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convert PowerPoint presentations to Flash for free! Free PowerPoint to Flash converter creates web friendly Flash movies from your PowerPoint content keeping its visual parameters and animation effects. Generated Flash slideshows will look as if they have always been a Flash movie.

In this post, I'm going to do a quick run through of some ways you can start to use PowerPoint to build engaging learning experiences.

A useful list of online alternatives that let you create interesting presentations on any device. By storing them in the cloud allows you to work on them wherever you are and whatever device you have. It is also very easy to share them or embed into other sites. They do not all have some of the flashier animations of PowerPoint but are still visually interesting.

From the Teachers pay teachers site. "A visually appealing PowerPoint covering Roman History from the First Triumvirate of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey through the death of Mark Antony and rise of Octavian. Each slide includes images and graphics that hold students' attention and keep them focused on the lesson. Topics covered include the rise of Julius Caesar, Pompey and the Senate's plan to bring him home, his crossing of the Rubicon, the civil war, his relationship with Cleopatra, his assassination, and much more. It concludes with an open-ended exit ticket that has students thinking critically about the things they learned. "

Digital Storytelling and Reforming PowerPoint

authorSTREAM is a place to share and discover great PowerPoint presentations worldwide on just any topic. A great way to manage and share presentations

Share Live PowerPoint Presentations Online

PresentationTube Recorder uses a simple and straight forward technique to capture your own PowerPoint presentations from the comfort of your home or office, and without the need to have Internet connection while recording. PresentationTube provides a FREE version and FULL version of PresentationTube Recorder.

A great way to explain how infographics can be used in education

Great video of 'How to create a great PowerPoint presentation without breaking the law' by Alvin Trusty (via Wes Fryer's Blog). Quite long (40-odd minutes), but very good messages throughout. I particularly liked the way he talked about creative commons and the use of www.compfight.com as a means of obtaining high quality images.

From Microsoft comes this latest guide to digital storytelling using microsoft products. It includes links to a pdf download that has heaps of links to examples and other material associated with Microsoft products including PowerPoint, Photostory, and Windows Moviemaker amongst others. The page also inlcudes templates and other resources for teachers wanting to start out with Digital Stories.

Mouse Mischief is a tool that Microsoft makes available free of charge, and that allows teachers to work with Microsoft Office PowerPoint to make interactive presentations. With Mouse Mischief, teachers can add multiple choice questions to their presentations, and large groups of students can answer the questions using mice connected to the teacher's PC.

ollege leaders usually brag about their tech-filled "smart" classrooms, but a dean at Southern Methodist University is proudly removing computers from lecture halls. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has challenged his colleagues to "teach naked"-by which he means, sans machines. More than any thing else, Mr. Bowen wants to discourage professors from using PowerPoint, because they often lean on the slide-display program as a crutch rather using it as a creative tool.

HelloSlide is a pdf-only tool that allows you to add computer-generated voice to your documents. Upload your presentation, type the speech for each slide, and the programs automatically generates audio. Presentations are searchable, editable, and available in 20 different languages. An edit feature allows you to tweak the speech without re-recording the audio. Translations are available as a paid feature. This may be useful for ESL learners. (Note: it is super easy to export PowerPoint and Keynote files as pdfs.)

Critical thinking is a difficult concept to define in clear, objective terms. This can make it a challenging objective for teachers to implement and assess. The aim of this resource is to provide teachers with some tools to help clarify and communicate what critical thinking is and how it might be implemented as a teaching method.  This resource includes materials that can help teachers to engage their classes in critical thinking. The materials have been written with year 9 and year 10 students in mind, yet can easily be differentiated for students in years 8 and 11. The critical thinking introduction addresses what critical thinking is, where is applies in the curriculum and how to teach it. The teachers guide provides an overview of this resource in relation to the accompanying PowerPoint presentation.

"While some education conferences are genuinely inspiring, others serve mostly to demonstrate how even intelligent educators can be remarkably credulous, nodding agreeably at descriptions of programs that ought to elicit fury or laughter, avidly copying down hollow phrases from a consultant's PowerPoint presentation, awed by anything that's borrowed from the business world or involves digital technology. Many companies and consultants thrive on this credulity, and also on teachers' isolation, fatalism, and fear (of demands by clueless officials to raise test scores at any cost). With a good dose of critical thinking and courage, a willingness to say "This is bad for kids and we won't have any part of it," we could drive these outfits out of business -- and begin to take back our schools."