Sway, an interactive presentation, newsletter, and report creator
Slide presentingStory creators
Description: Sway is a digital tool by Microsoft for creating interactive presentations, newsletters, stories, and reports. Users can create content from scratch or by importing documents, and then adding text, images, and multimedia, with features like animations and transitions. Sway also provides many templates that can be mixed to get different layouts. Sway is completely free for users with a Microsoft account, requiring sign up for use.
Evaluation: Sway is a handy tool that allows creating dynamic presentations without extensive design skills. It can be used for different educational purposes, such as creating digital lessons, stories, educational newsletters, and more. It can be particularly useful to enhance storytelling skills and engage with visually-oriented students.
Cost: Free with a Microsoft account.
Usability and tech notes ▼
Time efficiency Time needed to learn how to use a tool and its time-saving potential: High.
Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to: Over 40 languages.
Respect for privacy What data does the tool collect and why? What security measures are there? GDPR compliant? : Medium. Sway does not use user data for anything other than providing users with its services. On the platform, users can control who can visualise their content by setting it as public or private. Sway has different security measures in place, among which is encryption. Also, it stores data of users of the EU within the Union. In the past, there have been privacy concerns regarding Microsoft’s privacy policies but it does state compliance with the GDPR. See more here, here, and here.
Saving work for future use Can work be saved for future use?: Yes.