Entering the World of an ILCer

Today I attended the ILC tutorial, where we learned how to blog, how to take good pictures/edit them and what we need to pack for our trip to Vanderbilt this summer. We were supposed to start the session at 8 AM, but we did not get rolling until 8:30 AM due to some technical difficulties. (Most of us could not connect our laptops to the De Anza computer lab's network, so we eventually just used their computers so we could start the tutorial.)

The De Anza High School Computer Lab

Some of the sample blogs Don showed us were truly amazing: Their content was highly descriptive, and they had lots  of well-placed, interesting photos. I hope that by the end of my trip (well, ideally before the end the trip) I will be able to blog like that.

I also learned more about photography. I have always had the problem of getting blurry pictures, but Don showed us how to make them more sharp, just by changing the way you take the picture: Instead of having your arms fully extended, bring the camera and your arms closer to you so you can hold the camera more steadily. Don also showed us some to the basic enhancement and resizing tools  in Photoshop Elements so we can make great photos (or not so great photos) even better.

Before this tutorial, I had some idea what I needed to bring on the trip this summer, but now I have a much better understanding of what needs to be on my packing list, and what does not. Lots of my questions were answered like "Do we need to bring laundry detergent?" and "What linens should we bring?"

Another great part of the tutorial was getting to meet our ILC chaperone, Mr. Michael Mannix. He did this trip with last year's Vanderbilt group, and he told me it was lots of fun for both him and the students. He also told me that he already has a list of things we can do our first week back east before we go to Vanderbilt. We get to help decide what colleges and attractions to go to. There will be lots to do as we will be centered in Washington D.C. during the week of the 4th of July. 

Overall, I am getting more excited about our trip to Vanderbilt and feel more confident it will be a great one.