Advice

If I were to give advice to incoming students who are going to take this class, my advice would be to have fun and do your assignments and projects on topics that you like because if you are genuinely interested in what you're working with, then the quality of your work is noticeably better.

My Favorite Websites

Three of my favorite websites were Laura Husband's, Langston Neuburger's, and Rebecca Ribbling's. While I liked all the websites that were done in our class, I particularly liked these three because they were all unique and interesting.
I really enjoyed Laura Husband's because she did hers on a fellow Trinity student, Ashley Hamner. Having seen Ashley perform multiple times, and being a fan or her music, I thought that this was a very creative idea for a website. It's beneficial for Ashley because her music will be more widely publicized and it is cool to have a website made after you! I thought that the backgrounds and images were all simple and interesting and it looked very well-done.
I also really enjoyed Langston's website because I found the content of his website to be interesting. I do not know that much about computers, so I found his website to be very informative. I was impressed by how much he knows and his website had a nice design layout and a lot of information. The website was really well organized and easy to navigate, which was helpful because I was curious to continue reading the content.
Finally, I also really enjoyed Rebecca's website because I was impressed by all the places that she has lived. I think it is so cool that she has lived in such foreign places such as Chile and Korea. The layout of her website is easy to follow and it's cool that she has links to outside websites for further information on the places that she has lived.

My Website

Please visit my website www.cs.trinity.edu/~acrook


I learned a lot about the process of making a website while creating my own webpage. Originally, I was intimidated by the process, however, after understanding the links and the layout, it turned out to be  fun, engaging process. I used both Kompozer and Expression web because I worked on my Mac with Kompozer and on the school computers using Expression Web. I am most proud of the pictures because I think they accurately capture the beauty of these sites. I especially like the panoramas of Machu Pichu because they are very colorful. If I could change some things, I would add more photos and include pictures from my trips, but all the photos are on my home computer all the way in California! The biggest technical challenge that I faced was making it so the navbar linked properly, and the biggest design challenge that I faced was adding the photos so that they looked good. I will show my site to my friends and family because hopefully they find it interesting! After completing this assignment, I definitely plan on creating more websites in the future. I think it is was a fun assignment and I look forward to utilizing my newfound website making skills for future classes!

Larry's Lecture

I was highly impressed by Larry Hechler's lecture. I learned a lot regarding a variety of different aspects to computers. However, the concept that I benefited the most from was he talked about how we should treat our computer batteries. He explained how it is harmful for our battery when you use it for fifteen minutes, only then to recharge it. Hechler explained that this is detrimental because the battery becomes accustomed to only needing to exert itself for short periods of time. Instead, Hechler explained that it is better to let your battery run the full amount, then fully recharge it. I will benefit from his tips because I realized that I am not fully maximizing the potential of my computer battery because I often work on my computer while it's charging. Also, I learned that Dell has a really good warranty program. Hechler explained that if you buy a Dell, you are eligible for "Complete Care" which guarantees that the company will either replace or repair a broken Dell as long as it's within the time warranty. I found this information to be very useful because when I buy my next computer, I'll definitely take that into consideration because it is a very good deal. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Larry Hechler's lecture; he is a very nice man, as he finished the lecture by letting us know that he was always available to help us with any computerproblems that we may encounter.

My Image Manipulation

For this project, we were asked to choose an image that we were to manipulate using photoshop tools. I decided to select an image of Machu Pichu and manipulate it by adding birds flying around, appearing to "invade" Machu Pichu. I chose birds that are not commonly seen in that region of Peru, to make it seem like an eery occurrence. I chose this picture because I personally have back packed to Machu Pichu, and it is truly the most incredible experience that I've had. I did a weeklong trip full of hiking and adventure to Machu Pichu, and the sight of the great ruins is absolutely incredible. Machu Pichu is creviced in the Andes, and waking up at 4am to hike in the dark through the crisp, damp air to the gates of Machu Pichu is an awesome experience. I took many pictures that essential replicate the one that I manipulated, however I decided to use one off the internet because it was clearer and the colors were better. I manipulated the image by adding four different species of birds flying over the ruins. In addition, I altered the colors. I changed the hue and saturation and added shadows to the background because I thought it gave off a more mystical feel. I also lowered the brightness of the image because I think the hovering shadows added an element of uncertainty as the birds swarmed above. Additionally, I believe that the shadows added to the majestic image of Machu Pichu. I believe that the manipulation is not harmful because it is somewhat humorous and purely for entertainment purposes. There is no subliminal or political messages embedded in the image. This relates to the article that I read because the article talked about how the ability to manipulate  images truly alters the way people view a specific topic or image. For example, the way that companies manipulate images of people, and it ultimately makes viewers feel worse about themselves because they feel that the images depict reality and that they have to meet those standards. However, what I took from the article was that people see an image and oftentimes are intrigued and captivated by the presentation. For example, I believe that many people have not seen an image of Machu Pichu, so if the first one they saw was mine, then they'd be confused and unable to distinguish the original. I believe that this ties in with the article because the article focused on how technology has allowed teachers to manipulate images and to captivate their students. This allows them to have the attention of their students because the students are more likely to pay attention if the material is visually exciting. For my image, I believe that people would be captivated by the colors, and the beautiful scenery of Machu Pichu.

 Greenberg, R. "Image Processing for Teaching." Journal of Science Education and Technology 2.3 (1993): 469-80. Print. 

My Powerpoint Presentation

As a History and Spanish major who is interested in working in the field of education, I decided to do my powerpoint presentation on the program Teach for America. I talked about how I believe that going into education equpips one with the necessary skills essential to any job in any profession because you learn how to effectively articulate your ideas and thoughts through a strong leadership position. The ability to relate to others and teach lessons is very important, and I believe they are skills that anyone in this globalizing economy should value. I ultimately want to go into education administration because I want to be apart of putting the change into effect. I believe so many people complain and pass judegment on the education system today, however, they fail to provide any feasible, attainable solutions. Instead, as an administrator and leader, I want to be apart of the group that comes up with new, innovative, realistic plans that help end educational inequality. I thought my presentation went relatively well. I have been sick for the past week, so my voice probably wasn't as clear as it normally is, but other than that, I think I did a good job in presenting my powerpoint.
While I the enjoyed all the presentations and powerpoints, I particularly liked Danny and Taylor's. Danny's was very unique. She presented on Advertisment and I really thought that hers was unique because the graphics were really cool and interesting. I was intrigued and entertained the whole time. She kept the design of her powerpoint well colored and a good combination of graphics and text. I also really enjoyed Taylor's presentation because it was clear that she had a passion for her topic, opthamology. The design of her powerpoint was simple, yet captivating because it kept the focus on the topic. She had good bullet points, in which she further expanded on by explaining throughout the presentation. The video that she included was also really neat!

Chris Nolan's Presentation

Chris Nolan visited our class last week, and I thoroughly enjoyed his lecture. He talked about the various search engines that are available to us and how they differ from one another. Google is currently the most widely used search engine. I found Nolan's lecture really interesting because he additionally talked about how google is one of a kind because they put a lot of effort into sorting out bad information and sources from the good. They filter a lot of bad sites out of so that the most reliable and relevant sites are listed first when one does a search. I learned about how the various endings in a web address refer to the type of site that it is. For example, if it ends in -edu, then it is a website affiliated with an academic institution (usually higher education) and if the website ends in -org then it is a non-profit organization. Another thing that surprised me was how widely google is used. Approximately 66% of internet users cite google as their search engine of choice. This surprised me because that is a clear majority, for other engines such as Yahoo  (16%) and MSN/Bing (11%) garner much less attention.