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Is there the ability to post PPT or Word documents so they are only viewable, but can't be downloaded? I have a faculty who asked me, they want to share the PPT, but they don't want students to be able to download the slides.
Is there the ability to post PPT or Word documents so they are only viewable, but can't be downloaded? I have a faculty who asked me, they want to share the PPT, but they don't want students to be able to download the slides.
Thank you - I searched for something similar, but didn't come across that thread, so thanks again for answering. I figured as much, but thought I'd put it out to the community.
To do that, we use Google Slide format and Google Slide Viewer with security parameters. It's a good way to view and a first level of protection (download an print prevent).
Thanks - I offered that suggestion to the faculty member, but they were hoping for something different.
I will concur that you really can't stop the download. I recommend my faculty print to pdf anything they hand out. Stops casual tampering.
If you really, really, want to make it as difficult as possible for students to "steal" your content, then make a YouTube of yourself looking at the document and embed it.
They can still get the content, but they'll have to REALLY want it.
My best suggestion is to save them into PDF before loading up to your Bb course. That way, it will show up on screen automatically, bypassing the popup dialog box asking to open/download. Give them less option/incentive to download/save.
~Kent
I have to admit that this discussion has made me smile. It's such an old problem. A Martin Luther had a problem in 1517 when one of his students downloaded his Ninety-Five Theses from the university’s chapel door and then made a bunch of unauthorized copies.
Yes, you can use Mix for PowerPoint which is a plug in for PPT 2013 or 2016 for PC. Go to https://mix.office.com to download and install the plug-in. For my Mac users, I have them create on the Mac and then when on campus upload using a PC. Contact me directly for additional information at jcrouch@uccs.edu
Converting a PPT file to flash or HTML5 using iSpring might help, and it's really easy to use (becomes a PPT plug-in). It can at least prevent downloads, but it doesn't fix the the problem of taking screenshots with the keyboard or camera. Here is a link to the free version of iSpring: Free PowerPoint to Flash & HTML5 Converter - iSpring Free . (**Caveat: I haven't used this in a while so if it doesn't work this way anymore, I apologize in advance.)
A similar question was asked a few months ago over in this thread:
Re: Is there a way to prevent an uploaded file from being downloaded by students? Maybe something like a "view only" mode?
The consensus is that once the content/file is on the student's computer screen, its basically impossible to prevent them from saving it. The way the internet and web browsers work is by downloading the content from the server to a temp location on the user's computer, then the browser displays it. Even if you go as far as using something like Respondus to prevent screenshots and printing, nothing can stop the user from snapping pics on their smartphone.