EchoVideo: Adding Accessible Interactive Presentation Slides to a Class

What is a Presentation in EchoVideo?

A presentation can be added to a class along side an existing lecture recording (scheduled or adhoc recordings). It can be a PowerPoint that you import from your computer, your Library, or slides can be created from scratch. Be  sure the PowerPoint is accessible before adding it along side to your class recording. The PowerPoint when uploaded to a class is converted into an interactive accessible format allowing student to interact and view slides at their own pace.

If desired, you can embed interactive elements like media or polling slides that you and students can interact with before, during, and after class. Alt text can be added to an image poll or multiple choice so students that are using screen readers can have content read to them. Follow the steps in this quick reference guide to create, upload, or edit an existing presentation.

Add a Presentation (PowerPoint or PDF) to a Class in an EchoVideo course

Instructors and co-instructors can add a presentation to an existing recording or a scheduled recording. Note: If you don't have a EchoVideo course connected to your Canvas course, you will need to request a course(s), fill out the Course request form. 

Assuming you have your EchoVideo course connected to your Canvas course, follow the steps below:

1. Click the EchoVideo tab in the Canvas menu. 
2. On the Classes page, locate the class recording.
3. To the right of the class, click the raspberry color plus icon. 
   
   
    
4. Next, choose how you want to import your presentation. There are 3 options available:
   
   Note: If you have no PowerPoints or PDFs in your Library, choose Upload a file otherwise, if its already in your Library choose Import from your Library. Definitions of each option are below:
   • Upload a file: Upload a PowerPoint or PDF from your computer.
   • Import from your library: Existing PowerPoint or PDF.
   • Create a new presentation: Blank Presentation. These act as a spacer or "pause" location to have your students do something else rather than watching a video.​​​​
5. Once your PowerPoint or PDF is added to a class, the file is converted into a interactive format that students will be able to click through at their convenience. Instructors can add interactive elements to the presentation like polls or media slides to gather feedback or access students. 
   
     

Interactivity in a Class via a EchoVideo Course

Once a presentation is added to a class, students can view the slides. Many faculty do this to provide supplemental material related to the lecture recording. The sample image below (on the left) shows the instructor perspective with a multiple choice poll and options to control the slide availability (most commonly used for in-person classes). On the right, is a discussion panel that both students and instructors can use, encourages participation from students attending in-person and those attending remotely.

Polls and Media Slides Overview

There are five types of polls you can add to your video or presentation. ​​​​​EchoVideo polls allow instructors to provide feedback to students after responses. Feedback can be correct, incorrect, or general, up to 1000 characters. In presentations within a course class (slide decks added to a class), it appears after the poll is closed and only to students who responded. In interactive media (this is a video with embedded polls), feedback shows immediately after submission. 

• Feedback can be added to all poll types. 
• Alt text can be added to image and multiple choice polls:
  • Embed an image 
  • Embed a website (YouTube, Vimeo, etc)
• Embed a media slide (share a video that is not yours)
• You can hide slides until you are ready for students to see them.
• Polls are reusable and store in your Library. 
• Poll analytics are found in the Polling tab within your EchoVideo course

Add Polls and Media Slides to a Presentation

These instructions assume that you have added a presentation to your class. Follow the steps below to edit a presentation.

1. On the Classes List Page in a Course. 
2. Click the presentation icon, then choose Edit Presentation.
3. In the upper-right of your screen, click Add Poll then choose the desired Poll (e.g., Multiple Choice, Short Answer, Image quiz, Ordered List, Numerical), see guides below:
    Add a Poll or a Add a Slide
   
   • Adding Polls to a Presentation
   • 5 Poll Types - Multiple choice, Short answer, Image poll, Ordered list, and Numerical can be added to a presentation.  
     
     Note: Alt text is included on the multiple choice and image polls (see sample images below). Enter a short and concise description to provide context, this is what the screen reader will read to students. You can enter up to 500 characters. Learn how to write Alternative text - webaim.org
     
     Image Poll - allows you to upload an image and mark the solution. Students select what they think is the correct answer. Like the sample image below, students would need to select which character is Woody. You will see all selections made by students in the polling analytics. 
     Multiple Choice poll - allows you to add a question, add an image or embed a website address (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo, etc. ) then add the potential answers. Note there are 200+ providers that will allow you to embed a website directly into EchoVideo.
     This is a sample of a multiple choice poll with an image added. It shows a preview of the question.
     
   • Embed a Video Clip in a Presentation. Media slides in EchoVideo allow faculty to share content they don't own with students without violating copyright laws. You can embed video, audio, images, and more. Click Add Slide then select Create Media Slide.
     
4. You can add existing polling slides (all polls created in EchoVideo are reusable) that are stored in your library, see how to import slides from your Library to a presentation.
5. When your presentation is available students can answer the polls unless you hide the slides and control when they can respond.
6. Students must be at a computer (best experience) or can use their phone to answer a poll.

Hiding Presentation Slides

You can hide your polling slides until you are ready for students to participate, click the eye icon (top menu). 

1. Open the class with the Presentation.
2. Select the presentation to make it active, click the waffle menu to view all slides, navigate to the polling slide you want to hide, hover over the slide and look for a eye symbol. 
   • The grey eye with no strike through it means that students can see and participate in the poll. Click the grey eye to hide the slide from students. 
   • The red eye with a strike through and means students cannot see the poll.
      
3. Follow the same steps for each slide you want to show or hide from students, grey eye means slide is available for viewing, the red eye means its hidden. 

Control Polling Slides - During Class (Live Stream)

Assuming you have already added your slide(s) to your class. Follow the steps below to learn more about controlling slide availability for students.

In a separate browser window, you can control the slides. You must be in the virtual classroom. DO NOT show this screen to students. Below the polling slide, you can see how many students have submitted their answer and control the slides availability, a sample image below shows a multiple choice poll.

The list below describes the slide deck controls:

• Submissions: Displays the number of students that have responded and the number of them in the course. Ex. 2/6 submissions
• Close your poll (hand icon): Allows you to close the poll, stops students from responding to the poll. 
• Show results (bar graph icon): Displays the number of responses. You can choose from grid or list view.
• Show correct answer (checkmark icon) displays to all users, (they are anonymous to students). 
• Reset activity: Removes all responses and resets the poll.

Q&A and Discussion and Confusion Alerts - During class (Live Stream)

Both instructors and students can participate in discussion (Q&A) commonly used during synchronous classes. Instructors can review confusion flags submitted by students when they are lost or confused during class.

Review Student Participation - After Class

After class, you can monitor student engagement by:

• Q&A Tab: Review and respond to questions students asked during or after the session.
• Polling Tab: View all student responses to polls. You can also see participation in real-time during class.
• Analytics Tab: Access detailed insights into student viewing behavior, participation trends, and engagement metrics.

If you plan to assign points for participation, refer to instructions on how to create an Assignment in Canvas to sync grades with the gradebook.

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