CLT

Going to the AT & T Center for Learning and Technology was a learning experience. First of all because I had been to the first floor of the Coates library but I had never saw the CLT center, which is an amazing place to use as a resource. As you walk in there are many computers, PC and Macs, set up in tables in different groups, such as the video/audio section and the presentation section. As we walked in further we noticed many scanners, TV’S and all the rest of the Technology found in this place was all the latest and the most advanced technology. As our guide Robert Chapman (man in charge of TLearn) sat us down on the conference room and talked about everything they had to offer I was surprised to have never heard about this place so I could have used it before. I found out about the computer usage to do videos, edit audio, create presentations, reports, download media, etc. anything with dealing with technology can be done here. I was amazed to know that in that conference room they are able to communicate with up to 15 people at the same time and be seen in the TV screen. Another thing they offer is a room with everything set up like a classroom that gives the students the opportunity to practice in this room for any presentation they might have in their class. Robert told us that they have the latest programs in these computers (for video making/reports/presentations) and that at any time we are welcome and that they can show us how to use them. Also, very interesting was that they have cameras, recorders, etc. that they check out to students to do their projects. The availability of resources and help provided here is really a great thing that all of us should take advantage of it. I think this center will help us if we have questions on how to do presentations or projects for this class or any other class. For me this will be a great opportunity to start developing and practicing how to give professional presentations as that will be a big part of my future business career.



Self-portrait scan done in CLT



EXCEL EXPERIENCE

When I first started this class I knew nothing about Excel except for the fact that it existed. In just a little time I have learned how to do various different things. At first it seems very complicated and confusing but once you get the hang of its fairly easy. All you need to know is how to use the buttons or things provided in Excel and you can finish a document in no time. I have learned how to format cells to a certain color, style, theme, or font. One of the most important things I have learned in Excel is how to use various different functions using both reference cell and absolute cells to make up an equation. Everything is made easier to calculate and organized when you know how to work Excel. I think this will help me in my chemistry and accounting classes in the future when I am asked to organized data, or have different numbers I need to arrange or sort out. This program will definitely benefit me since I want to become a business major I will surely be working with a lot of data and graphs. I have even started using it just to keep track of my grades for other classes. I like the way that everything works in excel, sometimes the only part I kind of dislike is that when you use the “fill handle” sometimes the formulas are changed or read differently than what you intended. But overall, I feel learning Excel will make me better off.

Image Manipulation

Is this really Oprah Winfrey? At a first glance you might think this was a picture of Oprah when she was younger, but in reality it’s not. It might be Oprah’s face but it’s not her body. The body belongs to the actress Ann-Margret. This image of Oprah appeared in the cover of TV Guide back in August 1989. This cover was created by slicing Oprah's head into the body of Ann-Margret which was taken in 1979 in a publicity shot. I mainly choose this picture because if I would have seen it and didn’t read that it had been manipulated it would have fooled me into thinking this was a real picture of Oprah. But I am not the only one fooled because a lot of people are fooled as well. Once it goes into public, people that admire Oprah or that they look up to her might get the message of having to have a great “perfect” body like her. This can cause a lot of harm to other girls especially teenagers who perceived this imagine of having a perfect body like the famous celebrities. Women sometimes become obsess in looking like these famous people that they sometimes stop eating or bring their self esteem down. Images like this one that are manipulated just send the wrong message about being “perfect.”

This was a perfect video that showed the reality in today’s media. When we see one of the celebrities that we wish to be like them we always ask ourselves “how can I get perfect like her?” While the reality is that they are also not perfect. This video shows how a famous celebrity is manipulated with Photoshop and how that “perfect” image is done before it is publicized. Imagine manipulation can really fool one’s eyes and the concept of being perfect. But this video’s purpose is to give the message that even famous people, that we consider perfect, are not perfect, there is no perfect person in the world.

WHO'S TO BE BLAME???

As technology advances every single day we are supposed to become better off but these technology advances sometimes become a terrifying advance that makes us question whether these advances are for the better of the future. Today the internet is a way to communicate, find, or search for any ideals, pictures or any information needed. As technology advances the internet becomes more powerful in all the things you can do with it and what it offers you. Today, the internet has become part of people’s lives: they depend on the internet too much that the world will stop without internet. Internet indeed has helped make life easier but at the same time when not used appropriately it can become a nightmare.

One of the things that internet has advance in is in creating blogs. So what exactly is a blog? “A Blog is short for Web Log and has become a new and exciting form of communication. It is like a diary or a journal personal or corporate that is posted on the Internet for public viewing and updated from time to time. It enables people to publish comments, ideas, and opinions for others to read.” This is a great way to share and read what others have to say about things. While the copyright protects your work from being copied and distributed it doesn’t mean that others don’t use it. The problem comes in when people start taking advantage and start posting things they shouldn’t. If you know other people are viewing this blog don’t you think what you write in it should be something that has a good affect on people, not blogs that can lead others to death? While most of us might say, “Who would want to post something on how to kill yourself?” but the reality is that the internet is being abused and used for thing that shouldn’t be done.  

As we see in the case of the first- year medical student from California posted a blog giving direction on how facilitate and making effective suicide claiming it was in the interest of “serving the rights of competent, terminally ill adults.” This is the type of things that make the use of the internet components a serious danger to users. Like myself you might thinking that why someone would create a blog like this. That, like in this case, causes a teenager that is detected with depression, to commit suicide by overdose of drugs. But then whose fault is it? This is where the laws and morality conflict. Laws are set to have order and punish those who disobey them. But at the same time while its legal, according to a law, to do something doesn’t really mean it is the right thing to do. This is where the use of internet ethics and morality come in conflict with the law.

In this case we can quickly blame the medical student for publishing such a blog that encourages suicide. Doctors are supposed to help and promote health of people not death. So, we think the death of the teenager is the fault of the medical student for publishing this blog. Isn’t it illegal to publish such things? Unfortunately, this posting is protected under the law because the right of freedom of speech and press. The blog is a sort of communication and by posting ones believes, one is protected by the first amendment. While this is legal morality and ethics come into play. It’s just morally wrong to write something that can cause harm and even take lives away of people who read this blog. Good internet ethics include only publishing information, or ideals that do not cause harm to others. So if the medical student is protected by the laws is it then the teenagers fault for her own death? Or is it her parents?

  Realizing that the teenager who committed suicide was being treated for depression one can conclude that she didn’t not had the capacity and complete judgment to realize what she was doing. While it is true that the blog of the medical student did contribute to her decision of committing suicide as she clearly states in her last note to her family that the doctor was “helping her do it right.” But I believe that a person that has depression usually goes through phases where they consider suicide, and she might have ended up committing suicide with or without reading this blog. The parents do have the responsibility to monitor her daughter’s use of internet but there is only up to a point what parents can do for them. They can provide help and support but not change and make the decisions for them.

As we can see in this case, we are not sure who is to blame for this tragedy. While we conclude that it’s the teenagers own fault for doing it, because all other things (posting of blog) is legal but we start questioning the ethics behind the actions of these people. I believe there should be more monitoring of what is being posted. If there had been something that prevented from this post coming to the public view, maybe a life could have been saved. But again it relies back on the morality of users and proper ways of using the internet.

Brister, William. "Ezinearticles." Laws for Blogs (2011): 3. Web. 15 Feb 2011. .

Copyright and Creative Commons

Jason Hardin, manager of access services, came to our class to talk about very important topics which included: copyright laws, fair use, and creative commons. I hadn’t realized the great importance it is to be aware of these laws and what each means because that way you can avoid getting into serious trouble like the case of Harper. She tried to go as innocent but it wasn’t considered because everyone should now about these laws, so this class was a very important thing to learn. But what is copyright exactly? Copyright is the federal assurance given to you (as the author of the work) to protect your work by giving you the right to decide how it’s distributed and used. If copyright laws were not set then people would be discourage to do any original work because it would be so easy for another person to come and take credit for it. So, having copyright laws establish is the best way to promote innovation.

Something that really caught my attention was Fair Share. Fair share is basically the conditions that allow you to use others copyrighted work without paying them. But it’s not automatic. So what do you take in consideration in fair use? The four key points include: 1. purpose of reproduction (basically if it’s for educational purposes your fine), 2. Nature of the reproduced work (the type of work matters), 3.amount of reproduction (it should only be a part of the work not all), and 4. The effect on the marker of the work (is it being distributed to gain profits of any kind?). I believe this is very important because if you are not copying and distributing someone else work as yours to gain something, you shouldn’t need to pay the author. But at the same time the authors are still protected in case someone comes and misuses his works and doesn’t follow the rules of fair use.

Copyright and Creative Commons by Michelle Rangel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.