November.29.06

Well today Ms.Griffiths was absent. We have to post the link that we used for our first pod cast assignment inMr. Case's blog, in the comments section. We were also given 2 websites to see. They had information about the history of word processing.

We also started a new unit. Mr.case started explaining stuff about Microsfot Word and showed us some techniques that we may have not been filmilar with. For example things like docking, deleting arrows and amking your own toolbar.

We were also informed that we will start working on a new project. We havent got a class to work on our new project yet. The project is that WE HAVE TO MAKE OUR OWN PODCASTS!!!!! Well........we'll see how that goes....

10 Microsoft Word Features:

1) When you press on “edit” at the top of Microsoft word and you go and press on “find,” a pop up comes and has a box with “find what” written beside it. This feature allows you to type in any word you want and it will find that word that is in your word assignment, instead of you searching your entire project for that word because you need to change something in a sentence, etc.

2) Press on “insert” at the top and then scroll down and press on “symbol.” This feature lets you to enter different types of letters like for example Arabic letters.

3) When you press on “view” and then on “full screen,” the Microsoft word becomes a full screen on your computer with out all the buttons that are on top or anything.

4) Under “file,” if you press on “file search” it is a useful tool because if you misplace a Microsoft word presentation, this feature permits you to enter in a name of the Microsoft presentation that cannot you find and it will find where it is on the computer for you.

5) On the top of Microsoft if you press on “windows” then press on “arrange all,” it enables you to arrange all the Microsoft word presentations you have open. So if you have two opened they become minimized so you can see both.

6) Under “table” and then “sort,” this is a useful tool because it gives you the power to sort your work in different ways like for example in paragraphs.

7) Again when you press on “table” but this time on “convert,” it can convert your text into a table or vice versa.

8) Under “file” if you press on “page setup,” this allows you to organize the way you want you page to look like. For example it gives you the option of either a page that is a portrait or landscape.

9) When you press on “auto text” under “insert” it gives you many options on different headings. For example under closing it gives you options like best wishes, regards, love, yours truly, etc.

10) The last feature I didn’t know is that when your press on “track changes” under “tools” it tracks any changes that you do. This means that if you have a paragraph and you change something in it, Microsoft word will track all the changes you make and write them down so you can see.

My Four Pod Casts:

Photoshop:
http://www.podcast.net/show/37350

The pod cast series is called “Photoshop Quick tips [Video],” so obviously it talks about Photoshop. At first I never really thought about Photoshop but then when I heard what it is all about, I have to say I got very intrigued. Afterwards when I was thinking about what I should do for my pod casts, the idea of Photoshop popped in my head. This pod cast has a series of episodes that talks about Photoshop and I listened to the one called “Episode 18: The Blender.” It basically talks about how to blend in different images so you can get a good composition in the end. It takes three pictures and shows you the steps very precisely and clearly. The steps it shows is how to add the effects you desire by blending the pictures, therefore having a complete masterpiece at the end. It is very clear since it has a picture of a Photoshop program and shows you exactly where to click with the mouse. Therefore, all the steps are done right before you eyes causing no confusion. If I was going to change something about this pod cast I would change the fact that it goes by a little bit too quickly not giving enough time for the viewer to do what he/she wants.

Planets:
http://www.podcast.net/show/79937

These series of pod cast are called "Planet Quest - the Search for Another Earth." The one I heard is called "Episode 2: NASA takes a giant step toward finding Earth-like planets" and it is directed by a scientist called, Dr.sobataski. Dr.sobataski explains about NASA's curiosity in whether there are planets around other suns. She explains how on a clear star filled night in a Hawaii execratory in Monakaya, NASA engineers were able to contain the extremely bright light of three different stars down to 1/100th of their original brightness. In doing so this gives scientists the power to study the faint disks around the sun where planets might be forming that were originally hidden by the light. These planets are the ones that are maybe relative to earth and can maybe harbor life. I really liked this pod cast because it was thorough in explaining and was short so you don’t get bored. Also for me it was very interesting to hear about something involving other earth like planets being found.

Arabic:
http://podcasts.yahoo.com/search?p=arabic&c=s

This pod cast was really amusing for me because first of all it was all spoken in Arabic. It talks about what the United States is currently doing to Iraq and has English quotes made by president George Bush. After George Bush says a quote it is translated in Arabic then they discuss the impact that United States is having on the Iraqi country. I found this pod cast to be really interesting but if I were to change something I would change the fact that maybe the talking goes by a little too fast.

Anime:
http://podcasts.yahoo.com/search?p=anime&c=s&s=21

My fourth pod cast is called Anime Plus. Anime plus talks about the famous Laura Bailey and does an interview with her. It explains how she did the voices of many anime characters, like for example she played Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket, Lust in Full Metal Alchemist, and many many more. The pod cast then starts to ask Laura bailey questions to let the audience know more about her. The thing I would change in this pod cast is that it is 55 minutes long and so it tends to get boring. I would make this shorter or maybe break it up into two pod casts but I wouldn’t just put all 55 minutes on one pod cast because then the listener would most probably get bored after the first 30 minutes. However I did like this pod cast in some ways because it talked about Laura Bailey and for some of the voices that they said were made by her, up until now I never knew that she was the one who made them. Therefore it was interesting for me to find that out.

November.24.06

Today we just got another pod cast assignment. When I heard about that I thought, "Oh man come on no!!!" The thing I really hated was that it would be like the other pod cast assignment and that we would have to present but thank god its not like that.

For this project we have to pick 4 different types of pod casts and we can't use a type that was used in our previous pod cast. So different types like comedy, movies, sports, etc. After we have selected that ones we want, we are to listen to them and then write a paragraph about them in our bog.

Novemeber.22.06

Today everyone finished presenting their pod cast. Well over all I think that the pod casts were good. Maybe some that were chosen were a little bit boring to listen to but there was also some that were funny or interesting. The thing that I really hated was that people who got the their pod casts off of www.podcast.net, they didn’t work. So obviously mine didn’t too since I got it off go that site. Overall I think I did rather well on it and everybody else did well too. I'm glad that project is over with!!!

November.19.o6

We got a project about podcasts. We have to find a podcast and present it to the class saying, why we chose it, why doe we like, whats bad about and what it is about.

November.14.06

Well good news again....our test has been postponed till tomorrow because it turns out that some of the questions that will be on the test we need to get that information from 2 sites but Mr. Case never told us. Well we do get extra time to study but it’s like extra time to study EXTRA work!!!! Anyway.....we have to define what a podcast is so......

The word podcast was formed from the words “broadcasting” and “iPod." It first became popular in 2004. It is (usually) a free audio broadcasting in the internet and it is also used as a way to publish information/materials in the internet.

I got this information from the site http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/203/what-is-a-podcast/

November.13.06

Well today is a good day. Due to the fact that Mr.Case is at a meeting our test got postponed to tomorow!!! Well that gives me even more time to study.

November.8.06

Since lots of people are not updating their blog on a regular basis our teacher just told us that we must update out blog every Mondays and Wednesdays.

Also on a brighter note.... we have a test on Monday!!!!!! (oh god) It’s about PowerPoint so I don’t think it will be as hard though I don’t really know how to study for that. Isn’t it mostly common sense??? Well I will still study for it!!!!

November.03.06

Today we got two new projects. One of them is we have to make an interactive PowerPoint presentation.

An interactive PowerPoint presentation is when the viewer interacts with the PowerPoint, meaning that the viewer should be able to sit down and easily access the presentation without any problem or without the person who made the PowerPoint there to explain it.

The other project that we have to work on is to create a "hot list." Basically its a page that should list all the sites that the person usually views on a regularly basis. On the page you should have the picture of the sites (example goggle logo) and each picture should hyperlink to the site. Therefore anytime you want to go to one of these sites all you have to is just press on the picture and it automatically transfers you there.

November.01.06

Today we learned some facts about PowerPoint. There are three types of PowerPoint presentations. The 3 types are interactive, showcase and a person presenting the PowerPoint.

First of all you can save it as showcase. Showcase means that when you press to open your PowerPoint it comes up as a slideshow. You cannot edit it or anything. If you want to save it as showcase you save it in the "pps" extension, which stands for PowerPoint showcase.

There is a useful tool called "pack and go". This is a very useful tool because if you have a presentation that certain features might not work on a other computer then, "pack and go" is the solution. "Pack and go" saves everything into a zipped file and then when you unzip it on the other computer, the PowerPoint will stay the same. So all the features will work with no problem at all.

We learned that the most annoying sound is to make a bell or something like that as an animation for each letter of a paragraph. The only louder sound would be Mr. case banging his head on a table in the back of the classroom.

We also learned about action buttons. They are buttons you put them in your PowerPoint and tell them what they should do. For example you tell one button to go to slide 2 and the other button to go to slide 3 when they are pressed.The last thing we learned about is animation sounds and animation itself.

There are lots of animation sounds and animations that you can apply to slides but they should be consistent for each slide. So for explain if you have a paragraphs in a slide zooming in from the right you should make it like that for the rest of the slides.

October. 27.06

Well today we are supposed to write about something that we liked and learned based on the PowerPoint projects that we saw. Well I didn’t get to see all of them because I was absent on the two days of presenting but from the ones I did see I would say that I like the fact that some of them were really good. The really good ones didn’t have a lot of information on the PowerPoint and presenters are the ones who presented the project they didn’t depend on the PowerPoint to present the project for them. I learned that the point of the PowerPoint project is not to put so much information and that you should know what your talking about really well. The reason is if you don’t know what your talking about and you just read of the PowerPoint then it’s like your depending on the PowerPoint to help you out. Also you shouldn’t make the PowerPoint SOO appealing that the audience pays attention to it and not to you. Well that’s all I can say for now...until I can remember anything else bye!!!

October.27.06

Wow!! It feels like it's been forever since I last posted a blog. Well I guess that’s because I had Eid. I didn’t come to school on Monday or Tuesday. SO anyways...on Wednesday I presented my mini project and I think I did rather okay on it. I did my project on McDonalds.