Powerpoint as Multimedia

Multimedia is a concept that has come to the fore in the last 30 or so years, it simply means the practice of using different forms of media, print, video, sound, to facilitate your goals. Microsoft’s PowerPoint is at the forefront of this usage and is relatively simple to set up and use.

Open the PowerPoint (ppt) program by clicking on [Start] and selecting ppt from the [All Programs] menu or by double clicking on the ppt icon from your desktop. Click on the Format menu at the top of the ppt program and select [Slide Design] and or [Slide Layout] depending on what kind of presentation you wish to present.

Using the text of what you wish to present type it into each slide as required.  Clicking on each section of the slide allows you to add headers, text, or pictures. To add a video, click on the [Insert] menu and select [Movies and Sounds from file] and then navigate to the file and insert it. Once inserted you may drag and shape it to fit into whichever part of the slide you wish.  Ensure also that you select how you wish it to play when you insert it. Either [Automatically] or [When clicked].

To add sounds or music files, repeat the same steps as for movies and select the sound file.  Once again ensure that you select the mode of playing as you insert it, this can be changed later if desired though. Slide transition.  In the [Slide Show] menu select [Slide Transition].  This feature allows you to choose how each consecutive slide will appear to your viewers.  Rather than just flipping from one slide to another you can slide, you can open blinds, fade in, fade out, simply select from the menu of transitions.

Some tips to remember when using PowerPoint: Any alterations can be made by opening the program and changing entries.  Alterations can be made to inserted multimedia items by right clicking on the particular icon within the slide. PowerPoint presentations can be viewed adequately on computers however they are best viewed on a screen, projected by a data projector.