Day 4 – Presentations and PowerPoint continued

Where we have come from… Class Debriefing from Assignment 2 –Sharing products –Style guides – setting quality standards… –Group editing Teams –Assigning teams –Discussing team context Moving forward –Assignment 2 – Presentations and Powerpoint –PowerPoint tutorial –PowerPoint activity

Day 4 – Presentations/PowerPoint (cont.) Design and Designing Quality Presentations (30) PowerPoint’s Other Uses – Posters (15) Learning to Use Software - Resources (20) Unpacking Written Debriefings (30) Underlying Structure of the Course (5) Teamwork (15)

From Survey: What brought you to TC? Combine writing and science/engineering (12) –I wanted to combine my interest in science and technology with my love of writing, and in he engineering and science disciplines this seemed the most effective way to do so –I am double majoring in Mathematics and TC. While working in many math classes, I have noticed lots of sub par writing in the textbooks. Since I had success in prior writing courses, I began to think that I could make a difference for future students by combining my math and TC knowledge to improve math textbooks Creative (1) –I've chosen TC to be my major because it is a very fun and creative field. … Practical (1) –I have a knack for clear, concise writing. It is also a practical degree which is good in my case because I don't really know what I want to do Technical <> programming (2) –When I found out about the major, I realized that I had already taken almost all of the non-TC class graduation requirements. More importantly through the major I would be able to enter the computer industry with a job that was not solely dependent on programming –My interest in TC began while researching information about Information Technology...i found that TC offered more than just programming in order to relate to computers and technology Usability and User Centered Design (1) –The idea of looking at usability and user centered design intrigued me, and was addressed best in the TC department as opposed to the Informatics department. I also enjoyed some of the projects in TC 231

From Survey: Other Software Experience –Wordpad –Pagemaker –Wordperfect –Frontpage –Visual basic –Publisher –Paint –MS Project Illustrator GoLive Word Art Page Corel Quark Paintshop Jasc Animation Shop In addition to software used for class, members of the class have experience with

From Survey: Thoughts on Design Link to Audience/User –Emphasis on Audience (6/16) –Emphasis on User (5/16) –Uncertain (3/21) –Audience/user implied (2/16) design in TC is simple and basic [creating] something that is not only appealing to look at but also functional Specifics goals mentioned (What) –user friendly, please user, simple, basic, clear, understandable, appealing to look at, free of “static”, invisible, usable, blending of utilitarian and stylistic Specific decisions mentioned (How) –amount of visuals, which representations,

Thinking about Design In technical fields, designers achieve goals by making decisions among alternatives using the best available knowledge.

Design (continued) FieldGoalsAlternativesKnowledge Civil Engineering Stability Reliability Structures Materials Physics Best Practice Experience Industrial Engineering Efficiency Safety Different plant layouts Number of operators Which machines Operations Research Human Factors Engineering Psychology Technical Communication.. In technical fields, designers achieve goals by making decisions among alternatives using the best available knowledge.

Design in TC What types of goals do technical communicators typically strive toward? Where do technical communicators go for the type of knowledge that can inform their decisions among alternatives? What are alternatives/choices in TC? –What are alternatives/choices in PowerPoint?

Applying this to a presentation… In your team –Select one of the three audiences associated with assignment 2 (general public, CIO, colleagues) –Open the presentation “forDiscussion.ppt” available on the class website. –Prepare responses to the following discussion questions: How effective is the presentation relative to the TC goals discussed? What is an example of where a TC goal is well met. What design decisions which relate to that goal? What is an example of where a TC a goal that is not well met. What design decisions which relate to that goal?

Bottom Line Designers make decisions to achieve goals Goals of TC designers – Effective TC designs are: –Persuasive –Professional –Usable –Audience Appropriate From a design perspective, learning a new software tool includes learning about the types of decisions you can make as a designer…

Powerpoint’s Other Uses: Making Posters

Posters in PowerPoint Demo Your task –Create a new presentation, –Modify slide size to common poster size (30” x 40”) –Use drawing tools to lay out the poster structure –Using “View/zoom” to change the magnification of the poster. –Play a bit… Questions? –How to print?

Learning Software - Resources

Resources: Online Help Demo –Index –Keyword search –Answer Wizard Keys to Using Online Help –Vocabulary / functionality –Patience

Resource: Safari books online… Demo: –Bookshelf –Selecting a book –Navigating the content via table of contents Your task (in your team) –Identify one useful tidbit using the “10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Powerpoint” –Explore the available offerings –Identify one book you think may be valuable, in thinking ahead to the read of the course.

Discussing Debriefings… Goals –Feedback –Guidance for writing effective debriefings

Your Task Your task –Share your written debriefings with your teammates –Prepare ideas on the following questions that your team can contribute to the class discussion: In the executive summaries, what strategies seemed particularly effective? In the learning reflections, what strategies seemed particularly effective?

Responding to Learning Reflections Level of surprise at extent/usefulness of features European vs. American paper size standards Moving between Windows 2000 and XP Body text and normal? –See bulletin board

Wrap-UP Questions Time for Team –Before you leave, let me know of your choice (or thoughts) on organization.