Post #3 – Documenting a Day [CLOs: 4, 5]

 You initially completed this post in your Documenting a Day assignment in Week Two. Review

the instructions here and incorporate the instructor feedback from the Week Two assignment in

your third blog post.

To complete this assignment, you will explore the functions and interfaces of four different application software programs as you document the events that take place in one day of your life.

Part One: Word Processor
To complete Part One of the assignment, you will write a journal entry about one day in your life using the word processing application Word. Identify and describe at least ten tasks that you engaged in during the course of the day. Format the text by altering the font options and size, adding a bulleted or numbered list, and adjusting the text alignment. Your journal entry must be at least 300 words.

Make sure that your initials are part of the file name. Upload your Word document to Waypoint.

Part Two: Spreadsheet
To complete Part Two of the assignment, you will calculate time spent on activities using the spreadsheet application Excel. Download the Documenting a Day Spreadsheet Guide for the spreadsheet template. Reference the Documenting a Day Excel Guide for instructions about how to complete this part of the assignment.

Make sure that your initials are part of the file name. Upload your Excel file to Waypoint.

Part Three: Presentation
To complete Part Three of the assignment, you will use the presentation application PowerPoint to create a slideshow that visually depicts the tasks you captured in your Word journal. Select a template and modify it to include your name in the footer. Add text boxes and images (photos or graphics) to depict each of the tasks. Add animation to enhance interest or highlight important concepts. Your presentation should be at least five slides in length and include text, images, and at least two animations.

Make sure that your initials are part of the file name. Upload your PowerPoint file to Waypoint.

Part Four: Role of Applications Reflection Essay
Reflecting on your experience creating a journal entry, calculating percentages, developing a presentation, and manipulating a database as well as your current understanding of software applications, complete the Role of Applications Reflection Essay.

Make sure that your initials are part of the file name. Upload your Role of Applications Reflection Essay to Waypoint.

In your essay,

• Compare the functions of word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and database applications.
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each application.
• Recommend the application software that was most appropriate for documenting the information about your day.
• Describe at least one additional scenario where that application would be most useful for each application type.
• Support your statements with evidence from the textbook or additional sources, as necessary.

Alt text: I play a lot of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and have modeled my in-game island into an homage to a locally-well-known fruit farm called Lynd's. In accordance with my farm theme, I often dress my avatar character in a farmer's outfit, and have even set the town tune to "Old MacDonald"! This picture takes place on the one hill on my island (Lynd's is pretty flat, but has a giant mound of dirt that the kids like to play on) - the hill makes for excellent stargazing, and I had invited a friend over to watch the meteor shower with me. There was a lull between shooting stars, and the two of us grew a little bored, so we used these "drowsy" and "sleeping" reactions for fun, and I happened to snap a screenshot.

September 20th, 2020 

Role of Applications Reflection Essay 

A word processor allows a user to create, edit, and format large amounts of text. While most word processors do allow for the inclusion of various graphical images, this function is somewhat limited, and can make formatting and text placement somewhat frustrating. I would default to a word processor app if I were creating something with the intent to print it on a standard, at-home printer. I would also default to a word processor app if I were creating non-technical text, such as fiction, or if I were drafting a dissertation on analyzed information, as opposed to raw data (as defined in the textbook). 

A spreadsheet app allows for the storage, organization, display, and compilation of raw data. The built-in charts make it simple to display a value for each individual variable related to a single item or entry. I would default to a spreadsheet if I were keeping a record of my personal hobby’s inventory (category, price, size, quantity, location), a club or group’s demographics (age, location, income, interests, family/household size), survey responses (an answer for each question), and many other scenarios in which I would have a fair amount of set-oriented data to compile. Spreadsheet apps also allow for some additional functions, such as coding a cell to display an outcome based on the contents of other cells, or even displaying the data in a set of cells in the visual format of a graph or the customizable format of a pivot table. I have also used Google Sheets to fill in pre-formatted character sheets for RPGs; the ability to have multiple tabs/sheets makes it easy to sort and organize the information onto relevant pages, each of which can contain far more information than a single page in a word processor. 

A presentation app allows for the construction of a digital slideshow. It shares many of the same text-entry features of a word processor, but only in the constraints of a text box, which is one of several elements (most of which are graphical) which can be placed onto a slide and moved about freely, without needing to divide a slide into characters, like what a word processor does. Rather than scrolling fluidly through the file’s contents as one continuous workspace, a user must select a slide from an ordered listing of all slides in the file in order to display it as the “active” slide before any changes can be made. With the right display configuration, a well-versed presentation user can even construct a presentation which will display one thing to the viewers/audience, while displaying something else (such as additional scripting) to just the presenter. I would default to a presentation app very rarely, because I personally prefer to convey information in writing rather than vocally, or as part of a performance. But for settings in which a specialist must compile their data, analyze their information, draw conclusions, and offer suggestions or other big-picture concepts, a presentation app would be a great way to organize those conclusions, suggestions, and concepts into a format which can be easily digested by a more generalized layperson, manager, or client. 

Database applications are still mentioned twice in the assignment instructions (and ten times in the rubric), but they are not mentioned in the associated reading, and as such, I am assuming that these mentions are vestiges of the previous version of this assignment, as alluded to in the 9/14 announcement. So far, my only experience with a database application has been a limited amount of use for a single function in a previous role at work. I tried discussing database applications with my group of volunteer coding-tutor friends, and their descriptions without context leave much to the imagination. 

As far as the appropriateness for each app in regard to documenting information about a day, I am of the opinion that the most appropriate app would change depending on the practical use, purpose, function, or goal of documenting this information. If I intended to keep a record of each day, for the purpose of reminding myself when notable events occur, or to highlight what might make each day distinct from another, then the most appropriate app would be a word processor. (In fact, I already maintain a record very similar to this, which lists out the daily/weekly/monthly events and tasks found in Animal Crossing, as well as my interactions with friends!) If I intended to keep a time-stamp log of each task or activity in a day, and their duration, for the purpose of analyzing my time management or reporting my productivity levels, then the most appropriate app would be a spreadsheet. If I wanted to thoroughly introduce myself, my interests, my hobbies, and my activities, as well as an overview on what my schedule often looks like, then the most appropriate app very well might be a presentation. I often find my attention and focus pulled in multiple directions simultaneously, and have a tendency to dig deeper than necessary into splinter-fields when learning, so I have adopted a personal policy to tackle a problem by first identifying my desired outcome, then breaking down the steps involved in reaching it, then identifying which tools will be most effective or appropriate for each step. This assignment, as the only available source of context for the prompt, provides no desired outcome from the documentation of information about our day, other than a strengthened familiarity with the applications discussed therein. 

Grade: 9.75 / 10
Jesse, good effort. See the comments for each requirement below.

Part one MS Word journal entry 300 words: the document was submitted in more than 300 words with 10 or more tasks

Part two Excel: a table was submitted to calculate the number of hours with a total and with a pie chart and with the use of formulas

Part three PowerPoint in a minimum 5 slides and animation is provided as required.

Part four Reflection with a minimum 300 words: was provided with all requirements

For the Reflection Statement, a title page is provided and no references are submitted to verify information researched/learned about the topics

(0.00 / 0.25); : Written Communication: Resource Requirement
Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

The only references mentioned in the assignment are "Support your statements with evidence from the textbook or additional sources, as necessary." I deemed additional sources unnecessary for this assignment, which is why I didn't use or cite any.