Excel Project



This project defintely tested all of my nerves and my patients. I am glad it is finally done though! Excel has always been a little bit of a pain to me, but I must admit, I did learn a lot! And the most I learned was about the formulas. I see how easy they can be to use. Sometimes when you hear "formulas in Excel", people can get freightened. But, after this project I see them in a nicer light.  As long as you give yourself time, and you grasp the basic concept of the formula set up, you should be fine.

I also learned a lot about Pivot Tables. They can really come in handy when you want to analyze data. The pivot tables in this project were defintely easy to do with the instructions provided. It made looking at the given data easier to understand, and these are real time questions that our bosses may ask, and now we have the tools to do it for them. I really felt like I learned something when it came to the Pivot Tables. It can look at anaylzing data in a whole different way.

Between the scavenger hunt and the Excel project, I felt like I learned how to do a lot in Excel. From centering text in cells or modifying the text within them, to using formulas to maniuplate data, and finally using the pivot tables. I know at my summer internship I used a lot of Excel, but never to these dimensions as far as formulas and pivot tables. It seems to me, though, that there are more features even beyond these learned here that are offered on Excel. I think this was a good introductory lesson on Excel.



Week 6: Clear

I really enjoy Week 6's material. I feel like it applied a lot to me and to some new things I needed to get a better grasp one. I wanted to focus my post this week on 3 input/output devices used to get images. Because I use all three of these, as well as own all 3 of these, I thought it would be neat to do a clear post on it.

When using a scanner, professor states from the video that we need to be aware of copyright when using someone else's photographs. I recently ran into this problem myself. I was at Wal-Mart scanning some enagement pictures of mine that I had just gotten recently taken by a local professional. A photo clerk at Wal-Mart stopped me, and of course, I had the typed up verification from my photographer that it was OK for me to use those photos and scan them. Otherwise, like according to the lecture, it would have been copyright.

All three of these devices can be used to get excellent quality pictures. I love my digital camera and take it just abut everywhere with me. It is easy to dock to my laptop to see my pictures as well. I use my web cam to Skype with relatives that do not live in Florida. Sometimes, I will use my web cam to take a picture. Although it is a little hard to center yourself just right, it still works just fine, especially when no on is around to take a picture of you, for you, with your digital camera.




Relating back to the web cam, at first I was not sure exactly how to take pictures with the cam. I thought it may be easy, but, I was wrong. I was able to find a helpful YouTube video that gave me a short tutorial on how-to. Maybe if you are having a hard time, you can watch it, too. I do believe it all depends on what web cam software and brand that you purchase, but on YouTube you can find just about anything. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTDCpMb9enQ.

Week 5: Clear

When I first started using Excel, I must admit, I did not like it all. It was confusing, but perhaps it was the many feautres that it provided for one to use. This summer, I had an internship where I had to use Excel for many documents- and I think I learned to love it! It's weird how a computer program can be intimidating, even to a college student.

One feautre that I really like on Excel is the "Auto Sum" option. This was one option that I used a lot for my summer internship because I was keeping track of monetary donations from different donors. It was easy because month to month, from donation to donation, I could keep up with how much that specific person was giving. In cell "A1" I had a donation for June, "B1" for July, and so on. After I had them all logged, I went to the "Formulas" tab on the top navigation bar in Excel, and clicked "Auto Sum". Then, there before my very ideas it just added it all up for me. Below, I tried to find a good picture of it so viewers could see what I am teaching them, instead of me just typing it out in theory:

Of course, some of us learn a little better by watching a video, so below I have linked a YouTube video on how to auto sum numbers. After my internship boss showed me how to work the option, I acutally watched this very video and it helped explain it a little more clearly to me. So, I hope it helps you, also!

YouTube Auto Sum instructional video: Click Here!

ENJOY!



Week 4: Clear

This week I became interested in the readings about application software for communications, found mostly on page 174 of our textbook. Could it be because my major is in the College of Journalism and Communications?

Application software for communications is sometimes considered system software because it works with hardware and it also works with transmission media. Some software even makes their users more productive and helps them create tasks. Below, I have listed some of the specific communication devices from the textbook that really stood out to me.

• E-mail: Can send messages and files via a network, most commonly the internet
• Instant Messaging: In real time, users can exchange audio, files, video and text. It can be purchased seperately, but many IM companies are free.
• Chat Room: (pictured above) Real time online conversation and requires chat client software.
• Blogging: Articles in the form of a diary or a journal format, usually listed in reverse chronological order. Most web sites do not require software to maintain their blogs.
• RSS Aggregator: You can keep track of changes made by web sites by RSS feeds. They are usually intergrated in e-mail programs and web browers.



Last Friday, Ask.com announced they will be shutting down their RSS feed program, called "BlogLines." The article below explains more in detail, but basically Ask.com could not possibly keep up the demands with rivals such as "Google Reader." It is also stated that Ask.com paid little attention to the program added in 2005 and did not update it as frequently.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100910/tc_pcworld/askcomtoshutdownbloglines

This article just goes to show that consumers are watching and looking for new changes, and if your web site looks outdated and behind in the times, people will look elsewhere. It also is saying that people want to use the easiest, most convenient software out there. This society is a busy one, and people don't have time to use outdated features on a web site for communication.



Week 3: Clear

One of this weeks lectures had to be with donating computers. This topic came from "HW4- Potpourri." I thought this was a very interesting topic and a topic that, for many of us, was interesting to learn more about.

You always think that by donating your computer, you are doing the right thing. Perhaps you are. There are all of these non-profit organzations who are actively seeking people to donate computers, cell phones and other technological equipment for the greater good. I have listed afew below:

• Computers With Causes: http://www.computerswithcauses.org/
• Cell Phones For Soldiers: http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/
• 911 Cell Phone Bank: http://www.911cellphonebank.org/

However, what I found really interesting from the lecture was that people are donating "junk" items, and it is costing these non-profit organiaztions and various donation centers money to properly get rid of them. It's amazing how you think you are doing something for the greater good, but come to find out you may be costing them money in the long run.

It's what the power point presentation called, "charitable donation." And it's a topic I thought was definitely worth mentioning.

I found an article from the New York Times that was intersting about this topic. Regarding Africa, and the amount of donated computers, using the words, "Digital Dump". I think this article speaks for itself, and I think the picture found on the site speaks justice enough.

• http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/technology/24junk.html

So what is this article ultimately getting at? Donation centers in the United States are getting so cluttered up with computers they cannot afford to properly recycle, that they are shipping them to third world countries, in hopes they are making a difference.

Instead, these countries are getting bombarded with computers, that the article says, "means that the imported equipment often ends up in landfills, where toxins in the equipment can pollute the groundwater and create unhealthy conditions."

Week 2: Clear

Ah, Ergonomics. It's seems like a topic we love to hate. We sitting on the couch, laying on the bed, and we grab our laptop and relax. Our back is in proper alignment, and most of the time sitting at the desk, we resemble this cartoon figure: all slocuhed over.

Ergonomics is about maintaing neutral body posture while sitting at your desk or workstation. Your joints should be in natural alignment, meaning your ears, shoulders and hips should be aligned. Also, your elbow, wrist and back of your middle fingers should be in alignment. There are 3 basic goals for proper alignment and ergonomics:

1. Use larger muscle groups: it reduces stress on the smaller muscles and tendons.

2. Maintain the neutral positon of your wrist.

3. Maintain the neutral body posture: No slouching!

Be sure to set the height, swivel and other features of the chair to reduce the risk of fatigue and neck and back pain. A good rule of thumb while sitting in your chair is that knees and hips should be about the same height.

Your weight should be evenly distributed on the chair. If the seat is too high or too low, unwanted pressure is put on your body. Your shoulders should stay relaxed and your elbow should fall naturally on the chair, with or without arm rests. Always keep your firmly planted on the floor.

The keyboard should sit right in front of you and be as close to you as possible. The top of the monitor screen should be at or slightly below eye level. The monitor should be at least one arm length away.

- Never cradle the phone inbetween your neck and shoulder. I know it seems easy to do, but it will eventually cause neck pain. Use speakerphone or a headset.

- Turn or tilt the monitor. Also, enlarge items on the screen if you cannot see them and adjust contrast and color. Make yourself comfortable.

One interesting thing I learned during this video was the "20/20" rule. I had never heard of this before. Every 20 minutes, give your eyes a break and focus on something else at least 20 feet away.

All of these items are very important in the workplace. Mainly because many of us are young, in our late teens, early 20's, and need to protect our back and our muscles. If we practice good ergonomics now, later, our body will thank us for it. If we plan on working in a business envirnoment in an office setting for most of our lives, we need to start practicing this right, now, to avoid injury later.

A good web site I found on ergonomics is listed below:

http://www.healthycomputing.com/kids/

I think a topic so often passed by is the topic of ergonomics with other aspects like heavy bookbags, cell phones and playing video games. This site talks about ways to take care of our backs early and some do's and don'ts. One items that stands out to me is the heavy bookbags. So often on campus I see students waltzing around campus with these HUGE bookbags overloaded with textbooks and binders. According to the web site, there are alternatives. Like the book bags on wheels. This will help reduce stress on the back and save yourself permanet injury down the road.