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Year 10 · ICT · Spring 2 · The systems life cycle; presentations

Practical: presentations

PracticalPresent ▶

What this lesson covers

19a Set up the presentation and the master slide

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 19: Presentations · Paper 2

19b Add and edit objects

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 19: Presentations · Paper 2

19c Transitions, animations and outputs

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 19: Presentations · Paper 2

You will learn to

  • Create a presentation from a source file, using a master slide.
  • Insert a chart and images, with alternative text and presenter notes.
  • Apply one transition consistently, and use animations sparingly.
  • Print slides, presenter notes and handouts as the task asks.

Success criteria

  • I can put the logo and slide numbers on every slide using the master slide.
  • I can add presenter notes to a slide.
  • I can print handouts with the number of slides per page the task asks for.
The syllabus points for these sections
  • Create a presentation from a text or outline source file.
  • Use the master slide for background, images, text, slide numbers, headers and footers.
  • Choose slide layouts and use placeholders.
  • Insert, delete and move slides.
  • Insert and edit text, images, charts, tables, shapes, lines, audio and video.
  • Add alternative text to images and other objects.
  • Create action buttons and hyperlinks to slides, files, email addresses and URLs.
  • Write presenter notes.
  • Apply transitions and animations consistently.
  • Hide a slide without deleting it.
  • Set up a looped presentation or a presenter-controlled presentation.
  • Print slides, presenter notes and handouts as evidence.

Key words

Say each word, then read what it means. Every one is in the glossary too.

Master slide
A template slide whose layout, styles and objects appear on every slide.
Placeholder
A box on a layout that sets where a title, text or image goes and how it looks.
Slide layout
A pattern of placeholders, such as title and content or two content.
Transition
The visual effect when one slide changes to the next.
Animation
A visual effect that makes an object on a slide appear, move or disappear.
Action button
A ready-made shape, such as a Home arrow, that runs a link or action when clicked.
Hyperlink
Text or an object that jumps to a slide, file, email address or web page when clicked.
Presenter notes
Notes for the speaker under each slide, not shown to the audience on screen.
Hidden slide
A slide kept in the file but skipped when the show runs.
Alternative text
A short description of an image or object, read aloud by screen readers.
Looped presentation
A show that advances on timings and restarts by itself after the last slide.
Presenter-controlled
A show that moves to the next slide only when the speaker clicks or presses a key.
Handout
A printout with several slides on each page for the audience.
Slide sorter
A view showing small copies of every slide, used to reorder, hide or check slides.

The explanation

Read it here, or open the study page below to go one step at a time with things to try.

19a Set up the presentation and the master slide

What the task looks like

A Paper 2 presentation task gives you a brief and source files, such as an outline in .rtf or .txt and some images.

Our example: a presentation for a Madrid sports centre, shown on a screen in the entrance hall.

Read the whole task before you start. Many marks depend on details, such as an exact font size or a slide order.

?Why?

Every instruction is a mark point. Reading first stops you setting up the master slide one way and then having to redo it.

!Watch out

Use only the text and images supplied. Extra slides, extra text or clip art you added yourself can lose marks.

Create slides from a source file

Most presentation software can open or import an outline file. Each top-level heading becomes a new slide title.

Lines indented under a heading become bullet points on that slide.

After importing, check every slide against the source file: no missing lines, no extra blank slides.

e.g.Example
Source outline (.rtf) Welcome to Centro Deportivo Retiro Open 7:00 to 23:00 every day Pool, padel, tennis and gym Our activities Padel courts: €12.00 per hour Swimming: €4.50 per session Result: slide 1 titled "Welcome to Centro Deportivo Retiro" with two bullets, slide 2 titled "Our activities" with two bullets.
!Watch out

Imported text often keeps the source font. Reset the slides to the master so they follow the master's styles.

The master slide

The master slide is a template that controls every slide. A change on the master changes all slides at once.

Put things that must appear on every slide on the master: background colour, a logo, slide numbers, headers and footers, and the text styles.

Placeholders are boxes on the master that set where the title and body text go, and how they look.

e.g.Example
Brief: "On the master slide: a pale blue background; the logo in the top right; your name, centre number and candidate number in the footer on the left; slide numbers on the right. Titles 40 point, sans-serif, centred." All of this is set once, on the master, not slide by slide.
?Why?

One master means every slide matches exactly. Placing a logo by hand on eight slides almost guarantees it moves a little on one of them.

!Watch out

The examiner checks the same item is in exactly the same place on every slide. If you put the logo on each slide by hand, any slide where it moves loses the consistency mark.

Layouts and placeholders

A slide layout is a pattern of placeholders: title only, title and content, two content, blank, and so on.

Pick the layout that matches the task. For text with an image beside it, use a two-content layout.

Type into placeholders rather than adding new text boxes. Placeholders keep the master's font, size and position.

!Watch out

Text in a text box you drew yourself does not follow the master. If the master font changes, that text stays the same and looks out of place.

Insert, delete and move slides

Insert a slide with the layout you need, in the position the task says, such as "a new slide 3".

Delete slides the task says to remove, and any blank slide left over from the import.

Move slides by dragging them in the slide sorter or thumbnail panel. Check the final order against the brief.

e.g.Example
Brief: "Move the slide titled Prices so it becomes slide 2. Delete the slide titled Old timetable." After this, check slide numbers on the master update by themselves: 1, 2, 3 …
!Watch out

Typing slide numbers by hand is wrong. They stay fixed when slides move. Insert automatic slide numbers on the master.

19b Add and edit objects

Text, images, charts and tables

Text: type exactly as given. Check spelling, capitals and punctuation against the brief.

Images: place, resize keeping the aspect ratio, and align with other objects. Do not let an image cover text.

Charts: create from the data given, with a title, axis titles or a legend as the task asks. Tables: the right number of rows and columns, with all text visible.

e.g.Example
Slide 3 brief: "Insert a bar chart of bookings per activity: Padel 42, Swimming 65, Tennis 28, Pilates 19. Title: Bookings in October." Check: chart type, every bar labelled, exact title, no default title like "Chart Title" left on.
!Watch out

A stretched or squashed image loses the mark. Drag from a corner handle, or lock the aspect ratio, when you resize.

Shapes, lines, audio and video

Shapes and lines can highlight or divide content. Draw them with the exact style the task asks, such as a 3 point line.

Audio and video are inserted from a supplied file. Set whether they play automatically or on click, as the task says.

Keep media inside the slide. A video that covers the footer hides your candidate details.

?Why?

In a looped display there is nobody to click, so media must start automatically. With a speaker, playing on click lets them choose the moment.

Alternative text

Alternative text (alt text) is a short description stored with an image, chart or other object.

Screen readers read it aloud to people who cannot see the slide. It also helps if an image fails to load.

Describe what the image shows and why it is there, in a short phrase.

e.g.Example
Image of two players on a padel court. Weak alt text: "image1.jpg" Good alt text: "Two players in a doubles padel match on a glass-walled court"
!Watch out

If the task asks for alt text, take a screenshot showing the alt text box, or the examiner cannot see it.

Action buttons and hyperlinks

A hyperlink is text or an object that jumps somewhere when clicked. An action button is a ready-made shape, such as a Home or Next arrow, with a link attached.

A link can go to another slide in the presentation, another file, an email address or a web page (URL).

Test every link in slide show view. Then take a screenshot of the link settings as evidence.

Link toExample in our presentationWhat to set
A slideHome button on every slide → slide 1Place the button on the master so it is on every slide
A file"See timetable" → timetable.pdfUse a relative path to the supplied file
An email"Contact us" → info@cdretiro.esA mailto: link with the address, and a subject line if asked
A URL"Book online" → https://www.cdretiro.es/bookThe full address including https://
!Watch out

A typing error in an email address or URL makes the link useless and loses the mark. Copy the address exactly from the brief.

Presenter notes

Presenter notes (speaker notes) are text for the speaker. They are written under each slide and the audience does not see them on the screen.

They remind the speaker what to say, so the slides can stay short.

The task may give you the notes to type, or ask you to print slides with their notes.

e.g.Example
Slide 2 shows: "Padel courts: €12.00 per hour" Notes: "Mention the 20% discount for junior members. Courts must be booked 48 hours ahead."
19c Transitions, animations and outputs

Transitions and animations, used consistently

A transition is the effect when one slide changes to the next. An animation is the effect when an object on a slide appears, moves or disappears.

Use the same transition on every slide unless the task says otherwise. Use the same animation for the same kind of object, such as all bullet points.

Choose calm effects. Many different effects distract the audience from the message.

?Why?

Consistency looks professional and keeps attention on the content. Cambridge marks consistency, not variety.

!Watch out

Using "apply to all" is the easy way to make transitions match. Afterwards check no slide kept an old, different transition.

Hidden slides

A hidden slide stays in the file but is skipped in slide show view.

This is useful for a backup slide, such as detailed prices that are shown only if someone asks.

Hiding is not deleting. If the task says hide, the slide must still be in the file and appear in the slide sorter.

!Watch out

Deleting a slide the task asked you to hide loses the mark. Show evidence with a screenshot of the slide sorter, where the hidden slide number is crossed out or greyed.

Looped or presenter-controlled

A presenter-controlled presentation moves on only when the speaker clicks or presses a key. It suits a talk to a class or a meeting.

A looped presentation runs on its own. Each slide shows for a set time, then the show starts again from the beginning. It suits a screen in a reception or a shop window.

To loop: set every slide to advance after a time, such as 8 seconds, and turn on "loop continuously until Esc" in the slide show settings.

LoopedPresenter-controlled
Who moves the slidesTimings set in the fileThe speaker, with a click or key
Typical useSports centre entrance screenManager's talk to new staff
SettingsAdvance after N seconds; loop until EscAdvance on click; no timings
MediaSet to play automaticallyCan play on click
e.g.Example
6 slides × 8 seconds = 48 seconds for one full loop.
!Watch out

Setting timings without turning on looping makes the show stop after the last slide. You need both settings for a looped display.

Print slides, notes and handouts

Slides: one slide per page, full size. Presenter notes: each slide with its notes underneath, one per page.

Handouts: several slides on one page, such as 3, 6 or 9. The 3-per-page handout has lines beside each slide for the audience to write on.

Print exactly the format asked for. Check the header or footer on the printout shows your name, centre number and candidate number.

e.g.Example
Brief: "Print a handout with 6 slides per page, in landscape, with your name in the header." Check in print preview: 6 per page, landscape, header shows name, all slides included (a hidden slide may need "print hidden slides" ticked if the task asks for it).
!Watch out

Handout and notes pages have their own header and footer settings, separate from the slides. Your name on the slide footer may not appear on a handout unless you add it there too.

Study it

Open the study page and go one step at a time.

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Check yourself

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Saved on this device.