Although we’ve seen many outstanding posters, we have seen some issues that have caused some students grief. We’d like to help students focus on the academic content, rather than the creation process.
Mike Lynch and Gregory Ogle in IT Training have some suggestions that can make your students’ poster creation experience more streamlined, and more enjoyable. Let us suggest that we come to your class and give our 15-minute “Poster Tutorial” to your students.
Students walk into the IT Training Center and say “I’m ready to print my poster!” However, many of those students find they have more work to do.
Some students create their poster in the standard PowerPoint slide size, either 13.33” x 7.5” or 10” x 7.5”. These are native slide sizes designed to print on standard 8.5” x 11” paper. We even saw one poster that was 10” x 5.5”. To adjust the size of these small posters to the proper 36” x 48”, students often have to go back to the drawing board. When their created poster is enlarged to the proper size, all of their content either blows up all over the page, or shrinks to the center in a black glob.
We do not recommend Google Docs or Google Slides. We have also seen posters created in Word, which is a difficult format to use for large posters.
We do recommend Microsoft PowerPoint. Students that are proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud may use Photoshop or other Adobe applications. However, for most students, PowerPoint is the fastest and easiest application for poster creation.
We’ve had students arrive with a 10 to 13 slide PowerPoint presentation and ask to print their poster. They say they want one large poster, not individual pages. In this case, the student must convert all of their slides to JPEG images and then copy/paste those images around on the large, proper sized poster and add a complimentary background color. We show them how, but it’s their task to do the modifications.
Students need a CrimsonCard to print posters on campus. Students may obtain their first CrimsonCard free of charge at the UITS Support Center in the Library, anytime the Library is open.
Again, let us suggest that we visit your class and give our 15-minute poster creation presentation to your students.
In an easy 15 minutes, we will show students how to start in PowerPoint, set the slide size to the final poster size (typically 36” x 48”, 40” x 42”, or 36” x 36”), and then show them how easy it is to add graphics, text boxes, and a background color (theme) with their project content.
Our simple training presentation will point your students in the right direction from the start, and enable them to easily create an outstanding poster with minimal adjustments. No fuss, no hassle – no problem!
Please add us to your syllabus and class schedule for future courses.
Just call the IT Training Center at 765-455-9589 and we can schedule your class for a “Poster Tutorial” Session. 15 minutes in your class is all it takes to make it easy for your students!
Also, remember the cost for a standard size 36” x 48” poster printed on campus with the IT Training Center is $9.85. The exact same poster printed off campus at local businesses can range in cost from $42.00 to $85.00. This can be cost prohibitive and a potential barrier to student success.
Please encourage students to visit the IT Training Center on the first floor of the Library in room KA 124 for their poster printing needs. We are open Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Indiana University Kokomo
765-453-2000