Creating Presentations

Online presentation tools

Google Slides

This is part of your school Google account. "With Google Slides, you can build presentations right in your web browser—no special software is required. Even better, multiple people can work on slides at the same time, you can see people’s changes as they make them, and every change is automatically saved."

Best Classroom Tools for Presentations and Slide Shows

Descriptions of and links to a wide variety of online presentations tools. Most have a completely free option, but look at the "Price" section of the description to make sure; for a few of these the only free option is a free trial that will expire.

Remember to check the terms of use for any of these tools that you want to use. Check age restrictions and other usage limitations BEFORE you sign up. For example, Prezi is a popular presentation tool, but you MUST pay attention to the age restrictions! "Users must be 13 years of age or older to use the Service. By using the Service you represent that you are 13 or older, and that you will not permit a minor under the age of 13 to use the Service, your Prezi account, or otherwise interact with the Service....Users between 13 and 18 years of age may utilize a Prezi account established by their parent or legal guardian, with such parent or guardian’s approval."

Media to use in your presentations

There are many sources of copyright-free pictures and other media for you to use in your projects and presentations.

Wikimedia Commons

A source of public domain and freely-licensed media. "Everyone is allowed to copy, use and modify any files here freely as long as they follow the terms specified by the author; this often means crediting the source and author(s) appropriately..."

Library of Congress > Digital Collections

The Library of Congress is a great source of historical photographs and other documents. You can search through all of the digital collections at once, including the American Memory collections, which are "primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States."

A Copyright-Friendly Toolkit

Guidelines on respecting copyright when using the intellectual property of others, along with a long list of sources of copyright-free and copyright-friendly images and other media.

Google image search

If you are using Google to search for images, go to the Advanced Search. You can specify that you only want results that are images you are free to use. Go to the bottom of the advanced search page to select the usage rights that fit what you need.