Creating an Avatar

courtesy of FaceYourManga.com

This is my avatar. It was interesting to create my avatar because there were so many different hair cuts and facial styles. I ultimately think this avatar kind of looks like me, but it's hard to cartoonize yourself. I used Face Your Manga to make my avatar and it was a fairly simple process. I remember a few years ago I tried to make an avatar and the program I used was sort of difficult.

Week 11: Clear

Databases start off simple but gradually get harder depending upon what data one is working with. Let's start off with the basics of database management. First of all it is important to know why exactly we use databases; databases can be used for a variety of reasons ranging from decision making to enterprise uses. Some of the key uses for databases are as follows: charts, reports, stats, web analytics, Customer Relations Management, social networks, user preferences, etc. When utilizing a database, we are inputing unorganized data and receiving organized useful information. Databases allow you to add, change and delete data, which is how most of us facilitate our need for information. One can also sort and retrieve the given data and perform reports and charts.



The database we have worked with in this course is called Microsoft Access. Access is utilized by a multitude of people who may need a database for personal or professional purposes. It is important to understand that the basis for databases is the data that you may input into the program. There are many integral parts that make databases work properly, but data integrity is one of the most important attributes. Data integrity is based upon the quality of the information at hand. One common saying is "Garbage in, Garbage out," which basically means incorrect or insufficient data will reap incorrect or insufficient results leading to inconclusive databases.



Going off this topic is the idea of the importance of valuable information. Just what exactly is valuable information when forming a database? Well, there are a few qualities that can lead you in the right direction. Information must be free of errors in order to escape the clutches of "Garbage in, Garbage out." Information must be verifiable meaning one could check the resources of a given data in order to prove the data is up-to-date and correct. Speaking of being up-to-date, data should be within a given time period that is relevant to the current question at hand. Would you want to know about customer loyalty from twenty years ago without knowledge of current customer loyalty? Maybe, but more present information sheds light on to current situations. Information should be organized, accessible, and useful or else the information has no bearing on a certain topic. Last but certainly not least, information must be cost-effective; if information is quite costly and reaps little to no profits in comparison, one is, in fact, losing money on the research.



As you can see, database management can be timely and must be carefully executed in order to reap targeted results. In the business world, it is of utmost importance to gain valuable knowledge and following these helpful hints will certainly put you on your way. For more information visit: database management,

Week 10: Clear

This past week's topics were quite interesting to me because I knew little about internet connections and communication applications to begin with. Now, I have a solid understanding of what exactly all the crazy abbreviations mean like LAN and WAN. Knowing all of this earlier this school year would have been great when I blindly tried to set up my internet modem and router; this was a huge feat because I had no clue what any of the computer jargon meant! So, let's look at all the different ways to connect to the internet.

There are four types of networks discussed in class such as LAN, PAN, WAN and MAN. These abbreviations all stand for exactly what each network is capable of. For instance, LAN stands for Local Area Network, which means that it can connect computers and internet-capable devices in a limited area. Most homes, nowadays, have local area networks, which enables all the computers in a home to be connected via the network. Each computer or device in a given network is called a node. These nodes can be physically connected by cables or wirelessly depending on whether the network is a land line or wireless. LANs are critical for various business models because it allows access to the internet and also ties computer accessories to the computers such as software or printers. This makes the business world a more fluid workplace and is quite effective. In every network, there is a server which acts as the liaison between every machine and provides services to the other nodes such as work documents, software or internet.

With the advent of networks there are pros and cons to the great ability. First of all, networks provide synergy by connecting all given devices. This, in turn, increases productivity and facilitates communication. Additionally, networks provide the advantage of sharing hardware (disks) and sharing software but be advised that this could also be a con due to the fact that corrupt files could easily damage and entire network. Another caution to take with networks is the fact that some software sharing is illegal depending on the terms of use. A few other disadvantages with networks are the lack of privacy, security threats and cost of initial use and/or maintenance.

For more information on internet networks please check here.

Excel Project

Although I thought I was pretty proficient at Microsoft Excel, I was in for a rude awakening. This ISM Excel project was based on heart rate data during a 20 minute excercise regiment. With this information I was required to add columns and perform simple formulas within the spreadsheet. Also, the project required me to perform two pivot tables. I initially thought that the beginning formulas that helped me organized the information would be the easiest part of the project; however, I soon found that little errors can cause epic problems in a matter of seconds. This was a great lesson for me to learn from this project because it showed me just how easy it is to make one minor mistake which could jeopardize an entire report. Upon graduation, I will be working in merchandising and my job will require me to utilize huge spreadsheets and analyze the data. This basic training has made me concentrate harder on the task at hand because minor mistakes in the workplace could potentially get me demoted or fired.

I utilized the Excel help function a few times in order to figure out what formula to use next, which proved very helpful. Although the help window did not explicitly train me how to draw up a function, it was a great starting point. As I mentioned before, I thought that the pivot tables would be harder to navigate than the raw data formulas. Once I gained concentration on the pivot table tasks it was easy to manipulate the data, but I realized quickly that my information didn't make too much sense considering the data. After looking through my raw data sheet multiple times and feeling frustrated, I found one miniscule error in one of my larger formulas. Without catching this error, I would have ruined all the data I had about the excercise and heart rates. The error I made was " =IF(F3>=E3,"Yes", "No")," which seemed correct to me, but i realized that I needed to add in extra paranthesis to allow the spreadsheet to realize that there was only one formula in that strand of information. So my correct formula is "=IF((F3>=E3),"Yes","No")." This jogged my memory to remember that my CGS teacher my freshman year would always remind us to add in extra parentheses as an extra precaution. Once I fixed this formula and refreshed my pivot tables, everything fell into place.

This Excel project has been one of the most valuable projects I have done throughout my college career. Not only have I learned a lot about Excel, but I have picked up great tips about excel processing that I will carry with me into the real world. I now realize that I must be very careful with my formulas and add extra parentheses when necessary!

Week 9 Clear

Many students are quite intimidated by Microsoft Excel. Although most students are very skilled in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Powerpoint, there seems to be a disconnect from when we are very young with Excel. I think the biggest problem is that Powerpoint and Word are used in school projects when we are even in grade school; Excel is used for financial bookkeeping for the most part, which, unless you're a child prodigy, most of us don't use as a child.

One of the biggest obstacles of Excel is learning the basics. Let's start there. Excel is chock full of rows and columns. These rows and columns meet at specific cells where we can input numeric or textual information. Columns are labeled with letters and are the vertical categories; there are currently 16,384 columns per sheet. Rows are numbered and are organized horizontally; there are 6500 rows in Excel 2003 and 1,048,576 in Excel 2007 per sheet. An Excel document can have multiple sheets which can even extract information from one sheet to formulate or populate the other.

Each cell is addressed with a column letter followed by a row number. For example the first cell in every spreadsheet is A1. The column or letter is always first. Sometimes you may have thousands of cells within a given spreadsheet you are working with. In this case, it is helpful to know some shortcuts to navigate such a large document. Some keyboard shortcuts to move to the very end of cells are listed here:

CTRL and the down arrow

END and down arrow

CRTL and END

Additionally, it is important to know how to quickly get to the top of a spreadsheet instead of scrolling up and across. A shortcut to implement this is CTRL and Home. This will bring you directly to A1. Along with shortcuts comes organization; in order to properly organize a Excel document that has multiple sheets being used, it is important to rename worksheets based on the information in each folder. To do this, simply double-click on the sheet tab on the bottom of the screen and type in any title.

Once you've gotten used to some of these techniques, you're ready for more advanced Excel techniques such as cell input. Data inputs into Excel as a numeric value is always right justified and text input is always left justified. Sometimes it is crucial to have numeric values that are left justified, but the user must force the cell to record the input as text data. To do this place a ' or single quote in front of the numeric value. To add a new row/column or delete an existing one, highlight a specific cell, right click and from the drop down menu press "insert... entire row/column." To adjust a column's width, yet another important trick to display all information in a given column, place the cursor on the line in between the two columns and drag to the specific size wanted.

These are the how-to basics of Microsoft Excel. The best way to get the hang of it is to practice, practice, practice. Excel skills are highly important upon graduating college as many jobs in the U.S. rely heavily on spreadsheets in virtually every field from finance to engineering to retail. Getting a good grasp on Excel now will give you a great competitive advantage while you look for jobs as well as in the workforce during your first job. For more information visit this helpful site.