs to know to use spread sheets. I'm confident in saying now that i probably know how to use excell better than any other microsoft office program. I feel that thanks to learning about excell in class, it will carry me farther in the workplace when I am out of college. Also i know now how to do things like keep a simple budget for myself. In conclusion I feel much better about using excell than I did maybe two months ago.

Photo Editing

I chose the image that was found on the cover of Texas Monthly Reporter to discuss image editing with. This image displays Ann Richards sitting on top of a massive motorcycle, something you wouldn't expect her to be doing at all. The image was created by splicing her head onto the body of a madel siting on a motorcycle. This was done to make Richards more appealing to the human eye. Richards was not mad about the picture and stated that it in fact made her look better by placing her head on the body of a model. So I guess you can say that not all image editing is a bad thing.

Students @ CLT

To be quite honest with you, i personally had no idea there was two floors below me everytime i stepped foot into the library of Trinity. I knew there was one floor below me, but had no idea about this firts floor. And let me tell you, it is a floor that everyone on campus should take the time to visit at least once in his/her tenure at Trinity. The first floor of the library is known as the AT&T Center for Learning and Technology, and it is filled with some of the most innovative and recent technology one can but into a library. this is all thanks to the somewhere around 5 million dollars that AT&T has donated to Trinity. If a student has any type of asssignment dealing with media or some sort od presentation, this would be the place to go. Personally, I can see myself using the AT&T Center for tasks such as converting VHS tapes to DVD or even editing movies i may have composed for a class project. Perhaps I will also use this center for presentations of a project or viewing of a film of some sort. Whatever the situation may be, if it involves media and technology, the first floor of the library is where i am going to go from now on.

Copyright

Computer skills class was different on tuesday in the way that we recieved a lecture from Diane Graves, the University Librarian. the lecture was over copyright laws and the common misconceptions about it. I found the lecture to be highly informative myself, and learned quite a bit of information that i did not previously know. One thing that stood out most to me is the punishment for downloading music off of a program such as limewire. i'll admit that i used this program before college many of times, but when i came to Trinity and learned of all of the people who got caught and the harsh fines they recieved, i was quick to uninstall it. upwards of around $12000 in fines and fees is not worth some free music to me. I can understand why the RIAA is pursuing these violaters and that it is illegal to download in this way, but I still just feel that the penalties are way to harsh. Thanks to Diane and the lecture she gave us, i know now that i will not perform any acts that can violate copyright laws.

Wireless Networks

It seems that everyday I find myself on my computer, multiple times each day, using the Trinity University wireless network. Most of the time, it is just to get on facebook and chat with friends, check on my favorite baseball team (Houston Astros) or catch up on the news back home in Houston on chron.com. However I do use the network to knock out some of my homework as well. Whether it is lookiing up information or research in order to complete a paper, or visit Murchison Lounge in order to complete my Computer Skills homework. Regardless of the situation, the Trinity Network is highly valued to me and a big part of my everyday life here at Trinity. With that said it is no wonder that Trinity is listed as the top ten University wireless network in the nation. I can't even begin to imagine what my daily computer activites would be like if Trinity were much lower on the list with a poor network.

A great article on university wireless networks can be found here:http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-02-gennext-tech_x.htm

To check the top ten list out, go to this link:http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2572

Robert Parker
rparker@trinity.edu

All About Me

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, I go by the name Robert, however all of my friends in high school know and call me Parker thanks to freshman year football, so I will answer to either name. Back home I live with both my mother and father and have a sister named Samantha whom is a junior at my high school, Cypress Ridge. I've lived a pretty simple life. I truly enjoy hanging out with my friends and spending time outdoors. I love to go hunting and fishing. I participate in sports and i play football here at Trinity University. this year is my 9th consecutive year to play football. I also threw discus for the track team in high school. I currently am undecided of my major but am looking forward to this year at Trinity. I can honestly say that I am the first person in my family to attend a four year university and I am pretty stoked about that. I do not possess great computer skills other than the basics of how to use one, but am looking forward to learning more in my computer skills class this year.


Robert Parker
rparker@trinity.edu