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Introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint 2016, a Fundamentals course that I will be teaching entirely online. I have prepared this document to help make your online educational experience as positive and enjoyable as possible. It contains contact information, a description of our course delivery system, course mechanics, and a course schedule.
How to get Started:
This course is conducted through an online classroom. You will need to go to this classroom to obtain your lessons, work through tutorials, take quizzes, complete assignments, participate in discussions with your fellow students, and ask questions of your instructor. As soon as the registration office verifies receipt of your payment, you will be able to participate. Here's how it works:
- Wait until after 12:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) on the start date for this course.
- After the course begins, go to
https://www.ed2go.com/browardcc/. The Online Classroom is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, so please feel free to log in to your classroom at any time of day that is convenient for you.
- Once on the website, click the Login link at the top right of the page.
- Finally, log in with the username and password you provided us at the beginning of this orientation procedure. You should then be able to enter the online classroom and begin your studies.
Course Description
Take your PowerPoint presentations from ordinary to extraordinary! In these lessons, you'll learn how to use Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 (now available through Office 365) to create professional-quality slide presentations that grab and hold your audience's attention from start to finish.
You'll start by learning how to plan and create dazzling slide presentations using a variety of slide and layout masters that make global changes to your presentation in a snap. You'll also see how to embellish your slides with pictures, shapes, WordArt, and SmartArt, as well as multimedia effects such as animations, slide transitions, audio, video, and text and object hyperlinks.
And that's just the start! You'll explore the options on the PowerPoint Ribbon, including the new Tell Me feature (an enhanced Help feature) and Smart Lookup, which allows you to look up definitions of a word or phrase. You'll explore the File menu options and Backstage View, and learn how to print slides, handouts, and even an outline. And you'll discover the best view for creating and editing your slides and running your presentations, including how to use Reading View to proof your work.
You'll have fun creating a PowerPoint photo album with your digital pictures, and become acquainted with OneDrive and PowerPoint Online to save, edit, and share your presentations online. Finally, you'll add versatility to your PowerPoint skills as you learn how to use the Share and Export commands to save presentations as PDF files, videos, and more.
Whether you're a beginner or an experienced user, these lessons will teach you how to turn simple slides into a polished and exciting presentation that will make your message memorable. If you want to take your PowerPoint skills to a higher level, this is the course for you!
Course Requirements
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016, or a subscription to Office 365 (software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins); Microsoft Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 Service Pack 1, Windows 10 Server, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2008 R.
Note: This course is not suitable for Macintosh users or for users of any older versions of Microsoft PowerPoint. There is a PowerPoint 2016 version for Macintosh users, but this class is for Windows users.
Course Mechanics
I will make two lessons available to you every week for six weeks. You do not have to be present when a lesson is released, but you'll need to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
Once all 12 lessons have been released, I will give you a two-week grace period to complete your studies and take the final exam. This means that you have a total of eight weeks to complete this course. If you're thinking of taking another course after this one, you can avoid overlap by starting that course exactly two months after this one begins.
Lessons are released by 12:00am (Pacific Time) on Wednesdays and Fridays. To access your lessons, simply visit the online classroom (as described in the "Getting Started" section), and then click the lesson title you wish to visit.
Once the class access ends, I won't be able to send you the lessons. If you would like to keep the lessons for future reference, I suggest using the print lesson feature in the classroom.
Each time you complete a lesson, you will also be asked to complete a brief multiple-choice quiz. I expect you to complete each quiz within two weeks from the date that the corresponding lesson was made available. I realize that you are busy, and don't want you to worry if you can't complete a few of the quizzes on time due to illness, vacation, or other commitments. Once I release a lesson and quiz, I will make sure it is available to you as long as the classroom is open.
The interactive multiple-choice quizzes are designed to test your comprehension of the course material. When you complete a quiz, you will receive an instant analysis of your work.
This analysis will include a brief explanation of any errors you may have made. If you are not satisfied with your performance, you are welcome to re-take the quiz until you feel that you have mastered the quiz objectives.
Note: If you ever want to see a progress report showing your performance on the quizzes over time, simply return to
https://www.ed2go.com/browardcc/
and click Login or Account at the top right of the page. Once logged in, click the Report tab under the course title.
Some of your lessons will also be accompanied by an assignment. The assignments are designed to help you expand your understanding of the material taught in this course. Assignments are typically more detailed and may take a bit more time to work through than quizzes.
I expect you to complete each assignment within two weeks from the date that the corresponding lesson was made available. Unlike the quizzes, your assignments will not be evaluated. Assignments are designed primarily for your enrichment. You have the sole responsibility for evaluating your performance on each assignment. If you have questions about an assignment, please feel free to use the Discussion Areas to discuss your assignments with your fellow students and me.
When you work through an assignment, you will be gaining practical first-hand experience with the new skills taught in this course. Your performance on the final exam will depend in no small part on your mastery of the assignments.
The course will conclude with a final exam, which will test your comprehension of the material covered in this class. You must complete the final exam within two weeks from your receipt of lesson 12. Please review your selections before submitting. You may only submit your final exam answers once. Your performance on the final exam is the only factor we will consider when determining your eligibility for a certificate of completion. Although your quiz and assignments will not count toward your eligibility for a certificate, I do recommend that you try to complete each quiz and assignment to the best of your abilities. Doing so will leave you better prepared to pass the final exam.
When you finish your studies, please note that our classroom log-out process is fully automated. We will log you out of the classroom automatically whenever you close your browser or shut down your computer.
Questions
This course can be highly interactive, but the level of that interactivity is controlled by you. Since I can't see that puzzled look on your face, it's going to be up to you to ask questions when you get stuck.
I expect to get many interesting questions from you and your fellow students. I want to make sure that you and your classmates benefit from these often illuminating queries.
Therefore, I would like to request that you avoid e-mailing your questions to me. Instead, I have created 12 Discussion Areas in the online classroom (one Discussion Area for each lesson). To reach these Discussion Areas, all you will need to do is wait for the course to begin, go to the online classroom, select the lesson you're working on, and click the Discussion Area tile.
Your Discussion Area questions will serve as a challenge for your fellow students. Someone is bound to have an answer for you. Likewise, you should be able to find questions in the Discussion Area that you can answer. The Discussion Area will be open to you and your classmates 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Please try to visit the Discussion Area at least every other day while the course is in session, and don't be afraid to participate!
I firmly believe that the best way to learn a new skill is to teach it to others. We will all benefit by helping one another understand this complex material.
Because I don't want to see any unanswered questions, I (or one of my very capable teaching assistants) will be monitoring the Discussion Area at least every other day (excluding weekends and holidays). If you ask a relevant question, but fail to get a correct answer (or any answer whatsoever) from your classmates, then we will try our hardest to answer the question for you.
Please understand that the Discussion Area is reserved for conversations about the material in your lessons. While it is perfectly acceptable for you to employ a bit of friendly banter as you converse with your fellow students and instructors, I must ask you to always remember to stay on topic.
It is not appropriate to use the Discussion Area to sell goods or services, complain about something, or talk about subjects that are not specific to the lesson at hand, for example. Such off-topic conversations waste people's time and detract from the learning experience for all involved. I reserve the right to immediately delete any message without comment if I feel that it does not pertain directly to the material I am trying to teach.
I will also delete any messages containing language that I feel is derogatory, controversial, insulting, or otherwise inappropriate for my classroom.
Reminder
A legitimate organization would never send you an unsolicited e-mail that contains an attachment or asks for personal information. If you ever receive an unsolicited e-mail that contains an attachment or asks for personal information, delete the e-mail immediately.
When to Write my Course Administrator
As I mentioned earlier, the course Discussion Area is reserved solely for discussion of the material in your lessons.
Please do not use the course Discussion Areas for compliments, complaints, technical support, or other personal matters. Instead, please send such messages directly to my course administrator.
To contact the course administrator, scroll to the very bottom of any page within the classroom and look for the Support link.
Please understand that it may take my course administrator two or sometimes three business days to respond to e-mail, so provide plenty of time for a response.
If you need an extension, forgot your password, want a progress report, want to register for another course, or need help when you're not in my classroom, you can contact Student Support using the Help link under Resources in the footer of any page at
https://www.ed2go.com/browardcc/.
Syllabus
Note: This course will run for six weeks. Two lessons will be released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when each lesson is released. Instead, you can take up to two weeks to complete each lesson after it is released.
Important: In order to keep this material as up-to-date and informative as possible, I reserve the right to make changes to the course content, description, and syllabus at any time and without warning.
A new session of each course we offer starts on the second or third Wednesday of every month. You may enroll in more than one course at a time. If you are enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
Week 1
The PowerPoint 2016 Interface
Wednesday
Come explore the basic features of Microsoft PowerPoint 2016! You'll learn about the Ribbon, which replaces the menu and toolbars so common in other programs written for the Windows operating system. You'll find out how to plan a presentation and start the PowerPoint program. And you'll practice working with different views, task panes, tabs, and templates.
Creating Presentations
Friday
Now that you know the basics of PowerPoint, it's time to create a presentation from scratch. We'll start by choosing a theme for the presentation and create slides with a variety of slide layouts. You'll find out about the Live Preview feature, and we'll discuss how to save a file so you can find it later. You'll also create and edit slides in the slide pane and in Outline view. Finally, we'll go over the ways to put on a slide show. Important stuff in Lesson 2!
Week 2
Creating and Editing Tables and Opening and Saving Files
Wednesday
Including tables in your presentation lets you present a lot of information in a little space. So in this lesson, you'll add, revise, and format tables. I'll also show you multiple ways to open a presentation. Then, I'll teach you how to preserve different versions of your work by saving with different filenames.
Creating and Printing Error-free Presentations
Friday
Today we'll cover two topics: printing and proofreading. You'll learn to print your presentation as slides, handouts, an outline, and notes pages. This versatility will really help you connect with audience members! And to make sure your printed presentation is as close to perfect as it can be, we'll explore the Spelling, AutoCorrect, and Thesaurus features, along with the new Smart Lookup feature.
Week 3
Working With Saved and Online Images
Wednesday
We're going to switch gears in this lesson and work with images instead of text, which I think you'll enjoy. I'll show you how to embellish your slides with media clips, which could include illustrations, clip art, and photographs. You'll even learn how to download an image from a website and insert the image on a slide.
WordArt, Shapes, and SmartArt
Friday
You're going to work with WordArt, Shapes, and SmartArt Graphics in this lesson, which I think you'll find exciting. It's fun to transform text into colorful WordArt objects and to draw and fill shapes with color and special effects. You'll learn to group and edit the objects you create. And you'll add visual sophistication to your text with SmartArt Graphics.
Week 4
Creating and Editing a Chart
Wednesday
In this lesson, you'll create and edit a chart slide to illustrate statistical data. You'll find this lesson easy if you like working with numbers! But if you don't enjoy math, that's okay—I'll walk you through everything you need to know and do to create a chart slide. I'll also show you how to change the look of your chart by using the options on the Chart Tools contextual tab and the chart formatting buttons.
Making Global Changes to a Presentation
Friday
Making the same changes to dozens of PowerPoint slides is boring and time-consuming. Today we'll look at global changes you can make to your slides, handouts, and notes. For example, if you want to increase or decrease the font size on all the slides in a presentation, just make the change on the slide master. You'll also make global changes when you modify your presentation's theme colors or background.
Week 5
Creating Links
Wednesday
In this lesson, we'll work with hyperlinks and action buttons. You'll enliven your presentation as you learn to create links from text or objects to other slides, presentations, documents, and Web pages. You can even add sounds and 3-D effects if you want!
Applying Animation to Slides, Text, and Objects
Friday
Have you seen a presentation where text, images, or entire slides fly in from the top or push up from the bottom? That's animation. In this lesson, you'll learn about slide transitions, the options on the Transition tab, and you'll apply animation to text and objects on slides and the slide or layout master with the options on the Animations tab. You'll also find out how to add sound effects, such as chimes and whooshes, to slide transitions. And perhaps most important, you'll learn how to avoid overdoing these effects!
Week 6
Applying Advanced Animation Effects to Text and Objects
Wednesday
You already know how to apply animation to your slides as they transition. Now it's time to apply advanced animation effects to text and objects on slides and slide and layout masters. With the animation commands and the Animation Pane, you'll add and reorder animated text and objects on slides. You'll also add an audio clip to your presentation.
Sharing and Saving Your Presentations, Including OneDrive and Office Online
Friday
Now that you know so much about creating PowerPoint presentations, we'll focus on different ways to save and share them. You'll see how easy it is to make your presentation into a PDF file, so it'll be accessible on computers that don't have PowerPoint 2016. You'll learn to open, edit, and share your presentation online with a Windows OneDrive account and PowerPoint Online. And you'll turn your presentation into a video.
Instructor
Kathy Van Pelt has been involved in education for many years, teaching and assisting
students with microcomputer application courses. Kathy specializes in Microsoft
Office applications, Google Drive and Google Applications, the Windows and Mac operating
systems, and keyboarding. For the past 25 years, she has taught computer
courses at a community college, teaching both in the classroom and online.
Before that, she spent nine years teaching word processing and business classes
at a private business college. She loves being in the ever-evolving educational
field, and she's especially excited about the flexibility that online learning
offers students.