NOTE: For Students In the Computers in Education Course
This topic is covered in your course. Note that digital cameras and scanners both
save to "image" type files—the exact same manipulations can be made to both. Use the
procedures you learned in the course to resize the files to be smaller but still of
sufficient size to be readable by those reviewing and evaluating your portfolio. If
you need a refresher, see below.
NOTE: This guide assumes you have image files either from a scanner or a digital camera. If you imported your files directly into PowerPoint or Word (or other program) this
guide will not help. This guide also assumes you are working on a PC.
Important facts:
• A digital camera saves a picture as an "image" type file
• A scanner saves the scanned image as an "image" type file
• There are multiple types of "image" files, but these can be converted between each
other relatively easily
• Therefore: no matter whether you have images from a camera or scanner, these instructions
apply
Video-Based Tutorial from Computers in Education Class
Single Image Conversion Procedure (very quick and dirty version):
1. Open the Paint program (Start button-> All Programs-> Accessories -> Paint)
2. Click on File->Open and select the first image file you want to shrink
3. Click on the menu option Image->Stretch and Skew. You will see a new window like
the one below 
4. Change the Horizontal & Vertical values in the “Stretch” section to a percentage
less than 100. NOTE: change them both to be the identical value. See the example box
below:
Suggested values are: 50%, 25%, 20%. Select one and click "OK."
5. If you are not satisfied with the resulting image, undo the change and try a different
percentage (Edit->Undo)
6. Experiment with different percentage values. In general, you want to make the file
as small as possible (use as low a percentage as possible) but still be able to read/see
the necessary information. If the image file in Paint is larger than your screen (i.e.,
you have to scroll to see it all) on both dimensions, your file is still too large.
7. When you are satisfied that you have the smallest percentage you can use but still
have a usable image, click in the menu File->Save As …
8. Name the file something logical (e.g., Lesson 2 Sample 1 - Medium student) then
click on the drop-down menu below the file name. 
Select either JPEG or GIF. Typically, GIF is better for scanned documents (e.g., tests/
assessments) while JPEG is better for anything else.
9. Click "Save"
10. Done!
Repeat this process for all your images. Note that you should experiment with the
percentage to shrink your file to get optimum results.
More advice from TaskStream on Shrinking File Sizes
The following tips on optimizing files should help reduce file size:
When using a scanner, the scanning resolution determines the size of the scanned image. Use a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi) to get a life-size image when displayed on the screens of most computers. Since computer screens display only about 72 pixels per inch, using a resolution higher than this will make your file size unnecessarily large.
Use digital imaging software to crop unnecessary parts of the image. Note: Cropping the image in PowerPoint will not reduce the file size.
Use .gif format when you do not need a lot of colors. For example, simple line drawings, shapes, and small icons work well in this format. You can optimize .gif images by reducing the number of colors. The fewer colors you use, the smaller the file size will be. Start with 256 colors, and reduce the number of colors until just before you notice a difference in the image. Note: Save your original images separately.
Use .jpg format, when you are working with photographs. You can optimize .jpg images by using a lower quality choice when prompted. The default save for a .jpg in most programs will be set to 10, the highest quality. You can try reducing it to a smaller number, depending on the necessity of a sharp image for your project. The lower the quality, the smaller the file size will be. Start with the maximum quality and reduce the image quality until just before you notice a difference in the image. Note: Save your original images separately!
Reduce image size using a graphics-editing program (such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Photo Editor). The smaller the dimensions, the smaller the file size.
Since computer screens display only about 72 pixels per inch, using a resolution higher than this will make your file size unnecessarily large.
When you resize the image in a program such as PowerPoint, you are only making the picture appear smaller on the screen - the actual file size of the image has not been reduced at all.
Graphics in PowerPoint - Individual images should be no larger than 200KB whenever possible. Maximum size of all the images in the presentation should be no more than 4MB whenever possible
Include a blank slide at the beginning of the presentation. It would seem as though adding a blank slide at the beginning of a presentation would increase file size; however, the opposite is true. The blank slide serves as the preview image—the image PowerPoint displays when you select a file in the “Open dialog” box. Since a blank slide is far less complex than the real first slide, the preview image is much smaller, thereby reducing the size of the presentation file.
If you open and save a PowerPoint presentation without making any changes, the file size may increase. Repeating this process will result in file size increases up to 300% of the original file. To fix this problem: From the Tools menu, click “Options,” on the “Save” tab, click to clear the “Allow Fast Saves” check box, click “OK,” and save your presentation.
Below are some tips on how to reduce the file size of video files:
1. Ensure that the sound is set to mono instead of stereo.
2. Make sure the frame rate is set to no more than 15 frames per second. Using more frames per second will increase the size of your file.
3. Increase the compression of your file to decrease file size.
4. Reduce the size of the video: (320 x 240) is common on the Web.
5. Reduce the number of colors stored for each pixel (bit depth)
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