Each column is written independently by a staff member and reflects the views of that individual. Comments about a particular column should be addressed to its author.
To oversimplify things a bit, one of the main goals of education is to convey information to others. Doing this involves meeting a variety of conditions. These include: 1) presenting the information in an organized manner (so the students will be able to follow what is going on), 2) presenting the information in a clear manner (so the students will be able to understand what is going on), and 3) presenting the information in an interesting manner (so they will care about what is going on). Naturally, there are many other conditions that must be met and challenges they must be overcome for learning to take place, but this article will focus on these three.
One tool that is taken to quite an aid in handling information and presenting it in an interesting manner is the personal computer. In this article, I will discuss how one can make use of a computer to meet the three conditions mentioned above. Naturally, I will be focusing on Macintosh computers (for that is what I know), but many of the principles can be applied to other types of computers.
The article itself will break into the following main points. First, there will be a brief discussion of three general principles regarding computers and education. Second, I will discuss how computers can be used to make presentations more organized, clearer, and more interesting, with special emphasis on some specific types of hardware and software that are useful in making presentations. In this article, presentations include standard lectures as well as more formal presentations.
Before getting into the main discussion, a few general points will be made. First, before planning to incorporate a computer into your teaching, be sure that you know enough about computers to select and use the desired hardware and software. Without such knowledge, you will find it difficult to select the right hardware and use it effectively. If you do not know enough, either find someone who does or take the time to learn. Taking this extra effort will save time, money, and effort in the long run. Second, always seek the most economical method of teaching that is still effective enough for your purposes. If you plan to present only plain text in a "sideshow " format, you do not need a computer linked to a giant TV screen. All you need is an overhead projector and some transparencies. If you just plan on showing slides, it would be wasteful to scan them and then present them with a computer. Just put on a conventional sideshow. Third, a computer is just a tool. Just as a word processing program will not enable one to write like Plato and a graphics program won't make you paint like Van Gogh, presentation software and hardware will not make you into a great teacher. However, they can make your job easier and your teaching more effective.
If you do know enough about computers to make intelligent choices and use them properly, then the next step will be determining the ways in which you can use one to improve your presentations. Through proper planning and use, it is possible to make your presentations more organized, clearer, and more interesting by using a computer. The discussion of how to do this will begin with a look at some relevant pieces of computer hardware.
The first, and most essential, piece of hardware is the computer. In order to know which computer to buy, you must first determine what role it is intended to play in the presentation. In general, computers have two main roles in such presentations. First, the computer can be used to prepare the materials for the presentation. Second, the computer can be used to present the presentation.
In terms of preparation, there are two main possibilities. The first is that the computer is used to prepare materials that will not be presented by means of a computer. One of the cheapest and easiest ways to use a computer in this manner is to prepare overheads with text or graphics. Creating black and white text and graphics can be done with a Mac Plus and an inkjet printer (such as an Apple StyleWriter or a Hewlett Packard DeskWriter. Simply create the graphics or text on the computer and print them onto an overhead transparency with the printer. Most inkjet printers can print on plastic overheads quite nicely. With most inks, the text or graphics can later be wiped off with a damp cloth. These overheads are much neater than hand written text or hand drawn graphics (unless you have spectacular hand writing and artistic ability). Further, since they are created on a computer, they can easily be altered or updated and reprinted. In many cases it is often easier to create decent graphics (such as flow charts) using a computer. With a color computer and a color inkjet printer, it is possible to create full color text and graphics. With a good printer, high quality color graphics (such as scanned photos) can easily be printed onto a transparency. Some laser printers can print on transparencies. However, there is the potential for jamming problems when using many laser printers in that manner. Photocopiers can also be used to produce transparencies, but they are somewhat prone to jamming (and in some cases, transparencies have been known to become permanently stuck). Most inkjet printers do not suffer from the sort of jamming, because of the nature of their print mechanisms. Computers can also be used to produce a variety of visual aids, such as graphics, banner sized displays, and conventional slides. The main advantage of using computers to produce such aids is that computer created files are easy to modify and duplicate. For example, a complex chart created for one semester could easily be altered on a computer, whereas a hand drawn version would be more difficult to modify. Material created on a computer also has a security advantage. After all, computer files can easily be backed up.
The second possibility is that the computer is used to prepare materials that will be presented by means of a computer. In this case, the computer used to create the presentation material must have the capability to produce the required material. For example, if the presentation is to include color graphics, QuickTime movies, and digitized speech, then the computer preparing these resources must have color capability, the Apple QuickTime extensions, and sound capability (and an external or internal microphone). However, the computer used to create presentations need not itself be equipped to make such presentations. For example, a presentation designed to be presented on a television via a computer could be prepared on a computer that is not equipped for such presentations. Naturally, it is a good idea to carefully prepare material in advance to avoid any unpleasant surprises when the time comes to make the presentation.
If you decide to use a computer when making a presentation, you will face several choices. The first is whether to make use of a desktop computer or a notebook computers. Desktop computers often tend to be more powerful (faster, more RAM, more expansion potential, more hard drive space, etc.) than notebooks, although this is changing (some notebooks are very powerful). They are also often significantly cheaper than notebooks. On the minus side, they are not designed for portability (especially models that have external monitors), which can make using them in the classroom somewhat difficult. Notebook computers tend to be fairly expensive and somewhat less powerful than desktop models. However, their main virtue is that they designed for portability (compact size and battery power). Because of this portability, they can be ideal for classroom presentations (especially for educators who have to travel from classroom to classroom). Whatever type of computer you chose, you should invest in an effective security system (such as the Kensington Microsaver for PowerBooks) to keep others from “borrowing” your computer.
Once you decide whether you need a desktop or a notebook, you will have to decide which particular computer to buy. Naturally, you will need a computer that is capable of meeting your needs. For example, if you need to make color presentations, then you will need a color capable computer. If you plan to use your computer to actually make presentations, then you will want to be sure that the computer can support the hardware and software you plan to use.
In order to decide what sort of computer you need, you must decide what sort of hardware you will use to make the presentation. There are several ways to make computer based presentations, some of which are relatively easy and inexpensive.
One way to enhance a presentation is to use a computer to produce sounds. All Macintosh computers are capable of sound output and some of them support stereo sound output. Equipped with a $20 pair of speakers (available at your local music store-get the type that can plug into a "WalkMan"), a Mac can produce decent sounds. Equipped with more expensive speakers ($35-$200) a Mac can sometimes rival a stereo. The main advantage to using a computer as a sound device is that a computer can provide fine control over sounds. With a front application (one designed to play sounds) it is possible to have a great deal of control over the sound. This level of control far exceeds conventional tapeplayers. It is also possible to use a computer to control a CD-ROM drive, which can play standard CDs as well as CD-ROMS. With a little effort, a computer and a pair of speakers can be of great use in situations in which sounds are needed. On the minus side, sounds take up a great deal of space on a computer hard drive and getting the sounds you need on disk can sometimes be a challenge. Finally, the use of sound should be appropriate to the presentation. For example, a computer could properly used to simulate a wide range of (often expensive) instruments in a music or music history class, but just throwing in sounds to a philosophy lecture just for the sake of attempting to justify the computer purchase would be improper.
There are several applications that are useful in manipulating and recording sound. Sound Edit 16 ($279) is a powerful sound utility, but is fairly expensive. Sample Editor is a powerful and very useful shareware sound utility.
Another way to employ a computer is to use it to present slide show style presentations. These slide shows can range from very conventional slideshows to fairly elaborate multi-media style slideshows. Doing these presentations will require appropriate software and hardware. Simple slideshows can be handled by many graphics programs, such as Canvas. There are also a variety of freeware and shareware products that can handle simple picture style slideshows. There are also several applications that are specifically designed for computer based presentations. Examples of this type of software include Aldus Persuasion ($325), Astound ($199), and PowerPoint($295). These applications can be used to create presentations that include animation, video, sound, Quicktime Movies, charts and graphs. Some of these applications can also be used to create slides, overheads, speaker’s notes, and presentations that can be distributed with standalone players. On the plus side, such software is optimized for creating high quality presentations. On the minus side, the software is fairly expensive and can take some time to master.
There are also applications that are designed to produce fairly complex Quicktime movies that can be presented in class. Examples of this type of software include VideoFusion ($449), QuickFLIX ($99), and Avid VideoShop ($259.95). On the plus side, this software can be used to create high quality Quicktime movies that can add a great deal of impact to presentations. On the minus side, such software can be expensive,and tends to be difficult to learn and use properly. Further, presenting movies typically requires a relatively powerful computer.
A final type of software is authoring software. This type of software is designed to create standalone applications that incorporate multimedia features. Examples of this type of application include Director ($799), HyperCard ($99.95), and SuperCard ($299). Director is extremely powerful, but is quite expensive and has a steep learning curve. HyperCard is relatively easy to use, but is not as powerful as its competitors. SuperCard is quite powerful and is reasonably easy to learn and use. This type of software is best for people who need to create their own custom presentation software and have the skill to use it properly. Using such software does require a significant investment in time and this should be taken into account.
One final topic to be considered is that of presentation hardware. This is the hardware that permits a computer to display the presentation material to the audience. This material can be presented via a computer monitor. Since a computer has to have a monitor to be used effectively, this method has the advantage of not adding to the cost of the system. On the minus side, the typical computer monitor is rather limited as a presentation device. Unless the class in question is very small or it is possible to have the students view it in small groups, an alternative means of presentation will be required.
Perhaps the cheapest and most effective means of presentation is to connect a computer to a television monitor. Television sets are relatively inexpensive and most schools already own them. The basic means of connecting a computer to a TV is with a “converter”. These devices plug into the video out ports of computers and connect to television sets. Some of these models, such as the TelevEyes/Pro ($629.95), Presenter Plus Mac/PC, and TV Scan($399) will work with most Macs and PowerBooks. There are also versions, such as the TV Encoder ($159) that work only with Mac IIs with NuBus display cards or Quadras. There are also LCD presentation devices which work in conjunction with overhead projectors. These devices permit high quality, full color displays. On the minus side, these presentation devices cost around $2,000. For that amount of money, it would be possible to buy a computer, color monitor, TV set, and a TV connector. Thus, most schools will find the TV links much more cost effective.
 
Blood Money
Fred Showker
Those of you who know me, or have read the pages 60-Second Windows columns for the past five years, will know that I stick up for the little guy. You also probably know that one of my greatest pet peeves is the software industry's portentous way of simply doing as they please -- sometimes at the expense of their loyal subscribers.
I read with great interest Matt Neuburg's "Out of Control?" article (TidBITS #245) because I am about to install Attain Software's InControl. (My continuing quest for the "ideal" scheduling/reminder software.) Matt opened the article with:
"Journalism Rule #1 is not to write a story about how you didn't get the story. Yet here's a review about how I couldn't write the review. Of course I'll tell you my opinion (don't I always?); I think InControl 2.0, which I raved about thirteen months ago in TidBITS-191, is better than the new version 3.0." (Direct quote.)
How could I resist a review that begins like that. You should download TidBITS #245 and read the article -- not because it's about InControl, but because it's about an attitude, and an ever-growing trend in software publishing.
After reading the article I had an interesting exchange of email with Matt about some people's idea of an "upgrade," and the blood-money-lust of many software companies. His review addressed observations and conclusions about upgrades that introduce "new" features which make an already good product something less. This struck a real chord with my pet peeve. We agreed: they only do it for the money.
Now, you noticed I referred to buying software as a subscription. Did you ever notice how you can't just buy a program? Those upgrade notices come like clockwork, compelling you to stay in the game by sending in their upgrade money; sometimes without noticing the relative value you get for your money. FrameMaker's greatest marketing victory was the Quark XPress 3.2 upgrade.
Now think for a moment and add up how much you've spent on upgrades. Now, use the famous accontant's rule-of-thumb and see if you've cleared 2.9 times the cost of the purchase in net profit that you would not have otherwise gained. You say "sure, Fred, that's easy!" Is it really?
Did anyone out there upgrade to XPress 3.3? Did you have smooth going? Or, did you find all sorts of problems? I don't think I've spoken to anyone who didn't have problems. Did you seamlessly upgrade through 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.3 and now 3.3.1? Is this absurd or what? Does it work yet? I've got nearly 3,000 complaint messages with problems caused by XPress. Would the world have ended had you stayed at 3.1? (Although not without problems, I think 3.1 is probably the last version of XPress that actually works.) I for one am not going to pay any more subscription (read that "blood money") fees to Quark. Even if I have to sacrifice wiz-bang "features" ...even if I have to buy FrameMaker. Did you hear that Quark? No more money. It's over.
Now, kind readers, ask yourself: what would happen if NO ONE bought upgrades? If the marketplace simply refused to pay for upgrades, what would happen? Would we see free upgrades? I think not, but I guarantee we'd see very inexpensive upgrades. All those $150 ad $199 upgrades would suddenly become $25 or $30. They'd still be getting rich... and the users would be a little more happy.
Next time you get an upgrade notice toss it in the trash. And if you do send in your money, squeeze some blood onto the check. If it's blood money that want... it's blood money they should get!
Fred
Before you install Acrobat
Public Service Announcement
Fred Showker
Read this before you install the Acrobat Reader 2.0, or Acrobat from the Adobe Illustrator 5.5 Upgrade.
I recently installed the new Illustrator, along with Adobe Acrobat 2.0. (The reader is freely distributable now, you know.) What happened next was not a simple upgrade. What happened next was, in my opinion, simply not acceptable. I guess I should have suspected something when it installed a separate system folder on another partition.
The installer, in its infinite wisdom, reinstalled code over top of my existing ATM 3.6 which worked perfectly.
The installer didn't ask permission, and it didn't look to discover that it really wasn't necessary to install ATM 3.6 software again. What it did do is render ATM useless. After installation, launching the program produced a dialog informing me that ATM needs initializing, and requires the serial number. Hmmmmm. Well that seemed easy enough. Right? Not.
Did you ever try to find your serial number for ATM? I mean, how many upgrades and copies of ATM have floated through this system? Where is it? After an hour or so of digging through disks, boxes and books I discovered that I did not have a serial number. So, I reinstall my old ATM (from a backup) -- so there.
No such luck... same dialog. I launch Illustrator to discover that all my fonts now look like jagged, scaled bitmapped fonts. Now I'm getting heated up. So I call Adobe Support. 45 minutes of interactive elevator music in their phone system brings me to a recorded message with a monotone voice that confirms I've discovered a known problem with the upgrade process and a new ATM Serial Number will be required. (The problem being serious enough to merit the creation of its own recording!)
Okay. We're rolling now. I greedily keyed in the number given to be by the listless voice: "AEW100R3500000100393" - making sure to mind all the instructions, ignoring dashes, etc. So now, I can pick up where I started nearly two hours earlier. Time to rack up some billable time before lunch. Right? Not.
"Sorry, improper serial number." is the reply I get. What's going on! I re-key the serial number and try again. Same story. Now I'm really getting steamed. Hit redial.
This time, inside Adobe's electronic message system, I can move along a little faster... I know the routine. So, I arrive at my final destination and listen to the recording again. Yup... I did all that, so I hit the "Wait and talk to a human" button to wait. And wait. Nice elevator music. Finally nearly 20 minutes later I get a personable young lady who reconfirms my problem and offers a new serial number:
"AEW100R3500000-100-393"... same number? She cooly adds to be sure and keep the dashes. I count to ten. I try it as we speak, and yes, ATM finally accepts the number. Ah. Back to work.
Now, upon restarting I notice the ATM icon is Xed out, inactive. What gives? I open ATM to see if it's turned on and get a dialog that says "No fonts will be scaled or substituted. Remove previous versions of ATM" Brutal. Now I travel to the system folder in search of previous versions. None to be found. I remove the ATM file from the system folder and reboot. There's the ATM extension icon, and once again it's Xed out. (I'm feeling a faint ache in my chest.) Upon relaunching, I get the original dialog to "Initialize ATM by entering the serial number." Now I'm standing up. I go in and rip the system folder apart and find "ATM LE" -- a "light" version of ATM secretly installed by the Adobe Acrobat Reader installer! So, I drag this one out, and the other 3.6 version back in -- and restart.
Unbelievable but true... this time the dialog that says "No fonts will be scaled or substituted. Remove previous versions of ATM" I hit enter and a second dialog box appears saying "This software requires version 3.6 of Adobe ATM." The enter key then produces the first dialog box. It becomes a loop until I hit "Cancel." I can't take it any longer, shut the system down, and go for coffee. It's almost lunch time.
I return, reboot the machine, and shocking but true, everything works like a charm. No dialogs... no problems... smoothed type.
Now, can someone please tell me what happened here? I spent nearly four hours in a situation which should never happen, and there's probably some programmer somewhere laughing his head off. What does that tell you about the rate of return for upgrades. Here's nearly $400 of billable time washed down the drain. Add that to the $112 upgrade ticket.
I rest my case.
If you find yourself about to install Adobe Acrobat from the Illustrator 5.5 package, or the new reader you've downloaded, beware. I'll save you the misery of what I went through, as well as ten bucks of calls to the Adobe mall-music system. If it asks for the registration number, key in: AEW100R3500000-100-393. Observe the dashes, no other spaces. This, I understand from Adobe Tech is the number which will work. If it does not work -- you're on your own!
Fred Showker,
Editor & Publisher
DT&G The Electronic Journal of Design, Type & Graphics
"Out of Control?" by Matt Neuburg was published in Adam Engst's wonderful ePublication TidBITS #245 (09/26/94)
Fred Showker, nationally recognized designer author and speaker, is a twentytwo-year veteran of the graphics industry, with his own firm Showker Graphic Arts & Design. He’s an associate editor for the Mug News Service (MNS) as well as Home & School Mac. You can see Fred in action at any of his Design & Graphics workshops around the country sponsored by Dynamic Graphics Educational Foundation, InHouse Graphics, PrintFest and others. You can chat with him directly on America OnLine, where he is “AFA Shwkr”, a forum assistant in the User Group Forum (UGF), or in eWorld as co-host of the WORKING SOLO forum.
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Mak’•in•tosh
By Jim Hines
World Class Support (is hard to find) . . .
Much like Dante’s great journey through hell, recently I had an experience that made me question my faith in the Macintosh, its software and the companies that publish said software.
But, unlike Dante’s encounter with a leopard, a lion and a she-wolf, I’ve had run-ins with a phone dweeb, a rude supervisor and the “automated” phone assistance center that I’m sure Satan himself created as a warning to mankind.
Let me explain. Please.
Like many of you, occasionally I have the need to contact a software publisher’s technical support line for the answer to a question that I’m either too lazy to look up or the publisher just didn’t feel like putting in the manuals.
Now I don’t like manuals but when I’m stumped, I’ll consult them. Such was the case a few weeks ago when a problem arose with Adobe’s image editing software, Photoshop.
I was happy, my SCSI Voodoo dolls have been working for months (I know because I’ve not had many problems) and all was well, until my scanner went south and started reporting that Photoshop was quitting because of a Type 28 error.
Now, I’ve memorized most of Apple’s cryptic codes, so I knew instantly that a Type 28 meant bad news. Photoshop was encroaching on the System heap’s precious memory allocation.
Now, this was not supposed to happen. Oh, sure I was still using Photoshop 2.5.1 (Photoshop 3.0 was sitting in the box) and I hadn’t run Norton’s in about a zillion years, but I like to live dangerously.
After running Disk Doctor, which gave my drives a clean bill of health, I decided to install Photoshop 3.0 and run the patcher to take care of the nasty little time bomb Adobe gave us.
Still didn’t help. Photoshop just refused to scan an image into my Quadra 800. So, like any normal human would do, I faxed a message to someone at Microtek (my scanner vendor) who answered that the fault lie with Adobe.
Simple, I thought. I’ll call Adobe and see what’s shaking. Now, I knew about Adobe’s whacked-out scheme of Technical Support “credits,” but I knew I had a zillion of them because I’ve never called Adobe and I’ve registered about a hundred programs.
And this is where my descent into Technical Support Hell began.
I called Adobe the first time on a Monday morning, around 11 a.m. Eastern Time. After wandering through Adobe’s version of automation, I finally reached a voice-message announcing that I would need to establish an account. So I did. By the way, expect to spend about 11 minutes wandering Adobe’s Automated System before speaking with a live person — I did.
And from there, it all went down hill.
According to numerous customer service reps and a supervisor or two, Adobe is shifting its technical support operations from California to (where else) Seattle. The move is part of Adobe’s acquisition of Aldus, Inc. and the move must not be popular with tech support staffers. I understand that many of them have decided to leave the company, which is leaving the phone support lines short-staffed. Couple this with the time-bomb and BINGO! Welcome to Tech Support Hell.
Anyway, so here I am armed with a customer ID number and a special phone number to get “express” technical support about Photoshop. Yeah, right. And I’ve got a PowerPC 604 coming in the mail too.
After going though an eternity of automated phone systems, I was told the wait was more than 30 minutes and was promptly disconnected. WHAT?
Oh, I was hot. I called and spoke with a supervisor who assured me that a case would be opened for me and all would be fine. Days later, I find out that was just to get rid of me.
I’ve been waiting a really long time now. How long? Weeks. After one impassioned phone call, I was told Adobe was not going to call back anyone where a supervisor opened a case. Why? They’re too beleaguered with phone calls to call anyone back. So here I am, weeks later with the same dilemma. A dead scanner that acts like a software fault is causing it; Adobe reps telling me to “just keep trying, and have patience;” and end users screaming about the lack of proper equipment.
Adobe is really pushing its 900 operation right now, “virtually assuring” a direct connection. Fat lot of good this does me, as my company blocks “900” calls, so that option is dead. Hell, Adobe won’ even answer its e-mail on AOL anymore. This is serious.
OK, I’ve ragged on Adobe long enough, but now for the real issue involved. The lack of support big software companies offer for the folks who shell out hundreds of dollars for software that may or may not work as promised.
See, I come from the idea that if you buy something, it should work as advertised. Plain and simple. And if it doesn’t, something needs to be done to correct the problem and the product perform as advertised.
A few years ago I was using one of the major disk repair/diagnosing packages and encountered some really strange happenings. A few phone calls to the publisher later, the folks admitted I had found a bug. A few weeks later, a fresh set of disks arrived announcing that this had been corrected and all should be OK.
That, I though, was pretty good. Now, obviously I have no way of knowing if 10,000 other users complained, but this was off a phone call to an 800 number and I actually got to speak with an engineer right away. Imagine that.
A lot of major software publishers are changing their policies and charging you by the minute or buy the occurrence. In theory, this is good. It keeps the number of calls reasonable and may block the questions from folks who are stuck on a basic issue and won’t look it up in the manual.
But, what happens if something basic isn’t covered in the manual? Should the end-user be billed for this type call.
Absolutely not. It’s the publishers responsibility to provide clear, well-written documentation for its products. Now, the rest of the computer press says this is a gray area, but to me it’s crystal clear.
On the other end of the technical support tightrope are the great folks at Brøderbünd software. I recently purchased a second-hand copy of Myst and had a few questions. They politely and skillfully answered my questions, changed the registered owner to myself and sent me some product literature all in a five minute phone call. Simply outstanding. Hey, they even gave me the correct answer that solved my problem installing the game. First try.
Lastly, as this rambling epic comes to a close, I have this to say. Technical support is a right —provided you legally purchase the software. Don’t stand for inadequate support for the programs you spent good money for. Demand to speak with a supervisor or product manager if you feel cheated on the technical support end. Threaten to tell everyone how awful the support for product X is.
And if that doesn’t work, consider trying an alternate product. I promise there’s one out there.
Mak’•In•Tosh is the sole creation of Jim Hines, of Louisville, KY.
All copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
