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Since I wanted to learn PowerPoint I figured a book geared for education would
be the place to look. I am not disappointed, this is Microsoft Certified courseware
as well and a National Bestseller (for good reason) Well my raves are usually at
the end, but I just couldn't wait, it really and truly is that good.
__ You may have noticed words like, Microsoft certified,
courseware, well don't let these words fool you, there is no "Professor Speak"
or "Geek Talk" in here. It is easy to follow and includes tons of practice
exercises. I'll show you the presentation layout first, then how every project ends.
Presentation:
Every project presents a real world problem or objective then presents the complete
solution. For example, in Project 2 the exercise is to make a presentation to students
showing them how and where to get financial aid.
__ Step-by-Step, Screen-by-Screen instructions in full
color are used. I called and got permission to show you a scanned sample (of course
it isn't big enough to read, you wouldn't want to violate copyright I'm sure) but
you can see all the screen shots used. Every page doesn't look like this, that wouldn't
allow for the richness of content that this book presents, but it is still chuck
full of illustrations like this.
__ The author states that every single screen shot is
correct because it is produced only after performing a step. Seems to me every author
should do it this way. When I do a tutorial this is the technique I use. I really
don't know how someone could expect not to miss steps if they don't perform each
step before writing and adding images. That probably explains the frequent missing
steps I've found in many online tutorials. You will appreciate the thoroughness and
accuracy of this guide.
 __ At the end of most of the Step-by-Step
sequences an "other ways" box specifies the other ways to do the same task.
__ There are also marginal annotations that provide
background information about a topic, which adds depth and perspective
__ Extensive student activities are at the end of each
project. This is what really makes this resource valuable in my opinion. A topic
isn't really learned and understood until you "make it your own" by doing
it yourself. This section is so impressive I'm going to give you yet another list
of what is included at the end of every project.
- You'll find a project summary
- A listing of the tasks that were just completed and the page numbers where you
can go back.
- Apply Your Knowledge - A web page for each project with questions and reinforcement
activities. This is an exercise, which has you open and manipulate a file, which
you can get from the Internet.
- In The Lab - There are 3 in-depth assignments per project, which you'll apply
your newly gained skills to solve.
- Cases and Places - There are up to 7 unique case studies that require students
to apply their knowledge to real world situations.
Here is a list of the 6 projects included
- Using a design template and auto layout to create a presentation
- Using outline view and clip art to create a slide show
- Using embedded visuals to enhance a slide show
- Creating a presentation containing interactive OLE documents
- Creating a self running presentation using animation effects
- Using Visual Basic for applications with PowerPoint
There is also a special Web Feature so you can distribute your presentation to
a remote audience
Even the Appendixes are packed with information
- How to use PowerPoint Help system
- Publish offline Web pages to a Web server
- Resetting PowerPoint tool bars
- Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Program
And it all ends with an alphabetical Quick Reference Summary.
If you want to learn PowerPoint and become an expert user than get this book, it's
the best ever. I just wish I could find more like this one in the graphics field.
Joyce
Joyce Evans from Idea Design
Copyright 1999 Joyce
Evans, All Rights Reserved
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