StudyPlace: Can I use PowerPoint in StudyPlace and GP5?

Knowledge Base » [892753] StudyPlace: Can I use PowerPoint in StudyPlace and GP5?

Product or Service:	GatherPlace, StudyPlace
Client Software:	GP5
User Type:	Teacher, Admin, Administrator

There are two ways to use PowerPoint (PPT) presentations within StudyPlace.

Teachers can upload PPT presentations and then add them as links to assignments on Class Meeting Pages. When added to the Class Meeting Pages, students are able to click the link and download the presentation. Teachers can also download PPT presentations created by students. However, it is recommended that students compress the presentation (“compress all images” is an internal feature of PPT), to reduce the size to make it easier for students to upload and teachers to download. File size limits are set by the StudyPlace administrator at your organization within Setup Preferences. We recommend the implementation of a 5 Mb limit for students.
To use a PPT presentation (or any presentation program) in an online class, teachers should “capture” each slide as a screenshot and then import to the GP5 Whiteboard. There are Pros and Cons to this process:

Cons:
- This is an advanced tool that requires more preparation time. (See note below for an alternative option.)
- It is not “one-click”. Once you set up the capture window, it is three quick clicks per slide. It takes about 10-15 sec per slide.
- Fancy transitions and clickable links are not retained.
Pros:
- You can build and archive your presentation in anything, not limited to PPT. You can even build it in a mix of things.
- What you see on your screen when you capture a slide is *exactly* what the student will see. Imported PPT can lead to font changes, reflowed pages, image display issues, and unmanageable files.
- Dynamic transitions and video don’t work by screen share anyway -- in any conference program.
- You can add clickable links to the Whiteboard, if you need them for your presentation.

Note:Please note, that the Whiteboard is an advanced tool within GP5 that offers more interactivity and options, but takes longer to learn and requires more preparation time. Rather than using the Whiteboard for PPT presentations, we recommend that teachers new to StudyPlace simply open PPT on their desktop and use GP5's region sharing feature to share the region around the PPT window. The annotation tool can be used to "draw or write" on the screen just like you would be able to do on the Whiteboard. Region sharing and the annotation tool works with all applications.

Keywords: StudyPlace, SP, PowerPoint, Power, Point, upload, GP5