Hey, I've been reading this forum since high school, but I never thought I ever had anything to add. Now I would like to give back. So here I am.
Thanks,
Marcus
You could buy a (i.e. Logitech) wireless keyboard for each laptop, then use the arrow keys to control the PowerPoint slides. If the wireless range is not long enough or there is interference or you just need more reliability, you can get 3 "usb extenders" and then connect 3 wired usb keyboards...