There are a plethora of tools one can use to record your voice over a set of PowerPoint slides. For this resource, we focus on tools that are free and easiest to use. If you’re already ready for something beyond the basics, check out Richard Byne’s resources for video creation.

Record Audio Narration Over PowerPoint Slides on a PC

If you’re a Window’s user, you have the option of using the built-in features in PowerPoint. This step-by-step guide walks you through how to record your voice on top of PowerPoint slides you’ve created.

Record Audio Narration on a Mac

Mac users can record your voice over PowerPoint slides using the free Quicktime application that is a part of the Mac operating system (meaning you don’t have to purchase it or download it, separately).

Take a look at this set of instructions from OSU for how to record PowerPoint with Quicktime on a Mac.

Use Screencast-O-Matic to Record

On either Windows or the Mac, you can alternate between a webcam (so people can see your face, as you present), your slides, or stick with one of those approaches. Their free version allows for up to 15 minutes of recording. If you want to be able to edit the video after you record, or require more than fifteen minutes, check out their Deluxe Recorder.

Guidance on How to Approach These Types of Recordings

Remember when you’re creating these types of videos that our attention span online is much shorter than it is in a traditional classroom. Keep your videos under 15 minutes and you’ll be a lot more likely to have students actually watch them. If you need more than 15 minutes to address a topic, consider having some type of interactive activity and breaking the video up into more than one chunks.

Also, slides should be as simple as possible, relying on images to convey ideas. Nancy Duarte asserts in Harvard Business Review that we should ask ourselves whether or not our slides pass the glance test.