PP presents (Tuesday)

I really liked Maria Jose's presentation about finance and foreign language. It had a great background on the first page and I really liked the Finance page background as well. This is a big issue in our lives today and I think Maria Jose did a very good job showing this and proving its worth. Also, I liked how there was emphasis placed on the importance of learning languages like French, Spanish, Chinese, and Hindi. English is not the dominant language that people may think it is.

PP Presentations

My favorite presentation was the one done by Lindsay on Art Therapy. Not only was the presentation superb (I think everyone can agree with that) but also she seemed very interested and engaged in her topic. Also, Art Therapy seems like a really cool topic that could be very beneficial to people. In another class we were just reading about how people get an emotional rise out of pictures. For example, if you look at a big smiley face for a while you will be happier afterward.
My other favorite presentation was the one done on Coca Cola because it had a mysterious side of it. The presentation made me want to figure out what the 7th ingredient is. Part of me believes that it is a drug that makes people like the drink better. Who knows..

Power Point

I like the articles on Power Point because although some of the bad presentation techniques were common sense there were others that I did not know. Also, after reading these articles I know what I will avoid when making Power Point projects in the future. Here is my list of the 5 most important things in Power Point presentations:

1) NEVER use animation if you are trying to create a professional atmosphere or even a serious atmosphere. Animation brings out the most childlike side of everybody watching and can turn even an important issue into slop.

2) Do not read directly off the slides. If doing a presentation, be careful not to write text in such a way that you are just reading it directly off of Power Point. The text should supplement what you say, not BE what you say.

3) Use Colors Appropriately. For use in an everyday arena such as class, color can be distracting and/or annoying. If it keeps changing it can be distracting and if it stays the same for a semester it is probably going to get redundant and annoying. However, in more unique presentations color is very useful.

4) More Images Less Words. Graphs can be very effective as can charts. Pictures and videos can be essential in captivating an audience. Less text is more because it not only shows that you fully understand the topic, but it also lets the audiences combined eyes drift towards the images.

5) Do not choose a crazy font and stick with it for the whole project. While in some cases a strange font can be used effectively it should not be throughout the project. Spend a good amount of time choosing fonts as well because they are important in creating a pattern.

Microsoft Excel

I have learned a ton about Excel in this class. Last semester in my Chemistry Lab there was a lot of work to be done with Excel and if it wasn't for my Lab partner I never would have gotten through the class. With this class I have learned not only how to make formulas, but also how to do conditional formatting, making graphs, and lots of other very useful functions that allow for certain sets of data to show up more clearly to alert a passive reader of an important issue. I can see myself using Excel in almost every other class I will have. Also, I see my parents using programs like Excel to keep track of money. Although money is probably the most important use of Excel, I believe I will be able to use it even more extensively than that and thus be more efficient.

Social Engineering Mission

Our mission in the new PMOG, Nethernet, was to not only explain Social Engineering, but to also show how to stop hackers from tricking you into giving out information. A significant portion of our mission informs the questers about how to avoid giving away information. We have read several readings in which hackers have simply asked corporations to give out information and have used this to their advantage. Our goal is not only inform people of what social engineering is, but also to advise people how to avoid it. We scattered 'gifts' or data points throughout the web at sites connected with the mission. We have left some clues to these data points. However, there are other sites that are connected with our mission that we have not clearly laid clues to that will enable the quester to find even better caches of treasure.

Pictures that Lie

I chose the picture of George Bush's note that claimed, "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" I chose this because it exemplifies George Bush's incompetence and I think it is funny. The picture is real in every sense of the word except that the photographer enhanced the words so that they were better able to be read. I believe that that is completely alright because he did not lie in his picture. In many of the pictures, the manipulation was a lie, for whatever reason. This picture tells the truth it merely makes it stand out better so that one can get the whole story simply by looking at the picture. This is fine in my mind.