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Class Two: June 7, 2007
Review of Assignments from Class One

Posting Assignment One dealt with the differences between using Google and Wikipedia to find useful information on the Web. Some students felt that Wikipedia was a better option because the information was more specific, better organized and was easier to use than poring over the multitude of results that come from a Google search. Other students felt that Google was a better option because even though there were many more pages to review, the results were more comprehensive, offered more different kinds of results, such as images, video, etc., and some of the best material seemed to be among the first few results.

Some other search options that were listed on the Class One webpage but that we did not discuss in class, may be even more helpful in finding more scientific information related to medical and dental education. Some of these options include:

 

  • Scirus
     http://www.scirus.com/ 
     

    • Pinpoint scientific, scholarly, technical and medical data on the Web.

    • Find the latest reports, peer-reviewed articles, patents, pre prints and journals that other search engines miss.

    • Offer unique functionalities designed for scientists and researchers.
       

  • Medline Plus
    http://medlineplus.gov/
     

    • A service of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health
       

 

Activating Accounts for the eClassroom Discussion System

In order to participate in the online discussions, students may need to activate their accounts via the web, by going to: https://myadvisor.coe.uh.edu/act

This is where usernames usernames are found and passwords can be selected, which will allow access to the eClassroom system.

 

More about Web 2.0

In Class One, we also discussed how Web 2.0 applications had the potential to eliminate the need for some software applications that would normally have to be bought, installed and run on an individual computer. An online word processor called 

All about Graphics

As we began discussing last week, there are a great number of computer file formats in the Windows world, each with it's own unique 3-letter file extension. A comprehensive list is available online at: http://www.computerhope.com/dosext.htm

 
Understanding Image File Formats
 
For us, one of the more confusing topics when dealing with computer file types is related to computer graphics: Which of the myriad of file formats should you choose when dealing with digital images? 

A graphics file format is a method of encoding your image in a certain way so that the computer knows how to reload it at a later date. Each file format was designed for a specific purpose and use. The trick is picking the one that is right for your purposes. 

Many file formats can be read by both PCs and Macintoshes; others can only be read by one platform. Some formats are quite old, thus ensuring that older software can read them. Others are relatively new, taking advantage of the latest in compression algorithms and color handling. 

Below are descriptions of the most common graphic file formats and their uses.

  

 

 File
Extension 		 Name Description Maximum Number of
Colors Displayed		 Compression? Advantage Disadvantage

 BMP

Bitmap A very old file format, dating to pre-Windows 3.1. It essentially saves each pixel's data (x-position, y-position, and color) to a file. 16.7 Million Very, very little lossless Read by almost all graphics software on PCs. Produces very large file sizes.
 GIF Graphics Interchange Format
 		 The first compressed file format. Also the first designed to be read on both platforms. One of two file formats supported on the web. 256 Yes, lossy Extremely cross-platform. Great for line-art on the web. Limited color depth.
 JPG JPEG
 (Joint Photographic Expert Group)		 The second of two formats supported on the web. Cross-platform. 16.7 Million Yes, variable lossy Best for photorealistic images for screen display. Worst format to print. Can lose too much image quality if compressed (i.e. saved as JPEG) too many times.
 PCX PC Paintbrush Older file type, common for Windows clipart. 256 Very little, lossless Only if you want consistency with your other clipart images. Not cross-platform, limited color depth.
 PICT PICT The Macintosh equivalent of bitmaps. 16.7 million Very, very little, lossless All Macintosh software can handle PICT.  PCs generally cannot read PICT.
 PSD Photoshop Document Can be read by most Adobe software. 16.7 million Very, very little lossless Supports layers and other Photoshop special features. Big file sizes, can only be read by Adobe software.
 TIF or TIFF Tagged Image File Format Very useful for high-resolution images. 16.7 million Very, very little lossless The traditional format for image masters. File sizes can be large without compression.


In the table above, you will see the terms "lossy" and "lossless" used in reference to file compression. This is simply a result of a few computer scientists using bad grammar and then having the names stick in the industry. If you save an image and you lose quality (i.e. you trade off quality for a smaller file size), this is "lossy compression." If you save an image, get a smaller file size, but do not lose quality, then the compression is termed "lossless."

A wealth of information on image files and compression may be found online at:
Understanding Image Files and Compression
http://www.shortcourses.com/how/files/files.htm 

Resolution, Color and Image Size

The following edited images are based on the original image of Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. This image is approximately 600 pixels wide and 450 pixels high.


                                            original image 600 x 450 pixels

Image Size - refers to changing the physical size of an image. The image below is the same as the one above except it has been resized to 400 x 300 pixels.


       same image as above resized to 400 x 300 pixels

Cropping - is the term used to cut out part of an image to get rid of any unwanted areas within the original picture. In the picture of Biltmore House below, the sides of the image as well as some of the sky and grass have been cropped out.


         cropped image eliminating some sky and grass

Brightness and Contrast - brightness refers to the lightness of an image from very dark to very light, Contrast refers to the range of optical density between black and white values. The larger the difference in density, the higher the contrast. This is especially noticeable in areas of an image that contain shadows and highlights (the brightest area) in an image.

brightness.jpg (13993 bytes) contrast.jpg (16795 bytes) color.jpg (13670 bytes)
 brightness has been increased  contrast has been increased both brightness & contrast
have been optimized

 

Color Saturation - refers to the amount of color information that makes up an image and the purity of the color. As seen in the images below, the stronger the color, the higher the saturation.

more-color.jpg (10969 bytes) flag1.jpg (10569 bytes) flag-2.jpg (12584 bytes)
color saturation dramatically increased a better example of an over-exposed image corrected by using
Photoshop's auto levels

Hue - refers to the attribute of a color that determines its tint. In the images below, the hue has been adjusted, resulting in images that show only some of the color information that is found in a normal color picture.

hue-red.jpg (12208 bytes)
hue has been shifted toward green hue has been shifted toward red sepia tone has replaced
original color


 
Getting Started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

Image Modification Software
- Re-Sizing
- Cropping
- Adjusting Brightness & Contrast
- Applying Filters
 

Introduction to Photoshop Elements 4.0

Adobe Photoshop Elements is the latest version of Adobe's image editing software application, although version 5.0 for Windows was released at the end of September, 2006.
 

To begin using Photoshop Elements, you need to become familiar with the two main windows, what Adobe calls the workspaces:

The Organizer - used to find and organize photos and other media files.




At the top of the Organizer workspace, you will see the following shortcut buttons, from left to right:

A. Move backward between views and arrangements
B. Move forward between views and arrangements
C. Get photos
D. Print photos
E. E-mail and share photos
F. Undo
G. Redo
H. Start a new creation
I. Edit photos
 

The Editor - used to create and edit images, such as resizing, cropping, adding brightness & contrast and adding special effects.



A. Menu bar
B. Shortcuts bar
C. Toolbox
D. Photo bin
E. Options bar
F. Palettes
G. Active image area
H. Palette bin

Click here to view tutorial on getting started with Photoshop Elements 4.0

 

 
Online Image Editors

There are many free online image editors and we will explore a few of them in class this week.

More online image editors are described at:
http://www.smileycat.com/miaow/archives/000267.php

 

Working with Images in Microsoft Word

 

Compress images in Word:

1. Click on a picture in your document

2. On the Picture toolbar, click the Compress Pictures button (it’s the one with arrows at all four corner)

3. In the Compress Pictures dialog box, you are presented with options for the way Word handles your images

4. To apply your changes to all the pictures in your document, click the button beside All pictures in document in the Apply to section

5. Re-save the document with a different name and compare its file size to the original file.

More information is online:

 

Web 2.0 Image Websites




Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/
 

From Wikipedia entry about Flickr, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr

"Flickr is a photo sharing website and web services suite, and an online community platform, which is generally considered an early example of a Web 2.0 application. In addition to being a popular Web site for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository. Its popularity has been fueled by its innovative online community tools that allow photos to be tagged and browsed by folksonomic means.


Flickr examples:

 
Additional Resources
Assignments for Next Class


 

Reading Assignment:
 
 
IMG_5194.jpg (2949186 bytes)IMG_5195.jpg (2827858 bytes)IMG_5196.jpg (2634142 bytes)IMG_5197.jpg (2819678 bytes)IMG_5198.jpg (2534868 bytes)IMG_5199.jpg (2806778 bytes)IMG_5200.jpg (2429636 bytes)IMG_5201.jpg (2617678 bytes)IMG_5202.jpg (2531038 bytes)
 
 
 
Posting Assignment:
  • For this assignment, I would like you to compose a list of questions you have about any of the material that has been covered in class so far, or any material that you have questions about that we have not yet discussed, plus any other technology topics and issues you would like to see included in this course that have not been mentioned.

    Then, go to the CUIN 6345M Online Discussion System (http://eclassrooms.coe.uh.edu/forum/index.cfm?forumid=1) and submit the list.
IMPORTANT NOTE 1:  If you are not yet enrolled in the course and have not activated your University of Houston account, you will not be able to access the Online Discussion System. If this is the case, please email your list of questions to Bernard Robin at: brobin@uh.edu

 

Hands-On Assignment 2:

  • Use an image editing program to do at least TWO of the following:
    1. Modify an existing digital image by re-sizing it, cropping it, changing the brightness, contrast, levels, rotating it, straightening it, etc.;
       
    2. Add text to a digital image that provides additional information about the image;
       
    3. Apply an effect to a digital image, such as making a color picture black & white or sepia, reducing red eyes, or another filter or effect;
       
    4. Create a collage using at least two different images;
       
    5. Create a table with multiple images in a Word document.
       
    6. Create an image slideshow on Flickr or another similar web service.

    For this assignment, you may use any image editing program you want (such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Corel Draw, etc.), one of the online image editors listed above, the trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 (https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?loc=en%5Fus&product=photoshop%5Felements) or any other similar software application.

    After you have worked with your images, create a word processed document in which you indicate which two items you completed for this assignment and briefly describe the process. You may want to download the following Word document as a simple guide: class2-assignment.doc

    If you chose to create a Flickr slideshow for this assignment, please include the URL to the location on Flickr so that the slideshow can be viewed.

    When you have completed the assignment, use the online submission system at: http://eclassrooms.coe.uh.edu/assignments/ to submit your document.

IMPORTANT NOTE 2:  If you are not yet enrolled in the course and have not activated your University of Houston account, you will not be able to access the eClassroom Electronic Submission System. If this is the case, or if you are able to access the system but have trouble submitting the report, please a copy of the assignment to the next class on a thumb drive or other portable media.


IMPORTANT NOTE 3:  The Computer Lab will be in use before during our pre-class review time next week, so for Class Three, next Thursday, June 14, 2007, we will meet from 5:10pm to 8:00pm. Our normal schedule of review time from 4:00 to 5:00pm will resume the following week for Class Four.
 

 

©Copyright, 2007
For more information about this course or the materials presented within this site,
please contact Dr. Bernard Robin via email or at (713) 743-4952.

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