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Microsoft PowerPoint Essentials

Join The Great Courses and the Microsoft Office experts at ITProTV to learn how to navigate and utilize the many tools and techniques PowerPoint has to offer.

877
 
 
Rated 1 out of 5 by from Terrible presentation and a waste of time I agree with the 9 people who gave this course 1 or 2 stars. It is awful. I give history courses that use PowerPoint and I had hoped to learn some useful tips and ideas. But I really didn't. I would bet the presenter, Vonne Smith, would have been fine if she had not had to engage with the useless host. She seemed to know her stuff. I had forgotten until I read one of the negative reviews that the presentation was given on a Mac. For crying out loud! Can't the Teaching Company afford a Windows box? I have a whole lot of Teaching Company courses and they all range from very good to great. This is the first course I have seen that is an embarrassment. I was thinking of trying one of the othr office MS Office product courses like Excel, but now I'm not going to risk the money.
Date published: 2023-04-01
Rated 1 out of 5 by from Disappointed 75% girly chit chat and giggling 25% usable content. This is not up to the GC quality I've become accustomed to.
Date published: 2022-10-10
Rated 5 out of 5 by from An easy to understand course! The presenter did a fine job. I started using some of the tips right away, even though I've been doing PowerPoints for years.
Date published: 2022-03-07
Rated 1 out of 5 by from Not helpful at all. I have purchased many Great Courses and this is the first one that I am disappointed in. The banter between the instructors is unhelpful. Graphics would have been helpful in the transcript.
Date published: 2022-03-05
Rated 1 out of 5 by from PowerPoint Essentials I have purchased over 20 courses from The Great Courses. This course is, by far, the most unprofessional presentation I have ever experienced. I am shocked that TGC would sell such a product.
Date published: 2021-07-29
Rated 2 out of 5 by from Disappointed The information being presented is fine, but the presenter and host do not add anything to the course. I've watched Great Courses many courses, and the lecturers are not only presenting material they have mastered, their presentation style is polished and professional. The presenter in this series does not impress me in any way. Her demeanor is not what I've come to expect from the Great Courses. I'll grit my teeth and try to get the course, but it will be painful.
Date published: 2021-03-05
Rated 4 out of 5 by from Getting fun with PowerPoint A good basic course on PowerPoint. I found useful the lectures on transitions, animations, printing and presentation. I did not like the presence of the “Host” (besides the instructor) who did not add any value to the teaching and only distracted.
Date published: 2021-01-04
Rated 4 out of 5 by from A basic course, as advertized I have found this course to be useful. It is basic, as it is supposed to be and geared to someone who just figured out what the PPT icon looked like. The subject matter is deadly dull unless somehow the instructor shows some life, and I think she does just fine. I have used PowerPoint for at least 20 years, and know just enough to really mess up slides. So I bungle through and manage. I learned 7 things in the first three lectures (so basic I was convinced I wouldn't need to listen at all) and then decided to pay attention and learn at least three new things each lecture. So far, so good. If you want to learn where features are and how they are supposed to work, get the course. Open up a PP file and practice things as you go along.
Date published: 2020-12-26
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Microsoft PowerPoint Essentials

Trailer

Overview

01: Overview

PowerPoint 2016 is the popular application within the Office suite to create on-screen presentations. This series starts at the very beginning by exploring the PowerPoint environment, how to add slides to a presentation, insert text and images into slides, and create tables and charts. The series continues by enhancing a presentation with design themes, animation, and transitions, then concludes with preparing and delivering a robust presentation. This series is specifically for the Windows operating system with PowerPoint 2016 locally installed.

9 min
Introduction to PowerPoint

02: Introduction to PowerPoint

Vonne and Aubri introduce PowerPoint 2016 Essentials for the Windows operating system series. In this episode, they define PowerPoint, discuss the Office 365 suite and subscription plans, and review the course setup.

20 min
PowerPoint Basics

03: PowerPoint Basics

Vonne and Aubri introduce basic concepts in PowerPoint such as launching the application, opening and closing files, and differentiating between save and save as. They also discuss basic window manipulation such as minimize, maximize, restore down, dock multiple windows, and title bar shortcuts.

24 min
PowerPoint Interface

04: PowerPoint Interface

In this episode, Aubri and Vonne explore the PowerPoint interface. They explain the functionality and location of the ribbon, quick access toolbar, the backstage view, and the status bar.

25 min
Navigate a Presentation and Views

05: Navigate a Presentation and Views

Aubri and Vonne demonstrate how to navigate a presentation in PowerPoint. They explore the nuances of the slide pane, the navigation pane, and the speaker notes. They also cover how to switch to and exit different views such as normal, outline, slide sorter, and master slides as well as presentation mode.

32 min
Create a Presentation

06: Create a Presentation

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri demonstrate how to create a new presentation and work with slides. They cover the following topics: slide layouts, modify layouts and placeholders, reset slides, add slides, add and modify sections, reorder slides, and delete slides and sections.

29 min
Add Text

07: Add Text

Aubri and Vonne add text to slides. They show different ways to select text and add text to both content placeholders and text boxes. They also review many of the different Autofit and AutoCorrect options as well as copy and paste options.

33 min
Slides from Outline and Reuse Slides

08: Slides from Outline and Reuse Slides

Vonne and Aubri demonstrate different ways to add slides and content into a presentation by using the Slides from Outline and Reuse Slides commands.

24 min
Format Text: Basics

09: Format Text: Basics

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri format text in slides. They cover character level formatting such as font, size, color, and character spacing. They also review some basic paragraph alignment, the format painter, and vertical alignment of a text frame.

35 min
Format Text: Bullets and Spacing

10: Format Text: Bullets and Spacing

Vonne and Aubri concentrate on paragraph level formatting. They explore how to format and customize bullets as well as control line and paragraph spacing. They also review indents, tabs, hyphenation, and columns.

30 min
Images: Basics

11: Images: Basics

Vonne and Aubri discuss the basic concepts of images, covering file types, resolution, image size, and alternate text. They also demonstrate how to size images using Paint.

29 min
Images: Insert

12: Images: Insert

Aubri and Vonne show how to insert images into a presentation in PowerPoint. They cover insert from file, online, and screenshot as well as how to use the Snipping Tool.

27 min
Images: Format, Part 1

13: Images: Format, Part 1

In this episode, Vonne and Wes show how to format images - specifically covering how to move, resize, rotate, crop, position, and reset images.

31 min
Images: Format, Part 2

14: Images: Format, Part 2

Vonne and Wes continue to format images in this second part of the episode. They cover picture styles, color and other corrections, and artistic effects. They also cover how to remove background, change picture, save as picture, and the all important compress picture command.

29 min
Shapes: Add and Format

15: Shapes: Add and Format

Wes and Vonne discuss adding and formatting shapes to a PowerPoint presentation. They show how to resize and rotate shapes, format gradient fills, format outlines, and add text to shapes. They also demonstrate how to edit shapes by the yellow dot in certain shapes and the edit points command.

30 min
Shapes: Multiple Shapes

16: Shapes: Multiple Shapes

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri show how to duplicate, select, order, align, group, and merge multiple shapes. They also talk about ruler guides and how to turn on and off automatic alignment (smart guides).

26 min
Icons and 3D Models

17: Icons and 3D Models

Vonne and Aubri demonstrate how to insert and format icons and 3D model in a slide. These two features are available to Office 365 subscribers only.

22 min
Tables: Introduction

18: Tables: Introduction

Aubri and Vonne introduce tables in PowerPoint. They review basic terminology and show examples of different options for formatting tables. They also demonstrate all the different mouse cursors and how to select parts of a table.

21 min
Tables: Create and Format

19: Tables: Create and Format

In this episode, Aubri and Vonne insert and format tables. They cover how to change row height and column width, align text in cells, merge and split cells, and modify cell margins. They also demonstrate how to format cell fills and borders individually and overall with table styles and style options.

34 min
Charts: Introduction

20: Charts: Introduction

Vonne and Aubri introduce and review the anatomy of charts. They identify parts of a chart such as data series, category axis, legends, data labels, and data tables. They also show examples of how to format charts with styles as well as formatting individual elements. Finally, they demonstrate how to select chart items.

24 min
Charts: Create

21: Charts: Create

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri insert charts into a presentation. They show how to enter data into a datasheet, edit chart data, add chart elements individually or choose from a quick layout, and change chart types.

29 min
Charts: Format

22: Charts: Format

Aubri and Vonne format chart elements in PowerPoint. They use chart styles as well as formatting individual elements with fills and outlines. Vonne gives some tips and tricks to formatting specific chart elements.

28 min
Charts: Pie Charts

23: Charts: Pie Charts

Vonne and Aubri take a deeper dive into pie charts. They demonstrate options specifically for pie charts including formatting data labels, exploding pie pieces, and creating pie of pie type charts.

26 min
SmartArt

24: SmartArt

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri create SmartArt. They explore different layouts, how to add and modify information in the SmartArt graphic, change layouts, apply styles, and reset graphics to default formatting. They also show how to convert an existing list to a SmartArt graphic.

26 min
SmartArt: Organization Chart

25: SmartArt: Organization Chart

Vonne and Aubri take a closer look into the organization chart SmartArt layout. They demonstrate how to add shapes, promote and demote, and format with styles.

23 min
Design Themes

26: Design Themes

In this episode, Aubri and Vonne discuss design themes, variants of themes, templates, and slide size.

30 min
Designer

27: Designer

Aubri and Vonne explore the cool options available with PowerPoint Designer for Office 365 subscribers.

13 min
Transitions

28: Transitions

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri demonstrate how to enhance a presentation with slide transitions. They cover transition options, automatically advance slides, and the Morph transition.

29 min
Animations

29: Animations

Vonne and Aubri enhance a presentation with animations. They discuss the different types of animations, animation options, the animation pane, triggers, reordering animation, and motion paths.

36 min
Photo Album

30: Photo Album

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri show how to create a stylish photo album. They demonstrate how to edit an album and review all the different options available for formatting to create the final slide show.

25 min
Proof

31: Proof

Always proof your work! In this episode, Vonne and Aubri demonstrate how to check spelling and grammar as well as how to use the thesaurus, Smart Lookup, translate, and find and replace.

27 min
Prepare and Print

32: Prepare and Print

Vonne and Aubri discuss how to be fully prepared for presenting a presentation, including being prepared for all the things that could go wrong. They show the various options for printing slides and handouts as well as exporting to different file types for distribution.

27 min
Present a Slide Show

33: Present a Slide Show

In this episode, Vonne and Aubri demonstrate how to present a slide show. They cover how to use the Presenter View, annotate slides during a presentation, switch pointer options, and lots of shortcuts for controlling slide presentations.

32 min

Overview Course No. 40060

Flexible, easy to use—even fun—Microsoft PowerPoint® is a dynamic and practical application that can help you improve your presentations by enhancing them with visual components, so your audience better understands and engages with the information you are providing. With simple and sophisticated templates and tools, you can easily create images, animations, charts, maps, graphs, and more without needing expensive design programs or graphics tools.

The Great Courses has partnered with ITProTV to bring you 33 lessons that will introduce you to both the fundamentals and the little-known tricks to making phenomenal presentations using PowerPoint. In addition to being introduced to the PowerPoint environment, you'll learn tips to add slides to a presentation, insert text and images into slides, and create tables and charts. From there, you'll learn how to enhance a presentation with design themes, animation, and transitions. And, you'll get valuable tips for preparing and delivering a robust presentation. While this series uses the Windows operating system with PowerPoint 2016 locally installed, you'll find the interface and tools within many versions of PowerPoint remain the same or similar enough that you can easily navigate different applications.

University of Florida faculty member Vonne Smith started her teaching career with a global IT training company, teaching Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite applications more than 15 years ago. She knows PowerPoint inside and out, including the elements that most commonly frustrate users. She will take you through adding text and tables, inserting images and icons—even creating or adding 3-D models.

If you're new to PowerPoint, by going through this course step by step, you'll gain everything you need from the foundations to the finishing flourishes. If you're experienced with PowerPoint, this course offers valuable techniques and uncovers tools that are often overlooked, and which can improve your work and make it much easier to do.

Rounding out the insights provided about using PowerPoint itself, Vonne concludes with an overview on how to present your slideshow. So, when you do your presentation, you can feel confident about the technicalities of your delivery.

PowerPoint's easy-to-use interface combined with sophisticated templates allow you to create visually stunning, engaging, and impactful presentations. Once you've uncovered all the tips and tricks to making phenomenal presentations, you'll wonder how you managed without it all this time.

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