Hypermedia PowerPoint

This class is really interesting because there is just so much to cover!!! We just barely learned PowerPoint and here we are jumping into advanced uses of it. Whew! I will do my best to be more organized and present the content in a clearer fashion.

Introduction to Hypermedia
Hypermedia allows us (or our students) to create a richer, more engaging presentation that shows the complex relationships between topics. However, that complexity also means that it can be a bit confusing to set up the presentations.

Storyboarding
I believe that it helps to start with a storyboard or outline of how everything should be laid out. We are using Inspiration to do that. It allows you to create a bubble chart or outline so that you know what your main idea is, what each of your topics will be, what each of your subtopics will be, and then you can also start to collect details like facts, links, and pictures for your presentation. Save this to submit next week. You can download a free 30-day trial of Inspiration at www.inspiration.com. Note that we cannot convert the Inspiration into a PowerPoint - this will simply serve as our organizing tool.

Creating the PowerPoint
The actual hypermedia will be created in PowerPoint. You begin by taking all of the text from your Inspiration web and putting it onto the slides in PowerPoint - creating what looks like your basic linear PowerPoint presentation. This is what is due at the beginning of class next week. It would also be very helpful for next week if you can put any pictures that you'll be using into the presentation.

Media
Once your text and pictures are in, it's time to insert the other media types. For this presentation, you are required to have one video and one audio file. I know that the videos are hard to find. Remember to use specific search terms and to include the file type in your search (.wmv seems to work the best). Download the video and save it on your U drive, a flash drive, etc. You need to be able to have it in the lab with you next time. I strongly recommend creating a folder on your U drive or flash drive for this hypermedia project and storing everything - the presentation, pictures, audio, video, etc. - in that folder.

ATTENTION
For class next week, you need to have all of these ready - saved in a folder on your U drive or flash drive, but we'll do everything below in class together, so DON'T STRESS!!! I'm just providing the directions here in case you're curious or want to try it on your own.

Video
To insert the video, navigate to the slide you want to video to appear on. Then go to Insert>Movies and Sounds>Movie from File. Browse to the video that you saved, select it, and click OK. A dialogue box will pop up asking if you want the video to play automatically or when clicked. Choose whichever option makes the most sense for your presentation. You'll want to test the video by playing the slideshow to make sure it works the way you expect it to.

Audio
You insert your audio file(s) the same way you do video. Save the file (.wav files work best) to your folder. www.findsounds.com has a bunch of little sound files you can use, but they're pretty much just sound effects. You're welcome to use music, recordings of voices, etc. Navigate to the slide you want the sound on and choose Insert>Movies and Sounds>Sound from File. Browse for the file you want, select it, then click OK. Again, you can choose if you want it to play automatically or when clicked.

Hyperlinks
You are also required to have at least one link to content on the web in each of your topic areas. To do this, type some text (a title for the link or the web address itself), then select that text and go to Insert>Hyperlink. Copy the web address of the website you want to link to in the Address box. Note that linking to a YouTube video DOES NOT count for your video in this presentation. You can use the YouTube as a link, but your video needs to be something that's embedded in your presentation.

Navigation
The hardest part of a hypermedia presentation is getting all of the navigation straight. The user needs to be able to get anywhere he/she needs to go in the presentation. Think about how YOU would like to be able to move around and then create the navigation so you can. The following list might help:

Make sure you can:
* Get from the main page to your topics
* Get from the topics to their subtopics
* Move between the subtopics
* Get from the subtopics back to the topics
* Get from the topics back to the main page
* Exit the presentation

Now, how do you do this? Start by asking yourself how you want the presentation to look. Do you want it to be very graphical, with pictures as links? Do you want it to have buttons? Or do you just want regular 'ol links? I don't really like that third option. I'd like to see you do pictures or buttons. You can also get a lot more creative and use a map, create a museum, etc.

If you want to use pictures, follow this process:
* Insert your pictures on the main page and organize them the way you want
* Click on the first picture you want to link
* Go to SlideShow>Action Settings (you may have to expand the menu to see that)
* Under Mouse Click, choose Hyperlink to:
* Choose the slide that you want to link to. You can choose the first slide, last slide, next, previous, etc. Notice that one option is End Show, which you should use for your users to exit the presentation. You can also choose a certain slide by selecting Slide.. from the list, then choosing which slide you want it to go to.
* Go ahead and test that out by playing the slideshow and clicking on your picture.
* Now, add the rest of your navigation. Be very careful as you go through this process that you select the correct slides. Test everything when you're done.

If you want to use buttons, follow this process:
* Go to Slide Show and choose Action Buttons.
* There are a number of buttons here for you to choose from. I don't really like them because they're so bland and generic. I prefer to make my own. To do that, choose the first, blank button from the list.
* Click and drag to create the button.
* Choose the slide that you want to link to. You can choose the first slide, last slide, next, previous, etc. Notice that one option is End Show, which you should use for your users to exit the presentation. You can also choose a certain slide by selecting Slide.. from the list, then choosing which slide you want it to go to.
* Change the color, shape, etc. of the button using the Drawing Tools in PowerPoint.
* Click once on the button you created to select it.
* Find the Text Box button at the very bottom of the screen (looks like an a with lines next to it) and click on it.
* Click on your button - you have just converted your button to a button/text box hybrid (look - I'm eco-friendly!)
* Type the label for your button in the text box - you can change the font type, size, etc.
* Go ahead and test that out by playing the slideshow and clicking on your button.
* Now, add the rest of your navigation. Be very careful as you go through this process that you select the correct slides. Test everything when you're done.

Requirements
Here's the final list of requirements for the presentation. Keep in mind that these are the minimum requirements, which will earn you 89% on the assignment. To get an A, you need to go above and beyond these requirements. A rubric will be forthcoming.
* It should be on a topic in your core. Include the curriculum standard on a final, unlinked slide called Core.
* At least three (3) topics
* At least three (3) subtopics for each topic
* At least 1 hyperlink (web) for each topic
* At least 1 picture for each topic
* At least 1 video file (.avi, .wmv, .mpeg, .asf) in the entire presentation
* At least 1 sound file (not from clipart - .wav, .mp3) in the entire presentation
* Navigation as outlined above
* A references slide with links to each source you used for information, video, audio, pictures, etc.

Please let me know if you have any questions or are struggling with anything. I don't want you to spend hours laboring over something that you don't understand. I would also be happy to help you find a video to use in your presentation if you'll email me (or comment here) with your topic.