Philosophy of MultiMedia Presentations

PowerPoint presentations closely simulate the traditional slide show of text and graphics, but with these major advantages:

• The presentation is universally available through the WWW
• The presentation is controlled by the end user, not the presenter
• It can be easily be converted into other media, such as print or even traditional slides
• It provides a limited amount of animation
• It provides sound coordinated with each slide in the form of narration or any other audible information, such as music, the sounds of animals, or nature.

Here are some guidelines to use in preparing sound-accompanied PowerPoint presentations:

• Keep indiviudal slides small: the slide positioning technique in PowerPoint lets users move to any section they desire, and making the sections small lets the user focus on those parts relevant to them
• Keep graphics to a reasonable minimum in order to reduce download time
• Design the slides for universal access: if the sound, text, and graphics can stand on their own, then not only can handicapped people benefit from it, but so can the majority, many of whom learn better either through sight, or through sound, or through the combination of sight and sound. An analogy used by the EASI/TLT group is that of "curb-cuts": those rounded cuts in curbs which were provided for wheelchair access but are used much more by able bodied people on bicycles, skate boards, roller blades, or people pushing strollers. Designing for the disabled can in fact bring benefits to all

Class Topics

Philosophy of MultiMedia Presentations

Hardware and Software Requirements

How to Create Narration of the Web

How to Edit Narration

Notes on Sound and Picture Quality

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