Google Slides is an effective online presentation tool that gives countless teachers access to this free software, and easily used by people with little or no design experience. It has developed over time into a well–rounded, adaptable solution for teaching, learning, and collaboration in a wide variety of educational contexts. Readers of my blog regularly see posts related to Google Slides; these include template sets for educators, suggestions for how to utilize Google Slides to their fullest potential. Google Slides can be an effective means of presenting information, collaborative student work, and making projects interactive. Here is a collection of my favorite techniques for using Google Slides as an educator. I often share useful tips with teachers on how to best utilize Google Slides in their classrooms.
What is Google Slides?
Google Slides is a web-based software for creating, editing and sharing presentations via the Internet. It differs from typical office software because it links directly to the user’s account on Google Drive. Therefore, you will see your Google Drive account connected to all of your slides presentations regardless of the platform you are using to open them (e.g. Ipad app, Chromebook or any web browser on a laptop).
With Google Slides, users can collaborate on a presentation in real-time. So, for example, if one of the collaborators is editing the presentation, everyone else viewing it will also be able to see those changes immediately. As a result, this feature is very helpful for both teachers’ planning and for working with students on group projects. In addition, because you do not need to download or install additional software to access and use this application, and since it is simple to navigate through its templates and fonts, Google Slides offers convenience, ease of use and an array of design/customization options.
Customize the Page Layout
You can modify the layout of Google Slides to meet a variety of requirements. Whether you are creating a traditional wide screen presentation, social media graphics in square format, or printable materials using an 8.5 x 11 layout, changing the layout of Google Slides allows for flexibility and is therefore a good option for both digital and printed projects.
To access this feature, navigate to the File menu, and select Page Setup. You have the option of using one of Google’s pre-defined layouts or specifying your own page dimensions. I also provided an example of this approach in my blog post titled “A Microblogging Lesson Idea and Template You Can Customize.”
Add Speaker Notes for Extra Guidance
Speaker notes in Google Slides provide a space to add additional information or cues for presentations. You can use them to script your lessons, include reminders, or offer supplemental details for students who need additional guidance. Students can also use speaker notes for citations or self-reflections as they work on projects.
Link Images for Interactive Navigation
With Google Slides, you can create hyperlinked images, enabling students to move to and access outside web-based resource content. Whether you link to a resource article, a video clip, or even another Google Slides presentation, hyperlinking in this manner provides a way for teachers to utilize interactive learning opportunities for students.
I wrote a chapter titled “Navigate” in my book, EdTech Essentials : 12 Strategies For Every Classroom, in Being an Age of AI , where I lackped it. Students should have the ability to develop their ability to navigate these types of links and to create a connection between what they are doing in this interactive manner and what they have done previously in their own experiences in the global community.
Create and Share Templates
Templates in Google Slides allow educators to save time and be more consistent in student projects. Educators can use a master template for an assignment, create a master template for; graphic organizers, or create a master template for guided research slides. I am a big fan of templates and am always looking for new ways to use them.
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to discuss the tips for using templates with students with Eve Heaton in Episode 307 of Easy EdTech Podcast. Eve is an EdTech Coach at her school and provides a lot of useful tips for listeners. If you use many templates, it is a good idea to have a systematic way of labelling the templates to make it easy for you to find templates in Google Drive.
Force a Copy for Easy Sharing
If you need students to make their own version of a slide deck, you can set up a force-copy link. By replacing “edit” with “copy” in the URL, students will be prompted to create their own editable copy of the document.
Google Classroom gives you the option to create a copy for students, but if you’re not using this platform, you still have the option to force a copy. This eliminates confusion and ensures each student has a personal version to work on. Are you making interactive notebooks for students with a tool like Diffit? Then, you might want to try using a force copy link.
Use Collaborative Sharing for Group Projects
Google Slides makes collaboration simple by allowing multiple users to work on the same presentation in real time. Whether it’s a teacher-led brainstorming session or a student group project, participants can contribute, comment, and edit together since the Google Slides presentation will update automatically.
Design Interactive Activities
Teachers can create interactive slides that go beyond static presentations. By embedding videos, inserting links, and adding response prompts, you can design lessons that promote interaction. For example, you might make a “choose your own adventure” activity with links to different activities so students jump around between slides or head to other sources on the web.
Crowdsource Resources for Lesson Planning
Among educators, a popular way to find and share resources is through Google Slides, which is a versatile platform that allows for collaboration. By creating a collaborative slide deck that multiple teachers can use to put together lesson resources such as links, ideas for lessons, and examples of successful lessons for a particular unit of study, this practice saves everyone time and boosts the overall quality of lesson planning on an ongoing basis.
As part of my webinars and professional development activities, I will often create a slide deck in Google Slides for attendees to use to collaborate during the event. I will usually assign a certain amount of slides for each participant to add their response to a prompt or note their main learning points or suggestions for “their” slide.
Utilize Version History for Easy Editing
The version history feature in Google Slides allows you to track changes, restore previous versions, and see who made specific edits. This is particularly helpful for monitoring student progress, managing group projects, and recovering information in case of accidental deletions. I also use this feature in other Google tools, including Google Docs.
Generate Exit Tickets and Formative Assessments
Google Slides can be used to create quick formative assessments or exit tickets. Teachers can design a few slides with reflection questions or prompts, and students can add their responses before submitting their version. This could be an individual response or a collaborative document where everyone responds in the same deck but on different slides.
Make Drag-and-Drop Assignments
With Google Slides, teachers can create interactive assignments where students drag and drop images, text, or shapes. This method is useful for categorization activities, labeling diagrams, or building interactive graphic organizers. You would most likely use the force copy option I mentioned earlier to give everyone their own copy.
Using Google Slides for Teachers (and Students)
With the help of a browser interface, Google Slides provides an effortless way to share files with others, automatically save documents, and work with other Google Suite tools. If you’ve been using Google Docs and Google Classroom already, then Google Slides would be an excellent choice to add to your tool set.
Because of its many uses and versatility, Google Slides will help educators create and present more engaging lessons; provide a way for students to collaborate on group projects; and produce templates for future use.
Are there any Google Slides tips on your mind that I should include? Please reply to any of my Monday newsletters (subscribe free here) and share your insights!
