Keynote Workshop

Tom Blog, Events, Powerpoint, Presentations, Workshops September 28, 2015

Keynote Workshop

Friday, October 2, 2015

11:00-11:50 AM

Digital Learning Commons

The legend of Keynote is that it was created specifically for Steve Jobs, who needed a program that he could use for presenting his annual keynote speeches to developers. Jobs was not happy with PowerPoint. He liked a program called Concurrence that he used in 1998, but it didn’t do everything he wanted. Because none of the available programs did what he wanted, he had a team work on a presentation program just for him. The software that became Keynote was used to present the iPod to the world in 2001. “Keynote was not originally designed to be a public software release, but the team built something so magical and so complete, Steve was convinced he would release the software to compete with PowerPoint.”

PowerPoint dominates the presentation field, although Prezi and Google Slides are becoming more commonly seen. Keynote, however, is a great program that is unused by many Mac owners (sorry, PC fans!), and those who do use it might not know everything you can do with it.

Come to this DLC workshop to learn how to build charts within Keynote, and how to use the advanced feature of Magic Charts which can animate your data, as well as Magic Move which allows creative, but elegant transitions. As with many features, a little goes a long way, so we will also talk about presentation design and how to avoid distracting your audience with too many of these tools.

Bring your laptop if you have Keynote, and try these tools during the workshop!

But I have Windows! or I want to use PowerPoint. While this workshop is focused on using the features within Keynote, the content will generally apply to creating presentations in other platforms as well. To explore similar features in Powerpoint, make an appointment at the DLC. If you want to try Keynote without switching to a Mac or buying the software, there are computers with Keynote installed that are available for student use at the DLC. There are options available for exporting Keynote slideshows to other platforms for presenting on Windows PCs and other computers that do not have Keynote.

MIIS happened. Did you miss it?

George Payne Digital Storytelling, MIIS Update, Presentations, Projects, Storytelling, Video April 21, 2015

It’s true. MIIS happened. And it was awesome!

If you were there, you know what I’m talking about. If you weren’t, you might feel like you missed something important, which you did, but that’s ok for two reasons: 1) I’m going to recap the highlights in this blogpost, and 2) MIIS is likely to happen again next semester or next year sometime. So, let’s go over it…

The first ever MIIS Happening event was a Pecha-Kucha-inspired happening. All that was provided was a time, place, and style in which the event was to take place. (Of course, beyond that there was a “countdown” template provided and practice sessions leading up to the happening, but that was all just to support the learning curve of the inaugural event) Basically, the word got out that anybody from the MIIS community could present on anything they wanted as long as they presented it in the very short, concise format that Pecha-Kucha supports… and the outcome was truly engaging and inspiring. For instance…

Jessica Yoo – talked about how limited our understanding of Korea as a whole can be, and recounted a short timeline of how she was able to reconnect with her heritage over time by connecting family history with national narratives of the United States, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia!

Alfredo Ortiz – walked us through his life as a multidimensional individual in a professionally demanding environment. The audience relished in being able to get to know Alfredo better, as well as learn how to better address their own identities.

Amanda Liles – talked about what it has been like to be othered by common language, specifically by deconstructing the word ~~dis~~abled in the context of living a very full and spirited life both at home and abroad!

Evelyn Helminen – talked about what it’s like to participate in Nation Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) every year, and how its creative constraints have helped her to discover herself in the process, ultimately encouraging others to engage in NaNoWriMo as well!

Lauren Scanlan – talked about another way of thinking about self-discovery and cultivating motivation. She used a wonderful metaphor of role playing games and used her own life as an example of how to achieve personal success. I laughed myself to tears… in a good way.

Peter Shaw – shared a recorded Pecha-Kucha project about a teaching-field trip his students took to Bay View Academy in Seaside to teach 8 different languages to middle school students. In a way it was the most elaborate project because it involved 20 different students’ voices on 20 different slides.

Moyara Ruehsen – shared how to change the composition of one’s family to support one’s vision and goals. For those who were able to keep an open mind, it seemed to have had a particularly humbling moral to the story, which was to not feel guilty outsourcing help. Why? Because we all need help, and by employing help, you’re in turn helping someone else.

Not everyone who presented was mentioned in this blog post, but in summary, MIIS Happened, and it was awesome! The applications of what we did are numerous and already trickling into your programs and projects, so keep an eye out! That was us.

Blame us or thank us, but be sure to stay tuned into the next MIIS Happening…

Do ya Pecha Kucha?

George Payne Camtasia, Digital Storytelling, Powerpoint, Presentations, Projects, Storytelling, Workshops April 7, 2015

Pe-cha-ku-cha? Hold up, before you think I’m insulting you, let’s talk about it.

Pecha Kucha literally means “chit-chat” in Japanese, but in this context, it’s a style and method of presenting. So when I ask, “Do ya Pecha Kucha?” what I mean to ask you is, do you know how to rapidly present an idea in 6 minutes and 40 seconds? Better yet, can you devote a mere 20 seconds to 20 different slides? Let me tell you, if Peter Shaw and Bob Cole can do it, I’m sure you can!

Just before spring break I lead an open-ended workshop with Peter Shaw that helped 20 GSTILE students contribute 20 seconds each to 20 pecha kucha slides for the TESOL department…

And this past Friday I watched Bob Cole freestyle a pecha kucha presentation using truly random assortment of slides. Needless to say it was AWESOME and it even included some audience participation, which caught us all off guard.

Bob Cole’s 20×20 about MIIS Happening and Pecha Kucha

Both the process and finished products of the presentations were quite amazing, so in the spirit of MIIS Happening and the upcoming Pecha Kucha Clinic on Friday, April 10th, let me share with you some key takeaways…

Pecha Kucha is direct
- 20 slides may seem like an overwhelming amount of space for content, but 20 seconds is a very short amount of time to present anything meaningful. There’s no room for slides full of text or complex diagrams. Every slide is a short, powerful chapter in a story. Peter used 20 still images from his class field trip to Bay View Academy, where his graduate students taught foreign languages to middle school students. The voice overs for those 20 slides came from 20 students in the session, so each student had to be very succinct in the soundbytes they provided. Each one used an average of only 50 words!
Pecha Kucha is engaging
- Styles vary even within Pecha Kucha, but the idea is to convey a meaningful message or story in a short amount of time. In a way, it’s a direct response to death by powerpoint. Pecha Kucha tends to bring a presenter’s points to life by giving them a relief point. After 20 seconds, the slide shifts whether they’re ready or not, so when presented live it tends to keep the attention of the audience, who deep down inside know that they only get 20 seconds to hear and see each point. It’s like a power point that’s adapted to our short attention spans! Bob was riffing, but great at keeping our attention. He even had a timer built into his slides, which you can find the template for on the MIIS Happening page.
Pecha Kucha is fun
- Unlike all the text above, Pecha Kucha is enjoyable to be a part of. On the back end I got to help Peter Shaw put together a fast-paced multimedia project using PowerPoint, Garageband, and Camtasia, and on the front end it’s fun to watch! Get a group of Pecha Kucha presenters together and you’ve got yourself a party… of sorts, which is exactly what MIIS Happening is!

I don’t want to spoil the details of the MIIS Happening event, so just take my word for it that Pecha Kucha is what’s happenin’ – so follow the link to get schooled and I’ll see you on Friday in the DLC from 10-11am!

Recording Booth Tips

George Payne Audio, Camtasia, Digital Storytelling, Podcast, Presentations, Video February 23, 2015

Hey yall,

GPayne checkin’ in! Since the first week of the term I’ve helped quite a few people to navigate the recording booths in the DLC for voice and video recording, so I thought it would be useful to share what we’ve learned for anyone out there interested in using the booths this semester:

Make an appointment
- Use the appointment system (go/dlcappointment) to learn about the booths before you get started. Even if you don’t plan on recording the same day, do yourself a favor and let us walk you through the process before you start.
Reserve the booth
- Use the reservation system (go/recordingboothreserve) to help you avoid times when people are already using the booths. If you happen to be in the DLC when you want to reserve a time, there is an iPad by the Blue Booth that can help you with that. Just ask someone to help you!
Choose the program
- Garageband is perfect for recording just audio, and Camtasia is great for recording both your face and your voice. They’re both user-friendly programs.
Set yourself up for success
- Make sure you come prepared with what you want to talk about. Scripting your podcast or video will make the whole process much smoother than just speaking-off-the-cuff. Try practicing your script out loud before you record. It will flow more smoothly when you do the real thing.
Add content
- Once you hit the record button, just go for it! Say everything you have to say. If you think you messed up, just pause for moment and start again from a few lines back. Editing after you’ve recorded the bulk of your project is always easier than trying to edit as you go.
Edit later
- Editing creates meaning. You decide what remains in the final product, and it’s easy to delete sections that don’t belong, or rearrange clips to make yourself sound better. If you don’t like what you did, Command-Z will always undo your actions.
Export and save
- Once you feel good about the content you’ve created, find Share amidst the drop-down menus above and click on export (or Export Song to Disk in Garageband) to save it, with your name, in an easily located place like the desktop. Be sure to save it again onto an external flash drive or to the cloud when you’re done. Think! if it’s not saved in at least 2 places, it’s probably not saved at all.

And those are the key takeaways from my experience helping people in the recording booths. I hope these simple-to-follow instructions make it easier for you work on your own, but remember Tip #1, make an appointment with one of the GAs to get a full walkthrough.

Be well,

George

DLC Data Fall 2014

Yuwei Xie Blog, Presentations, Projects, Services January 14, 2015

J term is a time for reflection, evaluation and planning in the DLC. As a graduate assistant, I was tasked with compiling the statistics on DLC usage during Fall 2014, collected through three online booking systems. The data focuses on three service areas that the DLC provides: individual consulting sessions, digital recording booths as well as the community Design Space.

Through the online appointment system, users can select a time/day, a service, and a graduate assistant or staff member to work with. We offer four general service areas: Audio and Video Help, Blogging and Web Tools, Instructional Technology, as well as Presentation and Graphic Design. There is also an “other” category if the topic doesn’t fall under one of the pre-established categories. The data from the online appointment system shows that during the fall semester, we served a total of 93 unique users, who booked 232 appointments through the online reservation system. We logged a total of 116 hours of consulting sessions. In terms of the popularity of topics, Blogging and Web Tools was the most popular category as 59% of the consulting sessions were on this topic. Audio and Video Help came in second, with 26% of the total sessions. 8% of the sessions focused on Presentation and Graphic Design. Instructional Technology represented 3% of the documented appointments, however, this statistic does not reflect appointments booked outside of the system. 4% of the sessions were on other topics. In terms of frequency of appointments throughout the semester, October was our busiest month, with a total of 78 appointments. While we were ramping up in September when the online booking system was first introduced, we logged 33 appointments. In November and December, we logged 64 and 57 appointments respectively.

We have two recording booths, which can also be reserved through an online booking system. The data shows that during last semester, 50 unique users booked a total of 176 recording sessions which lasted about 300 hours. A closer look at the schedule reveals that as the semester progressed, the booking steadily grew, culminating in the most appointments in December, which accounted for 40% of the total sessions. Based on our observation, recording booths were used primarily as a quiet space for Skype and phone calls, Adobe Connect sessions, recording voiceovers for Podcasts, Camtasia screen capture projects, and video editing.

The Design Space has proven to be a popular choice for hosting events and classes on campus. During Fall 2014, we hosted a total of 59 unique gatherings which included 8 graduate courses, 27 events, 17 meetings and 4 workshops. Among the 59 gatherings, 18 were recurring. Recurring classes were the norm, as 7 out of 8 classes were scheduled multiple times during the semester. Among the 27 community events, there were receptions, potlucks, movie nights, morning yoga, weekly dance club, blood drives, presentations, guest speaker sessions, etc. This diversity of events demonstrates that the DLC continued to be a campus event hub while the Holland Center was being renovated . The 17 meetings were mainly class discussions or club meetings. The majority of the 4 workshops were sponsored by the DLC, with a focus on popular topics such as WordPress and screen capture. The space was also used for other purposes such as video filming.

Below is the infographic representation of the statistics, made using Piktochart. Infographic stands for the graphic representation of information or data. Piktochart is a website that allows users to easily create an infographic chart through using the existing templates or creating their own. Piktochart is very user friendly with its drag-and-drop feature. Once the chart has been created, it can be either downloaded as a static image or pdf file or viewed online which shows the interactive features. To view the online version, click on this link:
https://magic.piktochart.com/output/4066290-dlc-data

Intro to Screen Recording Workshop!

Amy Slay Curricular Technology, Events, MIIS Update, Presentations, Video, Workshops April 4, 2014

Professors, want to turn your lecture slides into narrated videos? Want to create tutorial videos for your students?

Students, need to record a presentation or Skype call for class? Want to easily demo your work on your e-portfolio?

Why? With Camtasia, you can easily record, narrate, and edit your onscreen activity to create professional-quality videos. Come learn the basics of narrated screen capture as well as how to share your videos.

When? April 17, 12:30-1:30

Where? DLC D Space

How? The DLC has 6 computers with Camtasia software for you to use. Computers will be given out on a first-come first-serve basis.

Questions? Email us at dlc@miis.edu

Effective Data Presentation Techniques Wrap Up

Molly Sterns Data Analysis, Presentations, Workshops November 26, 2013

For those of you who attended Profs. Ruehsen and Murphy’s workshop last week on Effective Data Presentation Techniques, here are their slides for your records. For those who were unable to attend, feel free to have a look through and try to identify the most effective and ineffective approaches. If you’re not sure, come by the Digital Learning Commons to get the recap!

Data Presentation Techniques 2013

Thanks again to Profs. Ruehsen and Murphy for a very helpful presentation.

Make a Narrated Video in PowerPoint

Amy Slay Powerpoint, Presentations, Projects, Video, Workshops November 18, 2013

Welcome to today’s workshop on narrating and recording in PowerPoint!

Please sign in!

Make video

You can work with one of your own presentations, or you can use this template google presentation.
Download the presentation as a powerpoint file (click the image below to see how).

Share video

MiddMedia: http://middmedia.middlebury.edu
Youtube

Similar Resources

Keynote
Quicktime
Camtasia
iPad Apps: Doceri, Explain Everything, ScreenChomp

Tutorials

Lynda

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Upcoming Event: Effective Data Presentation Techniques

Molly Sterns Blog, Data Analysis, Events, MIIS Update, Presentations, Workshops November 8, 2013

A workshop @ The Commons with Profs. Moyara Ruehsen and Phil Murphy

Monday, November 18, 6:00 pm in the Design Space

Wondering how best to present your data for all of those course assignments and reports? Well, now is your chance to learn from the experts. Tell your story in a coherent and effective manner with a graph that your audience can interpret in two seconds. Should you use a pie chart for that data? Is there an optimal number of slices? What about an area diagram? When is it best to use a horizontal bar chart instead of a vertical column chart? When do stacked columns make sense? (Almost never.) How can 3-D deceive? Are there effective ways to combine lines and columns in the same diagram? (Yes.) And will it ever make sense to use a stacked area diagram (yes) or a donut or half-donut (yes)? Or should you abandon the chart idea altogether and just go with a table? (Sometimes.) Hear more nuanced answers to these questions and more!