Using Your PDA as a Presentation Tool


Overview

The goal of this tutorial is to present a brief overview of PDA technology, and build a presentation that can be delivered using a PDA, Margi Presenter-to-Go, and a data projector.

In this tutorial you will get:

  • an introduction to PDAs and the Presenter-to-Go,
  • presentation design tips,
  • instruction on how to use the Margi software to load a PowerPoint presentation onto a PDA,
  • instruction on how to set up a PDA and Data Projector, and
  • instruction on how to run a slide show presentation using a PDA and Presenter-to-Go.

PDAs and the Presenter-to-Go

Picture of PDAs, Margi system, and Data ProjectorA PDA ( Personal Digital Assistant) is basically a small computer that can be used for administrative applications, communication and collaboration, and teaching and learning applications (click here for examples of educational uses). A PDA may also be referred to as a handheld device, a Palm, or a Pocket PC.

The Margi Presenter-to-Go is hardware that can be plugged into your PDA and Data Projector which allows you to give color presentations with PowerPoint and other Microsoft Windows applications. The Presenter-to-Go will display your handheld's screen and its small size makes it extremely portable and light.

The Operating System

There are three major PDA operating systems:

  • Palm OS, created by Palm Computing, is the market leader in PDA sales and the originator of the Palm Pilot, the first popular handheld device.
  • Microsoft's Pocket PC OS is a new fast growing operating system that is gaining large shares of the market in the United States.
  • EPOC OS, Europe's operating system of choice, is designed specifically to handle mobile communications.

This tutorial will focus on how to use the Presenter-to-Go with the Palm and Pocket PC operating systems.

Navigating the Site

There are two ways to navigate the site. You may move through the site by using the navigation bar at the top of each page or move through the site sequentially by clicking on the arrow at the bottom of each page. The instruction is intended to be sequential.