PowerPoint Posters

When my daughter got her syllabus for a master's level course, the instructor required a poster illustrating her group's research and results on alternative forms of energy.  While the topic was mildly interesting to me, the method of presentation intrigued me! 

Here's what you can do to create a poster for your room illustrating any concept you want with a minimum of time and money (unless you want to go to Staples and have them print the poster for you for about $45 on one large sheet of 3'x4' paper.  Allow enough time because they'll charge an additional $40 for a rush job!):

1. Download the FREE PowerPoint Poster template from this website depending on your version of MS Word: http://www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poster_templates.html Choose the size that you want to fill the space available.
2. Manipulate the sample information and illustrations as you want, similar to what you would do for a regular PowerPoint presentation.  Remember that the font should be rather large because you'll be covering a larger area.  (In other words, carefully read the instructions!)
3. When you're ready to print, again follow the directions, but this is basically what you do: Convert the poster to a .pdf using the Save As feature.  Here's where you can save it to a thumb drive and take it to Staples to have the poster printed.  OR... you can manipulate the page scaling feature on the print menu and drop down to "tile all pages."  This will show you how many 8.5 x 11 sheets will print.
4. After you've printed out all your pages, tape them together and place your poster on its bulletin board.

Yes, this is a bit of work for one bulletin board, but if you do it now before school starts, I think you'll find the process rather fun.  Also, if you do a particularly stellar job, let Staples print and laminate your work for succeeding years :-)

Happy Teaching!