Hi While working through the CA3 notes for the 2-day course I notice that the powerpoint slides in the series X solutions include some graphics (eg bags of money etc etc) - i'm trying to replicate these on my P.C but I haven't go clip-art. Will these sort of graphics be expected in the exam ? Also for Solution X1.2 I note that were shown via percentages - are these graphs to be calculated in Excel and then pasted into power point ? Many many thanks
It would be good if you know how to get clip art into PowerPoint slides as the facility is highly likely to be available on the computers used for the assessment. Such techniques add variety to your slides and the examiners will be assessing the degree to which your presentation will engage the audience. When submitting assignments if you don't have any basic clip art then you may want to print your slides and draw in the clip art you would ideally like to include. If you are uncomfortable using such graphics in your presentations then don't feel obliged - we don't use clip art when writing on a flipchart! However, you will need to endeavour to make your presentations engaging by some other means (e.g. varied layout, use of colour, interesting examples). In Solution X1.2 these simple graphs have indeed been produced in Excel and then copied into PowerPoint. This is an important skill to have mastered prior to the assessment.
If you are connected to the internet (which I assume you are since you are posting this) and you have Microsoft Office (which I assume you have since it is most likely what you will use in the exam) you can get clipart from Microsoft's site (e.g. http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/clipart/default.aspx). In theory, it may work for other Office Suites as well (untested). I cannot comment though on the availability of internet during the exam though, as it may be blocked to prevent cheating.
That is most interesting and helpful. Could you perhaps point us to some examples of what the examiners would probably consider to be "good" or "bad" PowerPoint slides, with respect to things like colour schemes, graphics etc? That would also be very useful!
The X-assignment solutions give examples of "good" slides (in our humble opinion!). "Bad" slides would be where the key messages are not conveyed successfully. Graphics which are ambiguous (i.e. can be misinterpreted) or colours which are unclear/distracting should be avoided. Remember: a presentation containing no graphics at all may still be a good presentation. The key test is whether or not it conveys they key messages successfully. (Retaining the audience's interest can be achieved through varied slide layout and an engaging narrative.) Don't focus first on the graphics - focus first on the key messages and how best to get them across to your audience. Graphics may help you do this.
Graphics done well really enhances a presentation's impact and effectiveness. Graphics done poorly becomes a joke - the graphics should enhance the message and not become the focus (as said by David). Be especially careful about overly complicating things, rainbow slides, or weird entrance and exit effects. Sound should only be used if you know what you are doing. Although I agree in principle, that variation is good, too much variation is evil. There should be some degree of consistency in style, i.e. same colour scheme, the same "you are here" style, and more or less the same graphics style.
I totally agree! I was thinking more about varying between lists, tables, graphs, graphics. A presentation of just bulleted lists can be somwhat dull
Flip chart Can you use a flipchart demonstration to compensate for some detail you missed when preparing the slides? Or might this be considered too 'busy'?
Using a flipchart is fine, they give you one at the venue if you're doing the face-to-face version (I doubt whether you have one at home if you're doing it online!). A flipchart adds some variation which is good, but in practice takes ages to use (you can't pre-prepare what you intend to scribble on it) so be careful...
