This and That: Show and Tell
By Elizabeth B. Wright February 2006
First, a Handy Tip: To find the total size of a directory (folder)
including all of its subdirectories (folders) and files, go into your file
manager program, usually Windows Explore, right click on the directory
(folder) of interest. When the dialog box opens, choose “properties”. The
information box that comes up will show the size in three different numbers.
The first number is probably the most useful for our purposes.
Now for Show and Tell.
When you enjoy computer challenges, sooner or later someone is going to ask
you to share your projects with a group. The Senior Study Group in the CCOKC
has asked me to do a “how to” on creating a PowerPoint presentation. They
would learn a lot more from my 17 year old granddaughter who has been
proficient in the program since she was 14 years old. But, since she lives
in Texas and is busy completing her senior year in high school, the group
will have to make do with my work.
Here are some preliminary steps to follow to help smooth the way for your
first PowerPoint show. This will not be a tutorial on PowerPoint, although a
few of the basic steps will be covered.
1. Determine the needs of your audience. If you are going to share your
project with a variety of age groups (e.g. ages 1 to 40, 40 to 60, over 60)
you may want to prepare different versions of your show. I included the ages
below 10 because very young children are so computer literate that it is a
mistake to leave them out of consideration in our projects. Vision and
hearing problems can occur in any age group, so keep in mind who will be
watching and listening to your creation.
2. Decide the nature of the slideshow. Some examples are: business topics,
personal projects such as a photo album to share with friends and family, or
possibly a training session for a job of work or a computer technique. If
you plan to include sound with your show, take time to understand the
different types of audio files and which types can be used in PowerPoint.
There are sound files, mostly for transitions, built into the program, but
other music, video and speech files can also be included.
3. Make an outline of the ideas and objectives of your finished project. Any
word processor can be used for this purpose. Print it for reference while
working on you show. The “Outline” view in PowerPoint is not the same as
your printed document. The PowerPoint outline is used by the program for a
different purpose. Your preliminary outline can be used as a guideline, but
obviously can be changed as your presentation takes shape. Having an outline
helps smooth the way and can be altered as needed when fresh ideas occur
while you are building your show.
4. It is necessary for this next step to understand the nature of image,
audio, movie and document files. Create and assemble in one directory
(folder) on your computer the necessary image files (photos or clipart),
audio and movie files and any documents you will be needing for reference or
inclusion in the final output. This eliminates the time consuming process of
searching your file directory for that elusive element you plan to use. You
can still use files that are not in this folder, but it saves time later to
assemble your raw materials in one place before beginning the construction
of the actual production.
To get you started for a simple practice project, open PowerPoint and choose
a blank presentation. A dialog box will open showing choices for slide
formats. In this case, click the blank page icon which is located in the
lower right hand corner of the box. When the slide appears on the screen, it
will be full screen. Left click on View on the menu bar and choose slide
sorter. The slide will change to a smaller view with the number 1 beneath
the lower right hand corner. The slide should have a dark border around it
indicating it is “selected”. Click on Insert on the menu bar and click on
Duplicate Slide. Repeat this until you have a total of five slides showing
on the screen. Double click on the number 1 slide to bring it back up full
screen. At this point you can begin adding elements to the slide. Continue
with the next four slides until you have created a short PowerPoint
presentation. What you enter is up to you. For a simple show, type some text
into the first slide, then insert pictures of your choice in the next four
and run it as a slideshow. This is not the most efficient use of PowerPoint,
but it is a quick way to get you familiar with the creation process. Using
the preset templates for the slides can facilitate placement of elements,
but for a beginner the templates can be somewhat daunting.
There are many books available which have instructions for adding items to
your slides, including transitions and other exciting visual and sound
designs which help keep your audience attentive. There are also caveats
about making your presentations too “busy”. An audience can be distracted by
too much movement or sound, thereby missing the overall intent of your show.
There should be a balance between KISS* and holding the attention of your
audience.
*Keep It Simple, Stupid (not the most flattering description of our
intellect).
Elizabeth Wright is a member of the CCOKC and a regular writer for the eMonitor