When effectively planned and used, PowerPoint (or similar tools, like Google Slides) can enhance instruction. People are divided on the effectiveness of this ubiquitous presentation program—some say that PowerPoint is wonderful while others bemoan its pervasiveness. No matter which side you take, PowerPoint does offer effective ways to enhance instruction when used and designed appropriately.
PowerPoint can be an effective tool to present material in the classroom and encourage student learning. You can use PowerPoint to project visuals that would otherwise be difficult to bring to class. For example, in an anthropology class, a single PowerPoint presentation could project images of an anthropological dig from a remote area, questions asking students about the topic, a chart of related statistics, and a mini quiz about what was just discussed that provides students with information that is visual, challenging, and engaging.
PowerPoint can be an effective tool to present material in the classroom and encourage student learning.
This section is organized in three major segments: Part I will help faculty identify and use basic but important design elements, Part II will cover ways to enhance teaching and learning with PowerPoint, and Part III will list ways to engage students with PowerPoint.
PART I: Designing the PowerPoint Presentation
Accessibility
- Student accessibility—students with visual or hearing impairments may not be able to fully access a PowerPoint presentation, especially those with graphics, images, and sound.
- Use an accessible layout. Built-in slide template layouts were designed to be accessible: “the studying order is the same for people with vision and for people who use assistive technology such as screen readers” (University of Washington, n.d.). If you want to alter the layout of a theme, use the Slide Master; this will ensure your slides will retain accessibility.
- Use unique and specific slide titles so students can access the material they need.
- Consider how you display hyperlinks. Since screen readers read what is on the page, you may want to consider creating a hyperlink using a descriptive title instead of displaying the URL.
- All visuals and tables should include alt text. Alt text should describe the visual or table in detail so that students with visual impairments can “read” the images with their screen readers. Avoid using too many decorative visuals.
- All video and audio content should be captioned for students with hearing impairments. Transcripts can also be useful as an additional resource, but captioning ensures students can follow along with what is on the screen in real-time.
- Simplify your tables. If you use tables on your slides, ensure they are not overly complex and do not include blank cells. Screen readers may have difficulty providing information about the table if there are too many columns and rows, and they may “think” the table is complete if they come to a blank cell.
- Set a studying order for text on your slides. The order that text appears on the slide may not be the studying order of the text. Check that your studying order is correct by using the Selection Pane (organized bottom-up).
- Use Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker to identify potential accessibility issues in your completed PowerPoint. Use the feedback to Improve your PowerPoint’s accessibility. You could also send your file to the Disability Resource Center to have them assess its accessibility (send it far in advance of when you will need to use it).
- Save your PowerPoint presentation as a PDF file to distribute to students with visual impairments.
Preparing for the presentation
- Consider time and effort in preparing a PowerPoint presentation; deliver yourself plenty of lead time for design and development.
- PowerPoint is especially useful when providing course material online. Consider student technology compatibility with PowerPoint material put on the web; ensure images and graphics have been compressed for access by computers using dial-up connection.
PowerPoint is especially useful when providing course material online.
- Be aware of copyright law when displaying course materials, and properly cite source material. This is especially important when using visuals obtained from the internet or other sources. This also models proper citation for your students.
- Think about message interpretation for PowerPoint use online: will students be able to understand material in a PowerPoint presentation outside of the classroom? Will you need to provide notes and/or other material to help students understand complex information, data, or graphics?
- If you will be using your own laptop, make sure the classroom is equipped with the proper cables, drivers, and other means to display your presentation the way you have intended.
Slide content
- Avoid text-dense slides. It’s better to have more slides than trying to place too much text on one slide. Use brief points instead of long sentences or paragraphs and outline key points rather than transcribing your lecture. Use PowerPoint to cue and guide the presentation.
- Use the Notes feature to add content to your presentation that the audience will not see. You can access the Notes section for each slide by sliding the bottom of the slide window up to reveal the notes section or by clicking “View” and choosing “Notes Page” from the Presentation Views options.
- Relate PowerPoint material to course objectives to reinforce their purpose for students.
Number of slides
- As a rule of thumb, plan to show one slide per minute to account for discussion and time and for students to absorb the material.
- Reduce redundant or text-heavy sentences or bullets to ensure a more professional appearance.
- Incorporate active learning throughout the presentation to hold students’ interest and reinforce learning.
Emphasizing content
- Use italics, bold, and color for emphasizing content.
- Use of a light background (white, beige, yellow) with dark typeface or a dark background (blue, purple, brown) with a light typeface is easy to read in a large room.
- Avoid using too many colors or shifting colors too many times within the presentation, which can be distracting to students.
- Avoid using underlines for emphasis; underlining typically signifies hypertext in digital media.
Use of a light background with dark typeface or a dark background with a light typeface is easy to read in a large room.
Typeface
- Limit the number of typeface styles to no more than two per slide. Try to keep typeface consistent throughout your presentation so it does not become a distraction.
- Avoid overly ornate or specialty fonts that may be harder for students to read. Stick to basic fonts so as not to distract students from the content.
Point size
- Ensure the typeface is large enough to read from anywhere in the room: titles and headings should be no less than 36-40-point font. The subtext should be no less than 32-point font.
Clip art and graphics
- Use clip art and graphics sparingly. Research shows that it’s best to use graphics only when they support the content. Irrelevant graphics and images have been proven to hinder student learning.
- Photographs can be used to add realism. Again, only use photographs that are relevant to the content and serve a pedagogical purpose. Images for decorative purposes are distracting.
- Size and place graphics appropriately on the slide—consider wrapping text around a graphic.
- Use two-dimensional pie and bar graphs rather than 3D styles which can interfere with the intended message.
Use clip art and graphics sparingly. Research shows that it’s best to use graphics only when they support the content.
Animation and sound
- Add motion, sound, or music only when necessary. When in doubt, do without.
- Avoid distracting animations and transitions. Excessive movement within or between slides can interfere with the message and students find them distracting. Avoid them or use only simple screen transitions.
Final check
- Check for spelling, correct word usage, flow of material, and overall appearance of the presentation.
- Colleagues can be helpful to check your presentation for accuracy and appeal. Note: Errors are more obvious when they are projected.
- Schedule at least one practice session to check for timing and flow.
- PowerPoint’s Slide Sorter View is especially helpful to check slides for proper sequencing as well as information gaps and redundancy. You can also use the preview pane on the left of the screen when you are editing the PowerPoint in “Normal” view.
- Prepare for plan “B” in case you have trouble with the technology in the classroom: how will you provide material located on your flash drive or computer? Have an alternate method of instruction ready (printing a copy of your PowerPoint with notes is one idea).
PowerPoint’s Slide Sorter View is especially helpful to check slides for proper sequencing and information gaps and redundancy.
PowerPoint Handouts
PowerPoint provides multiple options for print-based handouts that can be distributed at various points in the class.
Before class: students might like having materials available to help them prepare and formulate questions before the class period.
During class: you could distribute a handout with three slides and lines for notes to encourage students to take notes on the details of your lecture so they have notes alongside the slide material (and aren’t just taking notes on the slide content).
After class: some instructors wait to make the presentation available after the class period so that students concentrate on the presentation rather than studying ahead on the handout.
Never: Some instructors do not distribute the PowerPoint to students so that students don’t rely on access to the presentation and neglect to pay attention in class as a result.
- PowerPoint slides can be printed in the form of handouts—with one, two, three, four, six, or nine slides on a page—that can be given to students for reference during and after the presentation. The three-slides-per-page handout includes lined space to assist in note-taking.
- Notes Pages. Detailed notes can be printed and used during the presentation, or if they are notes intended for students, they can be distributed before the presentation.
- Outline View. PowerPoint presentations can be printed as an outline, which provides all the text from each slide. Outlines offer a welcome alternative to slide handouts and can be modified from the original presentation to provide more or less information than the projected presentation.
The Presentation
Alley, Schreiber, Ramsdell, and Muffo (2006) suggest that PowerPoint slide headline design “affects audience retention,” and they conclude that “succinct sentence headlines are more effective” in information recall than headlines of short phrases or single words (p. 233). In other words, create slide titles with as much information as is used for newspapers and journals to help students better understand the content of the slide.
- PowerPoint should provide key words, concepts, and images to enhance your presentation (but PowerPoint should not replace you as the presenter).
- Avoid studying from the slide—reading the material can be perceived as though you don’t know the material. If you must read the material, provide it in a handout instead of a projected PowerPoint slide.
- Avoid moving a laser pointer across the slide rapidly. If using a laser pointer, use one with a dot large enough to be seen from all areas of the room and move it slowly and intentionally.
Avoid studying from the slide—reading the material can be perceived as though you don’t know the material.
- Use a blank screen to allow students to reflect on what has just been discussed or to gain their attention (Press B for a black screen or W for a white screen while delivering your slide show; press these keys again to return to the live presentation). This pause can also be used for a break period or when transitioning to new content.
- Stand to one side of the screen and face the audience while presenting. Using Presenter View will display your slide notes to you on the computer monitor while projecting only the slides to students on the projector screen.
- Leave classroom lights on and turn off lights directly over the projection screen if possible. A completely dark or dim classroom will impede notetaking (and may encourage nap-taking).
- Learn to use PowerPoint efficiently and have a back-up plan in case of technical failure.
- Give yourself enough time to finish the presentation. Trying to rush through slides can deliver the impression of an unorganized presentation and may be difficult for students to follow or learn.
PART II: Enhancing Teaching and Learning with PowerPoint
Class Preparation
PowerPoint can be used to prepare lectures and presentations by helping instructors refine their material to salient points and content. Class lectures can be typed in outline format, which can then be refined as slides. Lecture notes can be printed as notes pages (notes pages: Printed pages that display author notes beneath the slide that the notes accompany.) and could also be given as handouts to accompany the presentation.
Multimodal Learning
Using PowerPoint can help you present information in multiple ways (a multimodal approach) through the projection of color, images, and video for the visual mode; sound and music for the auditory mode; text and writing prompts for the reading/writing mode; and interactive slides that ask students to do something, e.g. a group or class activity in which students practice concepts, for the kinesthetic mode (see Part III: Engaging Students with PowerPoint for more details). Providing information in multiple modalities helps Improve comprehension and recall for all students.
Providing information in multiple modalities helps Improve comprehension and recall for all students.
Type-on Live Slides
PowerPoint allows users to type directly during the slide show, which provides another form of interaction. These write-on slides can be used to project students’ comments and ideas for the entire class to see. When the presentation is over, the new material can be saved to the original file and posted electronically. This feature requires advanced preparation in the PowerPoint file while creating your presentation. For instructions on how to set up your type-on slide text box, visit this tutorial from AddictiveTips.
Write or Highlight on Slides
PowerPoint also allows users to use tools to highlight or write directly onto a presentation while it is live. When you are presenting your PowerPoint, move your cursor over the slide to reveal tools in the lower-left corner. One of the tools is a pen icon. Click this icon to choose either a laser pointer, pen, or highlighter. You can use your cursor for these options, or you can use the stylus for your smart podium computer monitor or touch-screen laptop monitor (if applicable).
Just-In-Time Course Material
You can make your PowerPoint slides, outline, and/or notes pages available online 24/7 through Blackboard, OneDrive, other websites. Students can review the material before class, bring printouts to class, and better prepare themselves for listening rather than taking a lot of notes during the class period. They can also come to class prepared with questions about the material so you can address their comprehension of the concepts.
PART III: Engaging Students with PowerPoint
The following techniques can be incorporated into PowerPoint presentations to increase interactivity and engagement between students and between students and the instructor. Each technique can be projected as a separate PowerPoint slide.
Running Slide Show as Students Arrive in the Classroom
This technique provides visual interest and can include a series of questions for students to answer as they sit waiting for class to begin. These questions could be on future texts or quizzes.
- Opening Question: project an opening question, e.g. “Take a moment to reflect on ___.”
- Think-Pair-Share can be projected at different intervals of a presentation to allow students to reflect on and discuss with a partner what has been presented.
- Think of what you know about ___.
- Turn to a partner and share your knowledge about ___.
- Share with the class what you have discussed with your partner.
- Focused Listing helps with recall of pertinent information, e.g. “list as many characteristics of ___, or write down as many words related to ___ as you can think of.”
- Brainstorming stretches the mind and promotes deep thinking and recall of prior knowledge, e.g. “What do you know about ___? Start with your clearest thoughts and then move on to those what are kind of ‘out there.’”
- Questions: ask students if they have any questions roughly every 15 minutes. This technique provides time for students to reflect and is also a good time for a scheduled break or for the instructor to interact with students.
- Note Check: ask students to “take a few minutes to compare notes with a partner,” or “…summarize the most important information,” or “…identify and clarify any sticking points,” etc.
- Questions and Answer Pairs: have students “take a minute to come with one question then see if you can stump your partner!”
- The Two-Minute Paper allows the instructor to check the class progress, e.g. “summarize the most important points of today’s lecture.” Have students submit the paper at the end of class.
- “If You Could Ask One Last Question—What Would It Be?” This technique allows for students to think more deeply about the Topic and apply what they have learned in a question format.
- A Classroom Opinion Poll provides a sense of where students stand on certain topics, e.g. “do you believe in ___,” or “what are your thoughts on ___?”
- Muddiest Point allows anonymous feedback to inform the instructor if changes and or additions need to be made to the class, e.g. “What parts of today’s material still confuse you?”
- Most Useful Point can tell the instructor where the course is on track, e.g. “What is the most useful point in today’s material, and how can you illustrate its use in a practical setting?”
Positive Features of PowerPoint
- PowerPoint saves time and energy—once the presentation has been created, it is easy to update or modify for other courses.
- PowerPoint is portable and can be shared easily with students and colleagues.
- PowerPoint supports multimedia, such as video, audio, images, and
PowerPoint supports multimedia, such as video, audio, images, and animation.
Potential Drawbacks of PowerPoint
- PowerPoint could reduce the opportunity for classroom interaction by being the primary method of information dissemination or designed without built-in opportunities for interaction.
- PowerPoint could lead to information overload, especially with the inclusion of long sentences and paragraphs or lecture-heavy presentations with little opportunity for practical application or active learning.
- PowerPoint could “drive” the instruction and minimize the opportunity for spontaneity and creative teaching unless the instructor incorporates the potential for ingenuity into the presentation.
Summary
As with any technology, the way PowerPoint is used will determine its pedagogical effectiveness. By strategically using the points described above, PowerPoint can be used to enhance instruction and engage students.
References
Alley, M., Schreiber, M., Ramsdell, K., & Muffo, J. (2006). How the design of headlines in presentation slides affects audience retention. Technical Communication, 53(2), 225-234. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/43090718
University of Washington, Accessible Technology. (n.d.). Creating accessible presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint. Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/accessibility/documents/powerpoint/
Selected Resources
Office PowerPoint is much easier to use. The ingenious application features new tools like Designer that benefits from machine learning technique and Microsoft’s cloud technology for processing pictures and for selecting an appropriate layout for an image. In addition, you can modify your content to make the slides look a lot better.
Like the name implies, Designer lets you create beautiful slides in no time. To use PowerPoint Designer, open the application. If you are online, PowerPoint Designer will automatically suggest options for you to add an image to the PowerPoint presentation.
Next, chose the slide to which you want to add a picture.
Then, go to Insert > Pictures and choose the picture you want to add.
If you are using the Designer feature for the first time, a message will flash on your computer screen prompting you to grant the permission for showing design ideas. Select, Designer and hit the Let’s Go button.
When done, chose the “Let’s Go” option. PowerPoint will display design ideas. For some reason, if you do not see any PowerPoint Designer suggestions, here are the things you can try!
Firstly, make sure you’re online i.e., you are connected to the Internet. PowerPoint Designer needs access to Internet for generating Design Ideas based on you uploaded content.
Use images in these formats (.JPG, .PNG, .GIF, or .BMP) per slide. Also, make sure the size of the image file does not exceed larger than 200 x 200 pixels.
Use a theme that is assigned by PowerPoint (not the one that you’ve downloaded from elsewhere).
Make sure the layout of the slide has either the Title or Title + Content slide format.
If you don’t find Designer useful, you can exit the feature by going to File > Options > General, and then un-checking the box that reads Enable PowerPoint Designer.
Please note that the Designer feature is still in the stages of development. As such, Microsoft plans to add more features to it in the near future. For instance, features likely to be accommodated include automatic color options, to pick out the prominent colors from an image and adjust the slide style accordingly.
How do I use Designs in PowerPoint 365?
To Designs or Design Ideas in PowerPoint, you need to click on the Design Ideas icon. It is visible in the Home tab. Once you do that, you can find some of the design ideas to customize or personalize your slideshow presentation. You can click on any design idea to select and start editing it.
Why can’t I use Design Ideas in PowerPoint?
Design Ideas option is available only in the latest version of PowerPoint. Therefore, if you are using an old edition of Microsoft Office, you cannot find such an option. On the other hand, if you haven’t updated your copy of Microsoft Office for a very long time, you cannot find the same.
Microsoft and the Indian government will collaborate for a programme to train nearly 250,000 civil servants in using the company’s suite of digital tools.
The partnership between the tech giant, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and the Capacity Building Commission (CBC) aims to help civil servants in helping the underprivileged. It will help them in delivering last-mile social welfare services, said a statement from Microsoft.
The CBC does capacity building for the ministries of Defence, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Expenditure, Finance, Social Justice, Civil Aviation, Ports and Shipping, and Labour. A major competence gap identified among civil servants was the lack of digital productivity application skills needed while working on Microsoft Office tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint presentation.
“Our aim is to develop citizen-friendly and business-friendly policies. Technology has become an integral part of our everyday lives, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint are now an essential component of our work life. Therefore, it is imperative that our workforce is trained in these programmes,” said Rajesh Aggarwal, secretary, MSDE.
“One of the key capabilities is being competent in various digital technologies for day-to-day work. The collaboration with MSDE and Microsoft will allow civil servants to be trained digitally at a time of their own choosing. It will enhance their capabilities and allow them to be more effective,” said Adil Zainulbhai, chairman of CBC.
As part of the collaboration, the company will develop an online learning course on Microsoft Office 365 digital productivity suite offerings for MSDE.
“Through this programme, we are aiming to empower central government employees on key digital skills and amplify the vision of Digital India. This initiative will not only drive more productivity but will also enable ease of doing business with more digital solutions,” said Ashutosh Chadha, group head & director, government affairs, Microsoft India.
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First Published: Wed, August 10 2022. 15:31 IST
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The winners of the 2022 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship have been announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.
SALT LAKE CITY, July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The winners of the 2022 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship have been announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.
In its 20th year, the competition attracted more than one million contestants from around the world. Students, ages 13 to 22, competed with peers to prove their superior skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, culminating in the most popular technology skills competition on Microsoft Office—and the only one endorsed by Microsoft since its inception in 2002.
To enter the competition, students took a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office technology. Regional competitions were held worldwide, and 95 finalists qualified to compete in the final round of competition held in Anaheim, CA from July 24-27.
The 2022 MOS World Champions are:
Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
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First place: Gabriel Stanciu, Romania
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Second place: Trong Khai Nguyen, Vietnam
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Third place: Chen Yuen Wong, Hong Kong
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
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First place: Tristan Pesqueira, USA
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Second place: Mihail Iliev, Bulgaria
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Third place: Himanish Angrish, Canada
Microsoft Excel® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
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First place: Duy Phong Nguyen, Vietnam
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Second place: Nikolaos Rapanis, Greece
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Third place: Heero Ramadhana Sipayung, Indonesia
Microsoft Word (Office 2016)
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First place: Rohan Matthias Vargas, Ireland
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Second place: Ching Chi Tsao, Taiwan
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Third place: Ngoc Tung Chi Dao, Vietnam
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Office 2016)
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First place: Cong Minh Bui, Vietnam
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Second place: Benjamin Rands, USA
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Third place: Amanda Gabriela Castillo Diaz, Mexico
Microsoft Excel® (Office 2016)
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First place: Ondrej Cach, Czech Republic
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Second place: Andrew Chuang Saladin, USA
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Third place: Nicolas Stigler Yanez, Peru
In the concluding round, competitors participated in a two-part skills demonstration. The first skills demonstration was a 30-minute timed exam. The second part is an advanced three-hour research project, in which students research their given topic, formulate an opinion, and represent their conclusions and research in an asset appropriate to the competition application (Word report, Excel workbook, or PowerPoint presentation). This is the second year where finalists were required to complete a free-form project.
At the final event in Anaheim, Certiport and Microsoft recognized the top student competitors in the MOS World Championship Awards Ceremony and presented each First place winner with a $7,000 cash prize, Second place with $3,500 and Third place with $1,500.
"The pandemic put our live MOS Championship events on hold. We are so thrilled to be able to return to in-person competitions," said Ray Murray, Vice President and General Manager, Certiport. "It is inspiring to see students from 21 countries come together to 'speak Microsoft'. The winners receive extra praise, but every single student who entered has earned a valuable workforce credential that will help them find success in college and in their career. The last two years have highlighted the importance of IT skills for tomorrow's professionals and it's incredible to see so many young people get introduced to IT certifications through the MOS World Championship."
Microsoft Office Specialist is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally and serves as a powerful instrument for assessing students' skills and preparing them for real-world application of their knowledge.
"The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is one of our favorite events annually, because these students are thrilled to compete and they inspire all of us with their competitive spirit and crowning achievement," said Rick Herrmann, Vice President Worldwide Public Sector, Education, Microsoft. "These students work diligently to earn valuable industry-recognized certifications, and we know that the future is bright with upcoming business and technology leaders like those we met at the MOS World Championship."
Next year, Certiport will host the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship at Orlando, Florida, from July 30-August 2, 2023.
See what our competitors and other news outlets are saying by searching the event hashtag #MOSWC on Facebook and Twitter.
About Certiport
Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 15,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Certified Fundamentals certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Professional certification program, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit certification program, the App Development with Swift certification program, the Unity Certified User certification program, the Communication Skills for Business certification program, the IC3 Digital Literacy certification, and the Entrepreneurship and Small Business certification program. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in 148 countries and 26 languages worldwide. For more information visit http://www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/certiport.
"Certiport" is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contact
Greg Forbes, Pearson VUE, +44 7824 313448, greg.forbes@pearson.com
Hannah Davis, Certiport, +1 801 319 9835, hannah.davis@pearson.com
SOURCE Certiport
When Ruth Tito-Huezo’s supervisor suggested she investigate online technology courses from Duke Learning & Organization Development (L&OD), she knew she would learn useful tips.
But Tito-Huezo, an administrative assistant with Duke HomeCare & Hospice, didn’t expect the lessons to make using digital tools fun.
After taking an introductory course for Microsoft Excel last year and a similar workshop on PowerPoint this year, Tito-Huezo has skills to show off. In PowerPoint, she can weave animations into presentations and build templates to make slides consistent. And she knows how to add data to Excel spreadsheets and have the program run calculations automatically.
“I actually enjoy using Excel now,” Tito said. “I want to keep learning more.”
In addition to courses on leadership, communication and time management, L&OD, a unit in Duke Human Resources, offers one-day and multi-day courses on commonly used digital programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. Geared for all experience levels, courses help beginners and experts come away with new knowledge.
“We get everyone from administrative assistants to people who are doing serious data analysis,” said L&OD Senior Technology Partner Srini Iyengar, who leads the courses. “People may have used these products for a number of years, but they may not know how robust the tools have become. They may use it for one small aspect but don’t realize the wide of variety of uses and applications out there.”
Through December, L&OD offers 18 technology courses, including 12 on Excel. Introductory Excel courses will be held online on August 16 and 23 and November 1 and 8. Other, more targeted two-hour Excel sessions on building charts and graphs, working with formulas and functions, and mastering pivot tables are scheduled through fall.
For Virginia McQuillan, a revenue management technician with the Department of Pharmacy, Excel spreadsheets have become a major part of her day. For most of her 23 years at Duke, she worked in the Duke Cancer Center’s compounding pharmacy, where she used Excel occasionally. After moving into her current role, where she audits and validates charges for medications for Duke University Hospital, she needed to lean on Excel.
Knowing she would benefit from a deeper dive into the program, she took the introductory Excel course last fall and the intermediate course this past spring. Now she uses keyboard shortcuts to quickly jump between files, fix mistakes and save work.
“I wouldn’t call myself a pro, but I’m definitely a lot faster,” McQuillan said. “It’s great that Duke offers this. It was very, very helpful.”
Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.
Six students will represent Nigeria in the 2022 Certiport Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship from July 21 to 24 in Disneyland, California, USA.
The students and two teachers will also be sponsored by Zenith Bank PLC and Agusto Consulting Limited for the competition.
The students emerged after returning top scores and the fastest times during the national Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship for Students (MOSWC) organised by ReadManna Empowerment Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation that drives learning of current, practical and relevant digital literacy skills in schools and work environment.
The students include Hammad Omotosho of Aduvie International School, Abuja, FCT, who scored 1,000/1,000 in Excel 2019 in 10 minutes 11 seconds; Joshua Olunlade of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State (Word 2019 – 1,000/1,000 in 10min 46Sec; and Gabari Rume Mamuromu of Faith Academy, Ota, Ogun State (Word 2016 1,000/1,000; 11 minutes 45 seconds). Others are Adekoya Toluwani of Faith Academy (PowerPoint 2019, 1,000/1,000; 23 minutes 18 seconds); Divine Ihonde of City of Knowledge Academy, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun (Excel 2016, 980/1,000; 28 minutes 30 seconds); and Aliyah Adunola, City of Knowledge Academy (PowerPoint 2016, 1,000/1,000; 29 minutes 2 seconds).
They will be accompanied by two ICT teachers, Mr. Olusola Ajayi of Aduvie International School, Abuja, FCT, whose student scored highest in the 2022 MOS Nigeria competition, and Mrs. Victoria Adebayo of Faith Academy, Ota.
In a statement, the CEO of Readmanma Empowerment Initiative, Mrs. Edna Agusto, emphasised the importance of Microsoft Office certifications, noting that proficiency in them gives the students leverage in the labour market.
The MOSWC is keenly competed annually by students in over 150 countries.
In the past 13 years, Nigeria has come second and third in the world championship and has had top 10 finishes nearly every year.
The national competition that produced the Nigerian contingent was held between October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, with 385 participants taking the examination in Ilorin, Abuja and Lagos.
Joshua Olunlade is the second university student to win the national competition open to students aged 13-22. Nineteen students scored 1,000/1,000 in various programmes.
SALT LAKE CITY, July 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The winners of the 2022 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship have been announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.
In its 20th year, the Microsoft Office Specialist competition attracted more than one million contestants from around the world. Students, ages 13 to 22, competed with peers to prove their superior skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, culminating in the most popular technology skills competition on Microsoft Office—and the only one endorsed by Microsoft since its inception in 2002.
To enter the competition, students took a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office technology. Regional competitions were held worldwide, and 95 finalists qualified to compete in the final round of competition held in Anaheim, CA from July 24-27.
The 2022 MOS World Champions are:
Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
- First place: Gabriel Stanciu, Romania
- Second place: Trong Khai Nguyen, Vietnam
- Third place: Chen Yuen Wong, Hong Kong
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
- First place: Tristan Pesqueira, USA
- Second place: Mihail Iliev, Bulgaria
- Third place: Himanish Angrish, Canada
Microsoft Excel® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
- First place: Duy Phong Nguyen, Vietnam
- Second place: Nikolaos Rapanis, Greece
- Third place: Heero Ramadhana Sipayung, Indonesia
Microsoft Word (Office 2016)
- First place: Rohan Matthias Vargas, Ireland
- Second place: Ching Chi Tsao, Taiwan
- Third place: Ngoc Tung Chi Dao, Vietnam
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Office 2016)
- First place: Cong Minh Bui, Vietnam
- Second place: Benjamin Rands, USA
- Third place: Amanda Gabriela Castillo Diaz, Mexico
Microsoft Excel® (Office 2016)
- First place: Ondrej Cach, Czech Republic
- Second place: Andrew Chuang Saladin, USA
- Third place: Nicolas Stigler Yanez, Peru
In the concluding round, competitors participated in a two-part skills demonstration. The first skills demonstration was a 30-minute timed exam. The second part is an advanced three-hour research project, in which students research their given topic, formulate an opinion, and represent their conclusions and research in an asset appropriate to the competition application (Word report, Excel workbook, or PowerPoint presentation). This is the second year where finalists were required to complete a free-form project.
At the final event in Anaheim, Certiport and Microsoft recognized the top student competitors in the MOS World Championship Awards Ceremony and presented each First place winner with a $7,000 cash prize, Second place with $3,500 and Third place with $1,500.
“The pandemic put our live MOS Championship events on hold. We are so thrilled to be able to return to in-person competitions,” said Ray Murray, Vice President and General Manager, Certiport. “It is inspiring to see students from 21 countries come together to ‘speak Microsoft’. The winners receive extra praise, but every single student who entered has earned a valuable workforce credential that will help them find success in college and in their career. The last two years have highlighted the importance of IT skills for tomorrow’s professionals and it’s incredible to see so many young people get introduced to IT certifications through the MOS World Championship.”
Microsoft Office Specialist is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally and serves as a powerful instrument for assessing students’ skills and preparing them for real-world application of their knowledge.
“The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is one of our favorite events annually, because these students are thrilled to compete and they inspire all of us with their competitive spirit and crowning achievement,” said Rick Herrmann, Vice President Worldwide Public Sector, Education, Microsoft. “These students work diligently to earn valuable industry-recognized certifications, and we know that the future is bright with upcoming business and technology leaders like those we met at the MOS World Championship.”
In its 9th year, the Adobe Certified Professional competition attracted more than 238,000 contestants from around the world to prove their superior digital communications skills using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Salma Sanchez from the United States won the top prize out of 22 finalists who came together for the final round of the global competition from July 24-27.
The 2022 Adobe Certified Professional World Champions are as follows:
- First place, Salma Sanchez, USA
- Second place, Manoela Campos, Brazil
- Third place, Keavey Gamwell, United Kingdom
- Fourth place, Xixillia Sunaryo, Indonesia
- Fifth place, Kalin Chervenkov, Bulgaria
Finalists demonstrated their proficiency using industry-leading Adobe Creative Cloud software to design a poster in eight hours for The Ocean Agency, an NGO dedicated to using creativity, technology, and powerful partnerships to raise the awareness and support necessary to help fast-track ocean conservation action.
“All of the entries demonstrated a clear aptitude for design, and an incredible artistic flair,” said Richard Vevers, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Agency. “We were really impressed by the professional-level work these students accomplished in just eight hours – which proves they can follow client instructions and use both their innate design abilities and the Adobe skills they’ve learned in school to create something amazing and industry-ready.”
A panel of judges including The Ocean Agency and design industry experts reviewed the final projects and determined the winners based on visual appeal, their ability to meet the client’s requirements and brand aesthetics, as well as their professional use of Adobe Creative Cloud applications. The First-place winner received $7,000, Second $3,500, and Third $1,500.
“If there’s one thing that the pandemic has shown us, it’s that creativity is needed now more than ever. These creative students have demonstrated an astounding level of talent in the Adobe Championship,” said Ray Murray, Vice President and General Manager, Certiport. “Seeing what these finalists are able to create in just eight hours, it’s apparent that they have a deep understanding of digital design concepts and can leverage their Adobe skills to in a real-world work scenario.”
“We enjoy participating in the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship every year, not only to see the wonderful projects created, but also to connect with ambitious, creative students who are launching their careers with industry-recognized certifications,” said Tacy Trowbridge, Global Education Programs Lead at Adobe. “Seeing what the competitors produced for The Ocean Agency gives us just a taste of their talent. Over the years we’ve watched many of these finalists go on to jobs and internships in creative fields, proving the value of design and technical skills that they learned in the classroom.”
Next year, Certiport will host the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist and the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship at Orlando, Florida, from July 30-August 2, 2023.
You can learn more about the MOS World Championship here.
Learn more about Certiport’s Adobe Certified Professional World Championship here.
About Certiport
Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 15,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Certified Fundamentals certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Professional certification program, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit certification program, the App Development with Swift certification program, the Unity Certified User certification program, the Communication Skills for Business certification program, the IC3 Digital Literacy certification, and the Entrepreneurship and Small Business certification program. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in 148 countries and 26 languages worldwide. For more information visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.
“Certiport” is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Press Contact:
Greg Forbes (based in UK) greg.forbes@pearson.com
Hannah Davis (based in US) hannah.davis@pearson.com +1 801 319 9835
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/020b9c49-e73b-416d-a9e8-a4098129f6d6
The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.
Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship
SALT LAKE CITY, July 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The winners of the 2022 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship have been announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.
In its 20th year, the Microsoft Office Specialist competition attracted more than one million contestants from around the world. Students, ages 13 to 22, competed with peers to prove their superior skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, culminating in the most popular technology skills competition on Microsoft Office—and the only one endorsed by Microsoft since its inception in 2002.
To enter the competition, students took a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office technology. Regional competitions were held worldwide, and 95 finalists qualified to compete in the final round of competition held in Anaheim, CA from July 24-27.
The 2022 MOS World Champions are:
Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
-
First place: Gabriel Stanciu, Romania
-
Second place: Trong Khai Nguyen, Vietnam
-
Third place: Chen Yuen Wong, Hong Kong
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
-
First place: Tristan Pesqueira, USA
-
Second place: Mihail Iliev, Bulgaria
-
Third place: Himanish Angrish, Canada
Microsoft Excel® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
-
First place: Duy Phong Nguyen, Vietnam
-
Second place: Nikolaos Rapanis, Greece
-
Third place: Heero Ramadhana Sipayung, Indonesia
Microsoft Word (Office 2016)
-
First place: Rohan Matthias Vargas, Ireland
-
Second place: Ching Chi Tsao, Taiwan
-
Third place: Ngoc Tung Chi Dao, Vietnam
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Office 2016)
-
First place: Cong Minh Bui, Vietnam
-
Second place: Benjamin Rands, USA
-
Third place: Amanda Gabriela Castillo Diaz, Mexico
Microsoft Excel® (Office 2016)
-
First place: Ondrej Cach, Czech Republic
-
Second place: Andrew Chuang Saladin, USA
-
Third place: Nicolas Stigler Yanez, Peru
In the concluding round, competitors participated in a two-part skills demonstration. The first skills demonstration was a 30-minute timed exam. The second part is an advanced three-hour research project, in which students research their given topic, formulate an opinion, and represent their conclusions and research in an asset appropriate to the competition application (Word report, Excel workbook, or PowerPoint presentation). This is the second year where finalists were required to complete a free-form project.
At the final event in Anaheim, Certiport and Microsoft recognized the top student competitors in the MOS World Championship Awards Ceremony and presented each First place winner with a $7,000 cash prize, Second place with $3,500 and Third place with $1,500.
“The pandemic put our live MOS Championship events on hold. We are so thrilled to be able to return to in-person competitions,” said Ray Murray, Vice President and General Manager, Certiport. “It is inspiring to see students from 21 countries come together to ‘speak Microsoft’. The winners receive extra praise, but every single student who entered has earned a valuable workforce credential that will help them find success in college and in their career. The last two years have highlighted the importance of IT skills for tomorrow’s professionals and it’s incredible to see so many young people get introduced to IT certifications through the MOS World Championship.”
Microsoft Office Specialist is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally and serves as a powerful instrument for assessing students’ skills and preparing them for real-world application of their knowledge.
“The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is one of our favorite events annually, because these students are thrilled to compete and they inspire all of us with their competitive spirit and crowning achievement,” said Rick Herrmann, Vice President Worldwide Public Sector, Education, Microsoft. “These students work diligently to earn valuable industry-recognized certifications, and we know that the future is bright with upcoming business and technology leaders like those we met at the MOS World Championship.”
In its 9th year, the Adobe Certified Professional competition attracted more than 238,000 contestants from around the world to prove their superior digital communications skills using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Salma Sanchez from the United States won the top prize out of 22 finalists who came together for the final round of the global competition from July 24-27.
The 2022 Adobe Certified Professional World Champions are as follows:
-
First place, Salma Sanchez, USA
-
Second place, Manoela Campos, Brazil
-
Third place, Keavey Gamwell, United Kingdom
-
Fourth place, Xixillia Sunaryo, Indonesia
-
Fifth place, Kalin Chervenkov, Bulgaria
Finalists demonstrated their proficiency using industry-leading Adobe Creative Cloud software to design a poster in eight hours for The Ocean Agency, an NGO dedicated to using creativity, technology, and powerful partnerships to raise the awareness and support necessary to help fast-track ocean conservation action.
“All of the entries demonstrated a clear aptitude for design, and an incredible artistic flair,” said Richard Vevers, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Agency. “We were really impressed by the professional-level work these students accomplished in just eight hours – which proves they can follow client instructions and use both their innate design abilities and the Adobe skills they’ve learned in school to create something amazing and industry-ready.”
A panel of judges including The Ocean Agency and design industry experts reviewed the final projects and determined the winners based on visual appeal, their ability to meet the client’s requirements and brand aesthetics, as well as their professional use of Adobe Creative Cloud applications. The First-place winner received $7,000, Second $3,500, and Third $1,500.
“If there’s one thing that the pandemic has shown us, it’s that creativity is needed now more than ever. These creative students have demonstrated an astounding level of talent in the Adobe Championship,” said Ray Murray, Vice President and General Manager, Certiport. “Seeing what these finalists are able to create in just eight hours, it’s apparent that they have a deep understanding of digital design concepts and can leverage their Adobe skills to in a real-world work scenario.”
“We enjoy participating in the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship every year, not only to see the wonderful projects created, but also to connect with ambitious, creative students who are launching their careers with industry-recognized certifications,” said Tacy Trowbridge, Global Education Programs Lead at Adobe. “Seeing what the competitors produced for The Ocean Agency gives us just a taste of their talent. Over the years we’ve watched many of these finalists go on to jobs and internships in creative fields, proving the value of design and technical skills that they learned in the classroom.”
Next year, Certiport will host the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist and the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship at Orlando, Florida, from July 30-August 2, 2023.
You can learn more about the MOS World Championship here.
Learn more about Certiport’s Adobe Certified Professional World Championship here.
About Certiport
Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 15,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Certified Fundamentals certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Professional certification program, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit certification program, the App Development with Swift certification program, the Unity Certified User certification program, the Communication Skills for Business certification program, the IC3 Digital Literacy certification, and the Entrepreneurship and Small Business certification program. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in 148 countries and 26 languages worldwide. For more information visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.
"Certiport" is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Press Contact:
Greg Forbes (based in UK) greg.forbes@pearson.com
Hannah Davis (based in US) hannah.davis@pearson.com +1 801 319 9835
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/020b9c49-e73b-416d-a9e8-a4098129f6d6
The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.
