Documenting a Day

For this blog post, I thought I would compare the pros and cons of different computer applications. I used several different applications for the same purpose and then compared my results. The following is my personal experiences documenting a day in my life with various computer programs. 

There are computer applications for virtually every situation or need. Microsoft office is one of the most popular lines of applications, which includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. Microsoft word can be used in the work setting, school setting, or even just for hobbies an random needs around the house. According to our textbook, Microsoft word is a word processor that is used to create formatted text (Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. Ch. 5.4 (2017)). Another commonly used application is Excel. This is a spreadsheet that can be used for book keeping, organizing data, and completing calculations. If you want to create a slideshow presentation, then PowerPoint is the best application for that. You can create multiple slides filled with text, pictures, videos, etc., that have transitions and animations for each item. Lastly the database application is mainly used to organize data and to collect facts and values. As our textbook states, “A database is a collection of data organized to enable efficient information retrieval.” Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. Ch. 5.4 (2017)

Word is a great application for completing essays, journaling, or formatting any type of text as needed, however lack in the area of presenting information. It is difficult to use a Word document in order to display information to several people. PowerPoint on the other hand is a great application for presenting information to several people all at once, in a way that has more animation and interaction in order to keep people engaged. A disadvantage of PowerPoint is that each slide is limited to the amount of information it can hold, versus a word document that can contain much more written text. The Excel application is one that is best used to preform calculation of various types of data, and to organize data, however it is not useful in displaying graphics, pictures, or a lot of text. This is similar to the database application that is used to collect facts and organize them using various tables.

After using all of these different applications for the same project, I was able to see what application worked best. In order to document a day in my life, I think the power point presentation worked best. Using the PowerPoint application I was able to list the different activities I preform throughout the day, while also being able to include pictures that display my daily activities. This application lets you add animation and transition for each slide, which makes the information more interactive and more fun to watch.

The excel applications can be used to create checklists for constructions projects. In this scenario you can organize the spreadsheet into individual constructions projects, and then subcategorize each of those projects with corresponding checklists in order to ensure everything gets done for each specific project. Database applications could also be used to gather information about polls, surveys, or statistics for students at a college. Another use for the PowerPoint application, other than documenting a day in my life, would be for a teacher or professor to use as a teaching tool for their lectures. Lastly, Microsoft Word can be used in countless scenarios from writing essays, making lists, journaling, creating contracts, and so on.

 References:

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from zybooks.zyante.com/