PowerPoint


 * Using PowerPoint to Create a Virtual Field Trip **

1. Open a new PowerPoint document.

2. Design your page layout (Choose background color/style, pattern). There are several ways to do this. Click the Office button in the top left corner, then click “New”. This will open a window where you can select from a variety of premade templates. Another way to design your slides is to click on the “Design” tab. This will open up a “Themes” menu where you can select a premade slide design. You can create your own slide design too. Start by clicking on the “Design” tab, then click on “Background Styles” and “Format Background”. Here, you can choose your own background color, use a patterned or textured fill, or use a picture as your background image.

3. Add a title slide.

4. Click “New Slide” button to add content slides. Click on the icon part of the “New Slide” button to add the default slide. Click the text part of the button to see a list of slide styles you can choose from. Repeat for each new slide you want to add to your field trip.

5. Begin adding your field trip content. You can add text, graphics, and sounds to your PowerPoint slides. You can even embed video clips!


 * a.** Adding text – If you used a template, or a premade slide, type in the default text fields. To add your own text boxes, click the “Insert” tab, then select “Text Box”, and click a location in your slide to place the text box.
 * b.** Adding pictures – Click the “Insert” tab, then click the “Picture” button. Navigate to the picture you want to insert, and click the “Insert” button.
 * c.** Adding clip art – Click the “Insert” tab, then select the “Clip Art” button. Type in a search word for the desired clip art and click “Go”. Click on the clip art picture you want to add, then close the clip art search box.
 * d.** Adding sounds – Click the “Insert” button, then click the “Sound” icon. Choose your sound from a file, from clip art, a CD, or record it directly into your PowerPoint. (Note – The actual sound file has to exist on all of the computers that will use the slide show).
 * e.** Adding video clips or movies – Click the “Insert” button, then click “Movie”. Navigate to the movie you want to insert, and click the “Open” button. A message box will appear asking if you want the movie to play automatically, or if you want to click to start it. Choose whichever option is best for your field trip.

6. Save your PowerPoint. If the PowerPoint is going to be copied and used on the local PC, save the file as a PowerPoint show. If the PowerPoint is going to be uploaded to a website, save as a webpage (remember, sound files won’t work when uploaded to the internet).

**Tips ** Ø When using PowerPoint to design a Virtual Field Trip, it is best to have the trip flow from one slide to the next. Trips that give students a lot of choices and that visit a lot of sites may not work as well using PowerPoint. Students may lose their place in the presentation easily.  Ø Make your Virtual Field Trip appealing to students by adding colorful graphics or realistic images.  Ø Be sure that the purpose of your Virtual Field Trip is to teach or supplement your course content. Just like a “real” field trip, the point is the content learning, not the trip itself.