Class #3: PowerPoint slides

Oh great computer golem! Please let >70% of the computers work this time,
let my class see the wonders of the Web and beyond! ;-)

So today we will begin using PowerPoint. Of the softwares that make up the Microsoft Office suite, PowerPoint is the most abused. It is intended to communicate information in a primarily graphic way, with a little bit of text interspersed throughout the slides. We will use it to develop a "community map" that other classes and residents of the Northside Williamsburg Brooklyn neighborhood can use.

Community maps can be very helpful in delivering information in a quick, easy to understand way. As an Internet application, there are many potential startup businesses that could be developed rather quickly. For example, I have a penchant for drinking beer, so I created a map of the neighborhood, showing where all of the bars and pubs are located. Beer Here!

We will develop our own mockup maps that will graphically store the following information:

• Street names
• Address numbers
• Business/Points of interest
• Trees located on the sidewalk
  

Today, working in groups of 2-3 (no more) we will access our wikispace to develop 4 city blocks using PowerPoint slides that map out one city block per slide. Each group will:

1. Choose one of the six locations listed
2. Use the 'Northside' PowerPoint file to locate the streets and addresses of each lot in the 4 city block area.
3. Use Google Maps to identify any trees on the sidewalks in the 4 city block area, and
4. Use search engines to located businesses, churches, etc. that have an associated web page

Each group should organize their tasks so that everyone is helping to produce one final PowerPoint file for the group. For example, one person could be responsible for every aspect of one city block. Or, one person could be responsible for locating every tree in the 4 city block area. However your group wants to organize the work, make sure that whomever is responsible for a particular slide types their name into that particular slide. Everyone needs to have a way to save their work (flash drives, floppy disks, email, etc.) so that everyone's work can be merged.