Add Audio to Google Docs or Slides with Mote

 There has been a lot of buzz lately about a Chrome Extension called Mote and for good reason! Mote provides you with the ability to record audio in Google Docs or Slides. Want to give better feedback while editing a Google Doc? Want to easily add audio to your Google Slides presentation? Mote might be the tool for you! 

There are two different versions of Mote available, a free and paid version. Check out Mote's website for more information; however, one of the biggest differences is the amount of time you have to record. The free version gives you 30 seconds, while the paid version is 90 seconds. All recordings are saved on your Google Drive and are published for students to listen to on any device. 

Want to see it in action? Check out my video below: 

Easy 1, 2, 3: Create Your Own Accessible Book with Slides

Did you know that you can make your own accessible online textbook for students using Google Slides? Whether you are using it for a day, week, unit, or entire year, it's pretty easy. Check out the content below or watch my helpful video. 

Step 1: Add Content

First, open up Google Slides and begin adding text to your slides. It may be helpful to use a slide format that would reduce the amount of text on your slides, such as a single or double text format. 

Step 2: Accessibility Tips and Tricks

Next, you will want to begin thinking about making your book more accessible to all types of learners. Here are some ideas:

• Adjust the Font! Consider increasing the font size to make text easier to read. It may also be helpful to use formatting tools like bold, italics, highlights, and different font colors for text to stand out!
  

• Use emojis as a way for text to stand out! This is great for making information or important instructions to stand out. The Joypixels Emoji Keyboard  Chrome Extension is a great tool to use! 

• Use Hyperlinks! Hyperlinks are great for providing additional resources to understand ideas and vocabulary words. Plus they are helpful for navigating through your presentation! Did you know that you can use hyperlinks to navigate to different slides in your presentation? 

TIP: Make links stand out by using the highlighter and increase font size!

• Think about Navigation! Consider adding navigation symbols like arrows. You can use the drawing tools to draw the shape and hyperlink it to any slide in your slideshow. You also might want to consider using an Add-On like SlideContents to create a table of contents for students to use!

• Add Audio! Many of our students with IEP's may need additional supports, such as text being read aloud. Use the Mote Chrome extension to record audio. Not only is this helpful for students with learning difficulties, it might be helpful for all students. 

• Add Multimedia! Google Slides makes it easy for you to add video recordings, images, and animated GIF's to further illustrate ideas and processes. Remember that you can insert any YouTube or Google Drive video! Consider adding additional videos of yourself reviewing content, expanding upon ideas, and even creating a screencast demonstrating a math problem. 

Step 3: Publish and Share Your Book

Finally, it is time to share your book! To make things easy to navigate and access, you will want to publish your presentation to the web. I know that this sounds scary, but only people with the link will access. Simply visit the File Menu and choose Publish to the Web.  Share the generated link with your students via Google Classroom or another platform of your choice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it doesn't take much to create an accessible book for your students. If you know the learning barriers that they may face, then you can design a book that will meet their needs. The best part is that your book is always up-to-date! Anytime that you make revisions or updates, your book will automatically update for students! 

Customize and Add Videos from Drive to Slides

Google Slides is an amazing collaborative tool for students and teachers. In addition to adding YouTube videos, you can now add videos from Google Drive! How does it work?

STEP 1: Insert a Video

Insert your video by going to the Insert menu and choose Video. You can also use the video icon on your toolbar.

STEP 2: Choose Google Drive

Instead of inserting a YouTube video, you can now select Google Drive.

STEP 3: Choose Your Video

Choose your video from Google Drive. Once your video is embedded, you can right-click on your video and choose Video Options.

Video options will allow you to choose when to start and end your video, whether it should autoplay when presenting, loop your video, or  whether it should be muted or play with audio.

Conclusion: 

Not only is this a great tool for teachers, it can be helpful for students too. This is a great way to have students (especially under the age of 13), create and embed videos into your Google Slides presentation without needing to publish to YouTube. 

An Easy Way to Force Viewers Make Copies of Google Docs and More

How often would you like to create a template of a Google Doc, Sheet, Slide, or Drawings and force a viewer to make a copy?

Perhaps you have users visit the File menu and select Make a Copy. Maybe you use Google Classroom, which can do this automatically for students enrolled in your class.

I do a lot of presentations outside of my school, which means Google Classroom is not an option. Many of the participants in my audiences struggle with making their own copies, which makes finding an easy way (to have users create copies) essential. After doing some research, I found articles by Kasey Bell and Alice Keeler describing a very easy Google trick!

Here is how it works: 

1. Open up your item (Doc, Sheet, Slide, or Drawing)

2. At the end of your item's URL, you should see the word "edit." Change the word "edit" to "copy."

3. Make a copy of your URL and share with your audience

Now you have a quick and painless way to help your viewers make a copy of document, presentation, spreadsheet, or drawing.

An Easy Way to Force Viewers Make Copies of Google Docs and More

How often would you like to create a template of a Google Doc, Sheet, Slide, or Drawings and force a viewer to make a copy?

Perhaps you have users visit the File menu and select Make a Copy. Maybe you use Google Classroom, which can do this automatically for students enrolled in your class.

I do a lot of presentations outside of my school, which means Google Classroom is not an option. Many of the participants in my audiences struggle with making their own copies, which makes finding an easy way (to have users create copies) essential. After doing some research, I found articles by Kasey Bell and Alice Keeler describing a very easy Google Trick!

Here is how it works: 

1. Open up your item (Doc, Sheet, Slide, or Drawing)

2. At the end of your item's URL, you should see the word "edit." Change the word "edit" to "copy."

3. Make a copy of your URL and share with your audience

Now you have a quick and painless way to help your viewers make a copy of document, presentation, spreadsheet, or drawing.

Using the New Google Slides Audience Q & A Feature

Google Slides recently added a feature that will make your presentations more interactive! The new Q&A feature provides audience members an opportunity to send you questions during your presentation.

How does it work? Check out my brief video!

Conclusion:

Google Slides Q & A is the perfect tool for any student to ask questions. It is perfect for the student who tends to dominate classroom discussion and the shy student, who finds it difficult to ask questions in front of others. With Google Slides Q & A, all students have the ability for their voices to be heard!

iOS Update to Google Slides

Google recently announced a nice update to Google Slides for iOS. If you have used this App in the past, you may have noticed that you were unable to change the background theme of slides. With this most recent update, you are now able to create amazing presentations with just a tap!

How does it work? 

1. Open up the Google Slides App on your iOS device


2. In the top-right corner of your screen, tap on the three vertical dots. This will open up a side menu.



3. Select "Change Theme"


4. Choose the theme that works best in your presentation.

Now all of the themes that you love in the web version of Google Slides are available on your iOS device!