Advice for next semester!

My advise for next semester is to follow instructions! A few times when I did the homework I wouldn't follow the directions fully, so I got a few points off.  Make sure you read every step that way you won't miss any details!!!

Favorite Websites

Our class had very interesting and creative websites; however, these are a few of my favorites...

• Katy Silva-This website was extremely artistic.  I can definitely see Katy's personality throughout the website.  I really enjoyed the backgrounds.  She had a very nice navbar.  My favorite page on her website was her portfolio.  She is very creative and will go very far in life.
• Taylor Watkin-Her website was very interesting.  I really enjoyed her pictures.  They were very clear and made her pages very interesting.  I loved her travel pages! She did a really good job!
• Marianna Becerra-She also had a very good website.  Her website was about Latino Exchange so it was very informative.  I really enjoyed the pictures page.  This looks like a very fun club to be a part of! 

My Website

Please visit my website at www.cs.trinity.edu/~agoodin!!!

The process of building my website was a great learning experience.  I have never done anything close to building a website so this was all new to me.  Making my website was a little easier than I thought.  I used kompozer when I worked on my mac and expression web when I worked on the school computers.  I'm most proud of the page on my family.  Family is very important to me and I made this website for my parents.  As soon as I published it, I sent them a link to visit my site.  I would have made the design lay out a little more interesting.  I had some problems with the pictures, so I wasn't able to put that much time into the design.  My biggest technical challenge is when I saved all my picture on a file on my desktop, but when I moved that file to my y-drive all my pictures wouldn't work, so I had to reinsert every picture. My biggest design challenge was working with the table I inserted.  I could figure out how to change the size and layout moving from kompozer to expressionweb.  I will show my site to anyone interested in seeing it!  If another classes allows for me to build a site, I would definitely make another site.

Larry's Lecture

Larry Hechler's lecture was an extremely insightful presentation on computer hardware devices.  I learned much about taking care of my computer.  After this lecture I realize the importance of taking care of my computer.  It is interesting the Larry's sons have all destroyed their computers, however Larry understands his sons don't take care of their computers, so he bought all his sons dells, because they have the complete care. This Dell care system had made it easy for him to replace them.  Larry asserted the importance of backing up your harddrive.  My dad always tell me to back up my harddrive; however, I always forget and tell him I will do it later.  Larry's stories about past Trinity students losing all their information definitely spooked me.  The first thing I did when I got back to my room after the lecture was backed up my harddrive.  My computer is getting a little slow, so it might be a harddrive problem. I'm very glad I decided to back up my harddrive.  I also learned a lot for Larry's talk about battery life.  I previously did some of the things he said you should avoid.  I used to use my computer for 15 minutes then plug it back in.  Now I know your not suppose to, I will use my battery completely before I plug it back in.  I really enjoyed learning the different aspects of the computer hardware.  Larry is extremely tech-savy, yet he spoke in terms that I could understand.  I really appreciated his lecture.  Now I definitely have a better understanding of my computer and how to take care of it!

I choose this photo from stock exchange of the Luxor hotel building from Las Vegas, Nevada, because I lived in Las Vegas for a good majority of my life, and I've always thought this building was very interesting. I manipulated this photo by inserting my face in place of the sphinx face.  I manipulated this aspect of the my photo by adjusting the hue and staturation as well as the brightness and contrast.  I also altered the color by using the dropper and paint brush tool.  I was able to smudge the lines of my face to blend in more.  Another transformation of the photo is I painted the nails of the sphinx by adding shapes and painting them pink.  They last touch which I feel was very vital was the text.  This shows that my alteration were only made in fun.  These alterations were not harmful because they were only made in jest.  I was not trying to harm anyone by creating this, and there is nothing really too controversial about it.  Recently, it has become quiet a controversy about manipulating pictures.  Mike Rossner's article "The Journal of Cell Biology" discusses image manipulation a bit.  It discusses in different terms than I have though of before though.  He identifies image manipulation as a form of "scientific misconduct."  It is not   a lot easier for anyone to manipulate images.  Because of this fact, people don't realize the impact of transforming a picture.  This is a very tricky subject and as our technology increases this image manipulation will seem to be more of a problem.  We just need to educate people on the impact of image manipulation and as long as they are aware hopefully they wont use image manipulation in harmful ways.

Citation

Mike Rossner, Kenneth M. Yamada "The journal of Cell Biology"Vol. 166, No. 1 (Jul. 5, 2004), pp. 11-15. Published by: The Rockefeller University Press

powerpoint presentation

My presentation was about Linguist in China.  I learned more about specific information and statistic about the language situation in the world and more specifically in China.  I like to see how the tool I learned in class could really be put into use to make a profession presentation.  I definitely will use the skills I learned for future assignments.  If I could change something, I would talk more about my personal experience.  I said a lot of facts, but I would have made my presentation more personal.  I would also try to add some of my own effects and animation.
My two favorite presentations would definitely have to be Kayvon's and Taylor's presentations.  Kayvon's presentation about being a multilingual doctor was really good, because this topic he choose was obviously something he was passionate about.  He used a very interesting color scheme.  His striking images also helped to make his presentation very intriguing.  Taylor's was also quite impressive.  I learned a lot about her and her topic of eyes from her presentation.  Her video she choose of the lazor eye surgery was very interesting.  I went away from her presentation wanting to learn more about the eye.

Chris Nolan Lecture

Chris Nolan gave an extremely insightful lecture on the usage of search engines.  Going into this lecture I felt that the usage of search engines was a topic that is common knowledge to most people; however I learned a myriad of new ways to better utilize search engines.  I learned how to better search through google by using the advanced search tool to refine what I am looking for.  Also, I thought it was very interesting how you can preview books that have been scanned online.  This will be useful to me whether I am doing research or just trying to find an enjoyable leisure book to read.  Something that surprised me was how easily a faulty or bad article can be spread to the public.  Not only is it easily spread, but when people don’t use a critical analysis of their sources they can easily believe these articles to be true.  This makes me realize how careful I need to be when locating sources.  Although sources like Wikipedia are fast and easy, and sometimes have good information, a lot of the time it could be faulty.  I know this to be true because I one time altered a Wikipedia article by a few words just to see how easy it was to change.  I’m very glad Chris Nolan came to our class to broaden our understanding of search engines and how to best use them.

Powerpoint perspective!

Powerpoint can be an extremely useful tool; however sometimes it can be extremely frustrating when there is a bad powerpoint presentation.  There are a few things when watching a powerpoint presentation that can be extremely distracting.  When there is too much animation, I feel it definitely takes away from the information given.  It can also prolong the presentation if they animate each little thing.  Another thing I dislike about powerpoint presentations is when there is too many images.  In addition it can be extremely boring when there is no images at all.  The creator should find a balance between the two.  Another pet-pieve of mine is when there is too many words on the powerpoint.  There is so much information that I tend to zone out after only a few words.  The last aspect of a bad powerpoint presentation that I dislike is when there are too many colors.  If there are too many colors then the powerpoint doesnt seem consistant, and it is easy to get lost.  Powerpoint can be extremely useful in the classroom or business setting.  One example of a well used powerpoint is in my Trinity principles of marketing class.  Professor Davis gives us a powerpoint with a few blanks and then in class we can follow along with the completed powerpoint she presents.  Her powerpoints only include the important information, and I'm always intrigued by the information in the powerpoint and what she has to say that goes along with it.  I'm excited by learning more about powerpoint through this class!

CLT visit

I was unable to make it to the CLT visit with the class; however, from my own experience as well as from reading other peoples blogs I have learned to discover many new things about CLT.  The few times I have been down to CLT, I needed to watch movies for my classes and I was unable to watch it on my personal computer, so I headed down to the CLT to watch.  The people at the desk were extremely helpful.  My headphones broke as I was watching the movie, and I found out I can rent a pair of theirs.  They not only have PC's down there but Macs as well.  This is very helpful to me since I am a mac users, and now I sometimes find it hard to navigate on a PC.  I heard that the class scanned an image for the assignment.  This is really great, since I don't have a printer or scanner in my room.  I usually go to T3 to print things, but the other day when I needed to scan something for class, I had to ask around all my friends to see if they had a scan.  It's good to know that I can now just go to the CLT to scan something if I need it.  I also heard there is a HD video chat room, which can be good for conference calls and such.  The CLT seems to have many resource for us Trinity students to utilize, and I'm so glad that in our class we got to learn how to better take advantage of these resources. 

Image Manipulation

I chose the digitally altered photo of O.J. Simpson, because it was the most striking picture to me of the bunch. This picture originated as a mug shot of O.J. during his trials. The picture on the left shows an unaltered version that Newsweek uses; however, the right side has altered version by Time magazine. This picture is altered to be a bit blurry and darker with a higher contrast. Time magazine was “accused of manipulating the photo to make Simpson appear darker and menacing;” however we do not know the true intentions of the editor. I do agree that this picture does appear to be more ominous though. He seems more of a criminal in the second photo, than a real person. This manipulation could be harmful to O.J. Simpsons case, because human being are naturally biased people and if the see someone who “looks” like a criminal they are more likely to think he is a criminal, even though they don’t know any facts. I would not want my image altered without my permission, especially in this way. It is harmful, because almost violates his rights.

I chose this youtube photo shop of Jennifer Anniston, because I thought it was an interesting twist that goes along with the O.J Simpson image. The ultimate message is things are not always as they appear. It is natural for us to just accept photos as true; however, in this day in age technology allows for us to manipulate picture in a way that is deceiving to the viewer. This photoshop shows the beautiful Jennifer Anniston transformed into an old lady. Maybe whenever there is a photo that is altered like this a disclaimer should be included, so the viewer isn’t mislead to believe something that isn’t true.

Excel Experience

I have really enjoyed my experience with excel so far. I have learned many useful and interesting tools that I feel will really help me with future assignments. I was pretty inexperienced with excel, so many of the assignments are completely new to me. I find the different arrows the most useful tool. You can just type in a formula into one box and then drag it down with the black cross to bring the formula to the rest of the boxes. Theme and cell formatting will help me in future classes, because anyone can make a plain excel worksheet; however, now I can set myself apart and enhance my excel worksheet with a design element. Sometimes I help my dad with taxes and he uses programs that are based around excel, this helps me better understand how the formulas work. I dislike how excel is different on a mac, so I have just been doing my homework in the computer lab, since I am now more familiar with a PC, I finish my homework faster this way.

Jason Hardin Copyright Lecture

            Jason Hardin’s lecture on copyright is a very imperative topic that every person, especially college-aged students, should hear.  I feel it was important that we were listening to this lecture in our computer class, because much of the copyright issues stem from the rapid changes and development in technology.  These issues have not only increased but have become more complex with time.  I’m not sure how most people view copyright, but one thing I was intrigued by was the fact that Hardin kept on bringing up that copyright is ultimately a good thing.  Does our society not view it that way?  It was created to protect our rights as individuals, not to hinder them.  Our founding fathers used copyright as an incentive for people to be creative and inventive knowing that there work will be recognized as their own.  I also find it interesting that Disney has had such a pull on the copyright law.  They were able to lobby to increase the copyright law by 20yrs.  I feel Disney’s efforts are legitimate, because Disney is a huge company in our economy and whatever affects them, could have a huge impact on our economy.

            One of the most pressing issues with copyright is the illegal downloading of music and movies.  This is a very common trend among the college-aged demographic.  There are two extremely influential sides to this argument.  The first side is the creators right to the music or movies.  They have these items for sale, and since they created it, they own the right to it.  However, the other side is that of the illegal downloader.  In many cases these downloader’s mean no harm.  They are generally good people, but need a cheaper option to listening to music or watching a movie.  It is only a few clicks away to get exactly what you want to watch or listen to.  This is wrong though.  I side with the creator of the music or movie.  They worked really hard to create this entertainment and we are dimensioning it by buying it unlawfully.  It is the consumers duty as ethical citizens to purchase products lawfully. 

One way we could work towards changing this problem, is educating more people about this problem.  If more people understood what they doing and the impact of downloading illegal, they would try not to.  Also, the music and movies industry way of handling the copyright issues aren’t good either.  They should get retribution for having their products stolen; however, the way they go about it is wrong. Because they go after only a few people, and charge them an obscene amount of money, others feel there is a slim chance this could ever happen to them.  The consequences are too small of a chance to actually make a change.  Hopefully as technology increases and copyright issues become more complex, they become easier to enforce as well.  

Jason Hardin Copyright Lecture by Autumn Goodin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Network Diagram

To diagram the our Trinity network, I focused on the Wagon Wheel metaphor to create a visual representation of the network.  I put all the aspects that go into the network around the wheel with Ruth Taylor as the core.  I hope this diagram can help you better understand our network in an informative, yet interesting way! Thanks!

Trinity mystery spot

This location has become very important to me this year.  Every morning I wake up and walk through this area to get to my classes.  This is also a place where I have been able to accomplish much studying.  I prefer to study early in the morning here, because at night there is much traffic throughout this area, so it can become quite noisy and bothersome to study.  I altered this photo by boosting the color.  I thought the boost color effect really highlighted the Trinity red brick.  I also added an arrow to show the way I travel.  The heart is there to express my joy that this place is close to my room!

Best Tech Tip

Joe Hatch came to our class and presented us with a very enlightling lecture.  I learned much from what he had to say; however, I was most informed by the information about macs.  Sometimes I feel as if I lived in a PC world, and it's hard to get a lot of the things I need done on a mac.  The fact that Joe Hatch is a computer expert and owns a mac is very comforting.  It was interesting that a majority of PCs get viruses because there is more of them.  The best tip I got for my mac was to erase the history to create room and protect myself.  Thanks Joe!

About Me!

Me in the local traditional wear in Xichang, Sichuan, China

Hey everyone!  My name is Autumn Marie Goodin.  I'm from good old Austin, Texas.  I'm so ready to begin my sophomore year at Trinity University.  I know this year is going to be infinitely better, because I now have a car(chevrolet astro van.)  At the moment, I'm pretty sure I'm going to double major in Chinese and International Business.  An interesting fact about me is that before coming to college I decided to defer my acceptance to Trinity and take a Gap year to live in China for 10 months.  I helped out an American family homeschool their three kids as well as study Chinese at the local college.  This process helped me discover I personally hate teaching; however, I do have a huge respect for anyone in the teaching profession.  Although I learned that teaching was not my forte, I loved studying Chinese!  At Trinity I am involved with a few extracurricular activities: Intervarstiy Christian Fellowship, Ambassadors, and Sigma Theta Tau.  I truly enjoy all the activities I'm involved with, and if your interested in joining too, you should let me know!  I do not have a very extensive computer background, so I am excited for this class to help me become more computer literate.  My family has alway owned a PC, but for college thus far I have owned a mac.  My email is 

agoodin@trinity.edu, please feel free to email me anytime!