How to Record Audio Narration in PowerPoint 2010?

Q: I've just prepared a power point slide show for Thanksgiving but want to add narration about our family on the slides, instead of having music - how can I do this - I'm using PowerPoint 2010.

A: This is much easier than you might think (just a little more time consuming but well worth it) and although it is something we've been able to do for many years in PowerPoint, it's so much easier now in Office 2007 & 2010.. Just follow the following steps:

First, be sure that your microphone is working and I always set my volume to the highest setting, because I know I can always slide it down when I'm actually doing the presentation - but if I record it too "low" I can't increase the volume. move it up... If your microphone isn't built into your computer or laptop, be sure that the plug is in securely.

Next:

• Open you PowerPoint Presentation (either one you've done that is completed or finish a new slide show).
• Go to “Slide show” tab, then choose “Record slide show” under the “set up” section.
• Choose 1) entire slide or 2) select the individual slide where you want Audio “Narration” to begin, from “Record Slide Show” options to add narration..
• Select “Narration and Laser Pointer” check box, when Record Slide Show Dialog box appears (versus Slide and Animation Timings)
• Whether you want slides to move forward automatically with a specific time that you have chosen and asset or move to the next slide manually, either of these simply select or deselect “Slide and Animation Timings”
• Now choose “Start Recording” button and speak clearly into your microphone – If you need to stop in between for any reason, click “Pause” and then when you are ready to continue, click “Resume”
• And if you are going to insert “narration” on individual slides, (versus across all) then you would simply to have repeat these steps on each and every slide...
• When you are done, right-click on the slide, and click “End Show” to end the slide show recording..

Now when you preview your presentation you will hear the “Audio Narration” you have added to your slide/slides - Success...

Configuring iTunes for Music Downloads

Before you can start downloading and/or converting songs in your iTunes library, you need to select an audio format to convert to: To do this:

1. Be sure you your iTunes library/account open
2. Click edit (from the main menu at the top of screen) and then click preferences.
3. Select the advanced tab and then the importing tab.
4. Click on the import using drop-down menu and select an audio format (such as mp3 which is my personal favorite to use in most free movie making and other project software or wav).
5. To change bitrate settings, use the settings drop-down menu .
6. Click the OK button to finish.

Note-many of the songs we purchase today are downloaded in mp4 or another format and are often too large to be used in some project software, such as Picasa's movie making; Windows Movie Maker, Power Point and some mp3 players - so personally I always download all music to my computer using the mp3 format, so I can use it just about anywhere anytime...

Difference between Webcasts & Podcasts

Difference between webcasts & podcasts

Webcasts and Podcasts have a few things in common, but they are very different.

Both are different ways of getting information, via audio and or video "streaming" to a lot of people anywhere in the world using the Internet. The words themselves, like so many other new words being added every year to our vocabulary & dictionaries for computer lingo, are fairly new:

• Webcast became popular in the mid 1990’s
• Podcast became a popular term in 2001 because of the Apple iPod…

A basic difference is that Webcasts are sent in "real time," meaning that they are "live" (even though some Webcasts are saved and then viewed later) and they are watched on a computer... So many companies and organizations use webcasts today versus holding “in person” large conventions or seminars (often referred to as webinars-another great new word)

Podcasts end up being archived and can be viewed at a later date and they can be saved and played back on your iPod or many smartphones today, and if they are audio only then you can play them back on your portable music player, like your mp3 player.. Many Podcasts are “pre-recorded” and then published on their site as files you can open at your convenience – fast-forwarding, starting & stopping and rewinding – whatever you want.

Most of us find that Webcasts can't be copied and shared as easily as a Podcast can

Volume Controls for Sound

Certainly many of us can simply “dial the volumn” controls on our speakers, but just as many of us may have speakers set up out of “easy reach” or we may need to be able to do it quickly and easily from the computer as we work, especially when the phone rings and we need to quickly “mute” the sound.

You can use Volume Control to adjust the volume, balance, bass, and treble settings for sounds played on your computer or by multimedia applications. You can also use Volume Control to adjust the level of system sounds, microphones, CD audio, line-in, synthesizer, and wave output.

• To open Volume Control, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and then click Volume Control OR
• Far Right hand corner of task bar, in the area known as the "system tray" (to left of the time) you will see a speaker icon, LEFT CLICK on it to open full controls OR RIGHT CLICK on it for quick control for sound & mute only…
• Sound Cards allow us to use Volume Control to control the volumn and speaker balance when we play audio files.
• When you have your Volume Control Dialog Box open, you can also check out the Help menu for more details and options.

Media Player for audio & video - VLC

For years, most of us have been using “Windows Media Player” because it is built into our computer operating systems.. But what's included isn't always the best choice..

Most tech guru’s feel that the best free media player to use, whether you have Windows XP, Windows Vista or the new Windows 7 Operating Systems is: “VLC”

VLC is a highly recommended media player which plays lots of audio and video formats and be used for streaming protocols. It is easy to use; it's a very small program that doesn’t take up much disk space; doesn’t slow down your computer in anyway and of course it’s free… to download go to:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/