PowerPoint Curriculum
Over 35 million Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are made every day by an estimated 500 million users worldwide. The software was developed at a Silicon Valley startup in the mid-1980s and released for the Macintosh computer in 1987. Microsoft bought it for $14M three months after its initial launch as their first significant acquisition. PowerPoint became a component of the Office suite in 1989 for Macintosh and in 1990 for Windows.
My Software Tutor offers a three-level suite of Zoom-based, live instructor courses for PowerPoint scheduled on various days and times. A single level is typically completed within the same week. If you’re not sure which course to take, check out our handy “Which PowerPoint Course Should I Take?” resource
PowerPoint Fundamentals
Course length: One x :90 session
PowerPoint Fundamentals for Newbies presumes no prior experience with the software. We introduce core functionality and build confidence so learners establish a solid foundation for future courses.
- Why we use PowerPoint
- Tour of the interface – slides, ribbon, status bar/view area
- Start a new presentation
- Insert new slides
- Delete slides
- Slide formats
- Re-order slides
- Bold, italics, underline, font color & fill.
- Introduction to themes & styles
PowerPoint Basics
Course length: Two x 2:00 sessions (separated by one or more days usually within the same week).
PowerPoint Basics provides learners with a practical, functional understanding of the PowerPoint software. We begin by learning about effective storytelling structure and work towards understanding the core tools that support presentation creation.
- Apply a theme – the impact on color palette, fonts & slide layout
- Add style to text boxes
- Create sections
- Insert pictures
- Styles, adjustments, borders, effects, crop, transparency, compression
- Overlay images
- Work with shapes
- Format, re-size, rotate, color, gradient
- Arrange and re-order multiple shapes
- Align text boxes, pictures, and shapes
- Configure PPT
- Edit the slide master
- Add headers & footers including date, time, etc.
- Incorporate SmartArt graphics
- Create tables
- Design, layout, modify, import from Excel
- Visually represent using charts
- Design, modify, data source, embed an Excel file
- Using transitions between slides
- Design tips & tricks
PowerPoint Intermediate
Course length: Two x 2:00 sessions (separated by one or more days usually within the same week).
PowerPoint Intermediate provides a more robust understanding of the software. The course delves more deeply into the parameters of storytelling construction. A spotlight is also pointed at how to develop more confidence around your presentation skills. Students will leave this course having gained practical, effective functionality for everyday use.
- Develop an effective narrative
- Create a framework
- Story structure
- Dynamic creative process
- The hero message
- Your role as a presenter
- Import from Word, PDF & PPT
- Convert text to shapes
- Insert a video
- Use a summary zoom slide
- Illustrate with 3D models
- Incorporate animations
- Entrance, emphasis, and exit effects
- Slide notes
- Why a presentation in person is different from via Zoom
- PPT Cameo
- Prepare to present
- Rehearsal
- Custom slide shows
- Recording a slide show
- Export PPT
- Share the file
- Compressing images for file size
- Make your presentation
- Annotations
- Presenter view
- Presentation tips & tricks
- Keys to success
“All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.“
— Martin H. Fischer