In-class presentation grading

I realize some of you won't care becuase it is exam week - but some of you will!, so here is the rundown of how the inclass presenation was scored.

This email is going to be crossposted to the class blog so you can access it whenever needed.

In WebCT, for the in-class presentations, you'll see some numbers like this:


35 22


The first number is how many points (out of 36) you earned from me. The second is the average number of points you received from your fellow students who were grading you. I have also pasted in any comments your fellow students (and myself) made about your presentation.

Here's the details.
---------------------------------------------------------------

I took the grades from your fellow students and averaged them.

Could you understand the presenter?
The Slide Designs guided your eye.:
The presenter made it interesting.
Overall Design works to support the message:
You learned something from this presentation.

There were 25 points possible. (5 pts. each)


------------------------------------


I was grading you as well. It was based on the following:

36 Points Possible
5 Slides: 8 + Title + Biblio + Jobs: All, 8+2, 8+1, 8+0, <8
3 Sound: Well, Badly, Not
3 Graphics Well, OK, Poor choices, Not much, none
4 Slide Transitions Present, well done, average, badly
2 Master Slide Two, One, None
3 Points built up Well, AVG, Badly
3 Speaker Notes Yes, no
5 Interesting Slides 5,4,3,2,1
5 Interesting Present 5,4,3,2,1
3 Research 3,2,1

------------------------------------------

To calculate your grade:
1. Average up all the student responses.
2. Calculate the percentage.
3. Calculate the percentage of my grade.
4. (Student percentage * .25) + (Instructor percentage * .75)

That's your grade.

Excel WebCT project comments

As I'm grading the Excel WebCT projects, some comments come to mind.

1. I am deducting for format issues - i.e. the intructions call for a total to be in a specific format, but you didn't follow that instruction. Why? Because in real like, formatting matters. The way data is presented really makes a difference on whether it will be readable, understandable, and make an impact.
2. Never Ever manually type in a conclusion - for ex. look at a column and type in that highest number. Have Excel calculate that for you ALWAYS (even if it's easiy to glance at the data) - because you never know when the data will change.
3. Use your common sense - if a result doesn't make sense, then you've probably made an error somewhere. For example, the average of 15, 20,25 35, is probably NOT 1500!
   

Home network Possibilities

A quick description of the network I have at home. I will hopefully flesh this out later. The purspoe is to demonstrate the possibilities - and reasons to setup an home network. "Outhouse" is an outbuilding I have in the backyard, wired for electricity and phone.

Machines:

1. mac mini in outhouse
2. iMac DV inhouse
3. WinXP machine in outhouse
4. Apple laserwriter select in outhouse
5. HP inkjet printer inhouse
6. Apple powermac in outhouse
7. playstation 2
   

The need: Get everything talking to each other so any machine can print to either printer, and all can access the highspeed itnernet from Cox. The cable drop is, of course, 30 feet away from the nearest computer.

Networking hardware: I'm using powerline adaptors from macWireless.com to connect the outhouse, inhouse iMac, and the playstation to the highspeed internet. The outhouse machines are all connected to a gigabit switch I got cheap on eBay, which is in turn connected to a powerline adaptor. The playstation 2 and the cable modem are connected to a second gigabit switch. The inhouse iMac DV is connected direct to one of the powerline adaptors.

The wrinkle: I need to be able to work on the Win XP box for class, but there is no physical space to really put it anywhere convenient. So I use Remote Desktop Connection - free from microsoft. This allows me to sit at one of my Macs, connect to the Win XP box, and control Windows as if I was sitting there. in fact, this entry is being typed on a 5-year old iMac DV machine, controlling the Win XP box - which is running Firefox over the highspeed connection.

Fairly cool, if you like this sort of thing!

Microsoft Office alternatives, Threats

1. This article from eweek.com discussed alternatives to Microsoft Office that may be interest to you. It won't help you in this class (which requries Office) - but this inof may still be useful to you.

Some of these alternatives are free!

2. There are several ways Office can be attacked by malware. Read this article, from eweek.com, about how some of them. BTW - keep your copy of Office updated!

The first disk drives

There is a photo gallery at
http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-10877_11-31979-1.html

showing the first hard disk drives. My, how far we've come in terms of storing data.

50 of these platters could hold 2 iTunes songs.


There is more info HERE on a Yahoo news site (original article from PC World). (Thanks, Michael, for passing this on).

The original pricing:

Prices have dropped dramatically. The RAMAC 305's cost per megabyte was approximately $10,000--that's about $70,000 in today's value. Today, a typical desktop hard drive can deliver that same megabyte for 3/100 of a cent.

Notice that's $/meg.

Computer Parts notes - Tues 8/29/06

Hardware
Software
Operating System
CPM (really old)
Win XP, 2000
Mac OS X
Linux
Unix
BeOS

Sits ‘tween you & hardware

Application –
1. Commercial
2. Shareware
3. Donationware
4. Freeware

Hardware:
1. Motherboard
2. RAM – temp storage - Cheapest way to speed up CPU

Permanent Storage
1. HD
2. Flash ram
3. Optical
a. CD
b. DVD
c. R vs RW

Processor: Pentium
2 things to deal with:
Processor Type
Speed

Kilobyte=1024 bytes
Megabytes=1024 kilobytes etc
Gigabyte
Terabyte
Petabyte
Exabyte
Zettabyte

Click here for details.

On blackhawk, inside my folder is an Excel file comparing how much CD quality audio will fit in one megabyte, one gigabyte, etc.etc

Spring 2011Syllabus

CSC125 Intro to Computing Syllabus

 

Tom Rule Fall 2010

 

CSC 125.006 TR 0925-1040 CSB100

 

How to contact me - see the full syllabus inside myitalb

Facebook: Tom Rule, in the Mercer group (YOU MUST be in the Mercer network. Go make this happen now!)

 

Online form: http://www.tomrule.info/ or http://www.maconmacguy.com/

 

Mailbox in Computer Science office

 

Cell phone: ______________ (announced in class)

 

Office: I’m adjunct, and so do not have an office or office hours. Cell & Email are the best ways to contact me. You can also leave a message in my Computer Science Department mailbox.

 

Prerequisites: none

 

 

 

Handy URLS:

 

www.myitlab.com - you’ll be doing a lot of work here

 

csc125.blogspot.com - the class blog – announcements, tips, ideas, etc. SUBSCRIBE to it now!

 

MyItLab will be used for online training and testing. The blogspot address is a blog I setup for use with this class – I strongly suggest you subscribe to it. There is also a Facebook group for the class – you MUST be in the Mercer “network” to see it. Once you are, search for the group and request to join.

 

Essential knowledge, skills, abilities needed: common sense. Some computer experience is nice because it will make learning and doing the projects faster. Time and sweat will make up for lack of experience (just like in the “real world”). Yes, it’s nicer to have your own computer – but there are machines available all over campus where you can get your work done. Think of it as the computational equivalent of the Laundromat.

 

 

Course objectives: This course is designed to fill in some computing gaps you have (and probably don’t know you have). It is centered on Microsoft Office 2007, but will deal with a plethora of other computing and technology-related subjects. While no prior computing experience is required, students in CSC 125 are expected to read at the college level and also demonstrate math competency.

 

Upon completion of this course, a student will demonstrate competence in each of the following areas:

 

1. Describe the hardware components of a computer system and be able to explain the role of each component in the integrated computer system,
2. Describe the components of a computer network and explain how each piece functions in connecting one to other computers on the network and to the Internet and WWW,
3. Use the WWW in a sophisticated manner to conduct research on a given topic,
4. Use the Windows operating system,
5. Use Office application software for word processing, spreadsheets, database systems, and (optionally) WWW page generation.
6. Use Office application software to carry out common tasks in academic and business environments. This includes, but is not limited to, research papers, graphing, and financial calculations.
7. Understand the very basic function and purpose of a high level programming language through the use of instructional tools used to teach object oriented programming.

 

What you’ll need:

• Exploring Microsoft Office 2007 volume one (by Grauer et al). [POSSIBLY OPTIONAL]
• A login code for myITlab [MANDATORY]
• Access to Office 2007 (Including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access). Available at a discount through Mercer University (mercer.edu/tss – click on “Student computer purchases”)
• A computer capable of running the above programs (Windows 2000SP4, XP SP2, Vista, Windows 7) – available oncampus, especially in the CS building, downstairs.
  
                   Ask me about Macs – YES, it’s possible
• An Internet connection
• A thumb/flash/keychain/whatever-ya-wanna-call-em drive [ MANDATORY!] 

A Bargain:

 the Windows OS through the Computer Science Department. DIRT CHEAP!

 

 Electronic Submission of Assignments:

 Students bear sole responsibility for ensuring that papers or assignments submitted electronically to a professor are received in a timely manner and in the electronic format(s) specified by the professor. Students are therefore obliged to have their e-mail client issue a receipt verifying that the document has been received. Students are also strongly advised to retain a copy of the dated submission on a separate disk. Faculty members are encouraged, but not required, to acknowledge receipt of the assignment.

 

 Cell Phone and Pager Usage: The polite, official version:

 

Out of courtesy for all those participating in the learning experience, all cell phones and pagers must be turned off before entering any classroom, lab, or formal academic or performance event.

 

Cell Phone and Pager Usage: The real life, colloquial version:

 Turn the flippin’ cell phone off, for pete’s sake. Your mother would be ashamed! Have more consideration for your teacher and fellow students.

 

 Reasonable accommodation from students with disabilities will be welcomed.

 

Students requiring accommodations for a disability should inform the instructor at the close of the first class meeting or as soon as possible. The instructor will refer you to the Disability Support Services Coordinator to document your disability, determine eligibility for accommodations under the ADAAA/Section 504 and to request a Faculty Accommodation Form. Disability accommodations or status will not be indicated on academic transcripts. In order to receive accommodations in a class, students with sensory, learning, psychological, physical or medical disabilities must provide their instructor with a Faculty Accommodation Form to sign. Students must return the signed form to the Disability Services Coordinator. A new form must be requested each semester. Students with a history of a disability, perceived as having a disability or with a current disability who do not wish to use academic accommodations are also strongly encouraged to register with the Disability Services Coordinator and request a Faculty Accommodation Form each semester. For further information, please contact Carole Burrowbridge, Disability Services Coordinator, at 301-2778 or visit the Disability Support Services website at http://www.mercer.edu/studentaffairs/disabilityservices

 

 Grievances

 “Students have the right to bring grievances against faculty members concerning academic or behavioral matters.”

 You might try talking to me first when something bothers you – it’ll likely get resolved faster.

 

 Grading:

 

Final Exam: 10%
Capstone Projects: 35% [Graded on a 4 point scale]
MyItLab projects/exams 35%
Misc Projects: 20%

I do NOT use the built-in gradebook on myITlab for calculating averages. Use it ONLY to see what your scores are for individual items. There is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet available in myITlab you can use to track your grades & average.

 

Grading Scale: 90-100 = A 87-89=B+ 80-86=B 77-79=C+ 70-76=C

 

Attendance policy: You are strongly encouraged to attend every class. Much of what you will learn in this course will be learned in class through lectures and hands-on experience with the computer. Some assignments will be completed and submitted in class. Changes to schedules and assignments will be announced in class [and probably on the facebook group and blog]. I will not give private lectures to students who miss class. At 6 unexcused absences, you will lose 10 points from your final grade. Each additional unexcused absence deducts an additional 2 points from your final grade. For example, if you had a 95 average in the coursework, with 6 absences it become an 85. With 7 absences your average becomes an 81.

 

 If you are granted excused absences from Mercer University for university-related activities, please let me know ahead of time [a quick email is fine!] - especially if there's coursework due. Athletes: do NOT assume the Athletics Dept. has let me know about your excused absences. Let me know – a quick email is good!

 

  

Policies as to late, extra-credit, make-up, and “perfectible” work: Extra credit work is not something I do [with one exception, listed below]. If you get into some trouble (life happens), communicate with me! On rare occasions I will grade Late work for partial credit. EXTREMELY late work won’t even be looked at. Exceptions are allowed, but are rare. Talk to me about it!

 

  

Extra Credit: The Computer Science Department Colloquium is normally held each Friday at 10:00 AM in CSB room 204. When you attend, make sure you sign in (there’s a sign-in sheet – NOT SIGNING IN means you weren’t there) and pick up a Colloquium Review Form. Fill out the form with enough info to prove to me you were there and didn’t sleep through it. Turn it in by the next class meeting (either in person or in my CS mailbox – in the Computer science office). You will receive 1 point added to your final average for every Colloquium attended and paperwork done – up to 7 points.

 

 

 Honor Code:

 

All suspected violations of the University Honor Code will be forwarded to the Honor Council.
Yes, I’ve done it.
YES- THEY LOST

 

Common Sense:

 

If you receive a failing grade during the course, contact me and discuss the work/assignment(s) in question.

 

 

Final notes, advice, and various miscellany:

 

1. It will ALWAYS take longer than you think. Plan ahead!

2. You are in this class to develop skills – this takes time. Make working on this stuff a regular part of your schedule.

3. The computer WILL crash – and it will be at the worst possible moment. The closer you are to a deadline, the more often it will crash – it can sense these things

 

You think I’m lying right now – but you’ll see the truth of these words about mid-semester, when you waited until the last minute and you lost everything at 11:59 pm.

Yes, it’s happened before.

 

Yes, the student lost points.

 4. BACKUPS are critical. I have no compassion on people who can’t turn in an assignment because their only copy hosed.


5. MAKE MULTIPLE COPIES. Thumb drives are cheap. Even cheaper: Email a copy to yourself as a backup.


6. DO YOUR OWN WORK. NEVER give someone else access to your work. NEVER. This is not only dishonest and wrong – but will be referred to Honor Council. Do you really need the hassle?

 

If you turn in someone else’s work as your own, you will be assigned a grade of F for the entire module – i.e. you will receive an F for each myITlab test AND Capstone for that section of the class.

 

7. However – DO ask questions, confer with a fellow classmate on how to solve an issue, eyeball their work to doublecheck it. Ask me about the Fortran story involving me and my now-sister-in-law.


8. Re: MyITlab – there are 2 types of things to do in myITlab – training and exams. There are 2 paths you can take to get these done – Skill-based, and Project-based. Ask me about these if you still aren’t clear after I talk about it in class.

 

9. You CANNOT multitask, and have a snowball’s chance in Macon of getting what we’re covering in class. Stay out of Facebook/MySpace/Email/News/Sports/Chat/Shopping/fill-in-your-own-distraction-here while we’re in class. The stuff was online before you sat down, and it’ll be there when you leave.

 

 

List of assignments

All requisite files and instructions will be available for download in myITlab.

This list may change, but probably won’t.

myITlab tests:

PPT 3, 4, 5, 6

Excel 1,2,3,4

Access 1,2,3,4

Word 2, 3, 4, 5

 Tests taken in myITlab

 

Capstones:

 PPT 1, 2

 Excel 2, 3

 Access 1,2, 3

 Word 1, 2, 3

 Download the Doc, create the files

 

Misc Projects:

 What’s in your Computer?

 Useful Thing of the Day

 Alice

 Others may be added

 Download the instructions and follow them

 

 EXTRAORDINARILY Tentative schedule

 

Date Material Project Deadlines

 

Jan11 Get files off webpage, 1cl vs 2cl, facebook group, online virus scan,  ram, os updates, malware updates, blog subscribe

 

13 Email org, attachments, zip, thumbdriveuse, search process PPT intro

 

18 Search cont. PPT intro

 

20 Measure Data, Moving Data PPT design, usage

 

25 Disks/format/eject PPT1

 

27 file formats PPT2

 

Feb 1 OS vs app, App types Alice Intro

 

3 PPT to Dev Graphics PPT 1,2, all myITlab PPT DEADLINE

 

8 Alice XL intro

 

10 Alice XL design, usage

 

15 Parts overview: Hw/Sw

 

17 Processor XL1

 

22 Alice XL2 EXCEL 2 DEADLINE

 

24 Alice XL3

 

Mar 1 Cards/Busses

 

3 EXCEL 3, all myITlab XP DEADLINE

 

SPRING BREAK

 

15 Network 1 DB intro

 

17 Network 2 DB intro

 

22 Alice DB1

 

24 Monitors/connections/graphics cards DB 1 DEADLINE

 

29 Alice DB2

 

31 Printers/Sharing/Types DB3

 

Apr 5 OS Compare

 

7 DB 2,3, all myITlab DB DEADLINE

 

12 WP Intro, WP1, WP2

 

14 Mail Merge

 

19 WP 1,2 DEADLINE

 

21 Presentations WP3

 

26 Presentations

 

28 Presentation WP 3, all myITlab WP DEADLINE

 

All Deadlines are listed in the myITlab calendar. Check there!

 

 

The Final Exam will NOT be a traditional exam taken during a specified time. It will be partly done online and partly on the computer using Office, and will be open book / open notes but MUST be done by yourself. It will be due to be turned in electronically no later than Saturday May 7 by Noon – NO EXCEPTIONS. More details as we get into the semester.

 

Important Dates

 

SPRING 2011

 

First Day of Class January 11

Late Registration & Drop/Add January 11-14

Last Day for Late Registration, Drop/Add, and to apply for the Georgia Tuition Grant January 14

Holiday – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day January 17

Mid Term March 2

Spring Break March 7-11

Last Day for Course Withdrawal March 24

Deadline for submitting Graduation Applications (for Fall 2011) March 25

Advising/Priority Registration  (for Summer & Fall 2011) March 30 - April 15

Holiday – Good Friday April 22

Request Grade Mailer via BearPort April 25 - May 15

Last Class Day April 29

Reading Days April 30, May 1, 4

Final Examinations May 2, 3, 5-7

Commencement Saturday, May 14

 

Web Office Replacements

This is from Small Dog's email newsletter. - June 2006



Google tossed a small grenade in the battle with Microsoft this week,
too, with the beta release of Google Spreadsheets. I signed up for
the beta program:

http://www.google.com/googlespreadsheets/try_out.html

There must still be some openings in the testing program because I
was immediately accepted. Google Spreadsheets is, in my view, a very
significant development. Google has created a very powerful (yet not
Excel) and functional spreadsheet program that is cross platform,
internet-based, and free. One of the neatest features of Google
Spreadsheets is that it is easy to share spreadsheets. In fact, you
can work on the spreadsheet simultaneously with a coworker located
anywhere. Google also provides a chat window to trade instant
messages while you are working on that business plan.

Polishing up my crystal ball, I see online productivity applications
becoming more and more popular. As the spread of broadband capacity
reaches just about everywhere, it will no longer be necessary to
actually own this software capability, but rather you will simply
access it on the net. I found no lag in working on the spreadsheet
and it was just as if I was working on Excel at my desk. You store
your files online so they are accessible anywhere and you can export
them as Excel-compatible .xls files or .csv files.

If you cannot get into the beta program at Google, check out another
online spreadsheet:

http://zohosheet.com/

Zoho sheet has most of the features of Google Spreadsheets and adds a
few of its own tricks, too.

One warning: Neither of these applications will work with Safari
right now. You need to be running Internet Exploder or FireFox 1.5
(recommended).

I was able to open any of my Excel sheets from my hard drive. New
sheets that I created using these applications all opened easily in
Excel. I began to wonder what other applications were available.

One of the questions we get asked a lot with the new Intel-based Macs
is "Where is the word processing program?" While Text Edit is
available and there are some test-drive applications included, we
even had one gentleman angrily return his iMac because it did not
have a word processor. Now I have a better answer. You don't need no
freaking word processor! Just connect to the internet and type away.
Just like the spreadsheet programs, there are some word processors
out there, too.

Writely has recently been acquired by Google and will make a new
appearance soon as a Google word processor, but you can check this
one out at:

http://www.writely.com

They will also give you an opportunity to enter your email address to
be notified when Google opens up the software to new registrations.
The software is compatible with Microsoft Word and has the same
sharing and collaboration features as the spreadsheet applications.

Zoho also has a word processor. I was able to give that one a better
test because their beta program is still open and easily accessed at:

http://www.zohowriter.com

I gave Zoho writer a good workout and it is a very capable and fast
word processor. I may start using it to see how versatile it can be.

Should Microsoft be quaking in its boots? I doubt it, but if you look
forward you may find that Microsoft Office, Word, and Excel will move
from being indispensable to being irrelevant. With Apple nipping at
its heels with a clearly superior operating system and now with
hardware that can run any operating system and with Google attacking
its flanks with online collaborative productivity applications,
Microsoft needs to innovate or they too may become irrelevant.

Excel Concept List

What is a spreadsheet, GUI overview
Select Cell
Entering Data - Text, fixing errors, autocorrect
Entering data - numbers
Calc Sum
Fill - fill handle
Formatting: Font type, size, style color, mergin cells
Name box to select cell (EX36)
Add chart
AutoCalculate
-----
Formulas: order of ops, point mode vs fill mode vs manually
Functions: average, min, max, count
Verifying formulas
Formatting: BG colors, borders, number formats, conditional formatting, widths/heights
Spell check
Print formulas version

-------

Rotate text
fill series
Copy formulas - copy/paste vs drag-n-drop
Insert/delete
Format symbols
Freeze titles
Functions: IF
Formatting: numbers, titles, shadows
Charts: Pie
Multiple worksheets
What-if & Goal seeking (EX204 ff.)

DB data

I'm creating a database we are going to setup in class, and then manipulate beyond what the text does. It will also from the basis for the final DB project.

So please fill out the "survey".

Word Processing Projects

Just a thought....

So if the instructions in the book say to print them out and write something on the printout, shouldn't you?

See you Thursday!


;)

Word Processing Concept List in text

If you see something that you really have no idea what it is or how to use, make sure you read the book and figure it out on your own by Tuesday Feb 14.

---

Entering text - typing, blank lines, formatting marks, wordwrap, on-the-fly spell & grammar check

Formatting - selecting and formatting paragraphs and characters, selecting multiple paragraphs, changing font/size/styles, alignment, undo/redo

Clip art - insert, resize

Printing

Changes - insert, delete

MLA style

Margins, line spacing, header

Indents - regular, hanging

Autocorrect, footnotes, styles, word count, page breaks

Works Cited page - manual page breaks, hanging indent, auto-insert arrows and symbols, hyperlink, sort paragraphs

Proofing - goto, moving text, smart tags, find/replace, find/replace synonym, spell & grammar check

Resume Wizard - tables, styles, autoformat

Letterhead - text color, tab stops, insert/resize graphic, paragraph border, clearing formatting

Business Letter - tab stops with ruler, insert current date, autotext entry, non-breaking space, table creation/filling, bullet list

Powerpoint: Color and Design issues to consider

If you are color illiterate like me, you need all the help you can get when choosing colors - and it IS important which colors you use in a presentation. Design of the slides are also important, as we will see in class. Below are links to some information, how-tos, and discussion on using Powerpoint.


START WITH THESE
Good overall design advice - http://ecglink.com/library/ps/powerpoint.html
Something else to read before you get started - http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html


COLOR

1. The Color Wheel - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010120721033.aspx
2. Effect of colors in a presentation - www.medianet-ny.com/BigScreen.pdf
3. Choosing colors for your presentation slides -http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com/articles/choosing_colors_for_slides.htm


4. The effect of Color - http://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/books/htdepowerpoint.html

DESIGN ISSUES

1. Precision Layout tools - http://www.presentations.com/presentations/creation/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1871209
2. Don't use bullet points! - http://sooper.org/misc/ppt/

3. Best quote: PowerPoint has affected business, substituting real thought with animations and bullet points.

GRAPHICS STUFF

1. Special Effects with Pictures - http://www.presentationpictures.com/powerpoint-wow.htm
2. More graphics tricks - http://www.infocomm.org/index.cfm?oID=4C6EE11F-30FA-4FA0-83F6CA611123E124
3. Misc Tips - especially check out the one about compressing graphics - http://www.microsoft.com/office/previous/xp/tips/powerpoint.asp

Excellent general presenting resource
....especially the columns where a powerpoint design specialist takes a company's presentation and redoes it - think Extreme Makeover for powerpoint. - www.presentations.com
Presentation Zen is also an excellent resource - http://www.presentationzen.com/


....and finally, reasons why you should care about what you learn in English class:

Suddenly, business executives, for example, are handling their own correspondence. There is no secretary or administrative assistant reviewing the content, context, spelling, grammar and punctuation. And the results are positively embarrassing. It numbs the mind to realize how many senior executives can't spell or don't have a clue what it means to have the verb and the subject in agreement. ("What the hell! Let 'em negotiate!")

Interestingly enough, I detect a couple of trends here. Clearly, more and more of our business and personal communications will move via e-mail or its next generation equivalent. But, if you read the work of today's high school students, you have to fear for the language. They can barely communicate with themselves, much less anyone above the age of 20.

Now, the upside to all of this is that someone like me who writes for a living is never going to be out of work. The downside is that, sooner or later, the writers are all going to go to that great writers' block in the sky. And then where will the rest of you be?

from Academic Leadership - http://www.academicleadership.org/volume1/issue4/articles/skipboyer.html

Additional quotes from this article:

PowerPoint® is right up there on my list of the World's Most Dangerous Electrically Powered Tools, a notch or so below the power saw and just above desktop publishing.

Any tool, when used properly, can benefit the user. Power saws and drills just beat their manual counterparts all to hell, although I think the jury is still out on power toothbrushes. It's when tools are used improperly, usually by well-intentioned amateurs, that they can wreak havoc.

Electronic communications, publishing and graphics programs put the most sophisticated communications tools in the history of the species in our hands. As a professional communicator who clearly remembers hot type and carbon paper, it's a joy to have them. However (and this is the scary part), those same tools are also in the hands of your church secretary and the entertainment chairman of the local Rotary club.

If you doubt the dangers here, take a good look at your next church bulletin or club newsletter. Three different column widths, eight different type fonts, six different type sizes and nine unrelated bits of artwork. And that's just on page one.

One of the distinctive marks of a professional is restraint. Just because you have 200 fonts available doesn't mean you have to use all of them. A professional communicator understands that PowerPoint® graphics are called "speech support" for a reason. Use them with restraint.

Powerpoint Projects

By next Tuesday (1/31):
Read the two Powerpoint chapters - look for things you don't know how to do, and figure them out. The book walks you through step by step. See the blog entry below with the chapter synopses for a concept list.

Done in class:(Due on Thursday 2/2 by end of class)
PPT 134, #2

1. Add some hyperlinks – previous/next slide, camping website, KOA logo
2. Hand in 2 slides per sheet of paper, printed in the lab. Make sure you have a title slide with your name and section number on it!
   

PPT 136, #3

1. Done using outline as per the textbook - except find your own clip art that is appropriate for the subject..
2. Print out 2 slides per sheet - but make sure you have a title slide with your name and section number on it.
   
3. THEN make changes for better design (fewer slides, build effect, better graphics)
4. Hand in 2 slides per page, plus a digital copy. Filename YOURNAME_SECTION#_PPT136.ppt

Outside of class:

Get the handout, either from me or from Blackhawk (when it gets it's brain unscrambled, probably inside the folder ppt or powerpoint).

Presentations will be given on February 7 and 9. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Kilo, Mega, Giga...then what?

One byte = 1 character of text.

You can see that this is rather clunky when dealing with larger sizes of data (imagine talking about that 10 page research paper as being 1,643,254 bytes long ....... and forget about talking audio or video!)

So we turn to the metric system for help.

1024 bytes is called a KILObyte.
1024 KILObytes is a MEGAbyte.

So here's the list:

Kilo (10**3)
Mega (10**9)
Giga (10**12)
Tera (10**15)
Peta (10**18)
Exa (10**21)
Zetta (10**24)
Yotta (10**27)

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci499008,00.html for more info.

So, in practical terms, what does this mean?

1 Kilobyte is about a single page of double-spaced typed text, .006 seconds of CD stereo audio (uncompressed), and .000286 seconds of high definition uncompressed video.
1 Megabyte would be roughly 1000 pages of text, 5.9 seconds of audio, and a third of a second of video.
1 Gigabyte would be 1.7 hours of audio and 5 minutes of video.
1 Terabyte would be 2.4 months of audio and 3.6 days of video.
1 Petabyte would be 202.4 years of audio and almost 10 years of video.
1 Exabyte would be 2071 centuries of audio and 10 centuries of video.

Powerpoint Chapter - concept list

I thought it would be helpful to list the concepts the 2 Powerpoint Chapters deal witrh. I'll be adding significantly to them as we go through them.

1. GUI overview
2. Design Template
3. Title Slide
4. Text
5. Bullet Lists
6. Views
7. Printing
8. Outline Tab
9. Change Slide Layout
10. Slip Art
11. Header / Footer on printout
12. Animation
13. Email - limits
14. Posting to Web
15. Ftp

Additional concepts we'll deal with (this list is NOT exhaustive!)

1. The Master slide
2. Design issues
3. Color issues
4. Buttons and navigation
5. Hyperlinks
6. Drawing tools
7. Charts
   

Why I don't teach buttons

I teach processes - so you can figure out what buttons to push!.

Here is an example why - Windows Vista is due out fairly soon (perhaps within the year), and it looks COMPLETELY different. You will still be doing the same types of things on the machine, but how you do them will change.

Take a look at this graphic comparing Windows XP and Windows Vista:

(from http://www.bentuser.com/image.aspx?ID=3c1c466e-0cfc-4018-a295-f16ab889145a)




...and if you're interested at all in where the sounds came from, here is a movie of a recording sessions where they are creating the sounds to be used with Vista.
http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=151853

Netiquette (aka Email Ettiquette)

Why bother? Because email is a communication medium - if no one is listening becuase you are so doggone aggravating to deal with, why should you waste your time? On the other hand, if you do have something to say worth saying, it's worth the effort to make sure the information is packaged in such a way that people will hear it!

A company needs to implement etiquette rules for the following three reasons:

Professionalism: by using proper email language your company will convey a professional image.
Efficiency: emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded emails.
Protection from liability: employee awareness of email risks will protect your company from costly law suits.

--From emailreplies.com

The legal liability issue is very real, especially for people in legal, financial, and health-related industries.



Some online resources:

http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/addition.html - Yale University

http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/65mailet.htm - LearnTheNet.com

http://careerplanning.about.com/od/communication/a/email_etiquette.htm - the Career Planning Guide at About.com

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_emailett.html - Purdue

Welcome!

This is the blog for Tom Rule's CS125 class at Mercer university - Spring 2006.

As I type this I am not exactly how this tool will be used - but I do intend for it to be useful!

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