Using Guides in Google Slides to Align Content Like a Pro!

A cactus and a tape measure next to it. Text reads, how to use guides for perfect alignment in google slide decks.

Personally, I find it hard to work on the content for a slide deck if I don’t start with an idea for what the design of my slides will look like, and I can’t settle on a good design for my slide deck until the OCD part of my brain accepts that everything is neatly arranged and lined up exactly the way it should be. This is where guides come in. This handy tool lets you align text, shapes, images and more so that you never need to worry about whether your picture to be ten pixels further to the left. Now, I know what you’re thinking. I have a problem. You’re absolutely right, I freely admit it, but here’s how I solved it. I use guides in Google Slides.

PowerPoint Myths: Busted!

powerpoint myths

PowerPoint gets a bad name, but in my opinion it is often just misrepresented. Are their a wealth of PowerPoint alternatives available for little or no cost? Indeed there are, but do you really know all that PowerPoint is capable of? Here’s a rundown of some common PowerPoint myths and the reasons that PowerPoint is still a worthy tool…in the right hands.

Myth #1: PowerPoints are boring

Let’s get this one out the way from the beginning. We have all sat through some terrible presentations at one point or another. We were bored, tired, and spent more time watching the clock than watching the slides. Death by PowerPoint, right? The real truth, as you probably know, is that it was not PowerPoint that made you bored, it was the presenter. Their performance, and maybe their slide design, were not good enough to keep you interested. Thankfully, performance skills can be learned, as can slide design. Kathy Schrock, for instance, has some great presentation tips and tricks that are well worth a read.

Myth #2: You can’t collaborate on a PowerPoint

If you save your PowerPoint to your school (or personal) OneDrive account, you can go to File > Share > Invite People (Share With People PowerPoint 2016), and add the email addresses of the people you would like to share your file with. Choose whether you want them to have view or edit rights to the file, and write them a short note explaining what you are sending them. Once you are done, click Share to send the invitation. You can also go to File > Share > Get a Link (Share With People > Get a Sharing Link PowerPoint 2016). Multiple people can work on the same PowerPoint at the same time, but as with Google Presentations and other collaborative slideshow apps, it works best when you are all working on different slides. You should also save often when using the desktop version to ensure you have all changes synced when working with other users simultaneously.

sharing link for powerpoint

Myth #3: You need an Office subscription

You are probably familiar with Google’s online suite of Office applications, but did you know Microsoft has one that is also free? Simply navigate to Office.com and log in with your Microsoft account to get access to free online versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and more. The online apps are not as full featured as their desktop counterparts, but you can create, share and collaborate on any Microsoft Office document for free. So, if you want to work on a PowerPoint with someone who does not have Office on their computer, Office.com provides that option.

Some students and teachers are eligible for free versions of Office through their school. To check on eligibility, visit this website and sign up. Mobile users can get all of the Office apps for free on iOS and on Android. This lets you create, view and edit existing documents on phones or tablets, and it will sync everything between all your devices.

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Google Slides for iPad: A Good Start, But It Still Needs Some Work

Today Google finally delivered on their promise to release an iOS version of Google Slides. It is free, available in the App Store right now, and joins Docs, Sheets and Drive as part of Google’s productivity apps for the iPad and iPhone. Is it any good? Here are some initial thoughts I had after trying it out this afternoon.

Google Slides for iPad

It is great to have the ability to create and edit Google Presentations on the iPad, but you probably won’t rush to uninstall Keynote, PowerPoint or even Haiki Deck just yet. Why? Well, although you do have some basic formatting and editing features built-in, Slides still lacks some basics that you might expect to find in an interactive iPad presentation app.

For instance, you only get one theme to choose from when you create a new Presentation. That theme is not even a theme really because it is just a collection of white slides. Another drawback is the inability to add images or video. There is no option to browse the camera roll for media, or even to copy and paste images from other sources.

When you come to present, you can see your speaker notes in the editor mode, but not in presentation mode. That’s a little odd. There are also no annotation tools or laser pointers that you find in the presentation modes of other apps. There are also no transitions or animations.

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Learning to Innovate in a One iPad Classroom

Today I was presenting at our annual iPad conference for educators – iPadU: Slide to Unlock Learning. Matt B. Gomez was our keynote speaker and kicked off the first of our three days with an inspiring talk for educators.

Later in the day I gave one of several presentations I am scheduled to give at the conference, and it was on a topic I have written about before, the one iPad classroom. So, if you are interested in getting some ideas for this, or you know some teachers who are faced with a similar dilemma, feel free to pass on the ideas below!

The Best Free Web Tools for Engaging Students in 1:1 Classrooms

This week, I had the opportunity to present at the Iowa 1:1 Institute. It is always a great event, and has long been known for having some of Iowa’s brightest and best educators in attendance. I did two presentations – Choose Your Own (Google) Adventure Stories, and the one you can see below.

I believe that every educator should have their own web toolbox of sites that they can turn to when they are looking to engage students in their classrooms. You can’t rely on the same one to do what you need in all scenarios, and your students will probably appreciate some variety from time to time, so I wanted to share some of my favorites and hopefully introduce a few new ones for teachers to take back to their classrooms.

However, it is important to note that these tools won’t change teaching and learning in your classroom. After all, they are just tools. They still need the right context, and without proper implementation within your classroom curriculum, they will do very little to invoke change by themselves.

The slides from the session are below. If you see something you like, feel free to share it with someone else who might benefit from using some of these great web tools in their classroom!