Mary West CS 1300 Blog

Advice for Future Students

2007-12-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

My advice to future students taking Essential Computer Skills would be to stay on top of the homework and not wait until to night before it is due to start working on it. By starting early you have time to send Dr. Semmes and email with any questions you have (which she will answer promtly).

My Favorites

2007-11-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

There were many good stumper and websites. Some of my favorite stumper pictures were by Alex, Jordan and Paul. Alex's was very pretty, I found that waterfall near the beginning of school and it is one of my favorite places. Jordan's was abstract and very modern, I think it is behind Northrup Hall. Paul's was the hardest one to guess, but I think it is an elevator in the library.
My favorite websites were created by Nicole, Kate and Juan. Nicole was very simple and east to navigate. Kate was extremely creative, especially her masthead which was made up of gold and berries, which is a play on her last name. I also like Juan's because his choice of colors and his layout.

Links to my favorite Stumper Pictures:
Alex
Jordan
Paul

Links to my favorite Websites:
Nicole
Kate
Juan

Stumper

2007-11-26T18:26:00.001-08:00

This tree is between one fantastic residence hall and one that is so-so. There are many other trees like it in the courtyard. It looks very old and is now losing its leaves. Guess where it is!

My Website

2007-11-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

I invite you to view the website I made for my CS 1300 class. I had a lot of fun making it. There are pictures of my friends and I and links to some interesting websites also. If you have any questions feel free to send me and email (there is a link on the page). Thanks!

Bad PowerPoint

2007-10-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

Link to my PowerPoint:
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~mwest4/bad/How%20to%20make%20a%20Bad%20PowerPoint_files/frame.htm

I liked Juan Perez's because I liked the choice of font colors,they were very hard to read. I also liked Sarah McGee's because hers was very creative and she mentioned using images in the presentation. Finally I liked Nicole Heroux's because her choice to use that interesting font was very clever.

Things to do:
1) Include slide titles.
2) Use spelling and grammar check.
3) Use appropriate clip art and graphics.
4) Use a font and text color that is readable.
5) Use a acceptable amount of slide transitions.

Things not to do:
1) Overload a slide with clip art.
2) Have a small font with illegible font color.
3) Include too much text on each slide.
4) Do not follow your text with the cursor- it is distracting
5) Not citing sources

Mary West

How, When and Why We Use Citations

2007-09-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

If I wanted to find a picture on the Internet, and publish it on my website, I would need to make sure that I cite to original creator of the image.
There are a couple of different ways that a creator or an original work can copyright his or her material. The material, in this case a picture, can be copyrighted with all rights reserved, it can be made so that some rights are reserved with the software, Creative Commons.
To determine whether or not the creator needs to be cited, look for the (C) next to the name, which indicates the fact that it is copyrighted and the creator needs to be cited. Seemingly to confuse people, not all things that have copyrights have the (C) next to the name. Just to be safe, it is always a good idea to cite the creator.
Creative Commons is an alternative to is software created to allow "some rights reserved" on original material.
Another thing to consider is the fair use law which states "an author may make limited use of another author's work without asking permission. Fair use is based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism." Things to consider when making use of the fair use law is the amount of material you are using, the quality of the material, among other things. Violations happen when people use material for their own personal gain, claiming that the work of their own creation.

Summary Article: What to do about Web 2.0

2007-09-24T15:33:00.001-07:00

In the article the author states that the age of Web 2.0 is upon us, but he does not believe it is worth all the hype surrounding it. He is skeptical of a big change in how marketers are going to use the Internet. Personally, I had never heard of Web 2.0, but it is a new way that marketers are going to use the Internet. The author sites Google's acquisition of YouTube as a definite realization of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 has changed the "balance of power" among content producers, brand owners and consumers. Web 2.0 has brought some power back to the consumer with things like blog, video casts and wiki's. Although the customers may be happy with their blog or wiki, the competitors are more than willing to take advantage of the new places for discussion. They tend to bash their competitors by using "vulgarity and intolerance."

But do not underestimate Web 2.0., it is a collection of changing tools that allow Internet users to experiment with all different kinds of new technologies. The author suggests that businesses need not worry very much about Web 2.0 and to not fear the "revolution."

My Experience with Microsoft Word

2007-09-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have used Microsoft Word for most of my life. I would say that I know how to preform the basic functions, but nothing very advanced. There seems to be a lot of new things in Vista that I never knew were there before. I would like to familiarize myself with the References ribbon especially. It has an option to insert citations, which I think could be very useful.

More About Me

2007-08-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

My name is Mary. My hometown is Phoenix, AZ. I have one sister, she is 11. I have two cats, one is named Oakley and the other is Sophie. I also two dogs, one is a terrier named Jack and the other is a lab named Penny. My Dad is a stock broker who works for Charles Schwab. My Mom is a land use planner who has her own firm. I went to Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix. Its an all-girls Catholic school. Needless to say, I am very, very happy to be at Trinity.

I am on the Trinity swim team. I have been swimming since I was eight years old. My high school swim team was National Champions in 2005. We have won the State competition for the last 24 years. We have also won around 260 dual meets straight. I am really excited to start swimming at Trinity!

My computer skills are very limited. I have very general knowledge, like I know how to make a PowerPoint presentation, Word and I know how to use the Internet and things like itunes. I am looking forward to learning how to learn how to use my computer more effectively.

Mary West