Stone Design Forums

As a professor, I use a lot of visuals for teaching. I use Create to make the slideshow, export each page as a JPG, import to iPhoto and make a new album, sync that album to (in iTunes) to my iPod (5G).

When traveling to another city, or even across town, it is so much easier to just slip my iPod in my shirt pocket (and not carry my my MacBook). I connect the iPod to the video projector, and I'm ready to teach.

Slideshow tips for Create:

1. I use a Landscape 8.5 x 11 as my Page Size. It's just slightly smaller than 800 x 600 points, and allows me to easily use a letter-size print out if I need to. It also sizes very nicely to my iPod screen and every video projector I have used.

2. I like to use one slide to pose a question, and in the next slide, have the answer appear next to the question. Or have each slide add a line to a list. This requires precise alignment of text areas from slide to slide.

a. When adding lines to a list, make the previous lines grey, or use a dimmer color, to highlight the line you are talking about.

b. For each sequence, I make my final slide first, with all the text I need. Then I duplicate the page several times, and delete the text sequentially back up to the first slide. That keeps the alignment perfect.

c. I use LARGE text, between 48 and 96 points, for clear visible slides. That keeps everyone happy. (How many times have you had to endure a PowerPoint presentation with really tiny text?) And the text is large enough on the iPod screen so I can review my presentation, or even share it with others right from the iPod. Everything is clear without having to connect the iPod to a larger screen.

Slideshow tips for the iPod:

1. Set the Time per Slide to Manual. This prevents the pause button and the battery level from showing up every time you advance to the next slide. It also prevents the slide from advancing if you forget to hit Pause.

2. For teaching, I only use two transitions: Off or Dissolve.

a. "Off" makes the transition immediate, which is good for quickly flipping through a list, or for a "surprise" effect.

b. "Dissolve" is a neat way to simulate movement. You can have text (or any other element) "fade" in or out. This is especially effective when you want to fade text from one color to another, from normal to bold, etc.

c. Although the other transitions on the iPod are nice for a photo slideshow, they tend to be detrimental a lecture-style presentation.

I have travelled all over the southeast US, Mexico, and central-south Chile, and have not run across anyone else using an iPod this way. All the other presenters are amazed that I don't have to lug my computer around, and jealous when I pack all my presentation technology into my shirt pocket.

For any other teachers and presenters using Create, I hope this makes your life a little bit easier!

Thank you for sharing that, what a great way of doing things. Could you explain which cables you need to connect to the projector. Looking at the specifications for the iPodTouch Mail now displays pdf, Word and Excel. There look to be many possibilities for the future. CreatePresenter for the iPhone?

I have a 5G iPod. The video cable plugs into the headphone jack (but with a triple connector instead of the stereo connector). The iPod uses a proprietary arrangement, so can use the same cables that are used for a video camera, but your have to rearrange the RCA end. (The video feed - yellow - connector has sound, and one of the audio cables has the video feed. Apple rearranged the tip-ring-sleeve order from the standard video connection.) I got my cables from Griffin because they are extra long, 12 feet or so, so I have more flexibility placing the video projector.

The newer iPods, I understand, only have video out through the dock connector, so the cables are different, But I understand you can get S-video from that arrangement.

i have ipod 30g. it's a present from my husband. thanks for your tips. very useful to me.

iPhone 3G, 30 pin to RCA/Component options are available ($50 from Apple), they do work.... I'd like to take the same sequence type of work and with a little css n JavaScript replace flash animations on the web... Amy thoughts?

I have not delved into css or java, but I do use my iPhone for "PowerPoint" presentations. I export the slides from Create to iPhoto and sync with the iPhone. I also put together presentations with iMovie or Videator and export to iTunes and sync with iPhone.

IMPORTANT: I export the movie one size larger than the iPhone preset, I thinks it's Apple TV. The higher resolution Is much more pleasing when playing from the iPhone to a TV or video projector.

thanks for that.... resolution is key!