Death by PowerPoint

Presentation software like PowerPoint has become VERY common in the worlds of business and education. It is a powerful tool for visually presenting information (text, images, graphs and video).

PowerPoint is also one of the most abused tools in business and education. It is important to ask two questions when preparing a presentation:

1. Who is the audience for the presentation? (large group, small group, individual at a computer)
2. What types of visuals will enhance the presentation?

A few things to remember about presentations:

• The more people viewing the presentation, the fewer words you should have per slide (some experts say never have more than six words on a slide)
• Readability is important! Black text on white is very readable. Don't expect people to read text that is on a similar color (blue text on black) or over a photo. Think of the person in the back of the room.
• Use animated text sparingly (some experts say never!). Making the speaker click for each bullet point is distracting for both audience and speaker. Unless it is important for effect to reveal points one at a time, just have all text appear at once.
• Have a purpose for each image - Images are powerful, but power can be good or evil!
• If you are speaking in front of a group—you are the star ... not the software. If something is moving on the screen, no one is looking at (or listening to) you.
• Rule of Six - Never more than six bullets, never more than six words per bullet (don't use complete sentences in bullets)
• Presenters, Don't read the text off of the slides!
  

Spreadsheet Project

Spreadsheets are important tools in our world today. They allow for rapid calculations on rows and columns of data. They are helpful in answering "what if?" questions, such as what is the impact of giving our employees a 15% raise?

Check out the particulars for your spreadsheet project on the left. You can choose your own subject for a spreadsheet. Some ideas you might want to consider: sports stats, monthly budget, gradebook, or checkbook. Be sure to include at least three different functions in your project.