Let's excellerate this process with Excel....so we can be done with it.

For me, working with excel has been frustrating. Besides the differences in Mac and PC programs, I've found myself confused on a regular basis. This is probably because I don't think in the excel way, meaning I'm not a number person and I hate spreadsheets. I'm better at design principles and other programs that require me to be creative. I'm having a hard time grasping all of the different forumlas and way of doing things. I know that a lot of things we've learned are helpful. It's good for us to find some way to calculate our own finances, instead of just relying on our banks to do that with online banking. Also, excel is helpful in categorizing data and I like the graphing feature.

I won't deny that the program is useful, because I know it is. I guess I just wish it was a little more user friendly. Or maybe it is user friendly and I'm just not good at working with it. I wish it was Tommie friendly.

Copyright Savy!

I learned a lot from Jason Hardin and his presentation on Tuesday. However, what stuck with me the most was his points on the fair use laws. It's good to know that I have access to certain materials and can reproduce them as long as I have good motives. Copyrighted material can often be helpful in preparing presentations and writing papers. I will remember Jason's tips on how to stay out of trouble, while still utilizing the information next time I need to use copyrighted material!

I also thought that history behind copyright was interesting. I knew that copyright was established under the constitution, but I didn't know about the treaty signed in the 1970's by many of the World's leading countries. I find it comforting that my copyright will be recognized outside of the U.S., regardless of different laws. I also thought that Jason's example of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney was interesting. It makes me wonder if they will extend the copyright longevity again when Mickey is up for public domain.

Finally, I appreciated that Jason differentiated between plagiarism and copyright infringement. I think this is an important piece of information that all students should know.


Copyright Savy! by Tommie Ethington is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Navigating the TU Network

Last week our computer skills class took a field trip to the basement of Halsell. Here, we proceeded to learn about the in's and out's of our beloved Trinity network. With help from a Trinity alum we were able to learn about the difference between certain connection types, firewalls, and who our internet service provider is. We even got to see where things like Tucc-Tiger are stored! Most importantly though, we learned how our network is connected on campus.

Here's a diagram I designed to help you understand!

Trinity Mystery Spot

I chose this location because it's a place that a lot of upper-classmen have probably seen before, especially sophomores. There's also something in the background that distinguishes the location even more. I altered my photo by changing the temperature and saturation levels. I brought the temperature level down to -100 and made the saturation level 100. This change created the blueish-green hue that you see. I then used the sticker feature on Picnik to add in a friendly dinosaur and a heart, because who doesn't love dinosaurs?? I also used the doodle feature to draw a purple top hat on my Dino. By now I thought he was looking pretty spiffy, so I decided he needed some kind of moniker to show off his pizzazz. I selected one of the fonts and put his name up in lights. Finally, to complete the picture I went into the frame effect and selected the rounded edge frame. I felt this was a great final touch.

Do you know where my dinosaur is making a scene?

Talking Technical with Mr. Hatch

After Mr. Hatch's talk on Tuesday I'll admit I became a little paranoid. This new Mac I got ins't actually indestructible?! People can hack into my computer and steal my identity?? We can get a virus just by clicking on an innocent looking link?? What kind of world is this?!

A virtual world, and unfortunately it appears there are a lot of risks attached to the benefits of the internet and computers. However, Mr. Hatch helped me understand how I can protect myself from outside (and internal) threats.

Through explanations of programs like Cisco Clean Access and Sophos, I now understand the importance of the software. I no longer see the programs as "necessary, annoying evils needed to access the internet at Trinity". I now respect and appreciate the the programs for the tasks they perform.

Because of Mr. Hatch, I'm also more aware of what it takes to keep my computer in great shape. I now know that simple things like resetting Safari and clearing URL locations, cookies and downloads can make a difference in the performance of my computer. I'm also planning on updating my computer regularly, instead of just ignoring the pop-ups like I normally would.

THANK YOU MR. HATCH!