Mix it Up

This week’s cool tool is a must have for anyone looking to turn PowerPoint presentations into videos with narration. Sure you can use tools like Captivate to import slides and add narration and extras but that process can be time consuming and clumsy. Wouldn’t it be great if this functionality was built into PowerPoint?

Enter Office Mix

Office Mix is a free plug in that you can download here:

https://mix.office.com/en-us/Home

Open the installer once you’ve downloaded it (make sure PowerPoint is closed) and in a few minutes it should be installed. What now you ask? Open up the PowerPoint presentation you want to edit but now take a look in the upper left corner. You now have the awesome Mix button.

 

There are many new options that come with Office Mix but for most use cases you’ll want to start with Slide Recording. This button will start your slide show.

 

Now all you have to do is hit record and you can begin narrating. It’s that simple.

 

You can also annotate slides while recording by clicking and dragging on the slide with your mouse. When you’re ready to move on press the arrow key (on your keyboard or the arrow button near the record button) and the next slide will appear. Once you’ve finished click the X button in the right upper corner.

 

Once you’ve finished you can export the narrated slide show as a video and upload it to Youtube, Kaltura, or where ever your heart desires. Just click the Export to Video button and follow the prompts.

 

There are other features that let you insert different media types, record your screen (for recording things on your computer outside of powerpoint), and they even have a tutorial button if you’d like some help.

A few clicks is all it takes to make narrated PowerPoints and screen captures. If you’d like assistance or to see how other faculty are using Office Mix and similar tools in their class come visit us at the CII.