PPT to iPod - Free on authorSTREAM

authorSTREAM has a new PPT to iPod (free) feature for converting PowerPoint files to iPod/iPhone friendly formats.

This presentation highlights some of the features and uses:



The following are some benefits of the PPT to iPod service:


Teaching Professionals:

1- Share presentations with students. Allow students to listen and observe class presentations, projects or lectures from the convenience of their iPod.

2- Before a speech at a conference, academic meeting or class, iPod’s PowerPoint application gives the ability to review and practise easily without a computer.

3- authorSTREAM’s PPT to iPod service enables teachers to keep students up to date outside of the classroom; whether they are on vacation or sick in bed.


Business Professionals:

1- Business meetings and client visits are meant to be short and result oriented. Increase the efficiency and the quality of your appointments by showing your commercials or catalogues to your clients on your iPod.

2- Team meetings at times can be inefficient and slow, especially if there is only a single computer screen to view and present information on. authorSTREAM recommends the use of iPods to allow various information to be shown simultaneously, on more devices.

3- Business conferences are an important event, it presents the opportunity to interact with clients and build new partnerships. authorSTREAM advices business professionals to review key points on their iPods before hand to enhance networking skills and build confidence.


Students:

1- Students can upload and study for an important exam on the go, away from a computer. No longer will students waste precious cram time on a long bus ride or walk home. Students can study what they want, when you want, without bulky laptops or slow school computers.

2- Students can upload projects and homework onto their iPod and not have to go through the hassle of emailing it to themselves.

3- Easily show a PowerPoint presentation to others; collect feedback from teachers, friends and colleagues, and improve your PowerPoint.

4- Use iPods for entertainment by sharing fun and amusing PowerPoint presentations that you can find off the authorSTREAM website.

5- During group meetings PowerPoint information can been added, deleted or altered. authorSTEAM suggests students distribute new PowerPoint files to members on iPod’s to reduce the chance of confusion and misinformation.

PowerPoint to Video for YouTube

PPT to Video

authorSTREAM’s brand new feature allows users the ability to convert PowerPoint files into video format. Simply, upload your PPT file onto the authorSTREAM website and click the video download icon to the right of the viewing screen and download. Once the file is downloaded, it will be in YouTube friendly format and can then be uploaded onto YouTube and other video sharing websites directly. If you wish to view the presentation on a video player, you may have to download a special codec. However, this depends on which media player is used. Here's a presentation on using this feature on authorSTREAM:

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by DaveGrewal

This new element to PowerPoint now gives way to numerous applications; from Business to education, tourism to entertainment, the possibilities are endless. I ask all those reading this to think of innovative ways of using this new feature, and let us discuss.

Here are some of my ideas:

• Upload PPTs on YouTube and other video sharing sites like Teacher Tube, Yahoo Video etc. for greater distribution and reach
• Video files can be played on more devices than PPT files can. Therefore, BlackBerrys, cell phones and other hand-held devices could play your PowerPoint presentation if converted to appropriate video formats compatible with these devices.
• Some computers may not be able to play PPT files but they can play video files, this means presentations can now be viewed on more computers
• Teachers, can’t get the projector? Use a TV to present PowerPoint presentations by converting the file into video format and burning to a DVD or video CD. Of course, we have to keep in mind that the video file needs to be in appropriate video formats before we can go ahead with these ideas.

I know there are more so go ahead, jump in and post a reply!

Dave Grewal

Update: Now send your presentations direct to YouTube without downloading! Here's some buzz and more information about this service: Transfer presentations to YouTube

Space PowerPoint Slideshow

Today’s post is concerning space, as in outer space and to quote Mr. Jean-Luc Picard the ‘final frontier’. Space is a unique and interesting topic because we know so little about it. We get all these TV shows and movies that tease us as to the wonders of space, but do any of us really know what space looks like. Without the glitz and glamour of Hollywood (or Bollywood, depending where you’re from), space is more different and beautiful than we can possibly imagine.

How do I know this?

Because I ran into a PPT a few days ago showcasing pictures from the Hubble Space telescope that captured amazing pictures of space “stuff”. Now, recalling the space unit from grade 5, I realize these are pictures of galaxies, solar systems, stars, supernovas and gas giants. Somewhere, somehow an astronomer is either laughing at me or shaking their head in disgust as I’m sure I didn't get some of those terms right.

But that’s just it; I don’t know what these pictures are but I cannot help but to be fascinated with the diversity and color. This PowerPoint presentation does a great job of demonstrating the wonders of the universe and stirring up interest for astronomy and space exploration by capturing the pictures and showcasing them on a full screen. Watching them on full screen is really the only way to watch a presentation like this.

With 54 pictures on this PPT, I watched every single slide and wished to see more. Soon after watching it I went on hubblesite.org, a website that is devoted to the Hubble telescope, and I began to learn more. It was very cool and I encourage everyone reading this to check out the site or any site related to space exploration and research.

By Umesh

Technology Trends in Society

I will start with a few questions:

How has new technology affected you, the average person, in your day-to-day life?
In the past year, what new invention or creation has changed the way you do things?
Which ones can you now...not do without?

These questions are harder to answer then one might think. I ask these questions because of this PowerPoint presentation I have discovered has made me curious. The PPT's name is "Technology Trends for 2007" and essentially highlights the new advancements of this past year, 2007. This PPT brings attention to many forms of technology that I use everyday. Now, these are 'inventions' or 'tools' that I cannot believe did not exist before, as if I cannot imagine a life without them!

I like to draw special attention to the mention of “TV on Demand...” slide, which demonstrates a tool I must say, I have used extensively. Free movies and TV shows online! but before 2007 or even 2006 things like this were not possible. Before, I couldn't watch "Rush Hour 3" at home, in bed, while it was still in theatres... and to me... that's weird.

I think it is weird that I find that weird :S

This is why I find it fascinating that new forms of technology like free online movies or listening to music on my cell has become so quickly accepted as norm in society. Now, this PPT won't knock your socks off in terms of content, but I want you to think about the deeper meaning behind this and ask yourself harder questions:

How many have been added?
How easily have they been absorbed into society?
How long till something will be added onto it or make it obsolete?

I again, do not know the answers or where they lead, I just like to pose them for others to ponder and hopefully respond to.

Here’s the presentation:

By fabricoffolly

HIV / AIDS Presentation

HIV/AIDS is one of the most dangerous diseases, and important topics in the world. Much like Global warming, Bird Flu and poverty, HIV/AIDS is something that threatens the whole of human civilization. Today, I have found a very informative and influential PowerPoint on authorSTREAM entitled “The Globalization of HIV” by Regina Faber.
This PPT does an excellent job of showcasing facts and information in a plain and easy to read format. It has a strong focus on specific countries like: India, South Africa and Zambia, however, the PPT remains an overall good description of the current HIV/AIDS situation around the world.

I like this PowerPoint presentation for a few reasons; firstly, it deals with a real issue with no obstructions, it gets straight to the point. Second, the quotes used I find are very impactful and leave a memorable impression. My favorite quote is used when discussing Africa:

“…200,000 people…died in 1998 as a result of armed conflict…yet 2 million Africans were killed by AIDS in that same year”

A powerful quote that details the seriousness of Africa’s situation. Thirdly, the PPT at the very end discussed something called “HIV-2”, a different strain of HIV/AIDS that I, personally, was unaware of. I proceeded after the presentation was done to Google this HIV-2 disease and began to learn more about the issue. I think the PPT was done very well, and it made me take a closer look at the present situation.

In closing, I don’t think this PPT gives the whole story, I think there is probably more. However, I think this is a good start for all of us to re-examine this issue and learn more.

Here’s the presentation:

PowerPoint in the Classroom

PowerPoint presentations have traditionally been used in either a classroom or business setting. However, I wish to acknowledge an exceptional PowerPoint that was done in Mrs. Welch’s classroom. The PPT is about ‘Life in Colonial America’ and the most interesting part of this presentation is that it was created and narrated by a group of young and talented kids.

I think it is clear from listening, these kids are just starting to learn how to read and this project was designed to assist Mrs. Welch students in doing just that. It appears the children: researched about colonial America, created a sentence or two describing a part of the history, drew their own PowerPoint slide and then narrated it.

This PowerPoint demonstrates the tremendous use PPTs have in the classroom. The children learnt about a subject in a fun, creative way and at the same time were exposed PowerPoint and computers. I think Mrs. Welch did a great job with this project and I’m sure her students learned a lot.

I hope Mrs. Welch emailed this link to the parents of the kids because I think this is an excellent way of demonstrating to parents what the children learn. Hopefully, teachers are reading this post or watching this presentation and thinking of their own ways to implement PPTs in their classroom. As Mrs. Welch demonstrated it can be done at all levels of education.

Here's Mrs. Welch's Class Presentation:


Posted By: Donato

PowerPoint not Grabbing Attention?

I think presentations can be boring, slow and uninteresting at times for a variety of reasons. Here are a few examples of PowerPoint presentations, which might not click with your audience and can become a task to watch:

• boring content
• bad pictures
• poor writing
• too much writing
• terrible color scheme
• unreadable or overly extravagant fonts

and most of all....

• Lack of animations!

Animations in PPTs can be very influential, if used properly; they can be entertaining, eye-catching and informative. I have encountered many great PowerPoints with amazing content, pictures, text, etc. but have always gotten bored with that ‘predictability’ in slide format. In these predictable slides, information is just presented, simple text and pictures are shown automatically. If the information came to life, however, grabbed some attention and demanded the audience to follow along, I think even the best presentation could benefit greatly.

Here is a nice animated presentation where animations capture and retain interest:

By Miked

I am Bored! I Need a Solution for this Boredom

I am bored. We are bored!

Boredom is something we all face in our day-to-day lives; be it at work, in class or on a slow weekend, we need something to stop being bored. Now, the Internet is probably the best tool to fight this terrible occurrence in our lives, mainly because there are so many things on the net that can entertain us. From video sharing sites like YouTube to networking sites like Facebook, people now a days are wasting hour upon hour on these sites, why? Because we’re bored!

Fighting Boredom

But I have good news; we can now fight boredom a new way, with PowerPoints! I know you must think I am crazy because PowerPoint is typically synonymous with boring class slideshows, but that’s not the case. I have found a lot of cool, entertaining and fun presentations to pass the time. There are PowerPoint slideshows with beautiful pictures of scenery, people and events, which are so engaging that you loose track of time altogether.

They are the kind of pictures that make you stop and say “…how did he snap that?” or “that can’t be real!” These PowerPoints will make you laugh, and some that will maybe even make you think. I encourage anyone reading this to try searching authorSTREAM and NOT find something funny, interesting or just plain cool, it won’t happen.

Presentations to keep boredom at bay

I found a lot of great PowerPoint presentations, here’s some of my favorites.

By Abbott


By nitin

PowerPoint for Tourism

I recently came across a very interesting and unique PowerPoint presentation on authorSTREAM. The PPT is called “Greek Architecture 3”, which highlights famous Greek monuments and sites, and then gives a brief description of its history. The presentation is informative and I can say I learned a little bit more about Greece.
Well, after watching this presentation by ‘DeniseZeo’ I feel that PowerPoint can be a powerful medium for depicting places and can also be used for creating multimedia travel tour guides. What I mean is having people create PPTs about travel destinations that include pictures, audio narrations and text.

For example:
have a PowerPoint presentation about the Taj Mahal, giving interesting facts, history and information to those wishing to travel there.

A person can create a PowerPoint, upload it to authorSTREAM and others can view it before they go. PowerPoint for tourism I think is a really cool idea, let me know what you think.

Here's Denise's presentation