Using your PocketPC in Presentations

There are several ways in which to use your device as an aid when presenting at meetings and conferences. These range from simple adaptions of regular programs to highly sophisticated combinations of hardware and software.

Speaker Notes

At its simplest level, you can use your device as a simple speaking prompt. You can of course simply jot down some notes in Pocket Word or NotePad but there are a few wee tricks that help make this more powerful. Take a look at some notes that we sent out last year about this.

Chair's Reminder

If you have to chair a session, you can use your PocketPC to help you keep time and prompt speakers about time remaining. One simple way to do this is to use RemindMe, mentioned in the Library page, from Applian. This is a program that has a quick scribble pad, along with a timed reminder. Simply draw a large number to fill the screen, say a '2' for the two minute warning, and then set the reminder for 2 minutes less than their allocated time. RemindMe will automatically popup the relevant message and beep. You could even leave it unattended but this means that the speaker has to know how to Snooze it.

One-on-one Sessions

There is no such thing as Pocket PowerPoint. However, there are a number of good programs that allow you to convert your PowerPoint presentation and display it directly on your device's screen. On the newest PocketPCs, the 3800 series, you have IA Presenter on the accessory CD. This is nice and easy to use and the image quality is excellent.

For those who want to actually edit or modify a PowerPoint on their device, there is currently only one choice. The ability to do this at the last minute may not seem necessary, until you are caught out by last minute changes in schedule, data etc. Most of us have been there. Pocket Slides by Conduits allows you to create and edit presentations directly on your PocketPC. While too laborious to create entire shows solely on your device (unless you are really stuck), it is very handy to get in there and make some last minute changes to your text, bullets, transitions etc. It also automatically converts PPTs created on your desktop so that they work better on your device.

Virtual Handouts

Just a reminder about Virtual Handouts. Use your PocketPC to distribute key points about your presentation to your audience. Check out these notes for tons of information on how to do this.

What, no laptop?

Rather than lugging a ten pound laptop around airports to your next conference, consider doing your presentation from your PocketPC. This requires some hardware - we have some units available for PocketProf project participants - contact me if you want to try one. There are 3 hardware options for the PocketPC and also 1 for the Handspring Visor:

Basically, these devices provide VGA video output direct to a LCD projector so you don't need to lug a laptop along with you. The Margi devices have very clear output and are easy to use. The other two options are more powerful and flexible but are also harder to set up.

Ultimate Remote Control

For those of you who really want to impress your audience, how about wireless remote control of your presentation (no strings attached!), with full preview of your slides on your device, direct annotation and electronic access to Speaker Notes. There are two products that work with a wireless connection between your device and the laptop/projector, that provide much greater power for presenters:

SlideShowCommander started off at Carnegie Mellon as part of the Pebbles Project - this project has developed a number of interesting interfaces between PDAs and desktop machines, which are very useful in a presentation environment. SlideShowCommander is the most useful of these 'pebbles' and is now available commercially.

Pocket ClassRoom is the result of another research project, this one from Wake Forest University. This also allows remote wireless control of a presentation but also allows for audience feedback through similar wirelessly connected devices - very interesting stuff!

We'll be demonstrating this stuff at future meeting of the project group.

Page last modified on October 31, 2005