Recording Audio and Adding It to Your Google Slides Presentation

It's a simple process to add audio to Google Slides presentations now. Students can use the feature for many things, including their narration on each slide. Here's a simple example I made to show how this might work.

While it's easy to add audio, there are at least three steps that students might need help with, especially when using Chromebooks. I made a document (at the link below) that will walk them through the process. It is intended to be useful for a variety of different classes and projects. 

Those three things they might need some help with (or reminders for) are:

• How can you easily record the audio for the slides?
• Don't forget you have to upload those audio files to Google Drive.
• And if you share the Slides presentation, you also have to share those audio files with the same people.

All of those details and more are addressed in this one-page document. Feel free to share that document with others and edit as you like. Please keep the link to my blog at the top.

These tutorials are linked within the document:

• A video tutorial for using Bear Audio Tool to record the files for each slide
• A video with tips for how to add the audio files and be sure they play how you want them to (including how to upload them to Drive)
• A brief explanation in the document of how to easily share the audio files so when someone presents them, they will play.

The Updated 10 Ways to Show Off the Learning Beyond the Classroom

I first made this list in the summer of 2015. With each year of experience behind me and changes with the tools I'll keep updating this. Most updates were made in 2016, but a few have been added in July, 2017.

New items and information are clearly noted below.

When teachers and students show off the best things they learned, perceptions change and the culture changes. I want to make sure my district is known as a place where important learning happens every day.

But a lot of teachers in my district like hands-on, physical projects. Just how many art exhibits and science fairs can you do a year?

So I compiled this list so even those paintings done with real paint and the science experiment made of food can be shown off to the world.

I made this for the teachers I work with daily, so please keep in mind:

• It is a tool for awareness, not a how-to guide. Teachers in my district would contact me for one on one help. Since most of you won't have that option, I added links below to many of my Tech Project Packs. They were designed to help teachers quickly incorporate tech into their projects. I wrote about them all on this blog here.
• Most classrooms in my district use laptops or Chromebooks. I didn't include options for tablets with most of the ideas.

1) Live broadcasts of student presentations - Use The Cube. 

• You can broadcast to the internet easily with an iPhone or iPad. 
• Someone from your school will have to sign up and create an admin account at the site.
• Share the link to your broadcast with parents or to the community beforehand so anyone can watch live. 
• The recording can be left online, so people can watch it later if you want.
• When using live video, be sure you have parent permission to post online and remember not to identify students by first and last name.
• New information:
• I actually haven't used The Cube for a couple years now, since I wasn't involved with any live broadcasts in my district. It appears that service still works as described here, but now the two social media options below might be better.
• I have used Periscope for some personal projects and I love its simplicity.
• And of course Facebook Live is a very popular way to go now.
• Update 2017: If I do live announcements now, I'll use YouTube Live.

2) Websites and Blogs - A simple site or blog (created by you or the students themselves) is the starting point for sharing all the other types of project presentations listed below.

• Any final product, even if it’s has no tech involved, can be posted online by way of pictures and text. 
• For websites, Google Sites is a good, simple option. I made this tutorial for my district for making a website with Google Sites.
• For blogs, use Blogger. Here’s a tutorial I made for creating a new one.
• New information:
• Google Sites is going to be updated in a big way soon, but at this time the above resource is still relevant.
• I also recommend checking out Adobe Spark Pages as a great option for making a single web page. My tutorial for that excellent, simple tool is here.
• And here's my Tech Project Pack for blogs.
• Update 2017: The new Google Sites is a a great, simple way to create a website. See this post for some tips.

3) A PDF ebook - Within seconds anything students make in Google Docs or Slides can be turned into a PDF. From there it can be posted on any blog or website so anyone can open or download it like an ebook.

• With the file open, go to the File menu and select the option to Download as PDF.
• Once the PDF is downloaded, upload it to Drive again and share it as needed.
• New information: This tutorial is specifically about making a comic, but it does show the process of downloading a PDF from Google Slides.

4) InfoPics - If he didn’t invent this simple concept, Tony Vincent is the one who named it and he sings its praises. This really is just a process of adding notes or other text to pictures that are related to a topic. 

• Here's Tony’s blog post about it (with examples).
• It would be very easy for students to make these and share the images on a website or blog.The pictures could also be shared by a teacher or a parent on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or any other social network.
• The device you like to use will dictate the tools, but I’d suggest Google Drawings for computers or Chromebooks. Pixlr.com is a good tool on many devices if you want to add more effects to your pictures.
• New information:
• Update 2017: I used to recommend Adobe Spark as the first tool to check out for this. They call the pictures with text "Posts". Here's a tutorial about using it. It's still a great tool, but students under the age of 13 cannot sign up for an account without lying about their age.
• My Tech Project Pack for Infopics has tutorials for all the tools listed here.

5) Infographics - Students can create infographic images to show facts in a concise, visually appealing way.

• Finished graphics can be posted on social media or websites and blogs.
• Piktochart is a great tool for this.
• Users can log in on Piktochart with their Google accounts.
• Here’s a good article from Matt Smith with ideas for Piktochart in many subjects.
• New information:
• They have added a presentation option to Piktochart. Now with the click of a button the infographic can be used as a more traditional slideshow for live presentations.
• Here's my Tech Project Pack for infographics.

6) Audio Recordings (podcasts) - Students can create audio recordings and share them online in a variety of ways. These can be completed much faster than a video project. Here are a few details.

• Here’s a simple example of an interview between two students.
• On a PC with a microphone (or a laptop) Audacity is the program to use for recording.
• On a Chromebook you can try SoundCloud for recording (if editing isn’t necessary) or SoundTrap. Both work with Google accounts.
• Finished mp3 or wav files can be uploaded to SoundCloud so people can listen to them and even add comments.
• New information: Here's my Tech Project Pack for audio recordings.

7) Virtual books on Flipsnack - This site is a great tool that turns any PDF into a fun virtual book. 

• Important Note: I found out if students sign in using a Google Apps for Education account it uses the first and last name in the URLs. This is not a good practice. See the link to my new tutorial below about changing the username so it doesn't include student names.
• I usually create the PDF in Google Slides or Google Docs first, then upload to Flipsnack.
• Here’s an example I use for a comic assignment.
• Users can sign into Flipsnack with their Google accounts.
• Free Flipsnack accounts are limited to three virtual books at a time.
• New information: Here's an updated video tutorial on turning a Google Slides presentation into a Flipsnack. Be sure to watch the part that shows how to change the username in Flipsnack.

8) Screen Recordings - Think of these as somewhat informal recordings of something the students show on the screen. 

• These are great for tutorials or presentations.
• Here’s an example from a teacher who has his students use this method a lot.
• They’re informal because editing is usually not part of the process. Students need to practice before recording!
• On a computer with a mic, use Screencast-o-Matic.
• Final results can be uploaded to Google Drive or YouTube for sharing as necessary.
• New information: Update 2017: I used to highly recommend the SnagIt for this, but it is no longer available. I use Screencastify. Here is a recent post about how I create these.

9) Digital slideshows - These are a series of pictures combined into a video by using an editing program.

• These are a step up from screen recordings because you can (and should) edit them.
• Students can add audio. It might be just background music or they can narrate the slideshow.
• With narration, these become presentations that present themselves.
• They make a good introduction to video production, but don’t require as much time.
• New information:
• Forget everything you read from my blog about previous methods for this! I now recommend Adobe Spark Videos as the best tool. See this video tutorial for an example and how-to tips.
• Update 2017: I still like Adobe Spark for video, but we had problems using it on Chromebooks. Also, students under the age of 13 cannot sign up for an account without lying about their age.

10) Videos - Producing a good video is the pinnacle of technology integration in most classes.

• Good videos require several technology skills and a deep understanding of class content. 
• There is a huge range of possibilities for complexity. Don’t just tell students they can “make a video”! Know the options and set guidelines that are appropriate for your students.
• Here are my tips for teachers and students for any video project.
• New information:
• I'm in the process up updating some resources for these projects. Honestly, I've found they take a long time and I have been encouraging the digital slideshows over full videos. I will say I now prefer the paid version of WeVideo for the editor. Note that the free version is not COPPA and FERPA compliant.
• I did post about two video projects we did this year. One was a team building challenge and the other was designed to introduce students to iMovie on an iPad.

Two Great Tools for Creative Presentation Options - Think beyond PowerPoint

Update 11-25-2016:  I still love Adobe Spark, but I've learned a couple things since I used it more in the classroom this year. First, users have to enter a date of birth to sign up. Students under 13 will not get access. Also, we have run into problems with the video feature on Chromebooks. That option seems to work best on regular computers.

Teachers often ask me for presentation options that get them beyond PowerPoint. Adobe Spark fills this need perfectly!

I just finished new videos for easy, creative presentations and projects using Adobe Spark. I showed these (and Posts, the third option) to teachers a couple weeks ago and they took to it immediately. It came out in mid-May, too late for me to push it big in my district, but I suspect it will be a very popular tool this new school year.

Keep in mind both of these tools should be useful for teachers and students. They work great on Chromebooks or any computer. iPad apps are available too.

I strongly recommend that every teacher learn these tools before school starts up. Believe me, they won't take long to get the basics.

This first video is an overview and some tips for creating what they call Pages. These are very attractive webpages that can be used to tell a story, report on a classroom activity or just about anything else you'd make that uses pictures and text.

The video is below, but here's the sample page I created and that you'll see in the first part of the video.

This next tutorial features the Adobe Spark Videos. The tool is by far the simplest one I've found for making an attractive digital slideshow. Even adding narration is a breeze.

You might be interested in these related posts:

• Adobe Spark Posts - The third tool in the Adobe Spark suite is called a Post. It's a picture with text. 
• Using Adobe Spark for Making Narrated Slideshows - This video shows how to go from Google Slides to a narrated digital slideshow using Adobe Spark Video.

Creating Narrated Slideshows and Digital Stories on a Chromebook Using Adobe Spark

One of the more popular tips and tutorials I've created has been how to create a narrated slideshow on a Chromebook. I used to use WeVideo for this, but last week Adobe released a tool called Spark. I was hoping it would be a simpler tool than WeVideo.

I tried out its features for importing images, adding narration and exporting the finished video and I'm happy to say it has worked very easily so far. I made a quick screen recording of the process so I could share it with teachers and students in my district.

This is new for all of us, but in case this helps others to get started with Spark, here's the video:

If you are interested in this post, you might also like my Tech Project Packs. Each one is a collection of resources for tech projects you can use in any class or subject.

How to Create a Narrated Slideshow on a Chromebook Using Google Slides and WeVideo

I've had a few teachers ask for a project somewhere between a PowerPoint presentation and a full blown video project. I have been suggesting what I call a narrated slideshow and I made a tutorial to show them how to do it on a Chromebook.

This process uses Google Slides and WeVideo. I really like how the whole thing can be done on one device.

I recently updated the final video below to include:

• Correct terminology for the final step in WeVideo.
• Steps showing how to turn it in through Google Classroom.

Some of these steps are specific to the Chromebook, but the great thing about these tools is that you can use them on any computer as long as you have a microphone.

First, here's an example of what I mean by a narrated slideshow:


In part 1 I show a brief overview of creating the presentation and how to download the slides as image files.



In the second stage I show how to import the images into WeVideo and how to build the video presentation. (WeVideo was recently updated, so some screens won't be identical to what you see in this video.)



In Part 3 I explain how to record your narration. (WeVideo was recently updated. It looks like they fixed the problem I refer to in the video about showing the preview while recording.)


In this final step I show how to finalize the project as a video saved in WeVideo and Google Drive. I also show how to turn it in through Classroom.

Note: Be aware that the free version of WeVideo is limited to how many minutes of video you can export each month. If the students keep these under five minutes there shouldn't be a problem, but they need to be sure their work is as good as possible before exporting. Multiple exports of even short videos could end up exceeding the limit on free accounts.


Note about first four videos above:
The first four videos were recorded on a Chromebook. I normally make my video lessons on a PC with Camtasia. Here I used the SnagIt Chrome app and extension. I edited in WeVideo (using some premium features as part of a free month trial). I am happy with the results using the free tools, but they are not as polished as other tutorials I have created.