Searching for Information on the Internet

Chris Nolan came to talk to us about how to search for information and how to tell which of your results are to best to use. I didn’t know that when searching on Google that you could find the definition of a word by typing “definition:” in front of the word. I also didn’t know that there was a specific search that you can do to find scholarly souses. I’m going to use that information on a paper that I have to write later today. He also told us a list of things to look for when we are evaluation whether a source is reliable and these are to look at the author, publisher, intended audience, bias, substantiation of claims, reverences and the information being presented.

PowerPoint, Good, Bad, and Ugly

PowerPoints when done well can be very effective and people can learn a lot from them. Unfortunately, there are some PowerPoints that have just gone all wrong. The thing that bugs me the most is when there is too much text on a given slide. I do not want to sit there and read a slide full of text. That makes them extremely boring! I also don’t like it when the person who is presenting the PowerPoint just reads off the slides. The slide is supposed to just have the main points and the presenter is supposed to elaborate on them. PowerPoints are not effective when the thoughts are unorganized because when they jump around it is difficult to follow. Also, because I’m a visual learner, when the PowerPoint lacks visuals it is harder for me to see what is going on in the PowerPoint. Visuals, if used effectively can make the PowerPoint very strong. Lastly, I don’t like it when there isn’t any color in the PowerPoint. Color helps to keep the audience’s attention.

Some of the best PowerPoints I have seen have minimal text with a lot of visuals. The presenter then explains the significant of the visuals and how it relates to the text. My environmental geology professor does a great job of this. They can communicate a lot of information with very few words and it can do it very efficiently. They are appropriate for a classroom or professional setting so it is important that we know how to use PowerPoint effectively.

Center for Learning and Technology

Robert Chapman spoke to us about what the center for learning and technology is and what services they provide for students at Trinity. Before this presentation I had no idea that CLT even existed. This center is equipped with 14 Macs, 12 PCs, and 11 scanners. They also have cameras that you can borrow there. The CLT is in charge of managing the Tlearn site and the technology that is in each of the class rooms. I think that its most useful assets are the people that are there to help you. It makes the process easier when you have someone to help you there who know the ropes. There are people there that know how to edit videos, use photo shop, and are willing to work with you to solve any problem that you might have. I think the thing that I will find most useful at TLC is the scanners. I think that I will end up using them for my drama class. It would have been useful the other day to know how to use them when I was asked to make a copy of a script. Because I did not know how to use them I had to ask someone else to make the copy. After the presentation I think that I will become more independent and if I do need help, I know where to find it.