Teach and Present with the iPad 2

Tired of lugging your laptop from class to class? Try teaching and presenting with your iPad 2 instead! The iPad 2 can connect to a projector through a VGA adapter, just like your laptop. You can open PowerPoint and Keynote presentations in the Keynote app for iPad. Here’s what you’ll need:

Once you’ve navigated to your presentation online (or in Keynote), click to open. If loading from the web, click again on “Open in Keynote.” Keep in mind that some formatting may be lost in translation from PowerPoint to Keynote, or from your laptop to your iPad. See this guide from Apple Support on best practices for creating a presentation on a Mac for use on an iPad. Some quick tips:

  • The simpler your presentation, the more likely it will open properly on iPad.
  • Swipe or tap iPad’s screen to switch slides.
  • Presenter notes will show up on iPad, but you must select that option from the menu at upper right.
  • Use simple fonts; unrecognizable fonts will automatically be replaced with Helvetica.
  • Resize images before inserting them in your presentation; this allows for quicker download.
  • Do not plan to transmit audio; currently projection from iPad 2 only works for video.
  • The first generation iPad does not support projection or mirroring.

You may also use iPad 2 to present media groups or slide shows in LUNA. LUNA mirrors from iPad 2 seamlessly! Contact the VRC if you’d like a demonstration.

Unfortunately, iPad is not yet fully compatible with ARTstor but you can access some ARTstor functionality on iPad with their mobile app.

PLEASE NOTE: Your iPad displays all passwords character-by-character as you enter them. Right now there is no way to change this option. Wait until you have logged in to Chalk, email, LUNA, or other websites before connecting iPad 2 to the projector.

If you have any questions about teaching with iPad 2, or if you’d like to borrow an iPad 2 and adapter to try out the possibilities, please contact the VRC.

PowerPoint 2011

Have you upgraded to PowerPoint 2011 on your Mac, or are you thinking about upgrading? Microsoft Office for Mac has released some helpful tutorials, including general PowerPoint basics and more specific guides (like how to design your presentations using themes). A very useful PowerPoint 2008 to PowerPoint 2011 map also shows new locations of commands in the 2011 version.

If you have any questions about PowerPoint or would like to request a training appointment, please contact the VRC.

Teaching with the iPad: Presentation Tomorrow!

Where: CSL — 2nd Floor Cobb — Room C 210

When: Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Time: 1:30 to 2:30

Steven Clancy, Senior Lecturer in Slavic Languages and Literatures and Academic Director of the Center for the Study of Languages, will explore how the iPad can be used in the classroom. If you teach using a laptop computer and you are interested in using an iPad instead, you are encouraged to attend.

Unable to attend? Steven Clancy’s PowerPoint is available for download: Teaching with the iPad.

Via ġeðēode.

Turn Your Mouse into a Laser Pointer

Do you use Powerpoint 2010 on a PC? If so, there’s a simple trick for turning your mouse cursor into a laser pointer. Following these instructions, from the Slide Show view you can hold down CTRL, click and hold the left mouse button, and use the pointer to illustrate your discussion. You can even change the color of the laser!

A similar function is available in Keynote for iPad (not in Keynote for Mac computers). To activate the pointer, touch and hold anywhere on your iPad screen after launching your presentation. A red and white pointer will appear and move along with your fingertips.

More information on teaching with the iPad is coming soon!

How to Bring Your Presentation to Class

As the end of the quarter approaches you will probably be presenting projects in class. Whether you’re using Powerpoint or Keynote, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

  • Load your presentation to Chalk (using the Digital Dropbox feature – click here for a PDF guide to Digital Dropbox).
  • Alternately, load your presentation to Webshare.
  • Bring a backup of your presentation on a flash drive. Flash drives are the second-best option, since not all drives are recognizable on all computers.
  • Resize images for use in Powerpoint or Keynote (to 1500 pixels on the long side). This will reduce file size and ensure your presentation loads quickly.
  • Be sure to always insert images from your computer by selecting Insert > Picture in Powerpoint. Dragging and dropping images creates links in some versions of Powerpoint (rather than actually copying the image), which is a problem if you use a different computer to present.
  • If your presentation contains video, be sure to save copies of those video files and load them to Chalk/Webshare or bring them on a flash drive. Videos display differently in different presentation tools and sometimes these slides may need to be re-inserted.

If you have any questions, please contact the VRC!

Optimal Mac Settings for Projection in CWAC

Have you had trouble getting presentations to look good in CWAC classrooms? Are images too dark, or the wrong size? The following tips will solve most projection problems and work best for MacBook Pros. Knowing how to adjust your resolution, mirroring and color profile will help you when presenting outside of CWAC, too, since every projector is a little different.

Please Note: In CWAC, we recommend turning off at least the first two rows of lights closest to the screen for maximum color accuracy and brightness.

We now have VGA and HDMI connections (with adapters for Mac!) You might consider trying HDMI for the best color and clarity.

First, select System Preferences from the Apple menu at the top left of your Finder toolbar. Then click on Displays.

When this window opens, you can check “Show displays in menu bar” if you would like a shortcut to Displays in your Finder menu. Next, adjust your ExtronScalerA (Projector) resolution. We recommend 1900 x 1080 (or as high as your monitor will allow) at 60 Hz.

Now adjust your Color LCD (Laptop) resolution to 1440 x 900.

Go back to the VGA Display window and select the Arrangement tab. Check or uncheck the box as you prefer (if you would like to project exactly what is on your laptop screen, check Mirror Displays. If you would like to show a Powerpoint presentation with presenter notes, or drag only one window to the projector screen at a time, uncheck this box).

Finally, click on the Color tab. Switch profile to sRGB IEC61966-2.1. This should correct images that are appearing dark or muddled. If sRGB IEC61966-2.1 is not showing up on your list, be sure that the box “Show profiles for this display only” is NOT checked.

For a MacBook, settings are the same as above except the Color LCD (Laptop) resolution should be set at 1280 x 800.

Click here to read more about this topic. If you have trouble setting up a different kind of laptop, or if you have any questions, please contact the VRC or AV Services.

We’ve Moved!…

…back upstairs, and down the hall! Please come visit us in Suite 257 of the Cochrane-Woods Art Center.

The beginning of fall quarter is quickly approaching. Need help using ARTstor? Finding what you need in LUNA? Creating presentations? As a reminder, VRC staff are available for individual or group training sessions. We also provide in-class image searching orientation for students in the humanities. If you are interested in scheduling a session, please contact us.

Export to PowerPoint Now Available from ARTstor

Some new features and updates were recently released from ARTstor, including an Export to Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 feature for all registered users. From the ARTstor blog:

When viewing an image group, look for the Export to PowerPoint icon in the utility bar or click Tools > Export to PowerPoint. The resulting PowerPoint file will include:

  • A title slide displaying the name of the image group
  • Individual slides for each image in the group, in the order in which they appear in the image group
  • ARTstor descriptive data for each image, appearing in the notes field of each slide
  • Embedded hyperlinks in each image that will launch the ARTstor Image Viewer when clicked in presentation mode (requires web access)

Learn more about Export to PowerPoint.

YouTube Videos in Powerpoint or Keynote

 

Here’s a quick way for PC users to add YouTube links to PowerPoint presentations:

 
Mac users have to download videos before inserting into a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. This is easier with free software like Tooble. Here’s how it works in Keynote:

  • http://www.totalapps.net/tutorials/embedding-youtube-video-in-keynote-in-3-easy-steps/