Using Google Slides to Publish Student Work

I really enjoy using Google Slides with students to publish their work and make class books.  It is nice to have all of the students working on one project together, and there is only one file that contains all of the students' work.  You can also watch the students work from your computer and give students feedback as needed.  Click here to see a class book that my students made about weather.

Working in Google Slides is a lot like working in Google Drawings.  Both programs have the same toolbar and share a lot of the same features.  Google Drawings is a great program to use to train your students on the features of Google because they are working on their own individual projects.  Click here to see a previous post in which I describe the steps that I take in training my students to use Google Drawings.  Once students are proficient with Google Drawings, they are ready to work collaboratively in Google Slides.

When your students begin working on a Google Slide presentation, it is important to assign them a number so they know which slide to begin working on.  The students in my class  are already assigned class numbers, and they know they start working on the slide that corresponds to their number.  There are a few exceptions.  Number 1 and number 2 are assigned different slide numbers because there is a title page and example page at the beginning of the presentation.

The first thing that students need to do when they find their slide is to type their name on the slide immediately.  Once the student types their name, they know that they are now working on the slide with their name on it, and the slide number no longer matters.  This is important when slides are accidentally deleted and the slide numbers change.  

While students are working, it is very important for them to stay on their own slide.  This is not the time for students to be messing with other student's work and changing things on someone else's slide.  My class knows that if they are working on someone else's slide beside their own, they will loose their Chromebook privileges for the day.

I do think that when students are more advanced and mature in their knowledge of technology, there will be great advantages in students working together on the same slides and helping each other.  However, while students are still in the early stages of learning about Google Slides, I think it is best for them to stay on their own slide for now.

With that being said, there are a few ways to monitor students and catch students who are being sneaky and changing things on someone else's slide.  I suggest teaching your students these collaborative features of Google so that they are aware if someone else is working on their slide, and they can help you monitor students who might be off task.

At the top of Google Slides, you can see who is working in the presentation.  If you click on a person's icon, it will immediately take you to where the person is working in the presentation.  This is a quick way to monitor if a person is working in the right place.

You can also move your mouse over the slides on the left side of the screen.  The slide will show who is currently working on that slide.  If there is only supposed to be one person working on each slide, then there should only be one icon on each slide.

The students really enjoy working together in Google Slides.  They also enjoy reading the other students' pages.  I usually print out the slides and put them in a binder for students to read in the classroom.  You can also assign the finished presentation as view only in Google Classroom if you want the students to view the presentation electronically without being able to change any of the presentation.  

I would love to see what you are doing in your classroom.  Please share any projects that you have created with your students using Google Slides. 

Lessons Learned from a Collaborative Google Slide Project

When I started this blog, I promised to share the good things that happen when teaching with technology as well as the bad.  Here is a chance for me to share a lesson that went horribly wrong.  Luckily, my mistakes will help you teach your collaborative learning lessons better.

Last week, we completed our first collaborative Google Slide Presentation making a class book entitled Snowman Building.  Each student created a snowman and wrote at least 3 sentences about their snowman.  The students started with a slide that looked like this:

The Google Slide Presentation was assigned using Google Classroom.  This time, instead of making a copy of the presentation for each student, each student was allowed to edit the same presentation.  Therefore, all of the students were working on one Google Slide Presentation at the same time.

The students in my classroom are assigned numbers.  I told the students to work on the slide that corresponded with their number.  The only exception to this rule were numbers 1 and 2.  I assigned these students numbers at the end of the presentation because slide one was the title page and slide two was the page that I used to model the project.

Once everyone had found their slide, they were allowed to move the different shapes around to build their snowman.  The students were given strict instructions to only work on their slide.  Once their snowman was built, the students were supposed to delete the snowman parts they did not use.  This is where the problems started.

If a student did not select an item correctly when they were deleting the snowman parts, they would delete the entire slide.  This would cause a panic in the classroom because not only did a student loose their work but all of the slide numbers changed; therefore, some of the students were no longer working on the slide number that they were assigned.  The deleted slide can be easily fixed with an undo as long as you can figure out who deleted the slide.  However, once a slide is deleted, it is best to have all students stop working until you can fix the problem.

The instructional technologist on my campus completed this same project with another first grade teacher's class.  Her solution for recovering a deleted slide was to have all of the students stop and press undo (control + z).  The missing slide would reappear, and it saved her from having to find the student who deleted the slide.  Thanks @RichesonEmily for this quick tip.

Another thing I would do differently to help ease student panic when a slide is deleted is for each student to type their name on their slide as soon as they start working.  With their name on the slide, the student is no longer depending on the slide number to identify their slide.  I would only use the slide number as a tool to help each student know which slide to begin working on.

Another problem that arose was a mischievous student who thought it would be funny to change another student's work.  At first, I heard some students complaining that things were happening on their slide that they did not do.  It is hard to catch a student who is being sneaky by just walking around the room.  Luckily, Google has built in ways in which you can see where other collaborators in the document are working and what they are doing.  Here are some tips on how to monitor your students in Google Slides:

1.  At the top of each page, there is a list of who is working in the presentation.  When you select a collaborator, it takes you to the place in the document where the person is working.  Therefore, you can quickly see if the student is working in the right place.

2.  You can also move your mouse over the slides to see who is working on what slide.  In the image below, you can quickly see that Student H is working on slide 5.  It sticks out like a sore thumb if more than one student is working on the same slide.

Even though this lesson caused a lot of frustration for me, it still turned out to be a very positive lesson.  Not only did the students learn something new, but I also learned a lot of things about working collaboratively on the same Google Slide Presentation together.  I hope you can benefit from my mistakes.  Here is a finished slide completed by a student:

Click here to see the completed class book.

*I would like to give credit to whoever created the original snowman presentation, but I cannot find the source on the internet.  I will continue to look and update this post when I find it.*

Creating a Project with Google Drawings

Google Drawings is my favorite program to use for students to create projects because the possibilities are endless.  Basically anything that you create with a blank sheet of paper, can be created using Google Drawings.  Here are the steps that I give students when creating a project with Google Drawings:

These directions do not happen overnight.  I teach each direction as a different project until the students become more familiar with the program.  The idea behind teaching with technology is not to invent new lessons, but to incorporate technology into lessons that you are already teaching.  Remember, add a little at a time and build on the last piece of technology taught.

I introduce Google Drawings with a blank graphic organizer like this one.  This is a great opportunity to teach the students to double click on the shapes and practice typing.  I even teach students how to change the font and font color when they are ready.

Next, I teach students how to insert an image.  I use a lesson about schema in which students insert images to show their interests.  Inserting an image is easy in Google Drawings because you can search for images within the program.  When inserting images, it is important for students to spell the words correctly during their image search.

On another project, I focus my lesson on inserting shapes and typing sentences.  Google is flexible and allows you to type directly into a shape.  Here is an example of a student project when the class was working on adding text.

The last step is to teach the students how to add a background.  There are two ways in which students can add a background.  To add a single color background, right click anywhere on the page.  On the right click menu, choose the background option.  From there, a variety of solid colors will be available.  When you choose a color, the color will cover the entire canvas.

Students can also insert any image and enlarge the image to fit the whole page as a background.  This is a great way for students to illustrate the setting of a story.  I tell students to do this step first because of layering.  When students insert the background last, they panic because the background covers up all of their work.  Of course this can be fixed by sending the image to the back, but the whole catastrophe can be avoided if the students insert the background first.    

Remember, when you teach lessons with technology, you add technology into lessons that you are already teaching.  I take paper projects that the students have completed in previous years, and restructure the same projects utilizing Google Drawings.  What are some projects that your students can create using Google Drawings?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

One of our parent gifts this year was for the students to write a note to their parents saying thank you.  The students made an outline in their Writer's Notebook and completed the final project in Google Drawings.  I think their projects turned out amazing.  I hope the parents appreciate the hard work their children put into creating their gifts.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Collaborative Writing Using Google Drawings

Do you remember doing Round Robin Writing in school?  The student starts writing a story.  A bell goes off and the student moves to another desk, reads that student's story, and adds to the student's writing.  The bell goes off again, and the student moves to another desk.  This continues until the teacher thinks it is time for the students to stop and return to their desks.  When the students return to their desk, they read their story that has now been added to by many other students and add a conclusion to the story.

I decided to try this same concept with Google Drawings on the Chromebooks.  The students were told to pick a background for their story.  They could add details to their project with images.  Then the students needed to start writing a story.  Each project was supposed to have a place where students could write their name when they contributed to the project.  

The students were excited to start their stories.  After about 10 minutes, I told the students that it was time to switch to another computer.  Most of the students were not ready to switch (some students take longer than others when using technology), so I changed my directions.  I told students to stand up when they were ready to switch, and I facilitated which computer each student should work on.

The students were eager to work on each other projects.  When the student started on another student's project, they were told to read the story first, and then they were allowed to add more images or more to the writing.  Reading the story first was an important step in the process because the students needed a lot of reminders to make sure what they added to the project matched the project.  For example, one student liked to add kittens to all of the projects she was working on, but this didn't work when the background for the project was a football field with football players.

Some students did not like the other students adding to their work, and I had to assure them that they would be able to return their computer in the end to edit their work.  One rule I did make was that you were not allowed to delete anything that anyone else added to the project.  Students were allowed to move things around, change the color, and add more images, but they could not delete anything.  

Overall, the project was a positive learning experience for the students.  When it was time for the activity to end, the students were excited to go back and see who worked on their project and what was added.  Students were also given the opportunity to put the finishing touches on their project before they turned it in.  Below is a project that three of the students completed together.

My name is Duck.  I am at school right now.  This is my friend named Bird.  I like my friend bird.

One of my goals this year is to increase collaboration among students by using technology.  This is my first project to include collaboration with the Chromebooks.  I will share more projects utilizing technology to increase collaboration as the school year progresses.

Reading Response with ChatterPix Kids

Reading response is an important tool in Reading Workshop to monitor comprehension.  It is important for students to talk about books so they can better understand what they are reading.  Here are a few examples of different reading responses:

This book is about...

I like this book because...

My favorite part was _____ because...

My favorite character was _____ because...

_____ feels _____ because...

I learned...

My favorite app on the iPad to use for reading response is ChatterPix Kids.  ChatterPix Kids is very kid friendly and easy for students to use.  It allows students to practice responding about the book orally.  This is a great opportunity for our auditory learners to shine.

ChatterPix Kids

Students simply take a picture, draw a mouth, and record their ideas.  Students can also add borders and images to decorate their creation.  When they are finished, they can download their project directly to the iPad.

ChatterPix Kids can be used for reading response in different ways.  The student can take a picture of the front of the book and make the book talk.  This is great when responding "I like this book because" or "This book is about".

Students can also focus their projects on certain characters or events by taking a picture of a page in the book.  These reading responses can focus on how the character is feeling or explain different parts of the story.

ChatterPix Kids is fun and easy for the students to use.  I introduce the app whole group to the class.  This can create a loud classroom because everyone is talking at one time.  I discuss with the students how they need to try to pick a time when the classroom is quiet to record their voice and always listen to their recording to make sure that they can understand what they are saying.

Once the students can use the app independently, I use 5 iPads in the classroom for when students are doing Read to Self.  Students pick a book from their book box and complete an assigned reading response or a reading response of their choice.  When they are finished, I ask the students to keep their iPad with them but continue to read their books to themselves.  When we are finished with the rotation, I ask students to share their project with the class.

Adding a Background in Google Drawings

Happy Thanksgiving!  This week our class read the book Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr.  After reading the book, I taught the students how to write a super sentence.  We start with the sentence: The turkey ran.  After we discuss how boring this sentence is to the reader, we add more details to the sentence to make the sentence more exciting.

Once the students have written their super sentence, it is time to publish their work.  In the past, we have made a turkey out of construction paper and displayed the writing in the hallway.  However, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to teach the students how to insert a background into Google Drawings because each sentence contained a setting.  The purpose of using technology in the classroom is not to invent new lessons but insert technology into lessons that you are already teaching.

I love adding backgrounds to Google Drawings because it adds a lot of visual appeal to student projects.  The background is simply a regular image that is enlarged to fit the entire page.  Therefore, any image can be used as a background.

When inserting a background, always insert the picture first.  This is also a good time to teach students about the undo button.  There will be many times when the student will accidentally move their background, and the students quickly learn that the undo button is their friend.

The cool fat turkey ran to the trees to hid in the trees at 12 o'clock.

The students were told to insert a background that went with their setting, insert an image of a turkey that looked like their adjective, and write their super sentence.  One of my favorite features of Google Drawings is the ability to insert pictures right into the project without even leaving the program.  When the student searches for their image, there are a lot of images available.  This gives the students a lot of choice when picking the image that works best for their project.