A Whole New World

This is my first non-school related post.  I graduated.  Working.  Living life. 

Stay tuned.

And So It Ends.

Well, this is officially my last (school) post. This is probably one of the most practical classes I’ve taken that will benefit me both personally and professionally.  Since my last post, there are some new additions to the site:

• I observed others interacting with technology and/or me teaching them new technology. Check out the “Journal Entries” tab to read up on that.
• I created a technology integrated unit plan for Team In Training utilizing the various technologies I learned throughout the class.  Check out “Unit Plan” to see that.
• I also compiled a list of my favorite assignments throughout the semester.  I can definitely see how I progressed from a basic user, to an almost intermediate user. Check out “Work Samples” to see my fave assignments.
• Lastly, I reflected on the importance of technology in my life – personally and professionally.  You can read my thoughts on the “Position” page.

Well blogosphere, this is it.  Next time y’all hear from me, it’ll probably be some random rant.

Later!
-Anita

The Cost of Technology

Considering that every job I’ve had since graduating from college relied heavily on technology, I see the value in computers and software programs in the workplace.  For the most part, technology has simplified my job and become an integral part of my work day.  Actually, working with technology is my work day! 

I think for a lot of businesses, technology is an integral part of their workday.  In banking, technology makes it easier to organize financial data; medical practitioners can keep track of their patients’ health history; journalists can submit stories from anywhere in the world to their editors.  With just about any business, the benefits of technology far outweigh the costs.  If every business tried to operate for a week without technology they normally use, I think they would definitely appreciate the technology that much more.  Not only that, I think businesses would further understand how much more time efficient they are due to technology.

I posted a link to Arbitron Ratings Software in my blogroll.  The software is designed for advertising agencies and helps them effectively manage and organize media plans for various clients.  Just from working in this industry, I see the value in this software to simplify the day-to-day tasks of media buyers.  So just in case the folks from Nielsen see this, I like your software and wouldn’t mind travelling to tell people about it.

Later!
- Anita

Web Design. Wow.

Wow, it’s been a month since my last post.  I had gotten quite used to being a blogger.

Back in the day (and by day I mean late 90s), I had my own little web page like many other teenagers.  It was just basic stuff - a few pictures, maybe a link or two.  I didn’t realize until now how useful HTML could be.  As part of a class assignment, I had to create a web page using HTML only, and not one of the fun templates that FreeWebs provides.  The site is for a potential business start-up.

I’ve always held an interest in public relations and advertising.  My friend and I have always talked about going into business for ourselves.  This could be a potential starting point for us.

It was a little confusing at times figuring out the HTML, but FrontPage was a big help.  The most difficult part was getting objects to align properly on my page so they displayed correctly on the web site.  There was a few times where the page would look appropriate and aligned properly in FrontPage, but when I posted the codes on FreeWebs, it’d just be really off centered.  I do feel a little more confident in my abilities to do web sites. However, I wouldn’t mind a lot of assistance from some real web pros.

I think if students learned web design and HTML beginning in elementary school, then by the time they finished high school, they’d probably be established web professionals.  I’m sure with this technology (and with any technology), the more you practice, the better you get.  Businesses would benefit from HTML and web design training as well.  Employees would be able to update the company web site if necessary.

Here’s my web site: KP Unlimited
**Just a note, the “Symbols” and “Circles” images on the web site were created by me.

Later!
- Anita

Lesson Planning with Excel

Let me just start off saying that I have so much respect for teachers (even more than I did before) after seeing the amount of time it takes to create a Powerpoint, movie, and especially an Excel sheet!  It was a little troubling at times, but I’m glad I spent the time to figure out how to use complex formulas and perform certain actions in Excel.  As part of my assignment, I had to create a lesson plan.  I decided to do something somewhat related to my industry that I could realistically assign to someone.

Scenario:

You are a party planner at Parties R Us, the number one event planning company in Dallas, and are assigned to plan a party for Pop Superstar London Stears.  London is known for having the most lavish, off the wall parties, so you have high expectations to meet.  You are given a budget of $250,000 to plan the party.  This includes coming up with a theme, decorations, food, attractions/entertainment relating to the theme, location, and invitations. 

Instructions:

Using Excel, create a budget sheet for all the costs and expenses associated with planning the party.  Make sure that the budget is easy to read and uses formulas that automatically deduct any expenses.  Create a to-do list of things you need to accomplish in order for the party to be a success.  Make sure you check for spelling and grammatical errors.  Lastly, be creative!  London is a Pop Superstar, she wants something utterly fabulous.

Grading Rubric:

Grading

	20	15	10
Design/Layout	Design was clean, perfectly aligned. Rows and columns were appropriate sizes.	Design was legible, but tight in a few areas.  A few rows and columns not properly aligned.	Uneven rows and columns.  Words and figures not legible.
Formulas	All formulas function properly.	Some formulas function.	Less than half of the formulas function.
Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation	There were no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.	There were some grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.	There were major grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.

10

5

Creativity

Event was well thought out, detailed.

No details or relation to theme.

On Time

Project was turned in by due date.

Project made but not turned in on time.

Making a newsletter … who would have thought?!

I’ve seen Publisher before, but have never actually used it.  It’s a neat little program – yet another feature I already had on my computer and am wondering why I wasn’t using it before.  There were a few areas that I had some difficulty with, but overall I think I made a pretty interesting newsletter.  I used a template, but added in a different masthead.  I tried to incorporate the WordArt, columns, and pictures where necessary.

I haven’t used a scanner in years, but I managed to scan a group shot of the mentors.  I also put in a picture of an honored hero/team captain Don with two of this season’s participants.  Since Team In Training’s colors are purple and green, I tried to maintain that color scheme.  This not only provided contrast, but repetition as well.  I also made sure to remain cognizant of the positioning of pictures and text – there isn’t anything randomly placed throughout the newsletter.  There’s a good amount of white space as well.

I’ve never created a PDF before either.  I always thought you needed to purchase an Adobe program, but luckily there’s a free online service that does it.

Check out my newsletter on my technology page.

Later!
- Anita

Visual Basic … huh?

About a month ago, I was an average Powerpoint user – blinking slides, word art, maybe a sound or two.  Now I have a Powerpoint presentation with videos embedded in it – one video that I even made!  It was a little confusing trying to figure out all the Visual Basic stuff, but after viewing tutorials and with the help of a trusty classmate (whose name rhymes with Hamy Lo ), I was able to make my Powerpoint interactive!  Now people can put their name in, answer fun little questions, and view the video I made as well.

I have to say I’m pretty amazed by all the things you can do with Powerpoint, MovieMaker, and all these other Windows programs I’ve had for years but wasn’t using to their full potential.   Perhaps Microsoft should consider advertising about the cool features they do have – after all, it’s a full on ad campaign battle between Apple and Microsoft now.  Or, this could just be an opportunity and reason for students to learn about all these programs in school.  Students could use the programs already available to them to enhance their school projects and presentations.  Some may even be able to take these new skills home and teach their parents and siblings a thing or two.  This would lead to enhanced business presentations for their parents or interesting projects for that older sibling in college.

Ultimately, it all comes down to educating.  Educating people about the resources already available to them; educating people on how to use these resources.  Now I want to go play around Windows and see what other programs I have yet to discover!

Check out my technology page for my enhanced, interactive powerpoint.

Later!
- Anita

Movies, YouTube, and Copyright, oh my!

So I just created a movie in Windows Movie Maker – a program that I didn’t even realize existed until a week ago.  It reminded me of the Avid software I used as an undergrad (which I thought was pretty fun!).  Although it was fun, it did take me awhile to get used to the menu prompts and layout of Movie Maker.  But I have to say I’m pretty impressed with Windows right now.  Thanks Bill!  I would have been using this much sooner had I known about it and knew how to use it.  I watched a few snippets of the tutorial videos, but for the most part I just played around in Movie Maker until I figured things out.

I think this would be a great tool to use for educating and learning.  Students and business professionals could use Movie Maker to enhance their presentations.  It definitely breaks up the monotony of a regular powerpoint presentation.  I’m sure students (and some business professionals) would get very creative with all of the animation and custom features that Movie Maker offers.  Just be sure to stay mindful of the :30 second cut off for copyrighted music!

Check out my technology page to see my movie!

Later!
-Anita

Oh Powerpoint

So I used to think Powerpoint was pretty simple – adding pictures from clip art, changing the font, making the text blink, etc – but after spending quite some time on this assignment, I have a renewed respect for Powerpoint!  There was a lot of things in Powerpoint that I didn’t even realize existed.  I definitely enjoyed playing with the custom animation.  My first thought when I picked my topic was “how can I get a runner to run across the screen?”  Well, after using the custom animation tool box, I figured it out!

When I first learned how to use Powerpoint in high school, it was pretty basic stuff.  After all, we were working with Windows 98.   But I think now since technology has advanced so much (especially the Microsoft Office programs), students would have a multitude of options to be creative and express themselves through technology.  I’m sure I only learned a fraction of the features Powerpoint offers, but students learning in today’s fast-paced tech environment would be able to incorporate many of the program’s features. 

If I were a student using this technology right now, I’d be excited to see what new things I could create with Powerpoint.  Students may take more pride in their work knowing their peers would be seeing their presentations.  This could lead to competition among students (albeit friendly competition) to see who could create something new in Powerpoint.

If I learned this much about Powerpoint (which I thought I already knew), I can’t wait to see what all I can do with Excel!

Later!
-Anita

Here we go …. the first “official” post!

I have to say I’ve always wondered how “veteran” bloggers had the time and dedication to post on their blogs every day – sometimes multiple times a day!  Yet here I am – an amateur blogger – making my mark on the blogosphere. 

I always thought of blogs as a no holds barred, open medium where people could express their views and opinions without fear of consequence (most of the time).  I think blogs would be very beneficial for both students in the classroom and people in the business world.  Students who are too shy to speak up in class or worry about what their peers will think of them would probably appreciate the lack of stress of just making a blog post.  I think the same goes for business people – employees may fear speaking up during a meeting so they don’t appear incompetent to their colleagues.  I’m sure some blogs allow anonymity for posting comments.

I think the major drawback to blogs is the fact that they take away from actual face-to-face interaction, especially for students and business people.   In a way, people can hide behind their computers and say what they want without ever having to face the people that read their comments.  But if students and businesses use blogs that don’t have the option of anonymity, then that could lead to potential backlash in school or the workplace.  People could confront each other or gossip about what was said on a blog.

Although there could be some backlash, I think the benefits far outweigh the consequences.  As long as people maintain a certain level of maturity and respect for others when voicing their opinion (especially on blogs related to school or work), then blogs will continue to remain the perfect outlet for people to express themselves.

I’m looking forward to posting more blogs and adding some more cool features to mine!

Later everyone!
-Anita