Skip to main content

Presentation Building Tools

This page contains an overview of institutionally available tools that can be used to build slide deck-based presentations.

The tools below offer a range of features to create, edit, and share slide deck presentations. Carefully consider what must be accomplished and choose a tool based on what best meets your needs. For example, MS PowerPoint Online, Google Slides, and Mentimeter can be used to collaboratively build presentations synchronously, but the MS PowerPoint app cannot be used for collaboration.

Note: this page does not include information about recording options. For resources about recording your presentations, please refer to Recording Tools: Tools for recording audio and video content.

Login

  • To access the tools below, you will need to log in using your SSO (Banner ID and password). Information about how to access each specific tool is included in the individual tabs.
    • Note: Mentimeter requires you to join our workspace using your SSO, but H5P does not support SSO login. For sign up instructions, refer to the respective pages for each tool: Mentimeter and H5P.

Questions?

Best Practices for Building Presentations

  • Use the best tool or app for the job. Consider your audience and intended outcomes, as well as the features and capabilities of each tool.
  • A single slide should cover one thought or act as a collection of three to five bullet points that summarize a topic in very few words.
  • Key practices include using large fonts and leveraging whitespace for readability.

Best Practices for Accessibility

  • Use easy to read fonts, clear headings, bullet points, and high-contrast colors.
  • Add or edit alt text on images, drawings, and graphics.
  • Check out the Additional Resources tab for helpful resources to ensure your presentations are accessible.

Additional Resources

Access

  • Navigate to your Google Drive by signing in with your SSO (Banner ID and password). Click “New +” in the top left-hand corner, then select “Google Slides” from the list. If you don’t see it, click “More” or use the candy box menu in the top right-hand corner beside the Ontario Tech logo and choose “Slides” from the list. 

About Google Slides

  • Google Slides is a web-based presentation application within the Google Workspace suite, offering a free, cloud-native slide deck building tool. Enjoy real-time collaboration, automatic saving, version history with the ability to download previous versions, ‘publish to web’ and embed options, seamless integration into other Google Workspace tools, and more.
  • Some key features include: Real-time online collaboration, accessibility features, recording your presentation as a video with speaker spotlight, sharing a commenter access link for feedback, and both online and offline editing options. 
  • Once in Slides, you can choose to start a new presentation from a template or exiting file by:
    • utilizing an existing template or theme from the Google library, 
    • uploading an existing PPTX file from your computer, 
    • utilizing one of the templates from Ontario Tech's Branding Central, or
    • alternatively, you can build from a blank presentation. 

Resources

Access

  • If you are using a university-issued device, locate the PowerPoint app through your start menu.
    • Instructors:
      • If you are using a non university-issued device or accessing PowerPoint online, navigate to Outlook in your browser and click on the candy box menu in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Then, click on the PowerPoint icon. If you do not see it in your menu, click "More Apps" and locate it in the apps centre. You must be logged in with your SSO (Banner ID and password).
    • Students:
      • If you are enrolled in a BYOD program or accessing PowerPoint online, navigate to the Student Software Portal in your browser, locate the Office 365 option, and follow the instructions to access it in. Once you are logged into MS Office 365, click on the PowerPoint icon. If you do not see it in your menu, click "More Apps" and locate it in the apps centre. You must be logged in with your SSO (Banner ID and password).

About Microsoft PowerPoint

  • Robust offline and online options for editing, with a high level of control over your designs. 
  • Animation, transition, and multimedia capabilities, including the ability to insert cameos, forms, illustrations, and multimedia. 
  • Use the "Designer" feature (found in the Design tab) to get professional layout suggestions automatically, or share with peers for feedback using the "Comment" function. 
  • Additional features include: live subtitles, alt text for images, accessibility checker, simple photo editing, Zoom function (for non-linear presentations), data visualization, and more. 
  • Create presentations using built-in templates, your own imported content, from scratch, or using the Ontario Tech Branding Central templates. 

Resources

Access

  • Instructors:
    • Navigate to Outlook in your browser and click on the candy box menu in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Then, click on the Visio icon. If you do not see it in your menu, click "More Apps" and locate it in the apps centre. You must be logged in with your SSO (Banner ID and password).
  • Students: 
    • Navigate to the Student Software Portal in your browser, locate the Office 365 option, and follow the instructions to access it in. Once you are logged into MS Office 365, click on the Visio icon. If you do not see it in your menu, click "More Apps" and locate it in the apps centre. You must be logged in with your SSO (Banner ID and password).

About Microsoft Visio

  • Microsoft Visio is a diagramming and vector graphics app used to create flowcharts, diagrams, floor plans, engineering designs, and more. It offers extensive templates and stencils to visualize complex data, and integrates with other apps in the Microsoft 365 suite.
  • Built to simplify and communicate complex information. Leverage pre-built templates, use the "AutoConnect" feature for rapid shaping, and easily ensure consistency in alignment and formatting with pre-loaded stencils and grid settings.
  • Capabilities and features include: align, distribute, snap and glue, data graphics, layers, accessibility checker, alt text, high-resolution exporting, URL sharing for collaboration, and more. 
  • Use in conjunction with slide deck tools to make impactful presentations. 

Resources

Access

  • Instructors:
    • Navigate to Outlook in your browser and click on the candy box menu in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Then, click on the Sway icon. If you do not see it in your menu, click "More Apps" and locate it in the apps centre. You must be logged in with your SSO (Banner ID and password).
  • Students: 
    • Navigate to the Student Software Portal in your browser, locate the Office 365 option, and follow the instructions to access it in. Once you are logged into MS Office 365, click on the Sway icon. If you do not see it in your menu, click "More Apps" and locate it in the apps centre. You must be logged in with your SSO (Banner ID and password).

About Microsoft Sway

  • Sway lets you build presentations as web content, rather than individual files. This allows you to embed things like videos, simulations, polls, and other online tools, while making your presentations shareable through a link. Format is fully accessible by default.
  • Use Microsoft Sway with PowerPoint by importing existing PPT files to turn them into interactive, web-based presentations. You can also embed PowerPoint files directly into a Sway. Sway automatically converts slides into a vertical or horizontal layout, but some animations may not carry over.
    • Import PowerPoint to Sway: in Sway, select "Start from a document," and choose your PowerPoint file. Sway will break the presentation into cards, allowing you to edit the content.
    • Embed PowerPoint in Sway: In Sway, click the + icon, select Media, then Embed. Paste the embed code from a PowerPoint file stored on OneDrive or SharePoint.
    • Use Sway for self-paced, web-responsive reports, and use PowerPoint for traditional, presenter-led slideshows

Resources

Access

  • Access Mentimeter using your Banner ID and network password as the login credentials. For more details on how to join the Ontario Tech Mentimeter Workspace, refer to our full Mentimeter webpage. 
    • Note: Students do not need to create a Mentimeter account to be able to respond to any questions in your presentation or to be tracked when using Verified Participants. 

About Mentimeter

  • Mentimeter is a presentation building tool for simple, professional looking presentations that are interactive. Add a variety of question types to engage your audience synchronously in LIVE mode or asynchronously in SURVEY mode.
    • Engage your audience by creating questions such as multiple choice, word cloud, open-ended, pin on image, 2x2 grid, quiz competition, and more. 
  • Track responses, participation and engagement using the Verified Participants features. 
  • Use provided templates or customize your own.
  • Build directly in Mentimeter or in PowerPoint using the add-on.
    • To use Mentimeter with your preferred slide deck building tool, create questions in Mentimeter and either:
      • import your already completed slides into Mentimeter, or
      • download the add-on for PowerPoint and add your questions right in PowerPoint.
      • All results can be reviewed in the online Mentimeter dashboard.

Resources

Access

  • H5P does not support SSO login. For sign up instructions, refer to H5P at the TLC. 

About H5P Course Presentation

  • Easily share or publish your presentations in the eCampusOntario H5P Studio, with options for applying CC licenses in the metadata and adapting open content from the Catalogue of H5P Content. 
  • Designed for creating structured, interactive learning content (similar to an interactive PowerPoint) with text, multimedia, and embedded quiz questions.
  • This tool is best used for asynchronous and self-paced interactive content that does not require participation tracking.
  • Upload your existing presentation slides as background images or build from scratch directly in the H5P Studio, seamlessly integrating a variety of different question types, including but not limited to:
    • drag and drop, fill in the blank, multiple and single choice sets, true/false, interactive videos, dialog cards, mark the words, multimedia, and more.

Resources