Using PowerPoint for Course Notes

Candace Warner

Some faculty choose to share their PowerPoint lecture notes with students, especially those of us who teach an Internet or Hybrid course. As you begin the semester, here are some things to keep in mind when providing your PowerPoint lecture outlines for students. 

 Tips for Printing PowerPoint Lecture Outlines/Handouts 

To make PowerPoint printing more economical and enviro-friendly, try to use a light background for your PowerPoint slides with fewer graphics. Darker background colors cause more ink to be used. Some of the areas where students print off course materials (library, computer labs) report higher uses of ink and waste of paper because of the layout of PowerPoint slides.

Also, remind your students to NOT print off each slide on a page, but to use the Handouts (see below) or the Outline option when printing PowerPoint slides.   

 Here are some instructions you can pass along to your students for printing PowerPoint slides: 

 For the students:

  • Open the PowerPoint presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Go under File, then Print Preview
  • Print Preview will show you different options for printing
  • Under "Print What" choose handouts (my favorite is the Handouts (3 slides per page) because then students can take notes on the lines)
  • Choose one of the Handout formats or the Outline version under Print What...this will allow you to choose whatever option is best for you in viewing the slides
  • Also, under Options, choose "Scale to Fit Paper" so that the words are easier to read and come out more neatly  

 Converting PowerPoint Slides/Handouts to Adobe 

 Want to ensure that students always print out a particular handout format....say the Handouts (3 slides per page)? This is what I have started doing....

*Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Professional 6.0 installed on your computer in order to convert your documents. 

 For the instructor:

  • Open up the PP Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint  
  •  Under Print What, choose Handouts--3 slides per page ...or whatever format you would like for students to see your PowerPoint in  
  •  Go ahead and choose Print  
  •  After the Print window opens, instead of choosing a Printer, scroll down the options for where you would like to print and choose Adobe PDF  
  •  This will automatically convert your handouts into Adobe PDF  
  •  After the file is converted, you can either choose to print the handout or you can save it as a PDF file--you can pass this file along to your students INSTEAD of the entire PowerPoint (which would have to be opened in Microsoft PowerPoint)  
 

Advantages of converting to Adobe:

  • Even students who do not have the capability to view the PowerPoint (e.g. through Microsoft PowerPoint) can still view the notes as long as they have Adobe Acrobat Reader downloaded on their computer and Internet access  
  • By converting the document, you can ensure that the students are using less paper and are using the Handouts version of your PowerPoint (which is better for them, the ink supply on campus, and the trees). In addition, this ensures that students do not save your PowerPoint and use it as their own...your work is "captured" just as you want it in Adobe Acrobat and students can print off or view on-screen the PowerPoint as you created it.

 

If anyone has any further questions about how to do this, please let me know and I can walk you through these steps in person if it's something you would like to try! 

 Have a great semester, 

 Candace 
 Sociology Lead Faculty
Columbia State Community College
Phone: 931.540.2775
Email: warner@columbiastate.edu
Faculty Website: http://cwarner2.columbiastate.edu 
Dept. Website: http://www.columbiastate.edu/sociology