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Adventures In Technology

New PowerPoint Tools

6/9/2021

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The new tools PowerPoint tools are cool!  

In templates, you can find Quick Start.  This will automatically generate a PowerPoint will be filled out.
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Here is a (silent) video showing the process.
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Use Camtasia Quizzes to Redirect Students

6/1/2021

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​How do I have students review a section of a video based on missed quiz questions?

Today we had a mystery in our lab.  How to redirect students if they missed a quiz based on a video?  Camtasia is the answer, because:
1. The video stops to ask a question
2. Students aren't allowed to move forward without answering, and
3. you can have the video move back to rewatch it.

The key is to use Camtasia feedback.

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When you are setting up your Camtasia quiz, be sure to include Display Feedback.  If incorrect, leave students a message (such as, "rewatch and try again") and have the action Jump to Time, then find the time in the video.

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Search Captions in Stream

5/25/2021

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Stream is Office 365 Video Tool and it is MAGICAL!

If you attended my OCO presentation on Stream, you know I love it.  You can also SEARCH TRANSCRIPTS and clicking on the word brings you to the place in the video.

SEARCH STREAM TRANSCRIPTS 
You can search stream transcripts for specific words, and clicking on the word moves you to the exact point in the video. 
 
At the bottom of the embedded Stream video, click on the paper icon with the magnifying glass. 




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Automatic Subtitles and Captions in PowerPoint

9/17/2020

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Accessibility in PowerPoint

I love subtitles.  I use Close Captioning all the time even though I can hear the video.

I have been using automatic subtitles in PowerPoint.  I have to speak more intentionally and I practice first. 

For my recordings, I turn on PowerPoint and record with Zoom.  It is important to allow Zoom to record the computer sounds if there is sound in the ppt though.

These instructions are adapted from Microsoft Support for PowerPoint .  They have such awesome resources (until they move them and I can't find them, which is why I am copying them).

Go to the Slide Show ribbon tab
Select Subtitle Settings. 

Go to Subtitle Settings.   I like to put the subtitles below the bottom of the slide.  That way they don't block the side.

Change color, size, background, transparency, and font style of the subtitles in Subtitle Settings > More Settings.  Remember, this isn't the Sistine Chapel.  You are designing for function, not flash.  Make it easy to read.

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Connect Google Calendar to Outlook Calendar

9/9/2020

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Have your Google Calendar show up in Microsoft Outlook Calendar

I needed my Google Calendar to show up in my Outlook, so I connected them.  It is super easy.
1. Go to Outlook Calendar
2. Click on Add Calendar
3. Add personal calendar
4. Connect to your gmail.

It takes a few minutes, and then refresh your computer.  Put a checkbox next to the calendars you want to appear.  It is lovely when computers do what we want!
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Add Zoom to Outlook Calendar

9/8/2020

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Let's Just Admit Everyone Uses Zoom

I am too polite to (repeatedly) tell people who send me Zoom notices that it is actually easier for everyone to send it as a calendar invite, so here is how to add Zoom to your calendar. 


This is from the Zoom Site BTW.

You can install the Zoom for Outlook add-in for your own use if installing add-ins is permitted by your Office 365 admin.
  1. Go to Zoom for Outlook in the Microsoft App Store.
  2. Click Get It Now.
  3. Follow the Microsoft App Store prompts, to complete the installation. 
Here are the main instructions:
Zoom for Outlook 

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Saving a Style Set in Word

2/22/2018

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Learn how to save a style that can work between documents.

I have been working on a series of documents that require special formatting for our university.  Sometimes I work on a Mac and sometimes I work on a PC, and it frustrates me to open up the documents and not have the styles I created available.

Create a style in Word

If you don't know how to create a style, you are a step behind these instructions.  You need to at least format some text and save it as a style.  This is on the home tab, Styles.

Save Style as a Set

My problem is that I was only using styles from the HOME tab.  I needed to go to the design tab and choose "Save as New Style Set".  This prompted the template window. Now there is a file that can be shared between computers and opened to apply to other documents.
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Checking for Accessibility in Documents

2/15/2018

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Microsoft Word has an easy tool available for you.

As I am working with documents (and working with professors who are working with documents), it is clear that there needs to be an easy tool to make sure our handouts and writing will adapt to screen readers and people who are using alternative fonts for reading needs.
  • The basics of Accessible design include:
  • Use the Style Pane to create navigation tools with the Headers, Lists, and Normal Text.
  • Make sure that the colors used have a strong contrast ratio.
  • Use a color checker to see how different color-blindness will be affected by your color  choices.  I take a screen shot of the text and upload it.
  • Use Alt-Text for tables and images.
Microsoft Word has an accessibility tool that you can add to your toolbar.  To do this,
  1. Go to the File>Options (PC) or Word>Preferences (Mac) and look for tools that are not in the toolbar.
  2. Find the Accessibility Checker and add it in.
When you are working on your document, periodically run the accessibility checker. If you have not yet developed a sense of accessibility, use this tool frequently.  It isn't like pell-check, do NOT wait until the end.  If you are creating something incorrectly, it is much easier to stop and learn before you get to the end and realize that you need to add alt-text for every table.

The National Center on Disability and Access to Education has a great collection of cheatsheets on creating accessible content.   I recommend and use these frequently!


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Do not record narration in PowerPoint in Mac and expect to make it a video.

2/1/2018

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​PowerPoint Product Team [MSFT] (Admin, Office.com) responded  ·  Jan 24, 2018 Thanks for your feedback! The PowerPoint for Mac team is reviewing your suggestion to include audio narrations when exporting to video and will consider it in future planning rounds."

Much to my frustration, I discovered that if you record narration on PowerPoint on a Mac, the audio is stripped when it is converted to a video.  

When I was trying to troubleshoot, I found an (unhelpful) comment on powerpoint.uservoice.com saying it will be considered for future uses. 

Since I have Camtasia, the solution was just to record the screen with Camtasia and use a PC in the future ... but oh, how frustrating!

So you can make a video in PPT but it doesn't record the narration.

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Joining Two Columns in an Access Table

1/24/2018

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I have two tables in Access that I want to join together to help sort information for Quarterly Reports.  One way is to run a query, but another way is to use the calculated data type in the table.  

Since I don't want to have to run an append query multiple times a day, I decided to use the calculation feature.   I may regret having done this instead of a query, but for anyone else who wants to combine two columns in the same table:

In Design View:

Name the Field 
Choose Calculated
In Expression [Name of Column1]  &  [Name of Column 2].  Obviously if you have a space, add in &" " after the first [Name of Column].

It works, but it was so simple that I am suspicious.  Access is never simple for me.  I am using Access 2016, btw.
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