A relatively new presentation offering from Microsoft, Sway lets you build presentations as web content, rather than individual files. This frees you up to embed things like videos, simulations, polls, hashtag searches, Padlets, and other online tools, while making your presentations shareable through a link, rather than an attachment. Sway’s innovative format is also fully accessible, by default.
Getting Started
Sway in the O365 Apps Launcher
Access Sway right from your O365 email. Use the apps launcher (the waffle-looking square on the far left of your browser window) to open the list of All apps in your O365 account. Sway will be part of the list.
While you’re here, why not look around at a few of the other apps available to you? Your O365 account comes with numerous apps freely available to use in teaching and learning activities at Conestoga.
Use one of the suggested templates to pre-structure your presentation or site. This will let you experiment with substituting in your own content while you get comfortable.
Start from an existing document (or presentation slides)
Don’t expect Sway to work the same as PowerPoint, though – in fact this is where many people experience some frustration. Remember, Sway is a unique product, and capable of much more than a conventional presentation.
Additional Tips
Once you’ve created some Sways that you like, turn some into templates to reuse.
Jesslyn is an Educational Technology Consultant at
Conestoga. An Ontario Certified Teacher, and holding a M. Ed.
and B.Ed., Jesslyn researches and promotes new technologies
for faculty to enhance pedagogical practices. She brings to
the role her experience as a Google and Microsoft certified
technology trainer and as a classroom teacher in South
Korea, Mongolia, and Ontario, focusing on special education
and assistive learning technologies. She is available for
workshops, consultations, and support with using technology
in higher education contexts.
