How do I enable the interactive features for Powerpoint?

Question

I use PowerPoint to present SRE material to the Stage 3 classes I teach. (Please, can we be adults here and not attack the fact I am teaching scripture in schools [NSW] but rather, please just refer to the actual issue, cheers)

Usually, I have animated my slides and incorporated triggers (which can be viewed as below) and these work fine from both my laptop and from my second monitor at home.

However, I want to now incorporate the ClassPoint features, such as the draggable objects and the ability to use the pen/highlighter function.

The problem seems to lie in that when I connect my laptop to the Main Learning Display (MLD in NSW Schools - interactive, touchscreen smartboard) via HDMI, I cannot seem to activate any of those features to actually become useable.

Is the issue somewhere in that my laptop isn't a touchscreen and therefore I can't then access the touchscreen features of the MLD?

Or am I missing an important step? I have tried to access Device Manager to see about the Human Interface options, but as my laptop isn't touchscreen I don't have the ability to enable those features.

Could it have something to do with the display by either extending or duplicating the monitor? The issue there though is that I use presenter view on my laptop as I have notes written for myself, and on the MLD is the main presentation.

Basically, in a nutshell - how can I get the school's MLD to actually be touchscreen for me so I can allow the kids to play the interactive games I have created using ClassPoint?

Answer 1

Hello @Mez

Welcome to Q&A forum!

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. I truly appreciate the effort you put into preparing your lessons, and I believe your students will enjoy engaging and easy-to-follow classes.

Let me briefly summarize your issue and focus on the main challenge you’re facing. (If anything is incorrect, please confirm so we can work together more effectively.)

You’re using PowerPoint with ClassPoint to teach Stage 3 classes and want to enable interactive features like draggable objects and pen tools on the school’s Main Learning Display (MLD), which is a touchscreen smartboard. However, when you connect your non-touchscreen laptop to the MLD via HDMI, these features don’t work. This is likely due to input limitations or display settings (extend vs. duplicate), and you’re unsure how to make the MLD’s touchscreen usable for interaction.

About this case, I have some information for you:

• HDMI only transmits video and audio signals, not touch input. So when your laptop is connected via HDMI, the display shows your content but cannot send touch interactions back to your laptop.

For touch to work, the MLD needs to send touch input back to your laptop through a data channel, usually:

A USB cable (often labeled “Touch” on smartboards).

Your laptop must have the correct drivers installed to interpret touch signals.

Finally, please note that ClassPoint is a third-party tool that integrates with Microsoft PowerPoint as an add-in. For further assistance, you can reach out to ClassPoint’s support team. I’ll do my best to guide you, but since this is outside Microsoft’s product scope, I hope you understand and appreciate your patience.

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