Techno logy
Tools for Teachers

What is this?
The following materials have been developed for teachers who wish to organize and present a PowerPoint (or similar) based slide show at their school’s graduation ceremony. The end product is essentially a digital yearbook. Other software tools such as Corel Presentations, Sun StarOffice and OpenOffice Suite have very similar features to PowerPoint. All three have free use versions available. The process is workable for students departing grade 8 or grade 12. The materials provided will guide the supervising teacher(s) through the entire process from recruitment to final presentation.

This slide show package is a set of documents for download created to help a teacher(s) organize a graduation slide show using presentation software. The package includes material not showcased here.

What is this not?
This is not a tutorial for using the PowerPoint program.

Why use this package?
This guide will offer a process to inexpensively develop a fun, effective slide show that creates lasting memories for all involved. Added advantages are the ease of distribution and the ability to harness the enthusiasm of students to complete the bulk of the task.

Within this package you will find:

• Handouts to gather volunteers for committee work
• A list of required materials
• A guide for division of labour
• A checklist of events to cover through the school year
• Suggestions for format and theme
• Do’s and don’ts

Materials Required (or nearly so)

• Scanner – input standard photos into the computer
• Data projector – projecting final production
• Sound system – it can be as simple as computer speakers or a connection to the school’s PA system
• Computer (with a CD burner if distribution is desired)
• Software
• PowerPoint or alternative (OpenOffice, Corel Presentations etc.)
• Basic photo editing package such as Adobe Photo Elements, Microsoft Picture It, Corel Printhouse, Ulead PhotoImpact etc. (typically included as a software bundle with a scanner)
• Camera(s)

Suggestions

• Digital camera – greatly reduces the time to prepare images taken during the current production year. Strongly recommended.
• A spindle of blank CD’s. This allows the production to be quickly copied and distributed

Division of Labour
This model strongly encourages the use of volunteers. The supervising teacher’s primary role is to act as editor ensuring the material is correct, polished and appropriate. Initially, it may be necessary to provide some instruction in use of the technology involved. The process is amazingly easy. The following are clues to organizing your team.

Primary Tasks

• Determining a theme to guide the production
• Taking photos and selecting music
• Scanning
• Ensuring no one is missed
• Creating the finished product

The team should be large enough to cover all the major events. For example, in a small school with 40 grads, a group of 8 will be enough to cover the sporting, cultural and other events taking place. Students would work in groups of 2 to make a record of the activity. Peer coordinators may be used to provide leadership/management. Negotiate a workload and schedule with your volunteers. See the calendar for a possible timeline

Choosing a Theme
This is a memorable event in the lives of students and family members. To enhance the impact, try to package the slides and music into a theme such that it leaves a lasting impression on everyone. Working for laughter and a few tears is a worthwhile goal. Included in this document is a checklist that can act as an organizer. Here are two examples of how the presentation may be constructed.

Theme Approach 1. Include 3 or 4 pictures of each student progressing from birth to present day. The balance of the presentation will be event-based from the current school year.

Theme Approach 2. Develop the presentation around the school calendar ensuring that each student is represented. The presentation follows the school timeline. The advantage is it showcases the specific involvements.

Final Distribution
After completion of the slide show, it’s time to prepare it for distribution. Few students will have PowerPoint at home and some may not have a computer. The solution is twofold.

1. Save the presentation so it will work on any Windows based machine. All major presentation tools have a way to save as a self-running presentation. In PowerPoint the method is as follows. Choose save as; the default file type is presentation. In the drop down menu below the file name, choose PowerPoint Show. This installs a player in the file and thus allows any Windows user to view the show. You can then copy the file to a blank CD for distribution.

2. For those who want a record of the slide show in print format, the presentation can be printed in several ways. PowerPoint allows up to 6 slides for page. A handouts option includes space to write. This makes a handy autograph spot. Be warned. The slide show can easily run several hundred slides and makes for a huge printout.

Do's and Don'ts

Do:

1. Break your group of volunteers into small teams to better cover all major events throughout the year.
2. Work at the project all year long. A steady effort avoids last minute chaos.
3. IMPORTANT – If your team is scanning home photos of students request and complete them in groups. e.g. A-D, E-H etc. This ensures the photos can be requested and safely returned in manageable chunks.
4. Where possible, have a password-protected folder for all data. Access to be restricted to team members only.
5. Backup your data monthly.
6. Book your equipment early.
7. Check to ensure the finished product will function where it will be displayed.
8. Decide early on the look and theme of your presentation.
9. Ensure that photos fairly represent all the students. It can be easy to allow the more involved students to dominate the images.
10.Consider how the music will enhance the presentation. Change the music to adjust the mood and indicated a change in focus of components in the presentation.