online professional presentation

Free Online Presentation Maker

Make professional and engaging presentations with Venngage's presentation creator.

Creating stunning presentations just got easier with Venngage's online presentation maker. Join over 40,000 businesses who trust Venngage for their designs.

Design from one of our presentation templates

Choose from hundreds of professionally designed templates. see all presentation templates, create professional presentations for webinars, meetings and classes.

Your presentation's design is crucial. Venngage helps even non-designers deliver like pros.

Venngage's online presentation maker ensures clear communication for virtual presentations and online classes, all for free.

Create engaging presentations fast with Venngage's editor, featuring customizable slides, text, data visualization tools, photos, and icons to effectively convey your story.

Our presentation maker offers extensive visuals and interactive tools for dynamic content creation, including web and social media integration.

How to make a presentation in 5 steps:

Adopt inclusivity and be conscious of your designs with our accessible templates

Visual Simulator

The Visual Simulator helps you explore filters, black and white, or blur to improve accessibility for people with visual impairments.

Color Contrast Checker

Easily assess and enhance color contrast in real-time with our Color Contrast Checker, built right in the editor.

AI-Generated Alt Text

Effortlessly enhance accessibility with our AI-generated Alt Text. Ensure your visuals have clear descriptions with the click of a button.

AI Chart Summaries

Simplify pie charts, graphs, and more. At the touch of a button, transform complex data into easily understandable descriptions.

Accessibility Checker

Our in-built checker It automatically detects compliance issues and allows you to edit the order in which your document is read.

Expert Support

Got a question? We're here to help. Our support team is available 24/5, so your team can have assistance whenever they need it.

Make your presentation universally accessible – leave no one behind!

Craft captivating presentations easily with venngage.

Present anywhere, any time and in any way

Show, don't tell with your slides.

How can I use Venngage's Presentation Maker?

Sign up for a free Venngage account using your email, Gmail or Facebook account.

How can I share my presentation design?

You can present directly from Venngage! Simply publish your presentation and follow the link to show the slides in your browser. Business users can download their presentation as a PowerPoint, PDF or PNG as well.

What presentation templates do you have?

Venngage has so many presentation templates and we're adding new ones every week! No matter the presentation, we have a template that's going to be perfect for you.

Get started with Venngage, the online presentation maker!

Get started with one of our top presentation templates:

Pitch decks, keynote presentations, business presentations, creative presentations, engaging presentations, simple presentations.

A presentation maker for every team

Give better presentations and visually communicate your ideas, projects, and everything you need. Miro’s online presentation maker helps you to gain the confidence to keep the momentum going.

Over 70M+ users love Miro.

Be presentation-ready in seconds

Make presentations in just a few clicks with Miro’s presentation creator. Choose one of the ready-made templates and edit it to suit your needs; no design experience is needed. We’ve got your back with a great selection of templates.

Layouts that fit your needs

We help you to get started, but you’re welcome to fully customize your presentation. Add your brand colors, fonts, and styles, create graphs, and move frames around to fit your storytelling. Don’t be afraid to explore the many editing tools on the left toolbar and get creative with the presentation maker.

No more boring presentations

Present content and pre-planned activities to facilitate powerful meetings and workshops. Presentations are boring. On Miro, they’re not.

Why Miro is the best presentation maker

Master storytelling.

Miro’s presentation creator has an intuitive UI, making communicating your ideas easier without worrying about tech complications. Use the Presentation mode, and focus your energy on what matters: your content.

Co-creation made simple

Invite others to collaborate with you whenever, wherever. Miro’s robust capabilities allow you to have guests on your board or build a shared team space where everyone comes together to collaborate.

Create dynamic presentations

Use the drag-and-drop feature and effortlessly add images, text, and videos to your presentation frames. Miro’s visual workspace allows you to quickly create professional-looking presentations with just a few clicks.

Easily share your presentation

Engage your stakeholders and get buy-in by creating eye-catching and on-brand presentations. Use Brand Center and presentation templates to improve your bargaining power, influencing decision-making.

Related templates

Presentation Template

Deliver impressive presentations that resonate with your audience.

Logo Presentation Template

Present your design ideas with confidence and make your clients fall in love with their new logo.

Rebranding Presentation

Provide clarity around the reinvention of your brand and your rebranding strategies.

Company Vision Presentation Template

Summarize your company’s goals and describe your path to achieving them using professional-looking slides.

Sales Presentation Template

Shed pre-sales pitch nerves and deliver the speech of a lifetime with the Sales Presentation Template.

Pitch Deck Template

Make people care about your idea and gain supporters everywhere.

Present ideas from anywhere

Miro’s visual workspace helps teams to communicate and collaborate across formats, tools, and channels — without the constraints of physical location and meeting space.

Brand management

Make sure your brand looks consistent across all work. With easy access to approved fonts, colors, styles, and templates, anyone can create polished and on-brand boards in just a few minutes.

Meetings and workshops

Creative energy that you can feel, presentations that just flow, and teams that connect and collaborate like humans — bring the in-person experience online with Miro, whether you’re running a brainstorm or facilitating a workshop.

Client work solutions

Miro gives consultants, agencies, freelancers — and their clients — one living, dynamic space to go from project brief to big business breakthrough. Always collaborative, no matter how, where, or when you work.

Hybrid work

How we work has changed. Your tools should too. Experience seamless collaboration, no matter when or where you work, in Miro. Give teams a dynamic and visual way to collaborate, connect, and create.

Project management

Manage complex projects — and their stakeholders — with confidence. Create process alignment and shared understanding between cross-functional teams with a collaborative visual workspace.

Dashboarding & Performance Tracking

Create a shared space for custom dashboards and performance monitoring, pattern identification, and decision-making.

Strategy development

Propel your plans from strategy through execution. Run engaging kickoff sessions, build visual presentations, manage and track progress collaboratively, all in one online planning tool.

Organizational design

Your employees are your greatest asset. Map out your organization to see the big picture and design for the future.

How to make a presentation

Select a ready-made template

Miro has a wide range of presentation templates you can choose from. Or start building from scratch, adding content to your board. Miro’s presentation maker has many features to help you get started.

Structure your presentation

Edit your content, apply your brand fonts and colors, and resize frames if needed.

Share ideas with one click

To present, select Presentation mode on the upper right toolbar. Invite others to join your presentation, and good luck!

Presentation maker FAQs

Where can i make free presentations.

Search for tools that give you free access. Sign up for free for Miro’s visual workspace, and see if it fits your needs.

Which is the best presentation maker?

There are many options out there; choose the one that gives you flexibility and suits your needs. Miro’s presentation maker allows you to create presentations quickly, saving time and effort when designing and crafting your storytelling. Try it for yourself, and see if it works for you.

How to make a good presentation slide?

Miro’s presentation maker allows you to use your board's frames as slides, working exactly as any regular presentation. When creating a presentation with Miro, you have the option to use the Presentation mode, which helps you manage your time and audience on the board, enabling you to facilitate and present at the same time.

10 Miro templates for powerful presentations

How do you design a good presentation?

What you need to know about human perception to be great at presentations

ALTERNATIVE

Klaxoon competitors & alternatives

Get on board in seconds

Join thousands of teams using Miro to do their best work yet.

Integrations

Inspiration

Consideration

Go hybrid with Prezi

It’s a new world. Are you ready? Here’s how Prezi helps your team thrive in today’s hybrid workplace.

Prezi Video explained

We’ve compiled these quick, easy-to-follow tutorials to make you a Prezi Video master in no time.

The science

Learn to grab their attention and keep it with presentation advice from the pros.

Create moving, zooming presentations that grab attention and keep it.

Appear right alongside your content while presenting to your audience.

Make stunning interactive charts, reports, maps, infographics, and more.

Online presentation tools that help you stand out

Engage your audience no matter where you are. Prezi’s online presentation tools help you connect with your audience and create conversational presentations that come with you on-screen to any video call. With professionally-designed templates, branding solutions, immersive views, and more, it’s never been easier to create and present online.

1-844-773-9449 8:30 am–5 pm PST

Trusted by business both large and small

Do more than talk at your audience. Prezi makes every presentation a personal and engaging conversation. Use the open canvas of Prezi Present to view your whole presentation, then jump into topics in any order as your audience shows interest. No need to search through slides or bore your audience. Engage everyone even more with interactive elements like charts, maps, and tables made in Prezi Design.

Take your presentations online with Prezi Video . Display your presentations next to you on screen so you can stay face-to-face with your audience instead of being blocked by a shared screen. Get even more online presentation features like immersive views, branding solutions, and name tags with a Teams license. Create your presentation online with Prezi Present, then take it to a virtual meeting with Prezi Video for a truly personal and professional online presentation.

Find the perfect template for your presentation

Creating a presentation is simple with the right starting blocks. Use Prezi’s online presentation templates to make a winning sales pitch, product demo, or training session. With a Teams license, any presentation template can be branded with your own colors, fonts, and logo to make your message more memorable.

Check out more online presentation templates

• Create a Prezi account and open Prezi Video in your dashboard.
• Get started with quick record or choose any of our professionally-designed video templates .
• Upload your own images, GIFs, and videos, or select free visuals from our Unsplash and Giphy right in Prezi.
• Add your presenter notes to track your main ideas or speaking points.
• Practice your presentation and get ready to present in a video call or record your video for later.
• Share your video. You can trim the video, add a description, edit the transcript, choose the thumbnail, adjust privacy settings, and present your video right in Prezi Video .

Create an oline presentation with Prezi Video

Get inspired by the top presenters in the biz

Some of the best online presentations out there are available on Prezi. Look through our gallery of presentation examples, curated by Prezi’s editors, for some of our favorites. You can take notes, get inspired, and you can even re-use an existing presentation for your own purposes. Just look for the green symbol, then customize the presentation with your own content.

Explore online presentation examples

More features that make online presentations with Prezi great

You’re in the driver’s seat

License management Add or remove team members, and transfer licenses with ease.

Content ownership Keep control of your team’s content, even when someone leaves.

Privacy control Publishing settings and overviews let you manage who sees what.

MSI Installation Remote software deployment gets everyone the latest versions fast.

We’re your biggest supporters

Phone and chat support Our customer support experts are standing by to help.

Dedicated success manager Let your personal guide get your team up and running.

Branded templates Get your own template with your fonts, logo, and colors.

Advanced training* Get personalized trainings and webinars, plus the option to get Prezi-certified. *Available with software commitment minimum

Your security is our priority

SOC2 compliance We stay compliant and constantly up-to-date with SOC2 requirements.

Continuous monitoring We constantly scan and test our infrastructure and application.

Cross-team integration Our security, engineering, and product teams partner with each other closely. Learn more about our security measures

Discover resources for better presentations online

Frequently asked questions

Can i convert my google slides, powerpoint, or keynote presentations to prezi.

You sure can! Upload any existing sales deck from PowerPoint or Google Slides to Prezi to convert it to a Prezi presentation online. You can also use a Keynote presentation by exporting it as a PDF and importing that.

How do you present online with Prezi?

Use Prezi Video to take your presentation to a virtual meeting and present online. Your presentation will appear next to you on screen, so you can more easily interact with the content while maintaining a face-to-face connection with your audience.

What video conferencing tools does Prezi Video work with?

Prezi Video connects to the top video conferencing platforms out there. Select “Prezi Camera” from your camera settings to view your presentation in your virtual meeting.

Am I able to import my own branded assets into Prezi?

Setting up your brand kit in Prezi lets you upload your logo, fonts, colors, and any other asset, so they’re preloaded and ready to be used in any project you create.

What types of assets or images are available within Prezi?

You don’t need to prepare all your images before creating a presentation in Prezi. Get access to the huge Unsplash and Giphy libraries directly within the Prezi editor, perfect for finishing up presentations on the fly.

Your team creates better presentations online with Prezi

Prezi helps you create stunning and highly engaging presentations online that are perfect for sales, marketing, training, or internal communication, and there’s so much more you can do when you get your team on Prezi. Discover other cool features purpose-built to help hybrid and virtual teams succeed, such as the Prezi brand kit, enhanced collaboration tools, and more when you get a demo or sign up for a free trial.

👀 Turn any prompt into captivating visuals in seconds with our AI-powered design generator ✨ Try Piktochart AI!

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Online Presentation Maker to Create Engaging Presentations

Easily create a professionally-looking business presentation, keynote, sales pitch, product update, and onboarding or webinar deck with free presentation templates.

Professionals worldwide create presentations with Piktochart

Ease of use

Easily Create Stunning Presentations

Piktochart’s online presentation maker is so simple that you can immediately use it without training. All you need is an internet connection. Start with a free pre-made template designed by experts. From there, you can quickly create professional presentations that will help you engage with your audience and drive the results you are looking for. Moreover, collaboration features are included for all accounts, even the Free plan, to work with your team in real-time.

Presentation slides at your fingertips

Present Online or Download in .ppt

Presenting your slide deck during a video call or a virtual conference is easy. Switch to presentation mode within Piktochart, and you can present directly in just a few clicks. You can also download your new presentation in a .ppt or .pdf format and share it on social media or offline with your stakeholders. It’s up to you how you want to use your own presentation.

Fully Customize Slides for a Branded Presentation

Create professional presentations and pitch decks in minutes that match your brand’s guidelines. Simply drag company logos or a screenshot of your website to extract the brand colors. Then, upload your fonts and create a custom color palette to use when creating your own presentation. With Piktochart, it’s easy to work on an engaging presentation fast, with no need to search for illustrations or icons. Piktochart’s integrated library of high-quality graphics, designs components, and presentation templates means presentation design is easier than ever. Just drag and drop the design elements into the editor, add images, choose your color scheme, and create a presentation. Or upload your own photos and add them to the asset library. Making beautiful presentations has never been so easy for non-designers.

Storytelling and presentation design

Translate Complex Data Into a Visual Story

With Piktochart’s charts and maps tool, you can quickly visualize information and translate data into a visual story that will grasp the attention of your audience. In our free presentation maker, link up an Excel or Google Sheets file to create graphs that automatically update when your data does. Add interactive maps to highlight your main points. Just choose from the pre made templates to save time and make all the changes you want.

People like you use Piktochart’s presentation software to:

• Increase brand awareness
• Drive traffic and leads with content created with the help of presentation templates
• Turn infographics into social media-ready visuals with multiple pages

SMEs and Enterprises

• Report on progress, create pitch decks
• Introduce a new project with slides made on our online presentation maker
• Explain a process through an engaging presentation

NGOs and Government Organizations

• Inform the public and present important topics
• Report to stakeholders with professional presentations prepared with an online presentation software

Business Owners and Consultants

• Create the perfect pitch deck
• Present to clients or the team
• Report on business performance through access to multiple features and professionally designed templates

How to Create a Presentation

1. select a presentation template.

Edit one of the free presentation templates by Piktochart and add your text, change the fonts, drag-and-drop elements or free images, and create an engaging presentation. For more information, learn how to structure a presentation in this article.

2. Make it yours

Add in your company logo and your own images or pick from a wide range of design elements. The possibilities are endless with our free online presentation maker. Nail your brand presentation by editing fully customizable slides with Piktochart.

3. Present or download

Either use our built-in presentation mode or download your slides in the .ppt format from Microsoft PowerPoint. Or simply share the link with your team.

Get ahead with our premade templates

Types of Presentations

Get funding for your startup by creating a compelling pitch deck in minutes. With Piktochart’s presentation maker, it’s easy to make a custom presentation with drag-and-drop icons, versatile illustrations, and stock photos. You can use your own images simply by dragging and dropping them, as well as change the font.

Business Presentation

Create professional presentations in a web browser that look like they were made by a graphic designer. Choose from hundreds of free templates and customize them to complete your own business presentation. Here are 25 report presentations to get inspired by.

Sales Presentation

Working in sales? Save time in creating assets by using Piktochart’s presentation free online presentation maker. Select a pre-made template, edit de slides, change the design, and use your slides to win customers. Ask your team for feedback with the collaboration features, which allow you to share and comment.

Educational Presentation

Educators use Piktochart to create interesting presentations that get the attention of their students. And students make beautiful presentations to stand out in class and prepare team projects. Add your content and customize the slides in no time.

Ready to create an engaging presentation?

Join more than 11 million people who already use Piktochart to make the perfect presentation.

Where can I make a presentation?

How can i make a presentation online for free, how do you make a presentation interesting, how do i make an online presentation, can i add animations and special effects to my presentations, do presentation makers support all image and video file formats, can i use a presentation maker on my mobile device, can i design a presentation without designer skills, how to know which presentation template to choose, presentation resources.

25 Powerful Report Presentations and How to Make Your Own

75 Unique School Presentation Ideas and Topics Plus Templates

10 Expert Tips to Create and Deliver a Killer Keynote Presentation

Internal Comms

15 Tips for Engaging Zoom Presentations + Examples

What else can you create with piktochart.

What’s it for?

Make interactive presentations

Create show-stopping presentations and clickable slide decks with Genially’s free online presentation builder. Leave boring behind and tell a story that’s interactive, animated, and beautifully engaging.

INTERACTIVE CONTENT

A presentation that works like a website

Engage your audience with interactive slides that they can click on and explore. Add music, video, hotspots, popup windows, quiz games and interactive data visualizations in a couple of clicks. No coding required!

NO-CODE ANIMATION

Make your slides pop with animation

Bring a touch of movie magic to the screen with incredible visual effects and animated page transitions. Add click-trigger and timed animations to make any topic easy to understand and captivating to watch.

INTEGRATIONS

Live from the world wide web

Embed online content directly in your slides for a media-rich interactive experience. From YouTube and Spotify to Google Maps and Sheets, Genially works seamlessly with over 100 popular apps and websites.

TEMPLATES & TOOLKIT

Genius design tools

With Genially, anyone can create a polished and professional presentation. Choose from over 2000 pre-built templates, or create your own design using the drag-and-drop resources, color palettes, icons, maps and vector graphics.

ONLINE PLATFORM

Safe and sound in the cloud

Because Genially is online, you can relax knowing that your slides are always up-to-date. There’s no risk of forgetting to save changes or accessing the wrong file. Log in from anywhere, collaborate with your team, and make edits in real time.

All-in-one interactive presentation maker

Real-time collaboration

Co-edit slide decks with others in real time and organize all of your team projects in shared spaces.

Multi format

Present live, share the link, or download as an interactive PDF, MP4 video, JPG, HTML, or SCORM package.

Engagement Analytics

See how many people have viewed and clicked on your slides and keep tabs on learner progress with User Tracking.

Import from PPTX

Give your old decks a new lease of life by importing PowerPoint slides and transforming them with a little Genially magic.

Keep content on-brand with your logo, fonts, colors, brand assets, and team templates at your fingertips.

Quiz & Survey Builder

Use the Interactive Questions feature to add a fun quiz to your slides or gather feedback from your audience.

Beautiful templates

Make your next deck in a flash with Genially’s ready-to-use slides.

Okr shapes presentation

School notebook presentation

Animated sketch presentation

Minimal presentation

Land of magic presentation

Onboarding presentation

Visual presentation

Animated chalkboard presentation

Online Education Guide

Terrazzo presentation

Startup pitch

Historical presentation

THEMES FOR EVERYONE

Interactive presentation ideas

From classroom materials to business pitches, make an impact every day with Genially.

Education presentations

Pitch decks

Business presentations

Thesis defense

Why the world loves Genially presentations

Share anywhere

Present live

From the front of the room or behind a screen, you’ll wow your audience with Genially. Heading off grid? Download in HTML to present dynamic slides without WiFi.

Share the link

Every Genially slide deck has its own unique url, just like a website! Share the link so that others can explore at their own pace, or download an MP4 video slideshow or PDF.

Post online

Embed the slides on your website or post them on social media. Upload to Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Moodle or any other platform.

The benefits of interactive slides

🗣️ Active participation An interactive slide deck gives your audience cool things to click on and discover, boosting learning and engagement.

👂 Multi-sensory experience Audio, video, animations, and mouse interactions make your content immersive, entertaining and accessible.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 People-friendly format Pop-ups and embeds condense more material into fewer slides so you can break information down into digestible chunks.


🎮 Gamification Games, quizzes and puzzles make information more memorable and enable you to gather feedback and check understanding.

How to make an interactive presentation

With Genially’s easy-to-use presentation platform, anyone can make incredible visual content in moments.

Choose a template or a blank canvas

Get stunning results in less time with a ready-made template. Feeling creative? Design your own slides from scratch.

Customize the design

Add animations and interactions

Resources to become a pro presentation creator

VIDEO TUTORIAL

How to create an interactive presentation: Get started in Genially.

EXPERT TIPS

How to present data without sending your audience to sleep.

MICRO COURSE

No-code animation: Bring your slides to life with cinematic visual effects.

PRESENTATION IDEAS

The art of digital storytelling: Engage and thrill on screen.

Genially in a nutshell

How do I make a presentation interactive and how does Genially work? Find the answers to all of your slide-related questions here!

What’s an interactive presentation?

Interactive slides contain clickable hotspots, links, buttons, and animations that are activated at the touch of a button. Instead of reading or watching passively, your audience can actively interact with the content.  

Genially’s interaction presentation software allows you to combine text, photos, video clips, audio and other content in one deck. It’s a great way to condense more information into fewer slides. 

If you’re a teacher, you can share multiple materials in one single learning resource. Students can create their own projects using digital media and online maps. For business or training, try embedding spreadsheet data, PDFs, and online content directly in your slides. 

An interactive slide deck is more user-friendly than a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or Google Slides document. That’s because you can break information down into chunks with pop-ups, labels, voiceovers and annotated infographics.  

The other benefit of interactive content is increased engagement. It’s easier to keep your audience’s attention when they’re actively participating. Try Genially’s presentation software and free slideshow maker to see how it’s better than other presentation websites. You won’t go back to standard presentation apps!

How do you make a clickable slide?

The best way to make slides clickable is to use Genially’s free interactive presentation program. Design your slide then apply an interaction. In a couple of clicks, you can add popup windows, hyperlinks, close-up images, games, animations, multimedia and other content. 

Choose from the library of hotspot buttons and icons to show people what to click on. Go to Presenter View to get a preview and see how your content will appear to your audience.

How do I create presentations that look professional?

You’ve got a deadline looming and you’re staring at the screen with a blank presentation. We’ve all been there! Starting a presentation design from scratch is tricky, especially if you’re short on time. 

Genially’s free online presentation maker has over 2000 ready-to-use templates for professional slide presentations, photos slideshows, and more. Each slide design has been created by our team of top graphic designers. No need to worry about fonts, centering images, or designing a matching color scheme. It’s all done for you. 

Start by browsing our layouts and themes for education, business and then customize with your own text and images.

How do I share or download my slides?

Because Genially is a cloud based presentation software, you can simply share the link to your slides. Like other online presentation tools, there are no files to download or store on your computer. Everything is saved online.  

When you publish your slide deck, it gets its own unique url, just like a website. Share the link with others to let them explore the content in their own time. If you’re presenting live, just click the Present button. 

You can also embed your presentation on your website, company wiki, or social media. Genially is compatible with WordPress, Moodle, Google Classroom, and other platforms. If you use an LMS, you can also download your interactive design slides in SCORM format.

For slideshow videos and slideshows with music, share online or download as an MP4 video. Check out our free slideshow templates for ideas.

Can I make a free presentation in Genially?

You bet! Genially is an easy-to-use slide maker, with a free version and paid plans. The free plan allows you to create unlimited slides with interactions and animations. Subscribe to one of our paid plans for more advanced features.

Discover a world of interactive content

Join the 25 million people designing incredible interactive experiences with Genially.

How to use Google Slides, Google's free slideshow presentation maker

• Google Slides is Google's slideshow presentation program that allows real time collaboration.
• Google Slides is part of the Google Workspace suite, which also includes Google Docs and Gmail.
• Google Slides differs from Microsoft PowerPoint in its simplicity and collaboration options.

Google Slides is a presentation program that's part of Google Workspace, a group of productivity apps that also includes Gmail, Google Sheets, Goole Docs, Google Meet , and more. Workspace has more than 3 billion users worldwide. 

With Google Slides, users can create, present, and collaborate via online presentations from various devices. You can present during Google Meet calls directly from Slides and embed charts from Google Sheets. You can also add YouTube videos to Slides presentations. 

Google recently announced plans to add artificial intelligence features like its Gemini AI tool to its Workspace programs, which include Slides. Users will be able to use Gemini to create images or written content for slides, or even reference other files in their Drives or emails in their Gmail accounts.

What is Google Slides? 

Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation program that's part of the Google Workspace. Google Slides can be used to create and deliver presentations online. 

Several different themes are available in Slides for designing presentations. Users can customize Slides presentations in a variety of colors and styles. You can add photos, videos from YouTube, charts from Google Sheets , and information from many other sources. Different members of a team can contribute and collaborate on the presentation in real time. 

There's no specific limit on how many slides you can add to your Google Slides presentation, but there is a 100 MB file size limit.

How to download Google Slides 

To access Google Slides, visit slides.google.com . 

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You can also open Slides while Gmail or Google Chrome is open by clicking on the Google Apps icon in the upper-right corner (shown as three rows of dots) and selecting Slides. 

Another option is to download the Google Slides app for your Apple or Android device. Search for Google Slides in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

What templates are available? 

Dozens of Google Slides templates are available, depending on your needs. For instance, there are general presentation templates, photography portfolios, pitch decks, case studies, science fair projects, and more. 

To browse the templates available, open Google Slides. Then, click Template Gallery in the upper-right corner. Scroll through the options, choose the one that meets your needs, and start creating a presentation. 

What's the difference between Google Slides and PowerPoint? 

Both Google Slides and PowerPoint are presentation programs. Google Slides is a program within Google Workspace, and PowerPoint is a Microsoft program. PowerPoint is an offline program, while Slides is online which allows for real time collaboration.

The programs share many features that allow for presentation creation and delivery, but PowerPoint may offer more advanced design features. 

You can convert Google Slides into PowerPoint presentations, and vice versa. From the top menu in Slides, click File, Download, and choose Microsoft PowerPoint. 

How to learn to use Google Slides 

Through Google Workspace, you can access several quick-start guides, cheat sheets, and troubleshooting resources to help you learn to use Google Slides. There are also many YouTube videos with tutorials for using Slides.

On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

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AI presentation maker

When lack of inspiration or time constraints are something you’re worried about, it’s a good idea to seek help. Slidesgo comes to the rescue with its latest functionality—the AI presentation maker! With a few clicks, you’ll have wonderful slideshows that suit your own needs . And it’s totally free!

Generate presentations in minutes

We humans make the world move, but we need to sleep, rest and so on. What if there were someone available 24/7 for you? It’s time to get out of your comfort zone and ask the AI presentation maker to give you a hand. The possibilities are endless : you choose the topic, the tone and the style, and the AI will do the rest. Now we’re talking!

Customize your AI-generated presentation online

Alright, your robotic pal has generated a presentation for you. But, for the time being, AIs can’t read minds, so it’s likely that you’ll want to modify the slides. Please do! We didn’t forget about those time constraints you’re facing, so thanks to the editing tools provided by one of our sister projects —shoutouts to Wepik — you can make changes on the fly without resorting to other programs or software. Add text, choose your own colors, rearrange elements, it’s up to you! Oh, and since we are a big family, you’ll be able to access many resources from big names, that is, Freepik and Flaticon . That means having a lot of images and icons at your disposal!

How does it work?

Think of your topic.

First things first, you’ll be talking about something in particular, right? A business meeting, a new medical breakthrough, the weather, your favorite songs, a basketball game, a pink elephant you saw last Sunday—you name it. Just type it out and let the AI know what the topic is.

Choose your preferred style and tone

They say that variety is the spice of life. That’s why we let you choose between different design styles, including doodle, simple, abstract, geometric, and elegant . What about the tone? Several of them: fun, creative, casual, professional, and formal. Each one will give you something unique, so which way of impressing your audience will it be this time? Mix and match!

Make any desired changes

You’ve got freshly generated slides. Oh, you wish they were in a different color? That text box would look better if it were placed on the right side? Run the online editor and use the tools to have the slides exactly your way.

Download the final result for free

Yes, just as envisioned those slides deserve to be on your storage device at once! You can export the presentation in .pdf format and download it for free . Can’t wait to show it to your best friend because you think they will love it? Generate a shareable link!

What is an AI-generated presentation?

It’s exactly “what it says on the cover”. AIs, or artificial intelligences, are in constant evolution, and they are now able to generate presentations in a short time, based on inputs from the user. This technology allows you to get a satisfactory presentation much faster by doing a big chunk of the work.

Can I customize the presentation generated by the AI?

Of course! That’s the point! Slidesgo is all for customization since day one, so you’ll be able to make any changes to presentations generated by the AI. We humans are irreplaceable, after all! Thanks to the online editor, you can do whatever modifications you may need, without having to install any software. Colors, text, images, icons, placement, the final decision concerning all of the elements is up to you.

Can I add my own images?

Absolutely. That’s a basic function, and we made sure to have it available. Would it make sense to have a portfolio template generated by an AI without a single picture of your own work? In any case, we also offer the possibility of asking the AI to generate images for you via prompts. Additionally, you can also check out the integrated gallery of images from Freepik and use them. If making an impression is your goal, you’ll have an easy time!

Is this new functionality free? As in “free of charge”? Do you mean it?

Yes, it is, and we mean it. We even asked our buddies at Wepik, who are the ones hosting this AI presentation maker, and they told us “yup, it’s on the house”.

Are there more presentation designs available?

From time to time, we’ll be adding more designs. The cool thing is that you’ll have at your disposal a lot of content from Freepik and Flaticon when using the AI presentation maker. Oh, and just as a reminder, if you feel like you want to do things yourself and don’t want to rely on an AI, you’re on Slidesgo, the leading website when it comes to presentation templates. We have thousands of them, and counting!.

How can I download my presentation?

The easiest way is to click on “Download” to get your presentation in .pdf format. But there are other options! You can click on “Present” to enter the presenter view and start presenting right away! There’s also the “Share” option, which gives you a shareable link. This way, any friend, relative, colleague—anyone, really—will be able to access your presentation in a moment.

Discover more content

This is just the beginning! Slidesgo has thousands of customizable templates for Google Slides and PowerPoint. Our designers have created them with much care and love, and the variety of topics, themes and styles is, how to put it, immense! We also have a blog, in which we post articles for those who want to find inspiration or need to learn a bit more about Google Slides or PowerPoint. Do you have kids? We’ve got a section dedicated to printable coloring pages! Have a look around and make the most of our site!

5 Free Alternatives To Microsoft PowerPoint

M icrosoft PowerPoint has always been the default choice for creating professional meeting briefs or fun little project demonstrations in schools. Its inclusion as a free service for students or working professionals makes it a no-brainer to use. However, for the general public, it can get quite expensive to pay for a subscription just to be able to create simple presentation slides. Although you can subscribe to Microsoft's Office Suite and get more bang for your buck, the pricing still doesn't hit the affordable range for most. 

Fortunately, completion has been growing, and a sea of strong contenders offer similar services to PowerPoint. After considering feature sets, here are five of the best free alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint. At the end of the article, you can find a detailed explanation of why we've chosen the services, alongside useful comparisons that may help you make your decision easier.

Read more: The 20 Best Mac Apps That Will Improve Your Apple Experience

When it comes to productivity apps, Zoho makes some of the better ones in the market. Zoho Sheet, for example, is one of the best Microsoft Excel alternatives out there  —  owing to its extensive product catalog, there is a great way to view and edit presentations. The aptly named Zoho Show lets you design and demonstrate professional-looking slides, all without having to download the program.

Zoho takes a minimal approach to most of its services, and its PowerPoint application is no different. You'll find that most menus are contextually aware of what tasks you're currently performing, which helps keep unnecessary tools out of the way and bring the important ones in focus. There is also a huge library of customizable templates you can choose from, making it easier to kickstart your presentation work. 

Zoho Show is completely free to use for individuals and offers unlimited cloud storage. No features are locked behind a paywall, and rest assured, you can fully rely on this online presentation-making tool for all your needs, be it for school or work. 

Canva is a service that can easily climb up to becoming everyone's favorite once they start using it. While most applaud it for its graphic designing prowess, there are many other things Canva can do that you probably aren't aware of . Among them is the ability to craft beautiful slides for your presentations and projects. 

By creating a free account, you can access thousands of templates on Canva. You can filter these by use case—maybe you need one for a professional business briefing or a casual one explaining why your pet dog is the best canine. There is a whole section of ready-to-use templates dedicated to mobile-friendly viewing as well, which is something you don't usually find to be as accessible with other tools. 

Like most presentation apps, Canva lets you collaborate with your team members and work across devices seamlessly. The Canva app for mobile also lets you control your slides remotely during your presentation. Some menus also feature AI-featured tools to add one-click enhancements to your slides -- unfortunately, these are locked behind premium subscription tiers. However, for the cent percent of the population, Canva can be used without spending a dime to meet a plethora of creative needs. 

Apple takes great pride in developing in-house solutions to meet every user requirement. While most of its products dominate the competition in popularity, the same cannot be said for Keynote , the company's version of Microsoft PowerPoint. The program was first released in 2003 with macOS Big Sur and has largely remained one of those icons you glance over and forget about. 

However, recent versions of Keynote have made it a compelling alternative to PowerPoint. Not only is it pre-installed on every Apple device, including your iPhone, but it also works best with the iPad touchscreen. Keynote has a largely clean and professional approach to the built-in templates, but nothing is stopping you from going creative. Animations are one of Keynote's strongest suits, allowing you to create near cinematic-looking presentations with just a few clicks. 

While you can still use Apple Keynote through iCloud on Windows devices, this alternative is clearly meant for people surrounded by the walled garden of Apple technology. It makes use of features like AirDrop, Live Photos, and VoiceOver  — all of which are technologies available across Apple devices. Using Apple Keynote is completely free, and the app has easy exporting tools that make working with Microsoft PowerPoint less of a hassle.

WPS Presentation

WPS Office makes some of the best solutions for creating and editing documents on smartphones , but their service offerings extend to Windows, macOS, and even Linux. WPS Presentation is perhaps the closest you'll get to Microsoft PowerPoint in terms of the user interface and how most tools are bundled in familiar locations.

This PowerPoint app offers real-time collaboration where you can invite your team members and work on the same document remotely. Like most collaboration tools, users can leave comments to suggest changes or add information for other people on the team.

WPS Presentation is not the only free product; you can utilize every app in the WPS Office suite. Unlike most competitors, you don't need to download or use a separate mini-app to make presentations. WPS Office has a document editor, PowerPoint creator, spreadsheet manager, and other tools all within its umbrella. Premium plans for this service exist, but they mostly cater to unlocking features for editing PDFs. 

Google Slides

As a netizen, you most likely already have a Google account. Not only is it required to make any meaningful use of your Android phone, but popular services that we take for granted, like Gmail and Drive, all fall under Google's umbrella. One such free service that the tech giant has at its disposal is Google Slides . While the barebones UI might seem lackluster at first, Slides has nearly the same level of functionality as Microsoft PowerPoint and can even be supercharged by add-ons. 

All of Google's workspace apps, such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides, provide an intuitive way to work in a team. You can add comments, use annotations, and share the presentation with limited access to others. You can use one of the many predesigned Google Slides templates for simple presentations , or browse for templates that cater to specific needs. Being part of a bigger service catalog has its obvious advantages, such as seamless integration with Google Meet, Gmail, and other products from Google that you already use. 

We recommend Google Slides to anyone who needs to create and edit PowerPoint presentations on the go and can't be bothered with working in a complicated environment. The service is also available as an app for Android and iOS, and you can export your presentations in a wide range of formats, including PPT, PDF, or PNG for individual slides. 

To Pay Or Not To Pay?

You'll notice that all the services we've mentioned on this list are free to use. In fact, you can use Office 365 apps online for free   — including PowerPoint, which makes purchasing a standalone subscription to the Microsoft PowerPoint app quite redundant. However, nearly every free alternative here short of Keynote also offers premium plans, but should you consider buying one?

For the vast majority of people who are looking for a robust software to create, edit, and share presentations with  —  these free options deliver exceptionally well in every aspect. Some apps like Google Slides and Apple Keynote let you work in smaller teams with the free tier as well. Apps like WPS Office and Canva tend to lock new and exciting features like AI tools behind a paywall, and while these are nice to have, you definitely can do without them. 

If you're looking for a presentation tool for a company with multiple people, you can scale up using any of the alternatives mentioned on this list. Both Google Workspace and Zoho offer reliable and enterprise-level plans you can upgrade to. For everyone else  — enjoy creating and demonstrating your PowerPoint presentations for free.

Read the original article on SlashGear .

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• Open access
• Published: 21 May 2024

Effectively teaching cultural competence in a pre-professional healthcare curriculum

• Karen R. Bottenfield 1 ,
• Maura A. Kelley 2 ,
• Shelby Ferebee 3 ,
• Andrew N. Best 1 ,
• David Flynn 2 &
• Theresa A. Davies 1 , 2  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  553 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

There has been research documenting the rising numbers of racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States. With this rise, there is increasing concern over the health disparities that often affect these populations. Attention has turned to how clinicians can improve health outcomes and how the need exists to educate healthcare professionals on the practice of cultural competence. Here we present one successful approach for teaching cultural competence in the healthcare curriculum with the development of an educational session on cultural competence consisting of case-based, role-play exercises, class group discussions, online discussion boards, and a lecture PowerPoint presentation.

Cultural competence sessions were delivered in a pre-dental master’s program to 178 students between 2017 and 2020. From 2017 to 2019, the sessions were implemented as in-person, case-based, role-play exercises. In 2020, due to in-person limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, students were asked to read the role-play cases and provide a reflection response using the online Blackboard Learn discussion board platform. Evaluation of each session was performed using post-session survey data.

Self-reported results from 2017 to 2020 revealed that the role-play exercises improved participant’s understanding of components of cultural competence such as communication in patient encounters (95%), building rapport with patients (94%), improving patient interview skills (95%), and recognition of students own cultural biases when working with patients (93%).

Conclusions

Students were able to expand their cultural awareness and humility after completion of both iterations of the course session from 2017 to 2019 and 2020. This session can be an effective method for training healthcare professionals on cultural competence.

Peer Review reports

It is projected that by the year 2050, racial and ethnic minority groups will make up over 50% of the United States population [ 1 ]. With a more multicultural society, growing concern has emerged over how to address the health disparities that effect these populations and the ways in which healthcare professionals can increase positive health outcomes. Continuing evidence suggests that many patients from racial and ethnic minority groups are not satisfied with the current state of healthcare which has been attributed to implicit bias on the part of physicians and current challenges faced by practitioners who feel underprepared to address these issues due to differences in language, financial status, and healthcare practice [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].

To contend with health disparities and the challenges faced by practitioners working with a more diverse population, healthcare educators have begun to emphasize the importance of educating healthcare workforce on the practice of cultural competence and developing a skilled-based set of behaviors, attitudes and policies that effectively provides care in the wake of cross-cultural situations and differences [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. There are several curricular mandates from both medical and dental accreditation bodies to address this issue [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], and large amounts of resources, ideas, and frameworks that exist for implementing and training future and current healthcare providers on the inadequacies of the healthcare system and cultural competence [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. These current institutional guidelines for accreditation and the numerous amounts of resources for training cultural competence, continue to evolve with work documenting the need for blended curriculum that is continuous throughout student education, starting early as we have done here with pre-dental students, including in-person didactic or online sessions, a service learning component, community engagement and a reflective component [ 4 , 5 , 13 , 14 ].

This study investigates teaching cultural competence in a healthcare curriculum. We hypothesized that early educational exposure to cultural competence through role playing case studies, can serve as an effective mechanism for training early pre-doctoral students the practice of cultural competence. Utilizing student self-reported survey data conducted in a predental master’s curriculum, in which two iterations of role-playing case studies were used to teach components of cultural competence, this study aims to evaluate and support research that suggests role-playing case studies as effective means for educating future clinical professionals on the practice of cultural competence.

This study was determined to be exempt by the Institutional Review Board of Boston University Medical Campus, Protocol # H-37,232. Informed consent was received from all subjects.

Data collection

The role-playing, case-based simulated patient encounter exercises were developed and administered at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine to predental students in the Master of Science in Oral Health Sciences Program (see Table  1 ). From 2017 to 2020, we administered patient encounter cases [see Additional File 1 ] to students ( n  = 178) in the program as a portion of a case-based, role-playing exercise to teach the importance of cultural competence and cultural awareness during patient encounters. During years 2017–2019, real actors portrayed the patient and physician. In 2020, the session was conducted online via a discussion board through a Blackboard Course Site. The original case was published as part of a master’s students thesis work in 2021 [ 15 ].

Description of patient encounter cases 1 and 2

Patient Encounter Case 1 [see Additional file 1 ] is composed of two subsections, scenario 1 A and scenario 1B, and is centered around a patient/physician interaction in which a patient who is pregnant presents with pain upon urination. The physician in 1 A is short and terse with the patient, immediately looking at a urine sample, prescribing medication for a urinary tract infection, and telling the patient to return for a follow-up in 2 weeks. In scenario 1B, a similar situation ensues; however, in this scenario the physician takes more time with the patient providing similar care as the physician in 1 A, but asking for more information about the patients personal and medical history. At the conclusion of the scenario, the patient is offered resources for an obstetrician and a dentist based on the information that is provided about the patient’s background. The patient is then sent on their way and asked to follow-up in 2 weeks. The patient does not return.

Patient Encounter Case 2 [see Additional file 1 ] follows a similar format to the Patient Encounter Case 1. In scenario 2 A, the same patient from Case 1 returns with tooth pain after giving birth. The physician in 2 A, like 1 A, is short with the patient and quickly refers the patient to a dentist. In 2B, the physician again takes more time with the patient to receive background information on the patient, make a connection, and provides an antibiotic and dental referral.

Each Patient Encounter Case explored topics such as the importance of building a trusting physician/patient relationship, the importance of asking a patient for patient history, making a connection, and the importance of a physician taking all facets of a patient’s circumstances into consideration [ 15 ].

Session outline

The sessions conducted between 2017 and 2019 were composed of three parts: (1) enactment of an abridged patient encounter facilitated by session administrators, (2) group discussion and reflection during which time students were asked to critically reflect and discuss the theme and key take-aways from the role play exercise, and (3) a PowerPoint presentation emphasizing take-away points from the role-play exercise. At the conclusion of the cultural competence training sessions, students participated in a post-session Qualtrics generated survey administered electronically to assess each student’s feelings about the session [see Additional file 3 ].

Role-play enactment

Facilitators dressed-up in clothing to mimic both the physician and patient for all case scenarios in Patient Encounter Case 1 and Case 2. At the conclusion of the role play portion of each of the cases, the facilitators paused to lead students in a real-time class group discussion. After Case 1, students were asked questions such as: What did you think ? Were the patient’s needs met? Did you expect the patient to return? Following Case 2, similar questions were asked by the facilitators, including: What did you think ? Were the patient’s needs met? Did you expect the patient to accept help?

At the conclusion of this portion of the session, the facilitators led a larger general discussion about both cases and how they related to one another. Finally, the course session concluded with a PowerPoint presentation that reinforced the take-home points from the session [see Additional file 2 ] [ 15 ].

Change in session modality due to COVID-19 pandemic

In Fall 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course modality moved to an online platform and consisted of three parts on a Blackboard Discussion Board (Blackboard, Inc.). Students were required to: (1) read each of the Patient Encounter Cases and add a brief reflection comparing the scenarios, (2) then comment on at least two peer’s posts in the discussion forum and (3) attend class to hear a PowerPoint presentation by a course session facilitator on the key take-aways from each scenario [ 15 ].

Student surveys

At the conclusion of the cultural competence training sessions, students participated in a post-session Qualtrics ( https://www.qualtrics.com ) generated survey administered electronically to assess each student’s feelings about the sessions [see Additional file 3 ]. The format of the survey included 5 questions with the following Likert scale response options: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree. These post-session surveys were not required but rather optional [ 15 ].

A total of 178 students completed the cultural competence sessions between 2017 and 2020. Of these participants, 112 voluntarily completed a post-session survey on the effectiveness of the course in teaching cultural competence and cultural awareness during patient encounters. Between 2017 and 2019, 99 students completed post-session surveys following sessions with role play exercises. In 2020, 13 students completed post-session surveys following discussion board sessions.

Role-play exercises enhanced cultural competence

In responding to post-session survey questions following cultural competence sessions that included role-play exercises (2017–2019), 71% of students surveyed strongly agreed and 24% agreed that the role-play exercises helped them to identify the importance of communication in patient encounters. In asking participants if the role-play exercises made them more aware of different strategies to improve their patient interview skills, 72% strongly agreed and 23% agreed. Also, 68% of the students strongly agreed and 26% agreed that the exercises helped them to better identify the importance of building rapport and trust during patient encounters. When asked if the exercises helped the students to better understand their own bias and/or cultural awareness when working with patients, the results of the survey showed that 62% of students strongly agreed and 31% agreed with this statement. In addition, most students found the role-play exercises to be enjoyable (72% strongly agreed and 22% agreed). See results shown in Fig.  1 .

Cultural Competence Session Survey Data from the Year 2017–2019. Survey data from students at Boston University’s Oral Health Sciences Program for the years 2017–2019. Data is presented as percent of respondents ( n  = 99)

Discussion boards and reflections enhanced cultural competence

Cultural competence sessions held during 2020 did not include role-play exercises due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, students participated in discussion boards and reflections on Blackboard. In response to the post-session survey question asking if the discussion board exercises were helpful in identifying the importance of communication during patient encounters, 67% of students strongly agreed and 25% agreed with this statement. Also, 75% of students strongly agreed and 17% agreed that the discussion board exercises helped them identify the importance of building rapport and trust during patient contact. When asked if the exercises helped the students to better understand their own bias and/or cultural awareness when working with patients, the results of the survey showed that 67% of students strongly agreed and 25% agreed with this statement. In addition, most students found the discussion board exercises to be enjoyable (67% strongly agreed and 22% agreed). See results shown in Fig.  2 .

Cultural competence session survey data from the Year 2020. Survey data from students at Boston University’s Oral Health Sciences Program for the year 2020. Data is presented as percent of respondents ( n  = 13)

Student responses to the reflection portion of the online cultural competency sessions were recorded and categorized. Five themes were selected and 441 reflection responses were coded using NVivo (Version 12). The results showed that 29% of reflections demonstrated student’s ability to understand a holistic approach to clinical care, 24.3% understood the importance of collecting a patient history, 6.8% recognized the socioeconomic factors during a patient encounter, 27.9% reflected on the importance of the patient clinical relationship, and 12% on the effects on improving health outcomes (Table  1 ). Representative student responses to these themes are shown in Table  1 .

There exists a need to develop novel and effective means for teaching and training the next generation of healthcare professionals the practice of cultural competence. Thus, two iterations of a course session using case-based patient centered encounters were developed to teach these skills to pre-professional dentals students. Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that participation in the course, subsequent group discussion sessions, and take-away PowerPoint sessions significantly improved the participant’s understanding of the importance of communication skills and understanding of socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural disparities that can affect a patient’s health outcome.

According to results from the course session implemented in-person from 2017 to 2019, the role-playing exercise significantly improved participants understanding of important components that can be used to improve health outcomes that may be affected due to health disparities. Students were strongly able to identify the importance of communication in patient encounters, to understand strategies such as communication and compassionate care in patient encounters, identify the importance of building a patient-physician relationship with patients, and were able to recognize their own cultural biases. Similarly, in 2020, even with a change in course modality to on-line learning due to COVID-19, students were able to understand the same key take-aways from the course session as demonstrated by reflections using the discussion board regarding the need for a holistic approach to care, importance of the patient clinician relationship, and importance of taking a patient history. Despite promising implications of both iterations of the session, students completing the session online did not find the same success in “understanding my own bias/and or cultural awareness when working with patients.” This decrease may be attributed to change in course modality and the strengths of the role-play enactment of the patient encounter. It is important to recognize that additional learning components, including video recordings of the role-play enactment, may be necessary if the discussion board is used as the primary learning method in the future.

In contrast to previous studies that attempted to determine the effectiveness of cultural competence training methods, this session had many unique characteristics. The simulated role-playing exercise enabled student participants to see first-hand an interactive patient scenario that could be used as an example for when students begin working with patients or communicating with patients who are culturally diverse. Additionally, the nature of the cases created for the course session which were divided into a part A in which the patient physician was more straightforward when diagnosing and treating the patient and a part B with a more comprehensive and nurturing approach to care, allowed the students to compare the scenarios and make their own assumptions and comments on the effectiveness of each portion of the case. Another strength of this training, was the faculty with cultural competence training were uniquely involved in case creation and facilitation of the course session. According to previous studies with similar aims, it was noted that direct observation and feedback from a faculty member who had cultural competence training and direct contact with patients can provide students with a more memorable and useful experience when educating students [ 12 ]. The facilitators of this session were able to emphasize from their own personal experiences how to work with culturally diverse populations.

An important aspect of the 2020 iteration of the course session in which a discussion board format was used, was that it allowed students who may feel uncomfortable with sharing their thoughts on a case and their own biases, the opportunity to share in a space that may feel safer than in person [ 4 ]. Previous studies have mentioned challenges with online discussion boards [ 4 ] but here we had robust participation, albeit required. Students often contributed more than the required number of comments and they were often lengthy and engaging when responding to peers. Finally, in contrast to previous studies, this course session took place in a pre-professional master’s program, the M.S. in Oral Health Sciences Program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. This program, in which students are given the opportunity to enhance their credentials for professional school, provided students with early exposure to cultural competence training. Students that completed this session in their early pre-professional curriculum should be better prepared than peers who did not receive any cultural competence training until they entered their designated professional school. This session is part of an Evidence Based Dentistry course, which incorporates a larger component of personal reflection that serves to engage students in critical thinking as they begin to develop the skills to be future clinicians. Students that understand different cultures, society and themselves through self-assessments will grow and be best suited in time to treat future patients [ 4 , 16 , 17 ].

One limitation of the present study was the number of survey participants that competed the post-session surveys, as survey completion was not required. Thus, the number of student participants declined over the years, reaching its lowest number of participants in 2020 when the discussion board course session was implemented, and students may have been over surveyed due to the pandemic. Another limitation to this study, was the lack of both a pre and post survey that could be used to determine how student’s understanding of cultural competence had evolved from their entry into the course to the conclusion of the course as well as individual bias and self-reporting measures.

In the future, the course should implement both a role-playing format and subsequent discussion board reflections within the same course session. Studies have shown that alternatives ways of drawing students to reflect whether role play, personal narratives, etc. can be extremely advantageous in developing personal reflection and awareness building competency [ 4 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. It is noted that role-playing exercises that allow students to provide feedback with student colleagues can provide students with more insight into their own behaviors. It has also been shown in previous studies that student writing and reflection activities can also facilitate student’s reflections on their own beliefs and biases [ 4 , 11 ]. Reflective writing skills are an important and effective means for students to continue to gauge their cultural competence throughout the remainder of their academic training and as future clinicians [ 4 , 17 , 19 ]. Further, students may experience emotional responses through the process of reflective writing as they recognize personal bias or stereotypes, creating a profound and impactful response resulting in enhanced understanding of cultural differences and beliefs [ 4 ]. By combining both learning techniques, students would be able to understand their own bias and their classmates and create a dialogue that could be more beneficial than just one learning method alone. Furthermore, by implementing the discussion board into the role-playing session, as stated previously, students that are more cautious about sharing their point of view or about their own implicit bias in a traditional classroom setting would be able to express their opinions and facilitate a more comprehensive discussion more thoroughly.

Here we show an effective means to utilize role-play of a multi-scenario case-based patient encounter to teach pre-professional healthcare student’s components of cultural competence, emphasizing the importance of provider-patient interactions, holistic patient care, and patient history and socioeconomic factors in provider care. This study contributes to the larger body of work that seeks to address this important aspect of education as it relates to enhancing patient health care outcomes.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s Graduate Medical Science students and study participants.

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Contributions

TAD designed the original study concept, taught the classes (roleplay), conducted the surveys, and collected data; MAK designed the original case and PowerPoint, and performed roleplay; DBF and SF evaluated data and drafted original figures; ANB assisted in drafting the manuscript; KRB finalized figures and the manuscript.

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Bottenfield, K.R., Kelley, M.A., Ferebee, S. et al. Effectively teaching cultural competence in a pre-professional healthcare curriculum. BMC Med Educ 24 , 553 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05507-x

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Received : 27 October 2023

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05507-x

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