Essential Skills: Crossplatform issues for Blackboard and Powerpoint - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Essential Skills: Crossplatform issues for Blackboard and Powerpoint

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PowerPoint tips for cross-platform compatibility ... PowerPoint normally stores video assets in separate files, with pointers in the .PPT ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Essential Skills: Crossplatform issues for Blackboard and Powerpoint


1
Essential Skills Cross-platform issues for
Blackboard and Powerpoint
  • JQ Johnson
  • 16 June 2005

2
Session outline
  • General cross-platform issues
  • File formats for blackboard attachments
  • Cross-platform PowerPoint
  • Blackboard gotchas

3
The UO environment
  • Large numbers of PCs and Macs (10-30?)
  • Very few other desktop systems (Linux, etc.)
  • Macs particularly popular with faculty, and in
    some departments (Education, AAA, etc.)
  • Both Macs and PCs widely available in computer
    labs and computer-equipped classrooms
  • Age of hardware/software also significant

4
General cross-platform issues
  • Different applications
  • Example MS Works PC-only, Appleworks Mac-only
  • Even browsers differ MSIE and Firefox on PC,
    Safari and Firefox on Mac
  • Sharing files File naming and formatting
  • Mac users always include a windows-style
    extension!
  • Dont assume case-insensitivity
  • Avoid special characters (alphanumeric, _, -
    are ok)
  • Problems moving files between computers
  • Differences in easily viewable media formats

5
Web Browser issues
  • Well-supported browser versions
  • Windows MSIE 6, Firefox 1.04
  • MacOS X Safari, Firefox 1.04
  • Avoid AOL, Netscape 4.x, Netscape 6.x, older
    versions of MSIE
  • Beware software is often tested only on MSIE
    6/PC
  • (and there are often specific glitches with
    others , e.g. Bb gradebook last fall didnt
    display in Firefox or Safari)
  • Different users have different plugins cf
    http//libweb.uoregon.edu/cet/blackboard/plugin/
  • Security (e.g. popup blockers)

6
Formats for text (e.g. posted to Blackboard)
  • HTML, PDF, MS Office document formats generally
    readable on both Mac and PC
  • Most students have access to Office
  • Free MS Office viewers available for PC
    onlyhttp//office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/
    HA010449811033.aspx
  • Font issues different fonts on Mac and PC
    Microsoft fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, etc.)
    are de facto standard

7
Cross platform PowerPoint
  • Many powerpoint versions
  • Slightly different features
  • Example compressing images using format
    picture (XP, 2003 only)
  • Example Compatibility Report (2004 only)
  • Miscellaneous incompatibilities

8
PowerPoint tips for cross-platform compatibility
  • Create a folder to hold .ppt and all supporting
    files, and move the whole folder when you switch
    computers or publish
  • Use file extensions
  • Use common fonts Arial, Times New Roman, Courier
    New, Symbol (and maybe Comic Sans, Georgia,
    Tahoma, Verdana) allow extra space for font
    rendering differences
  • Use common graphics formats PNG, JPEG, or GIF.
  • Avoid embedded objects (if necessary, convert to
    an image and insert that)
  • Avoid Word/Excel tables and Excel graphs (use PPT
    native tables and graphs instead)
  • Avoid ActiveX (including Flash)

9
Audio and Video in your PowerPoint
  • PowerPoint normally stores video assets in
    separate files, with pointers in the .PPT
  • Supported video formats differ by platform (see
    http//www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/ppvide
    o.html and http//www.macworld.com/2005/04/secrets
    /junemac911/index.php )
  • Best advice for audio embed mp3 files
  • Best advice for video link to 2 movies, one AVI
    and one MOV

10
Blackboard-specific cross-platform issues
  • Most reliable current MacOS version is Panther,
    10.3.9
  • File extensions needed for all attachments and
    uploaded files
  • Respondus is PC-only
  • Java version issues (especially Virtual
    Classroom, WebEQ, some course cartridges)
  • Downloading gradebooks on Mac
  • may display in window (workaround hold down CTRL
    key while clicking Download)
  • may download to a file that doesnt automatically
    open in excel (workaround open from within
    excel)
  • Non-roman characters (both input and output)
  • Blackboard Quicktime movies dont play on Tiger
    (possible fix delete Library/Internet Plug-Ins
    /Quicktime Plugin.webplugin)
  • Quiz timers dont work reliably on Macintosh

11
Reference some common file extensions
  • Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF)
    .pdf
  • Adobe Scalable Vector Graphics file (SVG) .svg
  • Apple QuickTime movie .mov
  • Graphics Interchange Format file (.gif graphic)
    .gif
  • Joint Photographic Expert Group file (.jpg
    graphic) .jpg
  • Macromedia Flash movie .swf
  • Macromedia Shockwave Audio file .swa
  • Microsoft Excel comma-separated variables file
    .csv
  • Microsoft Excel workbook .xls
  • Microsoft PowerPoint presentation .ppt
  • Microsoft Word document .doc
  • Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) movie .mpg
  • Moving Pictures Expert Group 3 (MP3) file .mp3
  • Plain text document .txt
  • PostScript file .ps
  • Real Audio media file .ram
  • Rich Text Format (RTF) document .rtf
  • Tagged Image File Format file (TIFF graphic)
    .tif
  • Wave sound file .wav
  • Web page (HTML) .htm or .html
  • Windows Media file .wma
  • Zip-compressed archive .zip
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