MABS 202 - PowerPoint Presentations
Final Project Instructions

250 points                                                              

For strategies, ideas, and inspiration to successfully complete this project, please review the following presentations found in Jennifer's Files:

In the folder, Final Project Student Samples, you will find six final projects completed by previous students. Open Making Pizza, Raising Urban Chickens, and Security & Faciliaties each will run as a PowerPoint show. For the projects, Identity Theft, Italy, and Organic Gardening, you must Run the Slideshow from the beginning and click after each slide to advance to the next slide. In these last three, try clicking on underlined text to see what happens.

In the folder, Design Notes and Strategies, you will find the file PowerPoint Presentations - Steps to Remember developed by your instructor, Jennifer. Open this file and run the slideshow from the beginning.

Create a presentation with 8-15 slides. Your slide show can describe and/or introduce your workplace, a country or culture, your family, a community organization .....a topic or question you want to explore ... and/or a project, idea, campaign you want to promote.   The presentation can inform, inspire, motivate, persuade, educate, journal, and/or entertain.

  • Include an appropriate opening title slide and a closing/summary slide.
  • Make sure your slide show tells a story, addresses a problem or question, promotes an idea, and/or presents information in an organized and engaging way.
  • Use an appropriate theme, background style, or template.
  • Use color effectively.
  • Be sure text is formatted clearly and is easy to read.  Be brief!  Avoid leaving one word by itself on a line, especially in titles.  Include creative and engaging phrases and/or sentences with active verbs.  Use a conversation tone that is clear, simple and direct. Use parallel construction for bullets and short sentences.
  • Use large enough fonts to read (in most cases at least 24 points).
  • Include clip art and/or photos in your presentation.  Arrange so that the audience can appreciate them. For most slides leave space; avoid overcrowding.
  • Include at least two of the following: WordArt, SmartArt, Chart or Table.   
  • Include at least one of the following: Hyperlink, Custom Show, Grouped Object
  • Include slide transitions.
  • Include custom animation where appropriate throughout your presentation. 
  • Use sound, narration, and /or movie files if wanted and appropriate. This is optional and not required.       
  • Decide whether slides in your presentation will advance on the mouse click OR automatically after a set number of seconds.  If your slides will advance on the mouse click, be sure to include notes in the Notes pane of each slide describing what you will say as the presenter while showing the slide.  If your slides will advance automatically after a set number of seconds, be sure the timing allows your audience time to view and take in your slideshow. Also include any comments you would make as the presenter in the note pages.  
  • Do not create a presentation that is too similar to a project in the book or to a previous student sample or you may lose points for originality and creativity.
  • Please pick a topic suitable for mixed company at an educational institution. No "adult" themes, please. As the instructor, I reserve the right to ask you to pick another topic if I think your topic is unsuitable.
  • Apply appropriate footers and/or headers to Notes and Handouts.
  • Name your file:  Final_Project_FirstName_LastName

Remember what is essential to an effective PowerPoint presentation isa storyline with engaging verbs in short sentences or questions. Us these in your titles and subtitles.

From Week 9 on in this class, try to work every week on your final project. It takes time, creative energy, and returning to it again and again to develop the impact you want it to have.

At any point in time during the process of creating your final project, you may raise questions, concerns and problems in the Discussion topic: QUESTIONS or the Discussion Topic SHARING IDEAS - SEEKING IDEAS. Attach your rough draft final project and state your question, concern or problem clearly. Check out this Discussion topics often to see if you can be of help to others. If you want only instructor feedback then use Mail on the Course Menu.

All students will be sending a draft of their final project as an attachment in Discussion WEEK 15: DRAFT FINAL PROJECTS FOR FEEDBACK. You will then review at least two drafts created by other students and offer your feedback. Students will choose which suggestions they wish to incorporate.  When your final project is turned in during Week 17 Assignments, it will be evaluated only by the instructor.  Further instructions regarding this process are included in Weekly Tasks, Week 15.