Advice for Next Semester

• Don't skip class
• Follow directions. Attention to detail is crucial for your success.
• Do exceptional work. This will have Prof. Belisle on your side.
• Read the book.

My Favorite Websites

My favorite websites are as follows:

1) Rebecca Ribbing: I liked her website because it was very easy to navigate. Also, she had a pretty navigation bar.

2) Lindsey Neubauer: Her website was very picturesque. Also, she mentioned my favorite place in the world, Telluride, so it was a given that this was one of my favorite websites.

3) Katie Whittaker: I love to cook so this website was applicable to me. This website made me want my mom's baked goods.

Please visit my website at www.cs.trinity.edu/~jsnyder1

In designing my website, it was a long and arduous process. I had to conduct research on Kareem and JaRon Rush and Myron Piggie. Also, I had to find numerous photos of both Kareem & JaRon.

I used both Microsoft Expression Web and Kompozer in designing my website. Alot of the time, I would have pages opened in both applications. Thus allowed me to jump between pages and edit.

I am most proud of the Highlight Video/Photo Galleries section. I am most proud of this section because of the various photos and associated hyperlinks.

There is nothing I would have changed with my website.

My biggest technical challlenge was inserting videos and photos into tables.

My biggest design challenge was trying to fit the biographies and pictures onto one page.

I am going to show my site to my parents, friends and Kareem.

I am not going to make another site in the near future.

www.cs.trinity.edu/~jsnyder1

Larry Hechler: The Wizard of PCs/Macs

This past Thursday, November 11th, Larry Hechler, Hardware Technician Specialist in ITS, came and talked to our class about PCs and Macs. He discussed the right way to clean one's LCD screen and keyboard. Rather than using acetone, ammonia, or alcohol, a person should use a lint-free wipe and a little bit of water mixed with  laundry detergent. If a person was to use acetone, ammonia or alcohol, these chemicals would eventually eat away at the LCD screen. Additionally, he said that it's best to have clean/dry hands when using the keyboard. For example, hand lotion can ultimately remove the lettering on the keyboard. So it's best not to immediately start typing after applying lotion. Moreover, Mr. Hechler discussed the importance of not immediately charging one's laptop after every use. Hypothetically, if a person only uses his/her laptop for 20 minutes and immediately plugs it back into the charger, then the laptop battery will develop a short cycle memory. As a result, the laptop will not retain a charge because it thinks it only needs to run for 20 minutes. For this reason, Mr. Hechler suggested letting one's laptop fully run its battery to 0% and then charging it. Accordingly, I have definitely been more consciousness of my Mac's battery. On a separate note, Mr. Hechler described the importance of keeping the computer's cooling vents free of obstruction. If a computer's cooling vents are blocked, then the computer will overheat and could possibly shut down or worse go up in flames. As a result of Mr. Hechler's advice, I have definitely been more aware of my cooling vents.

Mr. Hechler's suggestions have definitely improved my knowledge of both PCs and Macs. I'm not in the market for a new laptop; nevertheless, I will need a new one by the end of my college career. Therefore, I will hold on to the notes I typed up and review them when it comes to my purchase decision.

Photos That Lie

I choose this particular photo because it was taken for my senior yearbook photo. The photo of me watching a golf shot originated from my senior yearbook photo shoot. It was manipulated by placing Megan Fox in way that it looks as if she's leaning on my shoulder. I also added the cartoon penguin on the golf cart because I thought it would add a quirky element. I manipulated the photo because 1) it was for an assignment and 2) because I thought Megan Fox leaning on my shoulder would be quite amusing considering her position. Some people would view this manipulation as harmful because Megan Fox's position is quite raunchy. However, in my opinion, no one is going to see this besides the class. So no harm, no foul. This photo manipulation relates to my article in the sense that this doctored photo never happened. I wish it did. 

In Changing History: Doctored Photos Affect Memory for Past Public Events, Sacchi, Agnoli, and Lotfus' articulate on how doctored photographs of past public events affect memory for those events. They articulate, "In everyday life it is much easier for people to encounter fake pictures of public events than to come across ‘doctored photographs that depict them doing things they have never really done' ". (Sacchi, Drrio L.M., Franca Agnoli, and Elizabeth F. Loftus). The authors go on to say

Works Cited

Sacchi, Dario L. M., Franca Agnoli, and Elizabeth F. Loftus. "Changing history: doctored photographs affect memory for past public events." Applied Cognitive Psychology 21.8 (2007): 1005-1022. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.

The Jungles: Baldwin Village, Los Angeles

My presentation was over The Jungles, which was renamed in 1990 to Baldwin Village. I choose this topic because I minor in African American studies and I feel slightly connected to the Hip-Hop culture. I know I dress extremely preppy. However, I still enjoy rap music and films such as Training Day, ATL, Get Rich or Die Tryin', and Hustle and Flow. I liked how I utilized Waka Flocka's music video: Hard in the Paint. I used this video because it displays the Black P. Stone Jungles and the inequality in living conditions. While I have heard of The Jungles, I learned how terrible the neighborhood actually is. The social implications of Baldwin Village include children fall victim to gang wars and life-or-death pressures to join gangs. As a result of the aforementioned implications, children fall into the vicious cycle of failing to reach their potential. One thing I wish I could have changed is I should have taken my anxiety medication. Despite the fact I've presented before, I was extremely nervous and stumbled on some words.

I really liked Zach's presentation on Fluvial Processes. His design was simply yet interesting. He utilized an amazing video of a person river surfing. His information and knowledge on the topic was outstanding.

Rebecca's presentation was shocking, yet fascinating. Her design was effective. Her content was interesting and made me want to read about Charles Manson and go watch The Silence of the Lambs.

Chris Nolan: Finding High Quality Info on the Web

On Thursday October 28, Chris Nolan, Assistant University Librarian, came and gave a detailed presentation on finding academic information and sources on the internet. I learned how Google uses 250 characteristics to rank web pages. I was unaware of the keys that google used to rank web pages. The keys include: how often its cited, how often a web site is used, if sites link to other sites, if its a reputable source, and blogs. I was surprised to find that Google is used only 66% of the time for online searches. I figured it had to be at least at 75%. Additionally, I was unaware how the top 100 searches in Google could vary drastically from the top 100 in Yahoo. The image below points to this discrepancy.

Powerpoint

There are multiple things that I hate about bad Powerpoint presentations. However, my top 5 are as follows:
1) Powerpoint presentations that have each word or letter pop up after clicks.
2) Presentations that have videos or images that do not show on presentation.
3) Presentations that are unrehearsed.
4) Presentations that are read directly from the slides.
5) Presentations that leave topics or terms uncovered.

Nevertheless, Powerpoint presentations can be useful. In a study, two classes of introductory economics were taught with the use of Powerpoint presentations and two classes were taught without the presentations. It was of no surprise that the Powerpoint group had higher grades than the control group. Powerpoint presentations can show images and graphs that a professor may be incapable of drawing.

Powerpoint presentations can be an excellent communication tool. With the presentation, a teacher can introduce information that students might otherwise find boring in a normal class setting. Furthermore, Powerpoint presentations can supplement the student's education through graphs and images.

CLT Visit

My first visit to the AT&T Center for Learning and Technology (CLT for short) was during my freshmen year. One of my frat brothers introduced me to this place. During my visit on October 16, I learned that they have renovated the Video Conferencing Room. I was unaware they had a Digital Audio Lab, Media Presentation Lab or Innovation Studio. Furthermore, with the CLT's 26 computers (14 PCs, 12 Macs), faculty and students have another campus option for computer access. Moreover, to my knowledge, the CLT is one of the only places on campus that has scanners. On Trinity's website, the CLT states that their core mission is provide faculty, students, and staff access to technology, media and training that enhance teaching, learning, and research; to design, create and maintain learning spaces that enhance instruction and pedagogy; and to distribute and maintain media and media equipment for instruction and campus events. The staff of CLT and various technology options definitely enhances learning, teaching and research.  For example, if I wanted to record a song, I could not only record but digitally alter the song. Also, I could make my own beats. Moreover, the Video Conferencing Room allows teachers and students to talk to distant teachers or students all over the world. Although the CLT is located on the first floor of Coates Library, it provides a quiet setting for studying or other activities.


I could use the CLT for our class in my different respects. I could write blog posts, work on homework and get help with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint). 


I could use the CLT for other classes as well. For example, in my Sport Management class, my team of four has to produce a video for our semester long project. As I have mentioned, I could use the CLT for recording and editing a song. 

Photo Manipulation

Despite the fact that I was only 4 or 5 years old when the OJ Simpson trial occurred, I choose this photo because it portrays how the media will do anything to portray an African-American in a negative light. I feel how Time portrayed OJ in a "darker" and "menacing" light contributes to the social inequality of African-Americans in our society. The mug shot picture of OJ Simpson originates from his initial arrest on June 17, 1994. The picture was manipulated by making OJ a darker brown in an attempt to make him look more intimidating. As I have already mentioned, by altering this picture, Time contributes to African-American racism and tries to either sway the trial's decision or public opinions of African-Americans. Obviously, the manipulation was harmful because while Time digitally altered the picture, Newsweek left the picture unaltered.

I chose the following video because I feel it accurately depicts how the media will alter images at any cost. Photo manipulation has led to women and even men feeling "fat" or "overweight" because of the "thin image" that magazines such as Cosmopolitan display.

Excel

So far with Excel I have learned several new things. For example, I never knew about the currency function. Moreover, I didn't know how to add different styles to numbers or highlighting certain numerical data. In future classes, I wish we would move at like 80% of our current class speed. I don't like Excel because of all the grids. You kind of get grid vision after class. Moreover, it's not a particularly exciting program.

Logo Copyrighted by Microsoft

Tech Tip

Regretably, I was not enrolled in the class when Joe Hatch presented his technology tips. Fortunately, through the persistence of my classmates, I was able to catch the drift of Joe Hatch's presentation. He stressed the importance of Clear Access, which allows a student or faculty/staff to connect to the internet over a safe connection. It prohibits hackers and viruses. He also discussed why most viruses target PCs. The reason is that over 90% of all computers are run by Windows. Fortunately for me I use a Mac; however, my hard drive still crashed this summer. Also, I read that the best way to protect your Mac is to delete unnecessary files and internet histories to keep it running fast.

Copyright Law Presentation by Jason Hardin

Throughout the presentation, I discovered many new caveats to copyright law. Firstly, I found out that copyright violations and plagiarism are not really the same things. While plagiarism is an academic sin (ethical lapse), copyright violations carry legal implications. For example, criminal penalties for copyright infringement include a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprisonment of not more than 5 years or both for first offense. Obviously, repeat offenders severe harsher consequences with a fine of not more than $1 million and imprisonment for not more than 10 years. I did not realize the implications that copying copyrighted materials could have. Moreover, I was unclear on when a work was copyrighted. Apparently, anytime a work is created, it is automatically created. However, it is a good idea to get it legally copyrighted. Furthermore, I discovered that Trinity suffers from students violating copyright law. Diane Graves, a TU librarian, sends roughly 7 to 10 take down notices a year. Take down notices is a formal document telling whomever to remove the illegally downloaded files (usually music). On another note, I have always wondered why satirical movies such as Scary Movie (1-4 to infinity) could imitate and parody other movies. But parody and satire are protected under copyright law.

There are several issues in copyright law. For example, when a musician writes an original piece of music and fixes it to a tangible medium, such as lyrics or a recording, it is protected by copyright law. The creator is the only person who can make legal copies. With the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, a work remains copyrighted for up to 70 years after the creator's death. After his/her death, derivative works may be created and profited from. The issue with the music industry is should a person pay for music when they can download it for free. While many people do it, you hear very little about illegally downloaded music. After Napster shut down in 2001, little was said about illegally downloaded music because of new technologies. Mostly peer-to-peer sharing was getting harder to trace. In my opinion, downloading music from a blog is not unethical or illegal. When a website says that the posted music is for promotional use only, one would think it is okay for download. Additionally, think about mixtapes, why is it copyright infringement when the artist or a company releases his/her mixtapes for free? On another note, when a majority of mixtape music will never make it to the radio or iTunes, then I do not feel bad for downloading Kid Cudi's new mixtape.

My Trinity Network Diagram

In designing my diagram, I tried to use the wagon wheel picture that Jared Pack instilled in our minds. Despite Ruth Taylor being the core, it is kind of off to the right side of my diagram because I had difficulties trying to cram all the pictures and text into the document. My diagram shows how my Mac (in Prassel) connects to the Internet through a WAP, Data Closet, then off to Ruth Taylor and then wherever it needs to go in the outside world. Thanks Jared for the tour of our network.

Mystery Photo

This place is seen from a sophomore dorm room. I choose this location out of convenience. First of all tell which dorm it is. Secondly tell me which floor. I changed the photo to make appear as if it was from the 1960s or 70s. I used Picnik to adjust the coloring and other stuff to make it appear as it is. I took it with my Palm Pre and then uploaded it to my Mac. Then I did my adjustments and then posted it to the blog.

Hello

Hi I'm Jordan Snyder. I'm from Kansas City, Missouri; however, I was born in Leawood, Kansas. The distance between Kansas and Missouri is one road (State Line). I travel between Kansas and Missouri 20 times a day. Besides that, my interests include golf, college sports (football, basketball, lacrosse), XDT, watching ESPN, and hanging out with friends. At Trinity, I'm secretary of my fraternity. Additionally, I play varsity golf. 

My computer background is extensive. I have taken computer classes from 1st grade to 5th grade. I additionally helped operate a website with my high school buddies.