Five Fresh, Fun, and FREE Presentation Tools

As you know, this summer (2016) ISTE will be releasing the newly revised standards for students. In the second draft of the standards, standard 1d calls for students to "experiment with emerging technologies, drawing on their knowledge of existing tools and operations, and demonstrate an agility in troubleshooting and solving technical problems." Although not yet finalized, it's a pretty safe bet that the final version of the standards will include some variant of this requirement. Although there are many ways to integrate technology, often presentation tools are used as a vehicle for formal or summative assessments and can be the easiest way for teachers to allow students to choose their own tool without direct instruction on how to use it.

If you're looking for some new presentation tools for students to implement in lieu of Google Slides, Prezi, PowerPoint, etc., check out this list of five fresh, fun, and FREE presentation tools!


1. Office Sway - Sway has a small learning curve but has a built-in guided tutorial to help users build their presentations. Students can add text, headings, images, videos, tweets, charts and even embed content into their presentations.


They can create presentations that scroll horizontally, vertically, or showcase more like traditional slideshows and can easily apply a variety of attractive design templates.


Students can also collaborate on a shared Sway by sharing an edit link, which is nice and easy to do. Completed presentations can be shared through a variety of social media channels, by link, or embedded elsewhere. Check out the sample Sway embedded below.




2. emaze - This presentation tool is another fun new alternative to the usual presentation tool. Emaze also comes with nice templates and lets you add text, images, videos, shapes, and charts.



Students can collaborate to create their emaze and finished products can be shared OR downloaded in a variety of formats.


Click here to view a sample emaze!

3, 4, & 5. Adobe Spark - So, I had to save the best for last! Adobe Spark was just released about a week ago and is actually 3 products rolled into one:

Adobe Post, Adobe Page (formerly Slate), and Adobe Video (formerly Voice).

Until last week, only Page was available online, Post & Video (Voice) were iPad apps only. But now you can access all three through your web browser with Adobe Spark! This is fantastic news for those of us with large numbers of Chromebooks in our buildings!!

I can't lie, I'm kind of in love with Adobe Spark. 

Adobe Post lets you create social posts and graphics in a variety of sizes - memes, announcements, inspirational quotes, etc. The interface is incredibly simple, and the end results are stunning. Simply add your text and Post will create and format a graphic for you, which you can fully customize or leave as is. Upload your own photos, apply photo filters, customize text, etc.


When you're done, you can download your completed post, or share it via link, email or social media.

Adobe Video lets you create beautiful story/explainer videos with very little effort. Add icons or your own photos, narrate your video, and publish! The look and feel of Adobe Video is almost identical to it's precursor, Voice. To learn more and see a sample, check out my previous post on Adobe Voice.

Adobe Page is quite similar to Microsoft Sway in many ways. The final product is quite similar, but the options are a little more limited. This of course also means that it's easier to learn to use! Students can add photos, text, links, videos, and more. Like Sway, Page also has beautiful Themes that can be applied to the presentation.



Completed projects can be shared through a link. Alas, it does not appear that students can collaborate on a Page, but despite this, I'm still in love. I'm hoping they will add collaborative functionality soon!

Check out this sample Page on the Revolutionary War.

So, that's it! Five fresh, fun, and FREE presentation tools for you and your students to explore and use! I'm always on the lookout for great new options, so if you know of others, please add them in the comments below!

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  1. SnehaSeptember 27, 2016 at 7:16 PM

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