How To Make French Toast

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I suppose I liked my subject because I felt like it was an interesting take on the old classic of making students' stories come to life. I learned that kids are trusted a lot more now than they were. I feel I would have never been allowed to hold and work with expensive equipment like green screens and cameras, yet that seems to be the norm. I suppose I should have been more specific in my presentation, but I was just trying to limit myself to the three minutes or less. I did everything in my presentation that I didn't want to do. I spoke too fast and hesitated over words; I was incredibly awkward. My fault is in my ability to be concise. In comparison to other presentations, mine was the only one that didn't go over the time limit, and other presentations went into more detail which I imagine made them more interesting.

Overall, since every presentation went over time, they certainly dragged on. All presentations included the requirements for the assignment, and they were all somewhat interesting. Future advice: keep presentations simple and focus on one aspect because once the presenter tries to include too much, the ultimate message is lost.

My two favorite presentations were from Tyler and Kristin. Tyler's iceberg visual helped get his message across and he also demonstrated excellent communication skills. I liked Kristin's because she didn't use too many words on the slides, and the words she did use added to the presentation. Her design was neat and tidy, and her video was actually relevant to her presentation.

Pictures That Lie

I chose this image of Katie Couric being slimmed down in a photo for reuse. I chose it because while it seems overdone to comment on the obscenity of digitally altered photographs in magazines and the like for advertisements, it's on an entirely new level of indecency to alter an image that should be representing truth. We now assume that advertisements don't always display fact, but should we have to also assume that news sources won't express reality? The first image was released in May 2006 by CBS and then the doctored image was found in the September 2006 issue of Watch magazine, which is owned by CBS. It was altered in a way to make Couric appear thinner than she normally is. There isn't a clear reason why it was altered, but I suppose it was to make her more appealing. It may not seem like a harmful manipulation, but imagine being the person whose picture is changed to make you look a certain way. It's basically telling her that she's not good enough. If all news anchors and journalists were slimmed down for the camera, it would tell the world that you have to have a perfect body to have this type of career. 

I chose this video because it shows the subtle manipulations that make a big difference in the viewer's perception of the image. Its message comes at the end: "girls are always complaining about how they want to look like the people on magazine covers, but no one looks like that." The fact that not even the people these images are of actually look the same as in the photo should show people that nobody is perfect and no one should expect perfection. 

The Center for Learning & Technology

Information Desk
Where you can ask for help or check out equipment

Video Conference Room
Where magical things happen

At the Center for Learning and Technology on the first floor of  Coates Library, I found an array of options for the use of technology in future classes. There were 26 computers: 14 Macs and 12 PCs. Some of them even came equipped with a DVD and VCR player. The CLT has a variety of cameras as well including: action, flip, and DV cameras. In addition, the center can provide microphones, tripods, and headsets. One of the very interesting things we could use for our class was the Smartboard. It will record everything you write on it as well as audio, so the professor or even a student could "teach" a lesson and then let the students watch it. It would probably work best in a mathematics course for explaining how to solve a problem. The video conference room was really cool. We could potentially use it for a guest speaker over Skype.

Using Lynda.com

I watched segments 2,3,5,7, and 9 from chapter 7 (Working with Tables) of Word 2010 Essential Training. I found that navigating Lynda.com is quite simple and user-friendly. Everything is labeled clearly and in a logical order, making it easy to find what you're looking for. The instructional videos open in a new window, so it's easy to return back to the course you were looking at. The presenter had a distinct voice which you can clearly understand. She took her time to point out and explain the smaller things that a beginner may not be aware of. The order of the presentation was consistent and easy to follow. I encountered no problems while using Lynda.com.

In comparison, I found that this tutorial was easier than learning in a class as a group. You can watch the videos at any time, so they are easily accessible. Some people may feel embarrassed to speak up or ask a question during class. In the tutorial, you can just pause or rewind until you feel comfortable with your understanding of the information. Everything is nicely labeled, and so if you have just a simple question regarding something specific, you can do a search and easily find it. Now, on the other hand, some people may learn differently than others. They may need person-to-person interaction in order to fully comprehend. It may also be more convenient to have a person you can ask immediately during class, rather than trying to "google" or search for the answer.

Two things that Lynda.com helped me to understand about MS Word were being able to convert text to a table and vice versa, and sorting table data. I haven't given Word much credit in the past; I don't realize just how intelligent it really is. I never knew I could use tabs to sort data and then convert it to a table, just like that. Then, once I have created the table, I can sort the information in alphabetical order by the headers, and Word will recognize the difference between text or numbers within that information. Later, if I decide I don't want it in table form, I can easily revert it to text form.

Network Server Diagram

The idea behind the network servers is so that the student has a safe back-up, and there's a place for professors to send documents or other files to the students safely and quickly. It works because only the students have full access to their personal file and only the professors have complete access to the files in their folder. That way the student can't tamper with any of the professor's files and vice versa.


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Best Tech Tip

The lesson I found most helpful was learning about the website Lynda.com. I had no idea this wonderful little site existed until that day. Even after viewing it, I was a little skeptical of its usability. One major application that I would like to have a firm grasp on is Adobe Photoshop. I've used it before, but only on a basic level and not enough to really remember how. I found some of the training videos for Adobe Photoshop and saw just how easy it is to manipulate images to change them into what I want. Something as simple as creating a photo collage is difficult for me purely because I was never instructed how to do so. Now that Lynda.com has been made available to me, I can educate myself and become better up to date on new technologies and software. Below I included one of the tutorials that Lynda.com offers. It shows how to make a selection on Photoshop and basically combines two images to create an interesting effect.

Please allow me to introduce myself...

Hello, my name is Sara Touchstone. I'm a first-year. I graduated from a high school in Katy, Texas, but I have lived in other places. I was born in Arlington, Texas, from there I moved to Tucson, Arizona, then Williston, Vermont, Beaconsfield, England, Kerrville, Texas, and finally Houston, Texas. At the present time, I plan on majoring in English. I would like to join the 5 year program in teacher education here at Trinity because I want to be an elementary school teacher. 

My technological skills don't branch out too far. I know enough to utilize Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint effectively, but I feel I don't know many of the shortcuts or other things to make better use of the software. 

In high school, I participated in cross country, soccer, and track and field, so I enjoy running. I also enjoy reading. Currently, I am reading The Shining by Steven King since I love the Stanley Kubrick film so much. I love to bake and listen to oldies, hence the title of this blog. I like watching shows like Friends, Arrested Development, The Twilight Zone, and the Dick Van Dyke Show. Also, my not-so-secret fact was that I love Mork & Mindy. I own the first season, and hope to be getting the other three seasons soon (if they ever release the fourth season on DVD). 

Contact me at stouchst@trinity.edu