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Here we go–onto the best reports ever...

When your teacher assigns a report that you have to give in front of your class, if you're like lots of other middle school kids, you probably say to yourself, "Oh no, not again. I'm not any good at this stuff. I never know what to say, and I hate to stand up in front of everyone and give a report."

Lots of kids feel this way, even the kids you think love to give reports. But if you put your computer to work to help you, presenting your report can actually be fun. –And your class and teacher will think your report is really interesting.

Let's consider what some kids do, besides moan, when their teacher assigns a report. Okay, after the moan, they probably think to themselves that the report's not due for two weeks so they don't have to worry about it. Then, exactly 13 days later, when the teacher reminds the class that reports are due the next day, they decide they'd better get started. They go home and complain that it isn't fair that they have so much to do, and they don't have time to do a good job. Does it sound familiar?

Here are some rules for helping you avoid the "Night Before Disaster" and instead create a really dynamic report.

1. If your teacher doesn't mention that you can do a computer presentation with your report, ask about it. Most of the time teachers will like this idea, for after all, they can get pretty bored with same old reports, too. But you've got to check because you don't want to bring in a computer presentation if your teacher expects you to use note cards.
2. Start right away to think about the topic for the report. In other words, don't spend all your time thinking about what your report will be about. PICK A TOPIC AND GET GOING!
3. Create a file folder on the desktop of your computer where you can save all the information you find.
4. Put your notes into the computer, and remember to write down where you got the information. Citing your sources is important. Save pictures, too, and graphs and whatever you need in the file on your computer. When you're doing a presentation, you don't want to just have words in it. It will be so much more interesting with pictures, drawings, charts and things like that.
5. After you've gotten lots of information on your topic, read it over and think about how you can put it into a computer presentation. You'll probably use a program such as PowerPoint, Hyperstudio or AppleWorks, and you probably know how to use one of these programs. If you don't, you can go to one of the sites listed at the end of this article to learn more about them. Some of will lead you step-by-step through making a presentation.
6. Next, you'll need to arrange the information in the order you want for your presentation. Decide what comes first, what comes second, and so on. Put something really interesting in the beginning to catch everyone's attention. For example, if you are doing a report on a hero of the American Revolution, you might start with something like this: "Cornwallis, American Hero" and a drawing of the British general. This should raise some eyebrows because your audience will wonder how in the world Cornwallis could be a hero of the Revolution.* Of course, you won't tell them right away. They'll have to wait to find out as you present the rest of the report. You'll want to arrange your presentation so that each page leads you through your report. Every time you change a page, you'll tell more of your report. You might want to use a graphic organizer such as Inspiration or Kidspiration to arrange the facts in their report. These two programs will also help you make outlines, and that's really handy if your teacher wants an outline to go with your report)
7. WARNING! Never, ever put your entire report in your computer presentation. Most of the "words" for your report should be in your head, not on a screen. The pages of your presentation should contain titles, short phrases or sentences in large, but not giant type, and images (pictures, graphs, etc.). Some pages may just have a photo and several words on them. Don't think you have to fill up the screens. Check to see if the program you are using has templates or pages that are already designed for you to use. Try one of these and experiment with it for your report. These can be a big help sometimes when you are looking for a great design.
8. Think about the narration you'll use to go with each page in your presentation. It's through this narration that most of your report will be given to your class. (We'll be talking more about how to do the narration in Part II.)
9. You'll want to make your pages so people can read the print and see the pictures. Don't use any tiny photos or drawings, and your text should usually be from 20-24 point in size. Titles should be larger, of course. If you use bullets, don't use more than 6 on a page.
10. As you create your presentation, make it so good that your audience will really enjoy it. Use facts and pictures that the kids and your teacher will find interesting. Consider putting in some sounds or even some animation or video if you know how. If you use video, sounds, or animation, don't get too carried away with glitz. And never use these extras if they don't fit neatly into your topic. For example, in your Hero of the American Revolution Report, you wouldn't need the British national anthem or an animation of Washington crossing the Delaware. If you decide to use video, use only one or two very short film clips.
11. Go over your work with spell check, and then read it for mistakes your computer didn't catch. Remember that computers won't catch all mistakes, so shouldn't just depend upon spell and grammar checks. Ask your parents or a friend to check your report also. Authors can't always find their own mistakes. If your computer has the option of reading your report back to you, make sure you use it. This is a great way to find mistakes, for you can hear if you've left out a word, if your phrases don't make sense, and can tell if you haven't used the right word or if a word is spelled incorrectly. You'll usually find this option in a speech or special needs area in the system or Tools folder.
12. Read over your teacher's instructions once more to make sure you're including everything you need in your computer presentation and what you are going to say when you change the pages. You should be able to find that information in your assignment book or on the assignment sheet you put in a safe place. You did put it in a safe place, didn't you?

Some sites you might like to check:

AppleWorks Tips
http://www.apple.com/education/k12/products/appleworks/tips/

Atomic Learning
http://www.atomiclearning.com/
(Includes some free tutorials for Windows and Macintosh programs. Not all of the tutorials are free, however.)

Creating a Presentation in AppleWorks
http://ali.apple.com/ali_media/Users/141/files/others/CREATINGAWPRESENTATION.PDF

HyperStudio
http://www.hyperstudio.com

Purdue's Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/reportw/

Powerpoint in the Classroom
http://www.actden.com/pp/

Powerpoint Tutorial
http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm

Preeeesenting
http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/teaching_with_technology/preeeeesenting.shtml
(This article is directed to teachers, but there are lots of great ideas for students in it as well.)

Tips for Presentations
http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/presentation.htm

Okay, that's about it for this part. In Part II we will help you to get ready to give your report. Remember, you are not finished your report when you finish creating your computer presentation. We'll be tackling how to prepare the narration to do with your presentation and how to make sure your computer presentation will work in your classroom.

*Some sources criticize Cornwallis for his performance at Yorktown. Therefore, he did, in his own way, help the American colonies gain their freedom from England.

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