I'm on a Highway to HTML

Website creation programs like Expression Web and Dreamweaver are fantastic. They allow one to quickly and easily design web pages and publish them on a website. A major advantage of such software is the ability to immediately view the effects of design changes on the page being created or edited. However, the greatest advantage of these programs is clearly the ability to design, create, and edit websites without having to write lines of code for each visual element one wants to present. No one wants to type line after line after line of HTML, repeatedly saving and refreshing to see how each line of command changes the look of the page.

While it is a great idea to utilize technology to our advantage, sometimes it is beneficial to retain the ability to accomplish tasks the "old fashioned" way. This is one of those instances. There are times when a design element cannot be created or edited correctly using these easier programs. In these cases, the ability to program using HTML code is essential. There are many times that the color, size, spacing, etc... of a line or body of text, background color, pcitures, links, and other visual elements will not appear as programmed in web creation software because the underlying HTML code dictates different formatting. These issues can only be resolved by altering the actual lines of HTML code associated with those elements.

I've got the PowerPoint

In analyzing the PowerPoint presentations, I was a bit picky. I was looking for good information, a well-spoken presentation, and, of course, a nice-looking slide show with appropriate pictures and animations. There were two in particular that impressed me as very well-done and complete presentations: those of Ian Smith and Chiara Ferrari. My own presentation, of course, was my very favorite.

Ian's was great in part because of his attention to detail. He found and used the exact Star Wars font and had a consistent visual theme to match. His animations were well-timed and fluid. He gave a fantastic concise summary of George Lucas' career, including the stuff that only geeks (and I) know about, such as THX 1138. Ian gave an excellent oral presentation as well, a necessary component that many unfortunately forget.

I really didn't know what to make of Chiara's presentation at first--her visuals seemed so childish. It didn't take me too long to determine that she had a consistent theme and the visuals were absolutely appropriate for her subject, which was a lot of fun. Her animations fit quite well within the overall theme, look, and feel of the slide show. The highlight, by far, was the inclusion of her own original art--that was a great touch! She also gave a lot of great information for anyone interested in drawing, and her verbal presentation was a solid asset to the presentation as a whole.

Both Ian and Chiara obviously put a lot of hard work into their projects, and the finished product in each case was a classy, interesting, enjoyable presentation. They both proved that they really know what they're doing with PowerPoint, they really knew about their chosen subject, and that they have the ability to effectively communicate--a valuable asset in many areas of life and in most fields of employment.

Search like an Egyptian

I learned quite a few things from Mr. Nolan's lecture. I knew Google was popular, but i was surprised to find out that 59.8% of all Internet searches are done on Google. I've always been a Yahoo man, myself. It was good to find out that advertising dollars do not determine which sites get highest placement on Google's search results--well, according to Google, anyway. it was very helpful to learn what a url can tell you about a site and that one can often find more specific information about a website at the bottom of the page. I particularly appreciated the detailed information about the powerful "Advanced Search" option on Google. A new piece of information for me was the difference between a directory and a search engine (while a directory is a small collection of sources gathered by a small, connected group, a search engine is a very large collection of sources gathered by thoroughly combing through a multitude of websites, computers, and servers). The web search exercises we did in class were interesting and even fun. Thank you, Mr. Nolan!