This document provides an overview of basic PowerPoint concepts and tools for teaching students including: 1) It recommends introducing PowerPoint vocabulary terms and the four main toolbars to students gradually, focusing on one toolbar at a time when features are needed. 2) The four main toolbars are the Standard, Formatting, Drawing, and Common Tasks toolbars, which contain buttons for common tasks like formatting, drawing, and inserting objects. 3) It also discusses introducing the Office Assistant help feature and whether it would benefit students based on their reading level and the time available.

1. •Unit 1
•PowerPoint Basics
•Trusty Toolbars
•Handy Help
•Techie Terms
•Cool for School

2. Finding the toolbars
The toolbars contain graphically illustrated buttons that you
click to perform specific tasks in a program. PowerPoint has
four main toolbars, which can help you create your
presentations quickly and easily.
The Standard Toolbar is located at the top of the PowerPoint
window, below the menu bar. It has buttons for common
tasks such as saving, printing, checking spelling and
inserting charts and tables.

3. The Formatting Toolbar is located just below the standard toolbar. Most
of its buttons are for formatting text. Use these buttons to change the
font type or size, make text bold or italic, indent text, and insert bullets.

5. The Drawing Toolbar is located at the bottom of the PowerPoint window.
It has tools for drawing shapes, adding lines and curves, and inserting text
boxes and WordArt. It also has buttons for manipulating and formatting
the objects you draw.

6. Moving the toolbars to new locations
All PowerPoint toolbars can be moved or docked to any side
of the PowerPoint window. As well, docked toolbars,
including the Standard Toolbar, the Formatting Toolbar, and
the Drawing Toolbar, can be converted to floating toolbars.
A move handle on the left or top of the toolbar indicates that
the toolbar is docked. A title bar indicates the toolbar is
floating.
Here’s how to move one of the toolbars to a
new location:
1. Click the move handle on a docked
toolbar, or click the title bar on the floating
toolbar.
2. Holding down the mouse button, drag the
toolbar to the new location.

7. Docking a toolbar
Try docking a toolbar to the top of the PowerPoint window.
This will give you more working area on your PowerPoint
window.
1. Click the title bar on the Common
Tasks toolbar.
2. Drag the toolbars upwards, until the
toolbar outline snaps into place along
the edge of the program window.
If you see move handles on toolbar, you know it is
successfully docked.

8. Adding and removing toolbars
PowerPoint has several other toolbars to help you
accomplish this task.
The Picture Toolbar has several buttons that are
useful when you work with images. There are buttons
for Contrast, Brightness, and Cropping. This toolbar
will automatically appear when you insert clip art or
pictures.

9. The Animation Effects Toolbar has buttons for working with
animations, and the Web Toolbar helps you create
presentations on the Internet. There’s also a Reviewing
Toolbar, a WordArt Toolbar, and a Control Box Toolbar.
When you’re a more advanced user, you may wish to add
some of these toolbars to you PowerPoint window. Let’s say
you want to add the animation effects toolbar. Here’s what
you do:
1. Click the View menu, and then
point to Toolbars.
2. In the submenu, click the check
box next to animations effects. An
animation effects toolbar appears in the
PowerPoint window.

10. Removing a toolbar
PowerPoint lets you remove toolbars you don’t need. Try
removing the animation effects toolbar you just activated.
1. Click the View menu, and then point to Toolbar.
2. In the submenu, click the check box next to animation effects to
deselect it.
The check mark disappears and the animation effects toolbar is
removed form your PowerPoint window.

11. Activating and using the Office Assistant:
The Office Assistant is an animated help system that
answers your questions, and offers tips and helpful
suggestions as you work. The standard Office
Assistant character is Mr. Clipit, an animated
paperclip, but you can change the Office Assistant’s
character at any time.
To activate the Office Assistant, click the Office
Assistant button on the Standard Toolbar.

12. Or click the Help menu, then click Microsoft PowerPoint
Help.
The Office Assistant appears, ready to assist you.
Once the Office Assistant is activated, it „observes” your
work and offers tips or suggestions. A yellow bulb above
the Office Assistant indicated that it has a tip.

13. You can ask the Office Assistant to help you perform tasks in
PowerPoint. Let’s say you want to find out how to insert a
graphic. Here’s what you do:
1. Click the Office Assistant. A
callout appears, asking you
what you want to do.

14. You can ask the Office Assistant to help you perform tasks in
PowerPoint. Let’s say you want to find out how to insert a
graphic. Here’s what you do:
2. Type in your request.
For example, type “insert a
Graphic”. A list of related help
topics will appear.

15. You can ask the Office Assistant to help you perform tasks in
PowerPoint. Let’s say you want to find out how to insert a
graphic. Here’s what you do:
3. Select a help topic form the
list. (Click See More for more
options.) The help topic is
displayed.

17. Using PowerPoint vocabulary
Here are some terms in PowerPoint 97 that are
useful to know.
Slide: An individual screen in a slide show.
Presentation File: The file you save to disk that
contains all the slides, speaker’s notes, handouts,
etc. that make up you presentation.
Object: Any element that appears on a PowerPoint
slide, such as clip art, text, drawings, charts, sounds,
and video clips. You can refer to a clip art object, a
text object, a title object, a drawing object, etc.

18. Slide Show: A series of slides displayed in sequence.
A slide show can be controlled manually or
automatically.
Transition: A special effect used to introduce a slide
during a slide show. For example, you can fade in
black, or dissolve from one slide to another.

19. Unit 1
Obviously you’re a teacher with a pioneering spirit.
So, no doubt, you’ll want to teach your students how
to create multimedia presentations using PowerPoint.
Before you get your students all excited about funky
animations and nifty sound effects, you’ll have to
equip them with a few PowerPoint essentials.
First and foremost, you have to talk the talk.
Introduce your students to PowerPoint vocabulary by
doing a live demonstration of all the different terms
you will be using. Explain the difference between a
slide and an object. Show how a transition is a part
of a slide show. And just to make sure everyone is on
the same wavelength, follow-up your demonstration
with a worksheet.

20. PowerPoint comes with many toolbars-fifteen of them, to be exact.
Don’t worry about introducing your students to all of them.
Concentrate on the four main toolbars that appear when you first
open the program.
You might want to consider introducing the toolbars one at a time.
To start, you can hide all of the toolbars. When your students need
to format text or add graphics, show them how to add the
appropriate toolbar and teach them the function of each button.
The toolbar-by-toolbar approach sound radical, but what better
way to prevent your students from clicking every button in sight.
Teaching PowerPoint one toolbar at a time also keeps your
students focused and gives you a nice, systematic way of
introducing the program's features and functions.

21. Before you introduce the Office Assistant to your students,
consider whether it will be beneficial to them. Will your
students be able to read and comprehend the words in
Office Assistant? Can they navigate through the Help files
without your assistance? Do you have enough class time to
let students explore this feature? Will your students become
as addicted to animating with the Office Assistant as you
are?
Note: If you haven’t discovered this yet, hold your mouse over the Office Assistant and
click your “right” mouse button. Choose Animate! from the pop-up menu and be
prepared for a surprise.
Take the Quick Quiz to
test your knowledge!

22. UNIT 1: PowerPoint Basics

23. 1. You know a toolbar is successfully docked
when…
a. it moves to the side of the page.
b. it turns a different color.
c. move handles appear on it.
d. a loud whistling sound comes from
your computer speakers.
Click on the correct answer

24. A toolbar is successfully docked when move handles appear on it.

25. 2. Any element that appears on a PowerPoint
slide, such as clip art, text, drawings, charts, sounds,
and video clips.
a. Slide
b. Object
c. Presentation
d. Transition
Click on the correct answer

26. 2. Any element that appears on a PowerPoint
slide, such as clip art, text, drawings, charts, sounds,
and video clips.
b. Object

27. 3. The animated help system that answers your
questions, and offers tips and helpful suggestions as
you work.
a. Mr. Clipit
b. Office Helper
c. Go Get ‘em
d. Office Assistant
Click on the correct answer

28. 3. The animated help system that answers your
questions, and offers tips and helpful suggestions as
you work.
d. Office Assistant

29. 4. The toolbar that contains common tasks such as
saving, printing, checking spelling and
inserting charts and tables.
a. Simple
b. Common
c. Standard
d. Task
Click on the correct answer

30. 4. The toolbar that contains common tasks such as
saving, printing, checking spelling and
inserting charts and tables.
c. Standard

31. 5. What menu do you click on to find the Microsoft
Office Assistant?
a. Help
b. Tool
c. Insert
d. View
Click on the correct answer

32. 5. What menu do you click on to find the Microsoft
Office Assistant?
a. Help
Click on the correct answer

33. You have successfully completed the
Quick Quiz!