Documenting a Day: The Functions of Various Software

The following is the result of using different software programs to document a typical day in my life, and my summary of each of the ones I utilized for that project.

Microsoft Word Processor is a fantastic tool for the written word. It allows for a multitude of characters to express things from creative writing stories to journal entries to essays. The paragraph format, as used in stories and essays from the above examples, is the way that most people use Word. Bulleted lists are also easy to create in Word because of all the formatting options. Things like spellcheck and grammar check are now a package deal with Word processors, as are a million other formatting choices such as wrapping text around a graphic, highlighting specific text, changing colors and fonts of text, and indentations or alignments. This elevates the presentation of said text above an application such as Notepad, which has none of those formatting features. Given that I tend to be a person that writes in paragraph form or bulleted lists, I found this platform to be the best and easiest to describe my day. It allowed me to expand on the topics that were only shown in numbers on the spreadsheet and present more than the bare minimum of information, which is the most presentable for slides. A couple of the more prevalent disadvantages of a Word Processor is the fact that without electricity, a keyboard, a monitor, and a computer, it cannot be used. Comparatively, a typewriter and pen and paper work regardless of an inopportune power outage. Additionally, not everyone has equal access to this powerful tool. Even then, those that do are often more prone to proofreading less in general, as they anticipate the machine to make the necessary corrections for them. Also, those that utilize a computer to write frequently are more prone to ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis. Lastly, it is far easier for someone using a Word Processor to plagiarize. 

Microsoft Excel is a very exciting program to me! Excel and other spreadsheet programs are an incredibly useful source to not only compute complicated math equations, but for generating a plethora of data representative graphics. These graphics can even be imported into both Word Processing and Slideshow formats for reports and presentations! This portion of the assignment gave a cold, hard, fact-based overview of how my time is spent during the day. The tools available in Excel make it an ideal choice for subjects like statistics, where complicated math problems need solving and graphs of all types need generating. It is also used by many smaller companies for keeping track of expenses and monetary gains. This app is a top choice for organizing data, but not so much for chronicling a day’s events, unless you are specifically looking for that perspective. One major disadvantage to utilizing the tools in a spreadsheet program is that the result is heavily based on user bias. The person putting the information in is the one that determines what information gets left out. Another common disadvantage is the aspect of human error. When data is entered incorrectly, it can add up to a very expensive mistake, such as the mis-entering of number of available tickets for the 2012 London Olympics.

PowerPoint has become a cornerstone for presenting information to an audience, be it in a classroom setting, at a TEDTalk, or a business boardroom meeting. Many of these presentations use effects to keep the audience’s attention or make specific emphasis on certain points. The ability to insert charts and data from spreadsheets is particularly helpful in the company setting. While this tool gives a good overview of the day presented in all the different formats presented, it leaves a lot of information out without a proper dialogue to accompany it. Too much information on the slides is overwhelming for the audience, and makes the slides appear cluttered. These factors tend to lead to the people that are the target of said presentation to tune it out altogether. Considering how often presentation software such as PowerPoint is relied on in today’s world, it is one that the presenter must use in conjunction with other techniques to keep their audience engaged. The addition of handouts, to assure the pertinent information can be taken with them to avoid feeling notetaking is necessary, or props, to give the audience a 3-dimenional focal point, tend to help keep those listening engaged in the conversation. Unfortunately, PowerPoint also makes it too easy to oversimplify the topic’s ideas by relying solely on the bullet points and ignoring the supporting information and can also become distracting when too many effects are used. Regardless, the fact that it is easy to show data to a large group, such as a college classroom or TEDTalk, it is doubtful the medium is disappearing anytime soon.

Database applications, while not applicable to the same assignment of how I spent a day, is part of my daily routine. Most people often access and manipulate these databases on a regular basis. From shopping online at an industry titan’s website like Amazon or a locally owned bookstore with an online presence, to a library showing what they have available for borrowing, billions of these transactions happen in a day. As part of my role in my employment at Target, I use such a database when I pull items from the back room to the salesfloor. The days that I end up working in the online ordering area of the workforce, I access and manipulate a database almost continually throughout my shift as I fulfill orders placed online for pick up. Like the issues of spreadsheet programs, human error can cause a multitude of issues. For example, when I am filling an online order and the database claims that we have more than one of that item in stock, but it cannot be found anywhere in the store, it usually comes down to human error, be it on the end of inputting the initial inventory, the item not being stored where it is supposed to be, or some other process in which the inventory counts were thrown off.

Each one of these platforms play an important role in our society with the ever-increasing use of electronic devices and, now, no-contact shopping. Used in the proper ways, these tools enable an amazing amount of productivity.

 References:

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