My final blog will cover the last topic I could come up with: Microphones. I will blatently say that if a microphone is already provided by the presentation room, it would be best to use it and precheck to make sure the sound works before the day of the presentation.
However, if you find that you will be speaking to over 40 people, and have no available microphone, I would recommend the Motorola H700 Bluetooth Headset (provided you have bluetooth capabilities on your presentation computer). According to CNET (link) this headset is so small that it "rests against the ear instead of inside it [and] you'll hardly realize you're wearing it."
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Pros:According to CNET, this device has a good boom mic and 3 buttons to simplify commands and and a solid speech quality.
Cons: According to CNET, this devices seems to only have issues with the small buttons being used by large fingers.
Let's say you're presenting this high-class presentation to impress you boss or clients. You've got a flashy and inspiring presentation ready and waiting, but you're not too impressed with the lack of High Definition capabilities of your business' meeting rooms projectors. Your next step would be to choose either your own portable projector (see the last blog) or maybe just bring them home and show them a comforting time with a flashy cool Plasma TV Screen. Something like the Samsung PN51E6500EF.
The information about this huge Plasma Screen (51") is available at the link above from PCMag.com. Will Greenwald has done a very nice review about the TV and how useful/annoying it can be.
Pros: As quoted by Will Greenwald, "The Samsung PNE6500EF series of plasma HDTVs offer a great picture, out-of-the-box 3D, and plenty of online features at a very reasonable price". There is nothing more to say better than that!
Cons: The only issue relies with how all Plasma TVs work; they all use up a lot more evergy than other LED or LCD TVs.
Alright, you've got your software. You've got your controller and any little programs needed to interact the two. Now for deciding "How am I going to show this to my audience?" There's a couple options to deciding how to show it for special sizes of audiences, but let's just look at the types.
The first type is the Projector, and you really have NO choice in which one you will be using in places where one is already installed. However, let's say you KNOW you have a big audience (about 20+ people in at least a medium sized room), and there is no readily available ways to show your presentation. This blog will cover your first real option; the Portable Projector.
Although I haven't used a portable projector before, I've used very similar models of the stationary form. So I took a quick look around and found one I could relate to, the Dell M410HD Portable Projector. The link provides enough information about it's review and that there was a comment about how the Mac wasn't really working too well with it.
Pros: The review site explained a lot of what I've been used to with a regular projector, but at this you can move this around to find the best picture for your group, and can easily project through a wide variety of connections. The best part about a protable projector would be the ability to adjust the lens to change the focus of the pictures (for potential dramatic effect, very useful for interactive, small crowds).
Cons: With the review site, it has readily explained the usual issues with the projector. The warranties are limited, the lamps burn for 3000-5000 hours on average (not much time for the avid movie-lover) but the lamps are on warranty for 90 days (incase the bulb goes before the time is due). The only regular maintenance needed is just to vacuum out the air intake cooling fans and filters.
This blog will be a mash up of tablet and/or tablet software. To be specific, let's look at the Android and PowerPoint Controller Pro. First off, using a PowerPoint on your Android (or other tablet) will require a particular App (to get it free) or just buy it outright. The first App is called CloudOn and you can get some info about what it supplies for you here.
By using CloudOn, you can easily hook up your Android to an external monitor or projector system by HDMI-mini or the like. You can find out how to make a nifty little PowerPoint work from a tablet here. Most of the Pros in this case are just linked to how you won't need to carry as much weight as a laptop and how it can connect to a wide variety of other devices, yet the Cons outweigh them with how older machines may not be compatable or how the small device may not hold as much battery power for sound and video to play for a long time (especially in video presentations). Overall, wires can be quite a mess...
"HELP! HELP! I'M BEING OPPRESSED!" - Quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
However, there's a good side to Apps that let you use a tablet (or even a cellphone) to control PowerPoints. A nice one to use would be PowerPoint Controller Pro (link). It's like a wireless pointer (without a laser) for a lot less. This App lets you use your already comfortable device to control your presentation from afar!
Pros: A simple controller that can readily be connected through WiFi, Bluetooth and/or hardwire. With some special features that let you time yourself and read the notes for each slide.
Cons: Relating back to the wireless pointers, you still can't control imbedded videos all-too-well.
When presenting to a class or an auditorium, you may want something to help you move from slide to slide from far distances. Or maybe something that can help focus attention to key words or when you explain parts of a diagram. These objects are usually called pointers. My main focus today would be one equipped with a laser.
The Logitech Wireless Presenter R400 (link) is an excellent device for this example. With the capability of moving forwards or backwards in presentations, with a nifty laser to help focus the audience. It has two additional features that lets you turn off your screen (for specific software) and start your slide show from the first slide.
Pros: With the latest of Plug & Play USB technology, this device can self-install within mere moments of the USB reciever being attached to the computer. The wireless receiver also lets you move up to 50 feet away from it!
Cons: Unfortunately, the "Begin Slide" button, only works from the beginning of the presentation, and not from the current slide. Also, without the use of the mouse, some presentations may not be able to successfully control videos that were imbedded into the presentation.
Our final look into software options for presenting would fall under one of the final categories I've decided to classify. Video presentations would be almost a complete presentation all in their own selves, unless incomplete.
Adobe Premiere Elements 11 has had some great reviews for basic video editing, and considered one of the top 10 best video editing software. According to Michael Muchmore from PCMag.com (link), the software has some video-debugging issues, along with tool access and lack of 3D support.
After taking a bit of time to play around with some simple and somewhat complex video editing tools, I would agree that it's hard to access particularily demanding tools (Ones I wanted to use in repetition to particular frames) and it began to slow down my advanced desktop (with a more than acceptable video card) and took a very long time to make sure my audio matched my video in sync.
Pros: A very simple way to cut and transition sketches to make a presentation with a very easy converter for many different formats for presentation.
Cons: It will take a very long time to make an adequate video out of bad footage, and can leave even an expert disheartened to finish a video project.
Our continuing look into presentation styles brings us to the next step,
which I like to refer to as "more impressive than Microsoft Office” and is
readily identified as a “movie-slide”. This program I refer to is called Prezi
and has been used for a variety of innovative presentations including a course
I’m currently taking called “Business Information Systems”.
Prezi (prezi.com) first starts out as a GIANT picture that you can post pictures, words,
clips and links to help guide your presentation with a “real-world feeling”
(quite similar to a roller-coaster). Not all your words, pictures, etc. will be
the same size, either. You can use the camera to “zoom” into and out of places
to help prove your point to your audience, or to get a better understanding of
what you’re trying to tell them (works best with diagrams).
I found a nice, short video (less than 2 minutes) to help show how a Prezi is created:
I don't take credit for the video, but it's very unclear who the narrator, let alone author, truly is.
The Pros for using this program is that it's a new change of pace from having to make slides of information. It helps to add a metaphor background/theme to your presentation to help entertain your audience a bit more than usual.
The Cons for using this program are steadily identified as having to pay for lots of room for many presentations (or you could make multiple accounts for free, but that gets annoying). If you really want to shine in this program, you would need to apply far more practice into this program to learn the shortcut keys to help speed up the creation time of such a detailed presentation (otherwise, the available options aren't too easy to find like the MS PowerPoint Ribbon).
Tune in next blog as we identify the next (and potentially final) stage of presentation styles involving simple computer technology.
