Our newest element is a game changer. We’ve cut out all of the hassle of uploading a PowerPoint presentation and made it a one-step process for you.

One key benefit of using the PowerPoint converter is that any timed slides or animations won’t be lost once the file has been uploaded. You’ll have your presentation exactly how you intended for it to be!

Here’s a brief video tutorial on how to use the PowerPoint Converter. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for additional information on how to import your presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What formats can be converted?
A: PPTX files, or PPT files from Office 2003 or later.

Q: What can they be converted into?
A: There are several options:

• From the Manage Course Elements page, “Import a Web Archive” will convert the PPT into a Web Archive.
• From the Manage Course Elements page, “Import a SCORM Package” will convert the PPT into a SCORM file.
• From the Manage Course Elements page, “Import PowerPoint” will convert the PPT into a SCORM file.
• On the Edit Chalkboard screens / Manage Slides, the “Upload slides as images, zip files, or PowerPoint” will convert the PPT into a series of images that can be used as slides.

Q: What kind of SCORMs does it create?
A: The converter creates “unscored” SCORMS. In other words, there will be no score reported from a SCORM created through PPT import. Viewing any part of the SCORM will mark it as complete.

Q: Can I use timed slides?
A: Yes.

Q: What’s with the navigation at the bottom (the rewind, play, fast forward buttons, timer)?
A: These advance the PPT to the next slide. If there is an animation, it advances to the next animation step. The timer does not indicate an amount of time for the presentation. It does work for timed slides, but not others.

Q: Can I use animations?
A: Yes, as long as they are standard PowerPoint animations.

Q: Can I use PowerPoint “canned sounds”?
A: Yes.

Q: Can I use embedded audio/video?
A: It depends. The PowerPoint converter program converts a file to HTML5. If the audio or video file that is included in the PowerPoint is also supported by HTML5, then it will work.

However, not all browsers have the same support for HTML5 video and audio. For example, MP4/H.264 encoded video works in Chrome, IE, and Safari, and Firefox on Windows, but it does not work on Firefox on Mac.

Unfortunately, there is no video standard that is supported by all HTML5 browsers. MP3 audio is supported by all major browsers that DigitalChalk supports, so that is the recommended audio standard to embed in a PowerPoint.

If you need to look up a particular browser’s HTML5 support, see this page: https://caniuse.com/mpeg4.