Narrating and Streaming PowerPoint Slides

Slide 1: Narrating and Streaming PowerPoint Slides Charles J. Ansorge University of Nebraska

Slide 2: Background Information  Variety of technology tools now available to share information with students  Formerly tools were such that they were difficult to use  Growing number of applications are user- friendly and require little or no training  Narrating and streaming slides a powerful application and useful tool

Slide 3: Hardware/Software Needed  Example is for a Macintosh platform  Procedure for Windows OS similar  Need Microsoft Office 2001 Suite  G3 or G4 Macintosh with sufficient memory (64 MB or more depending on OS)  Sufficient hard drive space

Slide 4: Hardware/Software (cont’d)  Apple QuickTime--Pro version required  Microphone for the computer to narrate the slides  Web site where the narrated PowerPoint slides may be moved for later viewing  Free FTP application program (Fetch) to move the narrated slides from local computer to Web site

Slide 5: Why Narrate Slides?  Self-contained presentation  Directions for specific class procedures  Introduction to a course  Weekly updates for online course  Preview of presentation at a conference  Lectures for classes in an online course

Slide 6: Is it really easy?  Have been narrating slide shows extensively for nearly two years  Process much easier today than before  Formerly the process was complicated for Macintosh users  Today the process is completed in short order from my office

Slide 7: Easy (continued)  Compression algorithms have been improved  Speed of computers increased and student connectivity improved  Process that will be demonstrated will work for anyone who has a decent 56K modem connection and free QuickTime player on their computer for viewing

Slide 8: Demonstration  Create a short PowerPoint presentation  Narrate the presentation  Save narrated slides as a proprietary PowerPoint document  Export the PowerPoint movie as a QuickTime movie (compression step)  Move the narrated slides to server  View the results

Slide 9: Comments  Keep narrated slides as brief as possible  Find a quiet location where the slides can be narrated  Use a decent microphone that will permit good quality sound  Review slides prior to narrating them to avoid long commentary

Slide 10: Comments (cont’d)  Be certain there is sufficient space on hard drive to save the narrated document  Become familiar with the necessary settings for QuickTime that will permit the narrated slides to be easily viewed  Practice narrating to become proficient

Slide 11: Pedagogical Issues  Using narrated slides in distance learning course one-sided  Create alternate ways for students to be active  Pose questions on slides that students are to answer (Discussion Board, Chat, e-Mail)  “Chunking” material in course successful for me

Slide 12: Pedagogical Issues (cont’d)  Focusing on smaller pieces of course enhances learning  Students are not overwhelmed by class concepts  Use of graphics with the slides has been helpful to illustrate points  Present narrated slides in format for printing (PDF suggested)

Slide 13: Pedagogical Issues (cont’d)  Seek feedback regarding the teaching application  Consider ways to use narrated slides within a Course Management System if available on campus

Slide 14: Summary  Narrating PowerPoint slides has become an easy process that does NOT require excessive time  Minimal hardware and software requirements  Available for both Mac and PC  Adding audio to slides worth the effort  Positive student comments re application