Microsoft (MS) PowerPoint is highly-useful presentation software that is part of the MS Office suite of applications and products. It allows users to easily create visually-engaging slide presentations that are useful in academic, business, and marketing settings, to name a few. As PowerPoint has evolved, so have its functionality and capabilities. In this course, students will learn about the many functions of MS PowerPoint, from incorporating images, video, and audio into presentations as well as how to add exciting and animations to impress audiences. Students will learn about the nuances of creating dynamic slides and incorporating creativity into their presentations. The course will outline each of the elements of the MS Office PowerPoint Certification Exam and students will be given activities, projects, and other ways to practice and implement what they have learned.

Course Outline

Unit 1: Introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is presentation software that is part of the Microsoft Office suite of products. It allows users to create presentations with visual components like images, photos, and videos to add depth and excitement to presentations. Its features are easy to use and can generate presentations that come to life. Throughout the module, you will learn some of the basics about navigating the application as well as what some of the elements look like on screen. You will have many opportunities to practice throughout the course so that you are prepared for your MS Office PowerPoint Certification exam!

In this unit, students will:

• Compare and Contrast Microsoft products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) and their intended use
• Understand the primary functions of Microsoft PowerPoint
• Evaluate how Microsoft PowerPoint is used in business, careers, and for personal use
• Navigate PowerPoint
• Demonstrate how to open, save, and share a PowerPoint
• Examine the format of the Microsoft Office Specialist: Microsoft Office PowerPoint Certification

Unit 2: Modifying Slide, Handout, and Note Masters

Customization is one of the biggest advantages of using PowerPoint for your presentations. While other slide software offers templates and color themes, you're often stuck with only one or two ways of doing things. This is not the case with MS PowerPoint. You can tailor nearly every element of your slide presentation to your exact specifications. You can adjust how your slides look and where the various elements - or placeholders - are on a slide. You can set your own color palette to really make your presentation pop. You can print out handouts for your audience with different numbers of slides and even space for notes. You can also format your presenter notes exactly the way that you want them so that your presentation is flawless. Throughout the module, you will learn the various processes used to make these modifications and customizations.

In this unit, students will:

• Change the slide master theme or background
• Modify slide master content
• Create slide layouts
• Modify slide layouts
• Modify the handout master
• Modify the notes master
• Change presentation options and views
• Change slide size
• Display presentations in different views
• Set basic file properties

Unit 3: Configuring Print Settings for Presentations

Customization is the focus again as you identify the various ways to print content from your presentation. Whether you want a printed outline of notes to follow as you present or handouts for your audience, you can format everything to your exact specifications. Another feature that PowerPoint really delivers on tailoring slide shows. You can make modifications to your slide presentation before you start working on it, while you work on it, or once you are done. You can move slides around easily if you decide that another order would make for a better understanding. You can modify your notes so you are sure to hit every point on every slide. The presentation you create will be one-of-a-kind, which is exactly what you want to achieve.

In this unit, students will:

• Print all or part of a presentation
• Print notes pages
• Print handouts
• Print in color, grayscale, or black and white
• Configure and present slide shows
• Create custom slide shows
• Configure slide show options
• Rehearse slide show timing
• Set up slide show recording options
• Present slide shows by using Presenter View

Unit 4: Preparing Presentations for Collaboration

Protecting and preserving your presentation is of utmost importance. You've likely spent many hours putting together slides that are beautiful and engaging. You ordered them in a way that makes sense and that will keep your audience interested in what you are talking about. Once complete, you need to mark your presentation as final and protect it with a password. You want to make sure that unless someone has permission or a password, they cannot change your presentation. Additionally, you will want to comb through your presentation to make sure that it is free of errors and other issues. You can export presentations to various formats to share and to make sure you have access when and where you need it. Additionally, you may want to include content that you have created elsewhere in Microsoft Office. You will learn about all of these processes and more throughout the module.

In this unit, students will:

• Mark presentations as final
• Protect presentations by using passwords
• Inspect presentations for issues
• Add and manage comments
• Preserve presentation content
• Export presentation to other formats
• Manage slides
• Insert slides
• Import Word document outlines
• Insert slides from another presentation

Unit 5: Inserting Slides and Selecting Slide Layouts

The details of your presentation are what people may remember most - those little extra things you did to make your presentation stand out among others. Throughout the module, you will continue to learn about the steps you create these details. For instance, you may want to create a summary for a particular slide, or several slides, to include at the end of your presentation. You may also want to highlight slides or sections using PowerPoint's zoom feature. There will also be modifications that you make to your slides to make them easier to read, more colorful, or just more interesting for the audience to view. You will learn about modifying backgrounds and formats as well as how to hide slides and insert footers, headers, and page numbers.

In this unit, students will:

• Insert summary
• Zoom slides
• Duplicate slides
• Modify slides
• Hide and unhide slides
• Modify individual slide backgrounds
• Insert slide headers, footers, and page number

Unit 6: Ordering and Grouping Slides

The organization of your presentation is essential as you're working on it and especially when you are going to present. The last thing you want is to have your presentation slides be out of order or not formatted the way you need them. When you are presenting, you need to be able to focus on what you need to say and the message you are delivering to your audience. Throughout this module, you will discover ways of organizing slides and slide content exactly the way you want for your presentation to shine!

In this unit, students will:

• Create sections
• Modify slide order
• Rename sections
• Insert and format text, shapes, and format images
• Format text
• Apply formatting and styles to text
• Format text in multiple columns
• Create bulleted and numbered
• Insert links
• Insert hyperlinks
• Insert section zoom links and slide zoom links

Unit 7: Inserting and Formatting Images

Your presentation will take a lot of time to create and perfect. You want to create something engaging that your audience will respond to. One of the best ways to do that is through the use of visuals like photos, images, charts, tables, and other graphical elements that enhance the information you are presenting. The way you use visual elements throughout your presentation can greatly affect how your audience responds. For instance, having slides that contain mostly text can be taxing on your audience who may feel they have to read everything to understand it. It can also get boring. On the other hand, having beautiful photos to show what you're talking about will give them something nice to look at while you present. According to a study by Georgia State University, the average person only remembers about a fifth of what they hear. The study indicates that visual aids can improve learning retention by 400%! In other words, if you want to create a lasting impression for your audience, use exciting visuals.

In this unit, students will:

• Resize and crop images
• Apply built-in styles and effects to images
• Insert screenshots and screen clippings
• Insert and format graphic elements
• Insert and change shapes
• Draw by using digital ink
• Add text to shapes and text boxes
• Resize shapes and text boxes

Unit 8: Formatting Shapes and Text Boxes

Even if you have yet to create your own full PowerPoint presentation, you know enough to know that the way that text and other objects are organized on a slide matters a great deal. You may be presenting to a large or small group. Some people may be able to see everything clearly and others may have an obstructed view. Consider the amount of information you put on a slide and how that can affect an audience. Picture a slide with a number of boxes of small text, maybe a picture or a chart - do you think that a crowded slide with too much information or information people can't clearly see would be helpful to your presentation? Probably not. Throughout this module, you will learn about organizing and formatting texts and shapes on a slide so that they are organized and can be presented well to an audience of any size.

In this unit, students will:

• Apply built-in styles to shapes and text boxes
• Add alt text to graphic elements for accessibility
• Order and group objects on slides
• Order shapes, images, and text boxes
• Align shapes, images, and text boxes
• Group shapes and images

Unit 9: Tables, Charts, SmartArt, 3D Models, and Media Part I

This is the first of two modules focusing on important elements of your presentation - namely, tables, charts, SmartArt, 3D models, and media. Each of these components has the capacity to strengthen the content of your presentation by organizing information in a concise way. You will learn the differences among these presentation parts and how to use them most effectively. Just as you would with images and other graphical elements, you want to utilize tables, charts, SmartArt, 3D models, and media that are relevant to what you are presenting and that support and add quality. In other words, using any of these tools without purpose doesn't make your presentation better. In fact, it may take away from the overall message you're delivering. So, you will learn how to implement these components as well as the best times to do so.

In this unit, students will:

• Create and insert tables
• Insert and delete table rows and columns
• Apply built-in table styles
• Create, insert, and modify charts
• Insert and format SmartArt graphics
• Add and modify Smart Art graphic content
• Convert lists to Smart Art graphics
• Insert and modify 3D models
• Insert and manage media
• Create and insert screen recordings

Unit 10: Tables, Charts, SmartArt, 3D Models, and Media Part II

This module is a continuation of what you have already learned about tables, charts, SmartArt, 3D models, and media. The emphasis in these lessons will be on configuring and formatting what you have inserted and created on your slides. You will identify ways to change the playback options of audio and video content. Additionally, you will learn how to apply animations and transitions to your slides. Remember, the key to a successful presentation is to engage your audience and provide them with something interesting to experience. The way that you choose to elevate your content to incorporate some of these elements is what will create uniqueness and excitement for your presentation.

In this unit, students will:

• Configure media playback options
• Apply transitions and animations
• Apply and configure slide transitions
• Apply basic and 3D slide transitions
• Configure transition effects
• Animate slide content
• Animate text and graphic elements
• Animate 3D models

Unit 11: Animations and Transitions

In this module, you'll dive deeper into the details of animations and transitions. You know the basics of how they work, but now you'll learn more about configuring them to exactly what you want. You will discover ways to carve out animation paths and reorder your animations on a slide so that they correspond precisely with what you're saying. You will identify ways to set the duration of transitions as well as how to implement start and finish options. After this module, your presentation will sparkle with dynamic elements timed perfectly with your presentation's main messages.

In this unit, students will:

• Configure animation effects
• Configure animation paths
• Reorder animations on a slide
• Set timing for transitions
• Set transition effect duration
• Configure transition start and finish options