Google Slides or PowerPoint?

Recently, I have been going back and forth between 2 different programs, not really sure which one I prefer.  I do know that I absolutely love creating products for my students, and then love listing them  on Teachers Pay Teachers!  Awhile ago, I was creating them in Microsoft Word or Publisher.  About 2 years ago, I read that PowerPoint was the absolutely best program for creating digital items.  At that time, I hadn't done much with PowerPoint at all, but I dove in head first, read everything I could about it, explored the many features for myself, learned keyboard shortcuts, etc.  I've been using it ever since to create just about every lesson and product.

However, after taking several technology graduate course, I have totally fallen in love with Google Drive.  I tried Google Slides, and although there are not nearly the same number of options, it has some positive features that PowerPoint does not have.

Here are my conclusions from my personal study and use of both.

Choose PowerPoint if:

• You are interested in a lot of animation effects.
• You are interested in a lot of backgrounds and clipart.
• You love your fonts, all 600 of them, and you aren't willing to give them up.
• You have spotty or no internet use.
• You need to add music or sound clips directly to your presentation.

Choose Google Slides if:

• You want a free product (you will need a gmail account - also free).
• You want to collaborate with others in a shared document.
• You want to see changes to a shared document in live time.
• You want the ability to leave comments or others to leave comments about your presentation.
• You will be sharing this with your students as an assignment in Google Classroom.
• You want easy, mobile access, on-the-go.
• You need access to your presentation on multiple devices.
• You want to use while on a Mac computer.
• You would enjoy having many add-ons available when creating a presentation.

Finally, I am not saying if Google Slides or PowerPoint is better, because I'm not really sure.  I think each one has a reason or purpose to be more successfully used.  Just figure out why, how, where, and what you're using your presentation for, and that should help you determine which program is best.

~Your not-so-techie teacher