This page presents an overview of using PowerPoint in online courses.
I. Introduction
Every year, more and more course instructors are using PowerPoint presentations in their lectures. For many instructors, slide carousels are becoming a thing of the past as laptops running PowerPoint presentations are being used in ever-increasing numbers. In the normal classroom or lecture environment, the instructor using PowerPoint is in control of the presentation. The instructor might use the PowerPoint presentation to help provide structure to the lecture. More importantly, the instructor is actually in the room, giving the lecture in-person. He or she can highlight certain points, move quickly past others, and answer questions from the students as they arise.
PowerPoint presentations are vital educational assets. Quality PowerPoint presentations take time to develop; many include important graphs, photos, radiographs, and other multimedia. It makes sense that instructors will want to make use of them in the online courses they develop. For instructors taking their first steps into the world of online instruction, placing existing PowerPoint presentations into their WebCT online courses is a great way to get started.
This section provides information on the various methods that course designers can add PowerPoint presentations to their WebCT online course. It is important to keep in mind, however, that a PowerPoint presentation used in an online course is not the same as one given by an instructor in a real classroom setting. Here are some useful rules-of-thumb to keep in mind when adding PowerPoint presentations to online courses:
- Instructors may want to create an online version of their PowerPoint presentations. In the online versions, there might be more text to explain certain points. For example, instructors may want to include speakers notes that actually provide a narrative that students can read in the online version;
- Remember that the online versions will be sent across the Internet. Keep in mind that many students use slower dial-up connections. If your PowerPoint presentations include images, it is best to keep the file sizes of these images as small as possible. The overall size of the resulting PowerPoint presentation will be smaller, which means that the online version will also be smaller (and can therefore be downloaded faster). Many instructors probably don't consider image file size when creating PowerPoint presentations since they usually plan to deliver these in class. File size is an important issue in the online environment. Just about any graphics program (e.g., PhotoShop) will be able to optimize graphics for online delivery.
PowerPoint Hint: As you create a presentation in PowerPoint and save your work (using the Save command), did you know that the size of your presentation file is getting larger and larger, even if you only make minor changes? Some people call this "PowerPoint Bloat." To get around it, use Save As... every so often. You might be surprised how much smaller your file will become.
II. Native PowerPoint (.ppt files)
Probably the easiest way place a PowerPoint presentation into an online course is to simply upload the native PowerPoint presentation; i.e., the version used when giving a lecture (the .ppt file). The main advantage of this approach is that it requires no extra conversion step; the .ppt file is simply uploaded. Another advantage is that your students will be able to easily access all the slides and print out the presentation in any format they want. This means less work for you in creating alternate versions (more on this later).This sounds great, but there are a number of disadvantages to placing native PowerPoint presentations into online courses:
- To view the native PowerPoint file, your students will need to have PowerPoint installed on their computers (or the free PowerPoint for Windows viewer that Microsoft provides). If your students do not have PowerPoint, they will not able to view your presentation.
- Let's say that your students have PowerPoint. Students who use Internet Explorer as their web browser will be able to click on the link for your presentation and have it seamlessly loaded directly into their browsers. However, students using Netscape as their browser will not experience anything that can be described as seamless. When Netscape users click on a link representing a native PowerPoint file, they will get an alert saying that Netscape does not know what this file is. The only real option is to save the file. These users will then need to open the .ppt file in PowerPoint. Why is this? The Netscape browser is not a Microsoft product. Internet Explorer and PowerPoint work well together because they are Microsoft products. So by placing the native PowerPoint presentation into your online course, you will be creating a situation where one group of students (Internet Explorer users) experiences one thing, while another group (Netscape users) experiences something else. Creating different user experiences in web-based courses is definitely something to be avoided. It can lead to confusion, and will require you to have to provide your students with instructions.
- Your native PowerPoint presentation file might be very large. Students who connect to the Internet on dial-up connections may have to wait a long time for it to download. If you do place your native PowerPoint presentations online, try to make sure that the file size is kept as small as possible. It might even be a good idea to break up a large presentation into smaller ones.
- Placing the native .ppt file into your online course essentially gives the entire presentation away to your students. They will have the actual presentation and can do what they want with it. There have been reports of faculty seeing slides from their PowerPoint presentations used by others.
Sample PowerPoint presentation (.ppt file)
For a variety of reasons (save time, not concerned about sharing .ppt files), faculty may decide to use their native PowerPoint presentations in their online courses. But it is important to be aware of the potential pitfalls.
III. Web Pages (HTML)
A PowerPoint presentation can easily be converted into a series of web pages (i.e., a web version). The main advantage of created a web version of a PowerPoint presentation is that students using any web browser - Internet Explorer or Netscape - can view it without any difficulties. The web version will also download very quickly. Students accessing the Internet via dial-up connections will not have to wait for the web pages that comprise your presentation to download. By using a web version instead of the native PowerPoint presentation (the .ppt file), you are also not giving away your entire presentation. A disadvantage of this approach is that it does take a few extra steps to create the web version. Also, your students will not be able to print out the web version, although you can mitigate this problem by creating a handout version of your presentation (to be discussed in the next section).
PowerPoint comes with an easy-to-use wizard for generating web versions of presentations. The CIT has created step-by-step instructions, complete with examples and demos, on how to create a web version of a PowerPoint presentation, and then how to move the web version into your WebCT course.
PowerPoint web example with speaker notes
PowerPoint web example without speaker notes
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PowerPoint and WebCT How-to guide
IV. PDF (slides and handouts)
There is yet another option for bringing PowerPoint presentations into WebCT online courses - converting them into PDF files. PDF stands for "Portable Document Format." PDF files represent a major file type in use on the web today. If you have ever downloaded an article from an online journal, chances are good that it was in PDF format. PDF file are also called Acrobat files, since a program called Acrobat Reader is used to view them. This separate program - produced by Adobe Systems - is already installed on most users' computers. Acrobat Reader is as ubiquitous as a web browser, so you can expect that your students already have it loaded on their computers (and if not, it can easily and freely downloaded). This is a major advantage of using the PDF format for delivering PowerPoint presentations in WebCT online courses. You can also create different PDF versions of your presentations. For example, you can create a one PDF version where a single PowerPoint slide appears on each page. You can also create a handout version, where three or six slides appear on each page. Here are some examples:
Sample PDF presentation: one slide per page
Sample PDF presentation: multiple slides per page (handout format)
To create PDF files, you need more than just the free Acrobat Reader program. You will need the complete Acrobat program, which is not free. The Source in Millberry Union sells Acrobat for about $60. Each workstation in the CIT Lab also includes Acrobat, so WebCT course designers and faculty can also create PDF files there.
There are free options for creating PDF files. For Macintosh users, the ability to create PDF files is built into the Mac OS X operating system as part of the printing system. There are also open source tools (e.g., Ghostscript) for creating PDF files.
V. Narrated Presentations
We have discussed various methods to place PowerPoint presentations into online courses. What's missing from each of these methods is the ability to listen to the instructor actually give the lecture, as one would in the normal classroom environment. There are a number of ways to create a narrated PowerPoint presentation.Record Narration in PowerPoint
You can actually record narration from within PowerPoint itself. Go to the "Slide Show" menu, and select "Record Narration." Of course, you also will need to make sure a microphone is connected to your computer. You then simply give your presentation -- PowerPoint will record your narration with each slide. If you place your native PowerPoint presentation online, your students will be able to listen to your narration when they view it. One problem with this approach, however, is that the file size of the presentation may now be much larger now that it includes narration. Students on slower Internet connections may have to wait longer to download the presentation. Your narration will also be available should you decide to save your presentation in HTML format (as a web page).
Articulate Presenter
Articulate Presenter is a program that converts your PowerPoint presentations into Flash-based presentations. Flash is a popular format for presenting animations on the web. By converting your PowerPoint presentations to Flash-based presentations with Articulate Presenter, you can provide your students with a high-quality presentation -- complete with any animations you have placed in it, along with narration (if you wish) -- that play very well over both dial-up and broadband Internet connections. With Articulate Presenter, you can also insert short quizzes into your presentations. Also, these Flash-based presentations cannot be copied, if you are concerned about giving away your actual PowerPoint presentations.
Creating Flash-based presentations with Articulate Presenter is easy. You first create your presentation as you normally would using PowerPoint. Then bring your presentation to the CIT Lab where we have Articulate Presenter installed on one of our Windows XP workstations. If you want to include narration with your presentation, you can record it using Articulate Presenter's narration tools (in the CIT Lab's quiet A/V Production Room); you can also add quizzes. When it is finished exporting your presentation, Articulate Presenter will leave you with a folder containing the new, Flash-based presentation. You simply upload to your web site or WebCT course.
Articulate Presenter is available in the CIT Lab for instructors who wish to convert their PowerPoint presentations into web-friendly, Flash-based presentations (with or without narration). Contact CIT staff for more information.
Sample presentation created using Articulate Presenter
Impatica for PowerPoint
Impatica is a software program than converts your PowerPoint presentation -- even those with recorded narration -- into a web-based version that has been optimized for viewing over the web. They play well over all types of Internet connections -- from fast DSL/cable broadband connections to dial-up connections. Presentations converted using Impatica do not require any special plug-in to be viewed -- they play directly in your web browser. Also, Impaticized presentations cannot be copied, if you are concerned about giving away your PowerPoint presentations.
Converting PowerPoint presentations is simple. You first create your presentation as you normally would using PowerPoint. If you want to include narration with your presentation, you can record it from within PowerPoint, as described above. When you are ready to convert it, simply run it through the Impatica application. Impatica will create three files than you simply upload to your web site or course.
Impatica for PowerPoint is available in the CIT Lab for instructors who wish to convert their PowerPoint presentations (narrated or not). Contact CIT staff for more information.
Sample presentation converted using Impatica for PowerPoint
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