This is the third publication of the series “From work desks to work platforms” in which we share the strategies and tools that have helped us doing remote-work even before the Coronavirus Pandemic. Here we present two out of nine tools, remote presentations, data collection and data analysis.
3. Showing Off: Presentations
Presentations on Site and Remotely: Slides / Powerpoint / Keynote
What we needed
As opposed to the previous chapter, that dealt with internal presentation, here we talk about external presentations — be it to a client or a lecture at a conference. We searched for a tool that lets develop presentations quickly, intuitively and work simultaneously with external collaborators. Another essential demands are easily grant access editing rights and offline working mode.
What we picked, and why
We are still choosing between Google slides and Keynotes.
As for the other Google Drive suite tools, the strength of Google Slides is the accessibility – no need of a Google account to access documents – and the possibility to work offline. While for Google Docs and Sheets these might be minor advantages, they really make Google Slides a suitable tool for presenters travelling before the presentation.
With Apple’s iCloud keynote online editing is possible from within the native keynote app, working locally, or from within the browser, and superior functionality to google slides (e.g. master pages). Editing from the app is extremly useful while being without access to the internet.
How we use it
Google Slides let us work simultaneously regardless of the type of operating system. That’s how we collaborate within the office and with partners, commenting content and editing. It also helpful when you need to make changes remotely right before public event. Sine the recent integration of the Google docs/sheets/slides with dropbox we store presentations in Dropbox with all other project files.
What we don’t like
Google Slides interface is similar to the one of MS Powerpoint but with less functionalities. The most relevant deficits are image placeholders. Like MS Powerpoint, snapping is not really efficient and pdfs attachments are not accepted. Another weakness of Google slides is the speed issues of presentations with many slides (>50) and high graphic content.
As for the Keynote the desktop app runs only on MacOs, and the browser version does not offer offline editing. Simultaneous editing is possible only after creating an iCloud account and presentations can only be stored on the iCloud Drive storage. While we strive to organize unified storage for all files in Dropbox.
What we’re also looking at
Dropbox Microsoft integration also provides opportunity to create presentatons. However, this option is usefull only for those users who have permanent access to high-speed internet.
4. Data Collection and Analysis
Data Collection and Structuring: Airtable