Inside: Tips for using Google Slides in the classroom on many digital platforms including Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Seesaw & Canvas
So you want to use some of our digital resources… but the problem is… you don’t use Google Classroom. Think you’re out of luck? Think again!
Google Slides is a method of delivery for our digital resources, but they can be used on a variety of digital platforms with just the simple share of a link or a quick re-download and changing the file type.
Whether you are teaching at a Microsoft school and need to use these in PowerPoint with Microsoft Teams… Or wondering how you can assign Google Slides using another platform such as Seesaw or Canvas…. we’ve got some help coming your way.
Here are a few tips that will help most teachers be able to utilize this resource in their current platform!
Table of Contents
Using Google Slides in the classroom by creating interactive assignments
Google Slides are a great way to create and share digital assignments with your class. (All Wife Teacher Mommy resources come as Google Slides for this reason!)
You can create lots of interactive assignments on Google Slides to engage your students in every subject. I like to create my assignments in PowerPoint and save the slides as images (either PNG or JPG). Then I set them as the background images in Google Slides. Doing it this way, students can move most of the assignment around. I add moveable pieces and text boxes on top of the image for students to move and type in.
Can Google Slides be used in Microsoft Teams?
Yes! There are two viable options to use Google Slides on Microsoft Teams. You can download your Google Slides as a PowerPoint or share the link to your Google Slides.
Continue reading below to learn how to do both.
How to download Google Slides as a PowerPoint
First, download your Google Slides as a PowerPoint. You can then share the file with your students as you usually would on Microsoft Teams.
For the most part, Google Slides and PowerPoint convert. However, not everything translates all the time when converting so check your download to make sure everything works before sharing it with your students.
We recommend designating a folder on your computer to download the file beforehand so the PowerPoint easy to find, then follow the steps below.
- Open the Google Slides
- Go to “File” > “Download” > “Microsoft PowerPoint”
- Then use as you would normally do with PowerPoint
Share a Google Slides link in Microsoft Teams, Canvas, Seesaw or ANY digital platform
- Click “Share” in the top right
- Set sharing settings to view, edit or comment
- Click “Copy Link”
- Paste the link into a new assignment in your platform of choice
By sharing this link, students will view, edit or comment on your copy of the Google Slides. This is fine if you just want students to view them. However, if you want students to be forced to make their own copy so that they can edit and complete the activities on their own you have to take one additional step,
Force a copy of Google Slides
Have you ever shared a Google Slides link with students and they edit the original and mess everything up..? No, just me? 😜
To prevent this from happening again it to force a cop of Google Slides. That way when your students opens the link they have to make their own copy of the Google Slides to edit. No student editing of the original doc anymore!
- After going through the steps for sharing a Google Slides link, go to the URL
- Changing the word “edit” at the end of the URL to “copy”
***Note: In order to do this, the sharing settings must be set to “anyone with the link” or “public”
When you share the link with “copy” at the end and students click on it, they will see this page below:
After they click “Make a copy,” they can edit the document as needed.
Adding Google Slides to Seesaw
When you upload a document of any kind to Seesaw, it is automatically flattened, which means that it gets rid of all moveable pieces. The benefit of this is that you can add your own moveable pieces back in or have students annotate on the page.
You have two options for adding Google Slides to Seesaw, the first is to add your own moveable pieces after uploading the slides. This can work well but also takes a lot of time to go through and copy in the moveable pieces yourself.
The second, and less time consuming option, is to add simply add a link to the Google Slides following the steps above instead of uploading the slides.
Make sure you force a copy of Google Slides before sharing the link. Then your students can work within the Slides and share their completed work with you following these steps:
- 1. Get the shareable link
- 2. Return to Seesaw
- 3. Click “Add Response”
- 4. Choose “Link” and add their shareable link
- 5. Click the green sign, “Continue,” and then the green sign again
Need more detailed instructions or wondering if we have tips for a specific platform? Comment below and we will do our best to help you out! Since technology is always evolving and changing… and as we learn about new platforms that teachers are using, we will try to keep up as best as we can!
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