PowerPoint Rules. Period.

Based on my choice of title for this blog entry, one can tell that I think PowerPoint is an awesome tool for just about all presentation needs. However, even though it is a great tool, a bad PowerPoint can distract from the information the person is trying to present.

 My top five things that can make a PowerPoint go awry are:

1. A font color you can barely see

2. Too small font size

3. Transitions that make your head hurt

4. Backgrounds that are too busy

5. Too many words on one slide

Although bad PowerPoint presentations can be annoying, a good PowerPoint can't be beat. PowerPoint is good for presenting information in a fun, creative, and interesting way that everyone can understand. A PowerPoint not only is beneficial in school but also is great for job presentations and club meetings. For example, my service fraternity makes a PowerPoint for every meeting. It really livens up topics and helps move the meeting along. So don't rule out PowerPoint!

CLT!!!

I have to admit, I have been to the Center of Learning Technology before... but I have not experienced it like I had today. The last (and only) time I went was to wait for a friend as he finished a paper. I remember thinking how cool CLT looked, but now I know how amazing it actually is.
Robert Chapman spoke to the class on everything CLT has to offer... it is not only the place on campus for the latest up-to date Macs and PCs, but also for the latest software and hardware including Flash, Adobe, Photoshop, engineering software, Dreamweaver, and much more. The CLT is available to all students and faculty, and I even found out that you can check-out and use state of the art equipment such as video cameras, editing equipment, audio/sound tools and other great resources.
Although the CLT has all these great resources, what good would they serve if they did not have people to help you? Thankfully, the CLT has many helpful employees that are there to help students with any projects or answer any questions they may have.
Here is my self-portrait I was able to scan... go CLT!!!

It is the Truth Pictures Lie

For this assignment, I chose the photo of the "British soldier in Basra," where a soldier is signaling to Iraqi civilians to get down. I not only chose this picture because it looked very moving but I also have seen it before. In my Media Interpretation and Criticism class, we talked about this exact same photo and topic. The photographer, Brian Walski, blended two photographs to create this "shot". This picture was used to manipulate readers into supporting the invasion of U.S. soldiers of Iraq and the manipulation was in fact harmful because it showed the British soldier in a negative light and showed civilians who looked like they were in trouble when they were not.

I chose this Youtube video of Rihanna to show the effects of image manipulation. Here someone, uses Photoshop to makeover Rihanna. This video is an example of how anyone, including amateurs can use Photoshop to create something totally different. Do not always believe what you see, because if a normal person like you and me can use Photoshop, think about what trained professionals can do to make us think something is true that really is a lie.