Lab 6: Creating a Presentation

6.1      Introduction

Lab-6 assignment is designing a presentation using the Microsoft PowerPoint software from Microsoft Office. This assignment intends to test the basic understanding of the presentation software. The presentation would include the highlights of your topic.

You do NOT need to present this in class. You have to do this lab by yourself. You can choose the same topic as the final presentation project.

6.2      Choosing a Presentation Topic

The topic of presentation could be pertaining to your field of study – like your major or minor. In any case, the presentation shall describe how computers could be used in the chosen area.

6.3      Some XYZ major!!

Let’s say, my major is XYZ!! I want a presentation of around 9-10 slides.

  1. First slide shall have “Title” and “Name of the Presenter” (that is your name, even though you don’t present!).
  2. A couple of slides (slide is one page of a presentation) describing what this major is all about – what career you foresee etc.
  3. Next couple of slides would highlight “how computers are used in this area?”
  4. A couple of other slides about any suggestions or novel ideas you may have about using computers.
  5. A slide or two concluding how you can help with the knowledge of computers.

6.4      Some tips on presentation software

  1. Go to Microsoft Office and choose Microsoft PowerPoint. (It may be located in Tools & Utilities at Computer Science, in Programs Menu at Library).
  2. User can choose some nice built-in designs from “Slide Design” option of the “Format menu”. One of the designs from the list on your right-hand pane can be chosen. They will apply to your entire presentation by default. You may change this choice later if you wish.
  3. You may want to include clipart (image from the image gallery of Microsoft Office), images you downloaded from the Internet, some charts, etc. In this case, you can go to Format menu, choose the Slide Layout. From the list on the right-hand pane you can choose one “layout”. This applies only to the current slide.
  4. To add text you can simply start typing in the text box. Formatting of text, like bold, bullets, numbering, coloring, can be done using the standard toolbars. The toolbar is similar to ones in Word, Excel or FrontPage.
  5. To add image, chart: you need to choose “Insert menu” option (as in FrontPage). But you don’t have to organize images in the same directory as in FrontPage. You can select them from My Documents or Desktop without any trouble.
  6. Once you are done with a part of presentation or whole of it, you can go to “View menu”, and select “Slide Show”. This will help you navigate through all the slides on a full-screen. Usually a presentation is meant to have this feature, so that all the audience of the presentation can see the presentation in full-screen.
  7. From the “Insert menu” select “New slide” to allow adding one more slide to the presentation. Repeat through steps 3 above for each slide. Or just "Copy" the current slides and then "Paste".

Remember to save these frequently to avoid loss of information. More often, if you choose to include many images, it would not fit on a floppy disk. So best way is to upload on FTP server or send an email to yourself.

Need more help? -- Here you go:

6.5      Upload your presentation to the website and email me the link.

 

Want to see an example? Click HERE.

 

6.6 Notes: If you do not have any available topics, you can choose one from the following list.

List of topics

1. Violent Computer Graphics Games                       
2. Computers and K-12 Education                                  
3. Should Graphics Simulations Be Allowed in Trials? Defend your views.                     
4. Napster and Intellectual Property Rights                     
5. Computers and Identity Theft                                       
6. Dvorak keyboard and Qwerty keyboard                                                            
7. Instant messaging                                                   
8. Weblog                                       
9. Computers and Privacy                                                 
10. GNU, The Free software Foundation                         
11. Computer Crime                                                          
12. Computers and Tradename/Domain Name Disputes           
13. Embedded Computers or Networking                        
14. Reliability and Safety of Computer Systems                        
15. Cryptography/Encryption                        
16. Computers and Anonymity                                                      
17. Cyberspace                 
18. Computers and Government Surveillance                 
19. Freedom of Speech--Censoring The Internet           
20. Virtual Reality                                                             
21. Software Piracy                                                           
22. Linux, free-OS                                                 
23. Artificial Intelligence , Robotics and Employment    
24. Nanotechnology                                                           
25. Internet2: The Once and Future Net
26. Natural Language Processing, Voice Recognition
27. Biometrics, include social implications                       
28. General-purpose or special-purpose computers, which one has more future?      
29. Computers and Civil Liberties
30. E-Commerce                                                               
31. downloading music off the internet/ the relationship between music and the internet.      
32. Computer and Arts.      
33. Graphic Designing.      
34. Using computers for animation.      
35. Internet Advertising.      
36. The way the world has become computerized & the advantages and disadvantages