MES Thesis - PowerPoint & Google Slides

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

Introduction

Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular digital presentation application. It is most commonly used to present ideas and images in a linear sequence, such as a "click-through" slideshow. PowerPoint also includes advanced features to create animations and "interactive" presentations.

This workshop provides an overview of PowerPoint's tools and features, the basic steps for creating a multi-slide PowerPoint presentation which includes text, images, and transitions, and an introduction to Google Slides.

Using PowerPoint at Evergreen

• PowerPoint, as part of the Microsoft Office suite, is available in the Computer Center and many other places on campus. PowerPoint is available for Windows or Macintosh, and in theory it is possible to bring your files between platforms (you may encounter issues with formatting and fonts).

Creating a Presentation with PowerPoint

Start a new presentation

Saving your presentation PowerPoint version 2007 and newer use .pptx as an extension to distinguish its proprietary files from those that will open in previous versions of the program. Be cautious when saving files using the latest versions because your presentation will not open on computers using an older version which uses the .ppt extension.

Setting a background or selecting a theme

Create new slides or outline

Working with text and image -- selecting fonts -- resizing images

Creating and Editing a Basic Slides Presentation

• Working with a blank canvas or customizable template
• Working with frames/placeholders
• Adding and editing text
• Inserting images, video and URLs (being mindful of elements that require connection to Internet)

Managing and Presenting a Slides Presentation: How to Publish and Share

• Manual navigation versus autoplay
• Online versus off-line
• Creating a portable Slides presentation (downloading/saving a PDF version)

Presentation Tips

PRESENTATION SCRIPT VERSUS PRESENTATION CONTENT

• Keep content relevant, organized, and focused to the audience you are presenting to
• Avoid reading directly from the presentation you are showing - use presentation content as an outline or guide for introducing key topics or talking points to be elaborated on through the oral component of your presentation

VISUAL PRESENTATION

• Content should be the "star" of the presentation
• Avoid overwhelming an audience with text- or image-heavy frames
• Take advantage of white space
• "Chunk" or "bullet point" information
• Use of scale or sizing to emphasis different points or elements
• Refrain from using animated transitions that move too quickly or extra features that distract from the content

What is Google Slides? Why use it?

• Free and versatile online presentation software similar to PowerPoint
• May be accessed online (desktop, mobile, tablet) or saved as a document to your computer or device
• With a Google Drive account you get 15GB of free cloud storage and access to other applications such as Docs, Sheets, and more
• Ability to share files and folders, plus create and collaborate!

Creating a Google Drive account

• Use your existing Gmail/Google account or create a new/additional account

Resources

POWERPOINT

• Getting Started with PowerPoint 2010
• Training and Help Topics for PowerPoint for Mac 2011
• Basic tasks for creating a PowerPoint 2013 presentation

LYNDA.COM VIDEO TUTORIALS

• PowerPoint: From Outline to Presentation
• Public Speaking Fundamentals
• Running a Design Business: Presentation Skills

GOOGLE DRIVE

• Get started with Google Slides
• Google Drive