Toronto Teacher Mom: Google Slides

How to Maximize Google Slides in Edit Mode

EdTech

Tuesday, January 18, 2022
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Robot Mouse Coding Challenge - Google Slides Template for Virtual Coding

Coding

Wednesday, November 11, 2020
2 Comments

My Virtual French Classroom in Google Slides

French Resources

Ever since I first started teaching core French 16 years ago, I've always wanted my own classroom. I kept thinking how nice it would be to have my own space where I could set up learning centres, or a French library, or a coding corner, or a word wall, or a... er, I'm getting a little carried away, aren't I? The point I'm trying to get at is that I've always wanted a classroom to call my own, one that I could customize the way I feel would best facilitate French language acquisition amongst my students. In short, I've longed to fully immerse my students in the target language to maximize learning in the few 30 minutes that I have with them each day. Well, thanks to some incredibly inspiring teachers who have embraced the latest trend in distance learning, I have jumped on board the virtual bandwagon and now have my very own virtual French classroom. Squee!

I really wish I knew who started this trend so I could thank that person profusely since this is one of the most brilliant ideas I have come across in a very long time. There are so many tutorials out there but many of the posts I've been seeing on Twitter have been sharing this handy video tutorial by Thomas Blackmore:

For my virtual classroom, I've decided to only activate a few items this week and have created an audio message, similar to my interactive French activities, to challenge my students to find three hidden activities. (Can you find them all?) I've also added audio messages to the cat and to my Bitmoji as clues. Two of the activities lead to activities that I've embedded into my Google Site and one leads them to a virtual tour. Next week, I plan to add more active links and perhaps a couple of additional objects to my classroom as an ongoing "Where's Waldo?" type of activity. I also plan on making a slight change each day, such as the placement of the cat, and challenging students to identify what has changed from the previous day. For example, "Aujourd'hui le chat est sur le tapis." (Talk about the authentic use of the target language!) I have so many ideas on what else I'd like to try within my room, my head might explode! For now, I will share my top five tips for designing your own virtual classroom.

Top 5 Tips for Designing a Virtual Classroom

When inserting images, add either "png" or "transparent" to your search query to find objects that have a transparent background.
If you can't find an image in the colour you're looking for, insert an image and click on it. Then go to Format options that appears on the menu above (or right-click on the image) and select an option from the Re-colour menu that appears on the right panel. I did this for the easel, blackboard, window, shelf, rug and stool, using the grayscale option. It brings me great joy to have everything all "matchy matchy"!
To add audio to an image of your choice, first add the audio file to your slide. Then click on the audio icon and click Replace image which will appear in the menu bar above. Then either search for the image in Google or upload an image. If the new image is not square, parts of it may be cut off but it is easily fixed by clicking on the "crop image" icon and adjusting the bold, black cropping handles as required.
If you plan on using various Bitmoji stickers, I suggest creating a file folder and downloading your favourite ones. I chose to add them to a folder in Google Drive by using the Google Drive Desktop App. This has been a game changer for me since I can easily drag and drop my Bitmoji stickers directly from the Bitmoji extension into a dedicated folder on my Google Drive through the desktop client, and the stickers maintain their transparent background. This has a number of benefits such as eliminating the need to save to your computer and taking up precious space on your hard drive. You can also alternate changing your Bitmoji outfit using the Bitmoji app and then copying those stickers to your Google Drive folder so you can access different outfits later. It is also great if you plan on attaching audio files to your Bitmoji, since you need to replace the audio icon image with another. (You cannot copy and paste your sticker from the Bitmoji extension and then add audio to it, unfortunately.) This way, you could replace the image via your Drive. Here is a tutorial on how to use the Google Drive Desktop Client:

For any objects that you wish to keep stationary such as the wall, flooring, or blackboard, I recommend that you add those to the slide master. It just clears up your canvas as it can get crowded with several images and it's not always easy to isolate a single image if you need to move it or make changes. To access the slide master, click on Slide - Edit master.

If you'd like to use the template I created, click here for a similar version in View only mode. Click on File - Make a copy so you can customize it.

G Suite for Education Resources - Diana Mancuso

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020
20 Comments

Interactive French Activities for Distance Learning

EdTech

Several weeks ago, I came across a template for a Weekly Planner for Online Lessons by SlidesMania that I loved so much, I decided to tweak the colour theme and I have been using it for interactive activities for my FSL students ever since. I share with them the link to the published version (which is found under File - Publish to the web) so that they can more easily navigate between slides, watch videos and click on the audio files.

Interactive French Activities for Distance Learning using Google Slides

The sample slide deck I am sharing below was designed for my grade 2 core French students. For that grade, the curriculum focusses on listening and speaking, which is not so easy to do during distance learning. So that's why I find the audio feature in Google Slides super handy. I use a lot of YouTube sing-alongs, too. I've also created a French Google Site where I can embed my slide deck at the top and my published Book Creator audio books, my customized Flippity activities and manipulatives, the use images in the slide deck to hyperlink directly to them.

And of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add some Bitmoji stickers of yours truly. This is done by way of the Bitmoji Chrome extension. You're sure to find one for pretty much any occasion. You can also get stickers with French expressions by switching the language on your Chrome browser to French!

Tips for Adding a Certain Je ne sais quoi to Your Google Slides

When searching for images, add "png" or "transparent" to the end of your search query to find images with transparent backgrounds. These are very handy when you are overlapping other objects on your slide.
Add depth to images by selecting the image, then selecting Format options and enabling the drop shadow feature. I'm a little addicted to this one. F
Can't find an image in the colour you want? Adjust the colour and brightness under Format options. I used this technique to create paint splotches in the colours I needed for my "couleurs" slide.
When inserting audio clips, you need to make sure the file is .mp3 or .wav. (I use Voice Memo on my phone, import the files to iTunes and convert to .mp3.) An alternative that I hear people have been using is the Online Voice Recorder, where it allows you download an .mp3 copy of your recording. Create a folder in Drive and adjust the share settings (I have mine set to "anyone with the link can view") and plop your audio files in there. Any files uploaded into that folder will automatically be given the same share settings. Then you can go to Insert - Audio and select the file from your Drive.
To select objects that you want to link to other sites or to other slides within the presentation, such as the activity numbers on the first slide, hover your mouse over the object's border until the arrow pointer turns into a four-point arrow. Then click on the chainlink icon that pops up in the menu bar and add your hyperlink.
To have an object linked to an audio file, you would have to insert the audio file first. Then click on the audio icon and click on "Replace image" in the menu bar above, and select the image you would like to use.

Click here to view the interactive slide deck.

To make a copy of the interactive French activities I created for my grade 2 class, click on the screenshot below.

Here is a list of the exit tickets/mini quizzes I made using Google Forms:

Feel free to use what you like and, as always, drop me a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions.

Thursday, May 07, 2020
7 Comments

How to Embed Quizlet Flashcards in a Google Site or Blog

EdTech

How to Embed Quizlet Flashcards on a Google Site or Blog

Now that we find ourselves in the midst of distance learning, I have resorted to finding new ways to streamline the resources I share with my students. One such resource is Quizlet. Over the years, I have curated a variety of study sets for my core French students which, up until recently, I have shared by way of a Symbaloo Webmix. I chose to embed my webmix into a Google site in order that students could access it within a site that I can control, thereby eliminating any unnecessary advertisements or the need to open up multiple tabs. Since then, I have been slowly embedding Quizlet flashcards into my FSL site as well, which has a number of benefits. Here's an embedded study set on French classroom vocabulary:

Benefits of Embedding Quizlet Flashcards

My students can access the flashcards without having to leave my Google site.
The embedded study set defaults to full screen mode, which I find is more user-friendly.
Students can easily switch between study modes via the drop-down menu at the bottom right.
It by-passes the pop-up that prompts students visiting the Quizlet site to sign up for an account. (I know there are great analytics that Quizlet can provide and insights regarding individual student results but I want to maintain student privacy as much as possible and prefer to create assessments using Google Forms.)

How to Embed Quizlet Flashcards

If you have an account on Quizlet, you can embed any study set even if you are not the owner. Once you are logged on and have selected a Quizlet study set that you'd like to embed, follow these steps:

Step 1:
Click on the "more" icon (the three horizontal dots sometimes referred to as the "kebab menu") and select the "Embed" option.

Step 2:
Select "Flashcards" from the dropdown menu and then copy the HTML code.

Step 3:
Paste the HTML code on the site where you'd like to embed the study set. For example, in Google Sites, you would select Insert and select Embed. Then select Embed code, paste the HTML in the box, and click on Next.

How to Embed Quizlet Flashcards - paste HTML code

If you're using a Blogger blog, you would have to work in the HTML mode and paste the code there.

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Saturday, April 18, 2020
3 Comments

Weekly Planner for Online Lessons from SlidesMania

EdTech

You know when you come across a brilliant idea that is just too good not to try? That's what happened to me this week when I saw a tweet by SlidesMania sharing one of their latest Google Slides templates. It's a weekly planner for online lessons that is also available in PowerPoint and boasts a neat interactive menu that links to the slides in the presentation that correspond to the activité du jour. And did I mention it's FREE? The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the colour scheme so I made a copy, fiddled with the slide master and background colours, and voilà!

Modified Weekly Planner for Online Lessons from SlidesMania

Click on the image above to download a copy to your Google Drive.

Within their template, SlidesMania has included a screen recording that shows how you can navigate between the main menu on slide one and the daily activities by clicking on the numbers on the menu and the home button on the activities. That's pretty straightforward. But what I completely forgot about was the ability to publish the slide deck to the web, which gives you a separate link that you would share with students, since they don't need access to the actual file itself. I've been playing around with some ideas and this is what I have so far for my grade 4 French class that has been working on a level one AIM play called "Les trois petits cochons."

Sample Grade 4 French Activities - Week 1

Undoubtedly, I spent way too much time on this but how could I resist jazzing it up with Bitmoji stickers? It's super easy if you already have a Bitmoji account. All you need to do once you're logged onto Chrome is install the Bitmoji Chrome Extension and connect it to your account. And if you want stickers with French words, you just need to change the language settings on your Google account so that the Chrome browser is in French mode.

Embed Audio Files

Another cool element I used was the "Insert audio" tool in Google Slides. I first recorded myself using the Voice Memo app on my iPhone, converted them into mp3 audio files on iTunes, and uploaded them to my drive, changing the sharing settings to "Anyone with the link can view." Then once I inserted them into my slides, Google automatically created a round audio button that has a basic audio player embedded into it. It's a definite game changer since now my students can hear instructions if they struggle with reading or want to improve their pronunciation.

Here's another tip: If you want to change the round audio button to a different image, simply select it and click on "Replace image" in the menu above. I found a couple of alternatives using the Google web search option and searching for audio icons. If you want an icon that doesn't have a background, you can preview the image to see if it has a checkered background, which is usually a .svg file.

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Saturday, April 04, 2020
4 Comments

Getting Going with Google Drawings

G Suite for Education

Last year, I took a leap and submitted a couple of proposals to present at the EdTechTeam Toronto Summit featuring Google for Education. I was over the moon to be able to share some tips and tricks at such an inspiring event, one that lead me to pursue certification as a Google Certified Educator: Level 2. I have met so many talented educators who have taught me so much, it was such a great feeling to be able to contribute to the learning community. I even attempted a Demo Slam, although I messed up the joke I had planned at the last minute. But it didn't matter. Everyone was so supportive. When the summit was over, I started counting down to the next one. Or two!

This September, I hope to attend the Peel Summit on September 23-24, which is taking place in Brampton. I have already submitted a proposal for a beginners workshop centred around Google Drawings. Here is the description:

Tired of using the same old templates that lack a certain je ne sais quoi? In this session, you will learn tips and tricks that will glamify your Google Docs using the Google Drawings app. Learn how to manipulate layers, group objects, create a shadow effect, customize word art, design graphic organizers, and combine shapes to create your own clipart. Participants will also learn how to save clicks by utilizing keyboard shortcuts and how to convert a Google Drawing into a PDF file, JPEG, PNG or even a Scalable Vector Graphic which can be used with personal electronic cutting machines. Finally, participants will use their new-found skill set to edit master slides in a pre-made Google Slides template.

UPDATE: My session proposal has been accepted. Can't wait!

EdTechTeam Presenter 2017 - Diana Mancuso

I have embedded my presentation below, which I plan to tweak with some additional tips and ideas.

I will also be submitting a different proposal to present once again at the Toronto Summit, which will be taking place at Crescent School here in Toronto. Keep your fingers crossed for me, mkay? Thanks!

Click on the thumbnail above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Wednesday, August 02, 2017
10 Comments

Petit Poussin Hidden Object Game Using Google Slides

Dimoitou

As we near the end of May, I love to find new and creative ways to encourage my French students to speak en français in an authentic setting that gives them an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned throughout the year. And what can be more authentic than playing a game, am I right? The current theme in our grade 1 Dimoitou program focuses on the farm and there is one story that follows a mother hen in her search for Petit Poussin. It's a cute little story and the students love playing the role of Maman Poule and, using their best hen voice, shouting out: "Petit Poussin, Petit Poussin, où es-tu?"

Yesterday, I had the idea of creating a game board in Google Slides made of eight tiles that covered a hidden image in the background. I thought I could use animations to have the tiles slowly fade away "on click" and reveal a part of the image but, as I soon discovered, when using this method in "present" mode, the tiles would fade away in the order they appear on the animation panel. This simply wouldn't work if I wanted students to randomly pick a tile since there is no way to have that specific tile fade away by clicking on it directly.

Today, I resigned to playing the game in "edit" mode and decided to manually delete each tile to reveal the hidden image. While not the perfect solution, it worked out well. I did have to hide the menu bar, maximize the window and adjust the view to make it fill the screen as much as possible. And, because my first trial run revealed the barn that I had originally hidden in the slide master, I chose to use a tractor instead. Initially, I thought I would have the students try to figure out what was hiding underneath the tiles but I am fairly certain that would be too easy. Instead, I took inspiration from the Petit Poussin story and hid a chick either on, under, beside, behind, inside or in front of the tractor. This would afford an opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding of prepositions. Score! Then, to make game play even easier, I created different layouts in the slide master and adjusted the location of the chick, added additional slides with the new layouts, copied and pasted the tiles on top of each of them and voilà! Six rounds ready to go!

So how does the game work?

Project the first slide while in "edit" mode.
Invite one student at a time to describe one of the images in a full sentence using vocabulary that they have learned, such as:

colour (ie. Le cochon est rose. Je vois une tulipe rouge.)
size (ie. Le cheval est grand.)
action (ie. Le canard nage. Le mouton bêle.)
category (ie. La rose est une fleur. La vache est un animal.)

If the student formulates a logical sentence, I delete the corresponding tile and the game continues with the next student.
If the tile reveals the location of the chick, the next student can attempt a sentence that answers the question: "Où est Petit Poussin?"
The class earns a point for correctly guessing the chick's location and moves on to the next slide.
Once you have finished playing with a particular class, simply revert to its original version when viewing "Revision history". (Accessible by clicking on the hyperlink at the top, which usually reads: "All changes saved in Drive.")

For now, I left the tiles the same on each slide so students can build their confidence in describing the images. I can, however, easily change the image on each tile to vary the vocabulary, which makes this game board pretty much adaptable to any theme or grammar concept. Or, I can create a more difficult board by filling it with smaller tiles. Care to have a peek? I have included a "view only" link below and if you like it, feel free to make a copy (click on File - Make a copy) and edit at will.

Petit Poussin Google Slides Hidden Object French Game

The slide I used for the preposition à côté de confuses the students because they want to say derrière le tracteur so I'm thinking of creating another version with a stable or a barn where the front of the building is facing the viewer. You can do that, too, by replacing the tractor in the slide master (click on Slide - Edit master). Be sure to change it on the "Master" slide if you want it to appear on all slides. Then, you can adjust the chick on the individual layouts. I also chose to rename each layout based on the preposition just to make it easier to select the layouts I want to use.

Petit Poussin Hidden Object Game - Slide Master

Tip #1: Layering Images

You might be wondering how I hid the chick behind the wheel in the last slide. Since the tractor appears in the Master slide, I cannot layer anything underneath it in the subsequent layouts. A simple solution is to copy and paste the tractor on to that layout and sandwich Petit Poussin in between. You can adjust the layers by right-clicking on the images and reconfiguring their order.

Tip #2: Grouping Images

You may notice that the images I have layered on top of the tiles are attached to them. I did this by selecting both the tile and the image while holding down the "shift" key, right clicking on one of them, and selecting the "group" option. To replace the image on the tile, click on it twice and delete it. When inserting a new image, resize and reposition it, then regroup the tile with the new image.

Hope you get a chance to try the game in your class. And should you have any tips, suggestions or extension ideas, I would love to hear from you. As always, feel free to leave a comment below if you'd like to share or if you ever have any questions.