Well, this has certainly been a learning experience.
When I first read the details of the assignment, I panicked. I had used PowerPoint on several occasions but only to the degree that Professor Austin described: putting together a simple bulleted list of ideas that I would speak to or simply send with a picture or two. I had seen other presentations that used different media and in my work at the library I am often tasked with sitting behind a computer and watch training presentations. But I had never thought about trying to anything more advanced than that.
At first I was thinking of just using PowerPoint again for this assignment. I was familiar with it and thought most people would be. But since the point of this assignment was to break out of your comfort zone and try something different, I decided against it. Instead, I would try out Keynote. I had never touched it or seen it before, but since I use mostly Mac products, I thought it might be good to become aware of a different presentation tool.
Of course, I needed to teach myself how to use it first. I went on Lynda.com and watched a few tutorials. When I had a pretty good grasp on it, I turned to my instructional plan. I had originally thought of doing an exploration of a genealogy website but as I began storyboarding, it just didn't make sense. Instead, I turned to a subject I enjoy (local history) and instead mapped out my slides to cover a sampling of the local historical and artistic attractions around Sarasota.
Keeping in mind the theory of 7 that Professor Austin mentioned, I tried to pull away from using too much text. Instead, i challenged myself by playing with images and animation, installing links, and creating a self-paced exploration. It was a challenge but I was pretty pleased with the results. I was able to apply the instruction that I had seen in my Lynda.com tutorials and actually enjoyed seeing the results.
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