Screen Authoring using PowerPoint 2003

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1 Screen Authoring (PowerPoint)

2 Screen Authoring using PowerPoint 2003 What is PowerPoint? PowerPoint offers the facility to create slide shows and slide presentations. As PowerPoint is one of the programs provided with Microsoft Office, it offers similar word processing and desktop publishing features. Charts and tables can also be incorporated into a Powerpoint presentation. These presentations can be displayed on the computer screen, projected to a whiteboard or printed on acetate to use with an overhead projector. Creating a Slide Show PowerPoint will start with a new blank presentation and automatically allow you to create a Title Slide. For convenience we have prepared an example PowerPoint presentation of just four slides, shown here on the right. It incorporates a basic range of features, such as text, background colours, animations and pictures. Inserting a New Slide Click on the Insert Menu and New Slide. (Do not click on New, as this starts a whole new presentation!) In the above example we have selected the Title, Text and Content layout. There are many preset layouts available for you to choose from. Using Pictures and Clip Art You can add a range of graphics from many different sources; the easiest starting point is to use clipart. Click on the Insert menu, and then Picture, and Clip Art. Pictures can also be inserted from external files, just like the pictures of the tree in this example. Just like in Microsoft Word, pictures can be taken from the Internet, scanners or digital cameras. In our example, we have used a background texture, rather than a single colour. It is important to think about how your presentation is to be viewed. This example is intended for use on a computer screen, so the use of many colours and textures is appropriate. If, however, your presentation is designed to be printed or viewed on a whiteboard, then you may wish to use simpler and more contrasting colour schemes. 2

3 Background Colours and Design Issues The background colour of any slide can be easily changed. Using our example, we have selected a textured background, and there are many different texture and pattern options to choose from. To modify the background, right click anywhere on the background of the slide as shown below. This will display a small menu of options. Select the Background option. This will then display a small dialogue box, with the current colour scheme displayed. There are many colours, fills and textures available, and finding the most suitable will usually be determined by the content and layout of your current presentation. You can then apply the settings to either that slide only, or apply to all slides in the current presentation. PowerPoint is very flexible and allows you to customise individual slide layouts. Each slide in a presentation could have a completely different layout. It also offers the opportunity to incorporate a range of clip art. Although, these features exist they do not necessarily enhance presentations. It is usually best to have a consistent theme throughout the presentation. Be aware that how the presentation looks on the computer monitor can vary vastly when it is printed or projected onto a whiteboard. One common error is having too much text on the slide, or using a small font size. When you are sitting at the computer, the text will be clear and easy to read. This is not always the case when your target audience is sitting 20 feet away looking at a whiteboard projection. Avoid having text smaller than size 20. Text which is smaller than this can become very difficult to read. PowerPoint offers a visual and audio aid, which should support the delivery of a presentation. Below are examples of text when viewed on a projector. On the left viewed from 15 feet, on the right viewed from 10 feet. As you can clearly see, even on a large whiteboard, anything below size 24 is very difficult to read. These images are for illustrative purposes only, and in reality are clearer to read due to lighting conditions and quality of the photographs. 3

4 Slide Animations using Schemes For this example, we will use the slide shown here on the left. You may wish to create a new presentation with similar content. There are two methods of applying slide animations. The first method is to choose from pre-set animations. Click on the Slide Show menu and select Animation Schemes. You can choose from many pre-set effects. The computer will automatically give you a preview of the animation settings, but it is usually best to view your presentation by viewing it as a slide show. The full impact of transitions, sounds and designs can only be appreciated once you view the presentation full screen. Try to avoid using colours that are similar, or very vivid backgrounds. Click on Slide Show and View Show [F5] In the above example, the pre-set animation Neutron was applied. 4

5 Slide Animations using Custom Settings For all basic title slides and bulleted lists, there is often a pre-set animation that is suitable. However, you may wish to create your own animations. In order to do this, click on the Slide Show menu, and select Custom Animation. As a simple example, the main title Custom Animation will have an Entrance effect, Fly-In and the subtitle will have the effect Spin applied. To do this, single click on the title, and then select the Add Effect button at the top right hand side of the window. In the pictures below you can see the different options that have been applied. Of course, there are many more options available. To further customise the effects and discover further options, simply click on the drop down arrow next to the selected item. This is shown in the picture below. After clicking on Effect Options, you will see a dialogue box with all the familiar options, such as timings and sounds. Remember to always review your animation settings by displaying as a slide show. 5

6 Working with the Slide Sorter Sometimes it may be necessary to change the order of your slides. Rather than trying to copy and paste information from one slide to another, you can switch the view to the Slide Sorter. In the above picture, we can see the four example slides. If we wanted to move the main title slide to the end of the presentation, all you need to do is single click the slide with the mouse, hold the left button down and drag to the new location. As you move your mouse, a grey vertical bar will appear in-between each slide. In the above picture you can see the vertical bar after slide 4. All you need to do then is release the mouse button and the slides will automatically be rearranged as you can see here. When using the Slide Sorter, if you have very detailed or very colourful slides, sometimes they can be a little difficult to read. You can change the display from Colour to Greyscale/B&W by clicking on the View menu, and then choosing from the Color/Grayscale menu. 6

7 Creating Interactive Presentations PowerPoint can also be interactive, rather than simply viewing slides in a set order. Important! When you are creating an interactive presentation, you must be aware that the default setting with PowerPoint is to automatically advance through the slides in order whenever the mouse is clicked. If you use action buttons in your presentation, and the user does not press on the button, the slides will still advance normally. To change the default setting, you can click on Slide Show, Set Up Show This will give you the options shown here on the left. Change the Slides option from All, to From: 1, and To: 1. Tick the box next to Loop continuously until Esc Then click on OK. How to add Interactivity with buttons for Navigation or Answers From the Slide Show Menu choose Action Buttons Select button appearance Click and drag to locate and size button on slide Then choose the action that you would like the button to do Double-click button to change colour Right-click on the button to add text or change action Automating your Slide Show. The slide show can be advanced manually by clicking the mouse or automatically so that the show runs itself. To run the slide show automatically, click on Slide Show and then Slide Transition. In the Advance box tick Automatically after, then add the time between transitions in seconds. Suggested Learning Exercise Develop information material for pupils in PowerPoint on any subject you choose. Give some thought to the readability, layout, colour & design. Your PowerPoint presentation should include: At least 3 slides with some text content, background colours, some clipart, an image from the Internet or digital camera, some hyper-linked action buttons, at least one sound, slide transitions and animations. 7