Using PowerPoint in Online Courses

CIT :: Using PowerPoint in Online Courses

Using PowerPoint in Online Courses

This page presents an overview of using PowerPoint in online courses.

Introduction

Native PowerPoint (.ppt files)

Web Pages (HTML)

PDF (slides and handouts)

Narrated Presentations

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IV. PDF (slides and handouts)

.pdf

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.