Earlier this year Google added automatic captioning to Google Slides. This week, via The Verge, I learned that Microsoft is adding automatic captioning and translation to  PowerPoint starting in January. The automatic captioning will work when you are displaying your slides in presentation mode. You will have a choice of languages in which to display captions.

Applications for Education

One huge advantage of PowerPoint’s automatic captioning service over Google Slide’s automatic captions is that PowerPoint’s support multiple languages and real-time translation display. This could be a fantastic resource for ELL/ESL classrooms. If you can’t wait to give PowerPoint’s automatic captioning a try, you can still use Microsoft Translator for Education.