- Sway or PowerPoint, what Microsoft presentation tool
will you choose next?
(dramatic music)
Hi there, Jamie Keet here today at Teachers Tech.
Hope you're having a great day today.
Today, I've created a video that's gonna compare
the difference between Microsoft PowerPoint
and Microsoft Sway and help you choose what will be better
for your next presentation process.
Also check the timestamps down below,
because then you can jump to different sections
and you can see how I'm comparing the different ones.
And at the very end of this video,
I'll give you my final verdict on how I would be using them,
'cause there is a difference on the purpose
of these presentation tools.
If you're used to PowerPoint presentations,
it might seem like Microsoft created
an unnecessary duplication called Sway.
While both applications are powerful,
they're not designed for the same purpose.
Let's start with a quick overview of Sway versus PowerPoint.
Now Sway is a super easy, intuitive design program
from Microsoft.
It allows users to pull content from the web
in different sources and you can create colorful stories,
reports, presentations, and more.
The presentation software doesn't require any design skills.
Sway is super easy to use as long as you can drag and drop
and have an internet connection.
PowerPoint is a household name when it comes
to creating presentations.
For most users it's the go-to software
for presentations due to its ability
to create highly interactive and stylish content.
Microsoft designed the program with tons of features
and powerful editing tools,
creating outstanding presentations,
especially for corporate and business use.
So in this section, let's talk about the main differences.
And this is probably what most people are curious about.
Why use Sway, why use Microsoft?
Where's the differences.
Comparing Sway versus PowerPoint is not a matter
of what application is better.
In fact, Microsoft didn't develop the former
to compete with the latter.
Instead, Sway is a fully functional program designed
to compliment PowerPoint.
Of course, there are a few overlaps
where you can use either,
but here are some of the main differences
between the two programs.
Price and access.
Price is one of the biggest difference
when it comes to comparing Sway versus PowerPoint.
Well, both programs are part of Microsoft Office 365 suite.
This Sway app is free for anyone with a Microsoft account.
Users can access it either on the web
or through the desktop.
On the other hand,
PowerPoint must be purchased as a standalone license
as an Office bundle or as part of the Office 365 license.
When thinking about the intended purpose
of either Sway or PowerPoint,
Sway to me is a more casual approach.
It kinda has just an easy feel
to kinda you're telling a story with it,
and it's for more web based consumption of it.
On the other hand, PowerPoint I think of it more
as business oriented, more structured,
has lots of powerful features,
but you can use it in an online or offline environment.
So what is the offline usage for these products?
You can't use it without an internet connection.
It's designed to be web based program that can only be used
with an internet connected device.
On the other hand, Microsoft PowerPoint can be used
both online and offline.
But while the features will work just fine,
you can't search for online content
and save projects to a cloud location
without an internet connection.
In this next section,
I wanna compare the interfaces and layouts
of these two Microsoft applications.
Sway features a simple drag and drop interface
with only a few menus.
The workspace is almost a blank canvas
that allows the user to quickly add content
and reorder them easily.
To make things easier for the user,
an auto edit function called remix
is included to randomly suggest designs.
Now on the other hand,
PowerPoint interface is more organized.
Functions are arranged into ribbons
and quite a number of taps.
Their workspace is very professional
and mastering the program can take awhile.
In the layout of Sway there are three layouts available.
We have our vertical.
In this one the layout lets your content scroll up and down
like a regular webpage.
You have horizontal,
you can continuously scroll sideways in this layout
and we have slideshow.
This works like a typical PowerPoint layout.
On the other hand, PowerPoint uses the slideshow format
to create presentations.
But you can use the special effects
to make your presentations have a continuous feel.
Transitions and timers are among these features
that can automatically make
your presentation flow seamlessly.
Using templates can really speed up the design process.
Now both of these have some templates in them,
but I wanna show you the main differences between them.
Sway has only a few templates compared to PowerPoint.
Even the term template is too strong
for what is available in Sway.
A better term would be styles.
You can control the overall design of your project
using the available styles and Sway.
The good thing about them it's fully customizable.
PowerPoint takes the lead when it comes
to the sheer volume of templates available.
This can simplify the process
of creating professional looking presentations.
Before I give you my final verdict here
between Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Sway,
I just wanna talk about collaboration
and sharing inside these two products.
Now the other thing I just wanted to point it,
if you do wanna learn more about either of these,
I do have beginner tutorials
in Microsoft Sway and PowerPoint
and I will put the link to those down below
in the description.
Collaboration, Sway is a cloud-based program
so users can easily collaborate on projects simultaneously.
Granting permissions to edit
is as simple as selecting edit
when you're sharing the link to your project.
The collaboration feature is not available
in the standalone version of PowerPoint.
You can only work with multiple users at a time
if you use PowerPoint as part of a 365 license.
Sharing, sharing your Sway projects
can be done in a few different ways.
You can share your work with others
by copying the link to your project
and sending it through email or text.
You can also share via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
You can also choose to embed the link in your Sway
in a webpage or even generate a visual link.
In any case you can control whether those you share with
can only view or edit the document.
For PowerPoint, sharing your presentation depends
on the version you're using.
You can share via link or email
if you have an Office 365 license.
If you use the desktop version
that's not connected to the Office 365,
you can only share your projects with others through email
or other file sharing methods.
You'll need to save the presentation as a read only file,
at least converted to a PDF
if you don't want others to edit it.
So the final verdict,
here's my final verdict for the comparison
between Microsoft Sway and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Now I would go with PowerPoint if you need a presenter
for your next presentation.
That would be a key thing that I'd look for.
PowerPoint is more of that professional looking,
suited for business corporate presentations.
Especially if you're using charts or graphs inside of it.
And plus with all the different templates
that you can get from PowerPoint
or the ones that you can add online,
you can have them looking very professional.
Now I would go with Sway if you don't need a presenter.
Maybe you've created something
and you can just share the link out
and it's much more interactive.
And again, I find it more casual and friendly with Sway.
If you're using things like a video,
you can plunk them in, YouTube videos easily.
Plunk them into a Sway and everything's working online,
lots of images and things like that.
So there is a difference on which way
I would use a Sway or a PowerPoint.
I hope this came in handy if you were deciding
whether which one to use for your next presentation project.
Let me know in the comments down below
what you think of this,
what else you're looking for maybe in PowerPoint or Sway.
Thanks for watching this time on Teachers Tech.
I'll see you next week with more tech tips and tutorials.