Word and PowerPoint Tricks

I've been using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint since I began teaching, and I thought I was making ultimate use of them. I was wrong. Even these most basic programs can be utilized better to create more interactive activities for students, according to Sandra Morrissette, assistive technology services specialist for FCPS. There are so many unsung options of Word and PowerPoint that I can't list them all here (I have a disk with all the ideas from JOSTI, which I will copy, so it can be checked out from the library), but here are a few that I found particularly intriguing:

Word
Use forms to create digital quizzes (yea paperless!): By going to View, then Toolbar, then Forms, you will get a menu bar that lets you insert check boxes, for multiple-choice questions; drop-down menus, for true-false questions; and text fields, for short-answer questions. You get the same feedback, but students feel like they are filling out an online survey instead of an assessment. (In terms of preventing cheating, I would suggest having students give their answers to you by USB disk instead of by G drive.)
Convert documents to Web pages to give hints: If you put the hints in white-colored text in a Word document, when you save the file as a Web page and post for students, they will be able to triple-click on hidden text, which highlights it and therefore makes it "appear." This especially works for younger students who like looking for the hints. Unlike the above suggestion, this would probably be used for independent or group practice, not assessment.
Use word art to make vocabulary look like what it means: By going to View, then Toolbar, then Drawing, you will get a menu bar that allows you to Insert Word Art. Once you insert a word, you will get a new menu bar that allows you to put a picture within the word: Go to Format, then Color and Lines tab, then Fill Effect, then Picture tab, then Select Picture; here, you can choose a photo or clip art from your files to reflect the word. Picture the word "summer" with suns inside, for example. You could even have students create their own word art, then compile all their submissions into a set of flash cards for partner drilling.

Word to PowerPoint
Use the presentation outline in Word to create a guide for PowerPoint: By going to View, then Toolbar, then Outline, you can create a traditional outline with as many levels (I, A, 1, a) as necessary. You could fill in some blanks for students or have them start from scratch. Once the outline is completed, use Send to PowerPoint under File, so the outline is converted to PowerPoint slides. Students like to present, but they don't always think about organization as much as when they write; this allows them to pay attention to order without making extra work.

PowerPoint
Use typeable text boxes to make presentations more interactive: By going to View, then Toolbars, then Control Toolbox, you will get a menu that allows you to Draw Text Box. You will not be able to insert any text during editing, but once you go to Slideshow mode, the typeable text boxes will appear. By showing the PowerPoint on a SmartBoard, you could have students fill in the blanks as you go through the presentation, which turns it into a group activity instead of an individual presentation.