Online presentation software is a cloud-based platform for creating and storing presentations without needing to download applications. It offers benefits like unlimited file sizes, easy sharing through links, and advanced analytics. Various tools, such as Google Slides and Prezi, provide functionalities that enhance collaboration, multimedia integration, and accessibility for users.

1. By: Lany Lyn B. Magdaraog
Colegio de San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila of Northern Samar, Inc.

4. What is Online Presentation
Software?Online presentation software is quickly becoming one of the most in-demand sales and
marketing technologies on the market today. Fitting into the Sales Engagement
Platform (SEP) market, online presentation tools are a growing market, predicted to
increase from a $700 million market today to a $5 billion market in 2021.
But what exactly is it? We all understand it’s presentation software to help build and
store presentations, but the info below explores this further.
Definition
Online presentation software is a cloud-based platform where you can login and
create presentations in the cloud. Unlike PowerPoint and other desktop
applications, there is no download required and you work on your presentations
right online.
Cloud-based is a term that refers to applications, services or resources made available
to users on demand via the Internet from a cloud computing provider's servers.
Companies typically utilize cloud-based computing as a way to increase capacity,
enhance functionality or add additional services on demand without having to commit to
potentially expensive infrastructure costs or increase / train existing in-house support
staff.

5. Benefits
Because online presentation software is in the cloud, and an advanced digital
technology, there are many benefits over traditional desktop presentation software:
 Unlimited file sizes. There are no storage issues in the cloud. This means you can
make a presentation as large as you’d like with videos, high res images, infographics,
GIFs and more. If you’ve ever created a massive PowerPoint deck, gone to save it and
had the whole thing crash, you know what a huge benefit this is. Not to mention the
ability to use as much rich multimedia as you want, to make your presentation more
visual and appealing to audiences.
 Easy sharing. Because you’re building your presentation online, you’re also storing it
online, meaning you don’t have to send a huge PDF or zip drive file. You can simply
send a link when your presentation is ready to be viewed. Not only is this easy for you to
do, but it’s easy for the recipient to click on it and instantly view your presentation.
 Analytics. As with anything stored in the cloud, online software allows you to see
advanced analytics so you can view when your presentation has been viewed, for how
long and on what slides. You also can receive real-time notifications to know when
someone has clicked on your URL to view your presentation.

6. How it Works
There are slight nuances between each type of cloud presentation software, but for most
tools you simply log into your software and start building. Typically, you start by choosing
your deck template; best practice is to use a pre-built template that has been created
and customized specifically for you and your company. From there you can either create
new slides, or easily select from pre-built slides customized for your product. Once that’s
complete you now have a completed presentation, which you can then customize further
as needed, drilling into each slide and using the web editor tool to make changes. Once
your presentation is complete you simply generate a link to share and send it as needed.
Pre-Built Templates and Slides
Companies who want to save time and increase brand consistency are increasingly
using pre-built presentation templates and slides. Many companies already use a
standard PowerPoint template, but with online presentation software you can take it a
step further and build out a complete master deck, stylized to meet your specific brand
guidelines and containing all your key product, marketing and sales content in one
place.
When you use online presentation software you open yourself up to a world of new
possibilities. What before was a very limiting tool that allowed for minimal design,
multimedia and slow assembly, is now replaced with a robust tool that allows you to do
many more things, faster.

7. What To Look For
In Free Online
Presentation
Software

8. Here are some things to look for when selecting a presentation
tool:
 Ease-of-use. You don't want to spend hours and hours learning how to use
the presentation tool. Good presentation software should be easy to learn and
have plenty of training resources available.
 Import/export features. Your presentation software tool should be
compatible with popular file formats. Also, keep in mind that at some point you
may want to export your presentation into another tool.
 Real-time collaboration. Teamwork has become increasingly important in
today's professional environment. With the right web-based tool, you and a
teammate can work together on a presentation project.
 Cloud access and storage. It used to be that when you were away from
your computer, you couldn't work on your project until you came back. With a
cloud-based tool, that's no longer a problem. Access your work anywhere
there's an Internet connection.

9.  Audio/video capabilities. Multi-media has become the norm for slideshows.
If you want your presentation to really stand out, consider adding an audio or
video component.
 Good technical support. What are you going to do if something goes wrong
while you're creating your presentation? Look for a presentation software tool
with good support resources such as third-party tutorials, a strong online help,
or help resource.
Why Templates Help You Create Powerful Presentations
Another consideration if you're new to creating slideshows and your budget is limited is
the design aspect. Whether you're a business owner or a student, you want your
presentation to look good so that you make a good impression.
If you're not a designer yourself, you may struggle to create an attractive, eye-catching
design for your presentation. And of course, you probably don't have the budget to hire
someone to create a slideshow design for you.
There's a budget-friendly solution! Templates are available for many presentation tools
at a fraction of what it would cost to hire a professional designer. Of course, some
software tools include some basic templates--but your presentation will wind up looking
like everyone else's with the included templates.

10. FREE ONLINE
PRESENTATIO
N SOFTWARE
TOOLS

11. PowerPoint Online1
Many people don't realize that there's a free
version of PowerPoint available. This can be
an especially great option for students who
may have a one-time or infrequent need to
create a presentation and can't afford to buy a
Microsoft Office subscription
PowerPoint Online includes many (but not all) of the features of its premium
counterpart. You can format text, use animations, and include other graphic
elements. Since it's web-based, there are also collaboration features and cloud
storage.
There are some limitations, though. For example, you can't use PowerPoint
Online unless you've got Internet access. Some views aren't available. You're
limited to built-in themes, although you can import a presentation with a third-
party theme. And you can only insert audio and video files through YouTube.
There are other differences as well.

12. 2 Google Slides

13. Even though it's free, Google Slides' features rival those of premium
presentation software tools. It's real-time collaboration tools make it ideal
for times. Google Slides is also a great option if you intend to publish your
presentation online. Plus, even though Google Slides is a cloud-based
tool, you can change the settings to use it while you're offline.
If you're considering using Google Slides, this article explains how it
compares to more expensive tools:
• Google's office suite is increasing in popularity. And you can upgrade to
a premium version of the office suite if your needs grow.
•Google Slides is also easy to learn. Google has helpful online
documentation as well as Help documentation within each office tool,
including Google Slides. Plus, there are a lot of third-party resources you
can access.
When you sign up for a free Google account, you get access to all of the
Google Drive tools--including Google Slides.

14. 3 Keynote

15. If you've purchased a Mac computer lately, it probably came
with Apple's Keynotes software already loaded. It's also
available to download for free for iOs devices from the iTunes
App Store. PC users can now view or edit Keynote
presentations online with the iCloud website.
If you've got a Mac, you'll probably find Keynote easy to use.
It's well-integrated with the Mac platform, which makes it easy
to incorporate images and multimedia into your presentation. A
recent upgrade added better collaboration features to Keynote.
Coming from Apple, Keynote is well-documented. There's good
technical support and other resources from both Apple and
third parties.

16. 4
Prezi Basic
http://www.prezi.com

17. Prezi is an online platform-independent presentation tool that is based on the
idea of a canvas. Instead of working with sequential slides, users are given a
blank canvas where they can position text, insert images and pdf documents,
embed videos and flash, as well as add links to other websites.
Users can utilize frames to logically group similar kinds of content or
supporting arguments surrounding an idea. Once the content has been grouped
into logical units, those units can then be linked via a path that would allow
presenters to move from one idea to the next in the sequence they design.
During the presentation, users can always veer away from the set path
by zooming out and choosing a different object in the presentation – something
that is not easily accomplished in traditional slide presentations developed in
Microsoft PowerPoint or OpenOffice Impress.
Prezi is a popular presentation authoring tool known for its graphic interface
and its non-linear approach to presentations. The zooming tool is impressive.
Plus, there are tutorials and other aids to help you learn how to use it. Its
popularity is growing, which means there's also a growing number of third-party
resources available

18. 5
LinkedIn SlideShare
http://www.slideshare.net

19. SlideShare is a online portal that allows sharing and downloading of
presentations, documents and videos. It not only enables users to upload their
existing PowerPoint presentations and other types of documents to the website
to reach a wider audience, but also allows users to utilize some of the
SlideShare’s social networking features.
After the presentations have been uploaded to the portal, they can be
embedded in blogs, websites or even Blackboard. SlideShare presentations
can be shared publicly with the global audience or privately with colleagues or
students.
What makes SlideShare most valuable is its vast repository of
presentations that have been uploaded by users worldwide. Presentations can
be searched based on the topic of interest or by author’s name.
Original files can also be downloaded and reused, if the presentation
author enables this feature. Additionally, viewing presentations on the same
topic developed by others allows users to see a variety of approaches to the
same issue.

20. 6
Zoho Show
http://www.zoho.com

21. Zoho is a comprehensive suite of online productivity and collaboration
applications.
It includes a variety of online tools including mail, office suite, project
management and web conferencing tools, among many others.
Zoho Show is the presentation piece of this online office suite and it
allows users to create and present their content online. Presentations can be
accessed, imported, edited and shared with other users “from anywhere and
anytime.”
Like a number of other online presentation tools, Zoho Show allows importing
Microsoft PowerPoint and OpenOffice Impress files; Zoho presentations can
also be exported into a number of formats: HTML document, Microsoft
PowerPoint presentation and show, OpenOffice Impress and pdf.
Because Zoho Show is part of the whole collaboration suite, users can use the
tool to co-present remotely from different geographical locations. Zoho Meeting
and Chat tools allow participating audience to provide instant feedback to the
presenters.

22. 7
SlideRocket
http://www.sliderocket.com

23. Another presentation tool that is gaining popularity is SlideRocket. In addition to
collaboration, importing/exporting, feedback and embedding capabilities,
SlideRocket provides the following innovative features in presentations: support
for various plug-ins, polling questions, analytics, audio narration and slide
library.
Plug-ins allow authors to pull live data from the Twitter feed, get a quote from a
repository of famous quotations, insert a word definition or present a stock chart
on the slide. Polling questions allow authors to poll audience using a variety of
question types: multiple-choice, open-ended, check-boxes, slider and yes/no
questions.
SlideRocket analytics tool provides the author of the presentation with data
about the presentation and viewers. It records the total number of views,
viewing duration, viewer comments and polling results. All slides created with
SlideRocket are automatically added to the library and can be re-used in
multiple presentations eliminating the need for copying and pasting.
All of these SlideRocket features allow users to make their presentations
interactive and more tailored to the needs of the web audience.

24. While all of the above presentation tools offer a lot of beneficial capabilities, in
many cases the full set of presentation features is available only with the
purchase of the professional license.
Users should also be aware of some of the other challenges these tools have:
 since no software installation is required for these presentation tools and all
content is hosted online, internet connection is required; when made public,
presentations can be viewed and potentially reused by anyone;
 not all browsers are supported equally and presentations created with some
of these tools are not accessible to screen readers unless they are exported
into a different format.
 As with the use of any other software, faculty should assess the benefits the
software offers and decide whether they can support the purpose and their
teaching and learning objectives in a given situation.
SUMMARY