Presentation Software

Griffith Feeney

What is Presentation Software?

• Derives from business presentations using medium of slides, usually 35 millimeter film

• Is computer software that facilitates creation of a series of slides, i.e., a presentation

• Medium of presentation may be transparencies, slides, or computer projection

Presentation Programs

• We will use PowerPoint

• Other presentation programs are Harvard Graphics, Corel Presentations, and Lotus Freelance

• Basic capabilities are similar across the major programs

Presentation Basics

• A presentation is a computer file containing a sequence of slides

• Slides may contain text, drawings, or images

• Text is generally keyed in, though it may be imported

• Drawings may be created, images imported

The Best Way to Learn

• Is to create a simple presentation; we will do this now

• Step 1: Start PowerPoint

• Step 2: Begin a new presentation

• Step 3: Create some slides

• Step 4: Save the presentation

• Step 5: View the presentation created

Step 1: Start PowerPoint

• Using the Start menu or

• Double clicking its icon on the desktop or

• Single clicking its icon on the desktop and hitting Enter or

• Double clicking its entry in Explorer

• You may want to create a "shortcut" icon for PowerPoint on your desktop

About Tip of the Day

• You may see a Tip of the Day window come up when you open PowerPoint

• If so, you need to click OK before proceeding

• You can turn Tip of the Day off, but it is recommended you don't

Step 2: Begin New Presentation

• Click on Blank Presentation and then on OK

• Choose a layout from the options provided, e.g., the title layout, with space for title and author

• Click and enter title and author as indicated

Step 3: Create Some Slides

• You've already created the first slide; to create another, click on New Slide at bottom right

• Select a layout as before; a good default is the heading followed by three bulleted points

• But try other layouts to see what happens

Step 4: Saving the Presentation

• Here as always, it is advisable to name and save the file before you do a lot of work that might be lost

• Before saving, decide what you want to name the file and where you want to save it (rule of thumb: never use the default)

• Do [File > Save As] and specify the name and directory location

Step 5: View the Presentation

• After saving the last slide, click the small slide show icon, the right most of the five small buttons at lower left (it looks like a slide screen)

• This will bring up your presentation slides one after the other full screen

• Down arrow key moves to next slide, up key to previous slide, ESC exits at any time

Try a Simple Drawing

• Click New Slide and choose the blank layout (lower right)

• Click on of the icons in the drawing toolbox at left

• Move the cursor over to the slide area, try clicking and moving around, see what happens

When Drawing

• Drawn objects may be selected by clicking them; you can then move or delete them

• Properties of drawn objects may be changed by double clicking them and choosing among the choices provided; e.g., you can change the thickness of a line, or make it dashed

Try Importing an Image

• Click New Slide and choose the blank layout, as for drawing

• Do [Insert > Picture], do the Census2k/Images/JPEGfiles directory and double click one of the file names

• Don't expect perfection in this simple example

To See an Overview of Your Presentation

• Click the "four squares" icon, middle in the group of five at lower left

• This will display six slides per page so you can see sequence

• This view is convenient for rearranging slides, inserting new slides, deleting slides, or copying or moving slides to another presentation

Making a Hard Copy of Your Presentation

• Decide how many slides you want printed on each page; one peer page will be too many pages, but beyond six or so per page, you won't be able to read them

• Do [File > Print], click in the Print what box, and select Handouts (6 slides per page), then OK

The Importance of Presentation Software

• Continuing learning is important in every knowledge organization

• Staff in the knowledge organization will all be teachers as well as learners

• Digital presentations are an excellent medium for teaching activities, easy to create, use, copy store, and transport

The End