Student engagement has always been a focal point of designing my lessons. This section explores ways to make presentations more interesting and engaging through the use of digital content. A strong emphasis is placed on Google Play for Education.
Create Engaging Presentations with Slides
Within Google Slides, students have the opportunity to collaborate on the slides to make edits, view the slides at their own rate, and take notes directly in the document. Through the insertion of images and videos, Google Slides now involves the auditory learners. A major aspect of the Slides is inserting and arranging text, shapes, and lines. This can be done by the following tips and tricks:
Add a box around your text by selecting the Shape tool and sliding over to the right to find the shape of your choice. Next click and drag on your slide to reach the desired size. If you have placed the shape over your text, click Arrange > Send to back. You can change the fill color of any shape by clicking on the paint can and selecting your favorite color from the palette (if you can’t see a color you want to use, select Custom color to create your own).
If you’d like to draw attention to your text, click Select line to add a variety of lines such as arrows, straight lines, or free-hand lines you can draw yourself. Change the color and width of these lines by selecting the Line color and Line weight options after placing your lines on the slide.
Augment Your Lesson with Interactive Content
A problem we are faced with as teachers is sifting through all of the resources for a more interactive lesson when we are simply trying to find good resources. A great resource to use is Google Play for Education. Here, teachers can find digital books or apps for Chrome and Android. There are a series of badges that makes it easier to find quality content. These badges include, “EDU,” “Ad Free,” and “In-App Free.” Once an app is selected, it can be automatically installed for the teacher and students right onto their devices.
To begin browsing and to see more filtering options, select a content type (such as Android Apps or Books) and then a subject area, displayed in the navigational menu on the left-side of the screen. Your options include:
Content Type
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Subject area
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Android apps
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Chrome apps
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Books
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Tools
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X
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X
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English Language Arts
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X
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X
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X
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World Languages
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X
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X
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Mathematics
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X
|
X
|
X
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Science
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X
|
X
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X
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Social Science
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X
|
X
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Electives
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X
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X
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X
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OER (Open Education Resources)
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X
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After you select a subject area, you can filter by:
- Grade level (Not available for all subject areas)
- Intended use (Available only for apps)
- Price (Not available for Chrome apps because they're currently all free)
- All Common Core Standards (Not available for all subject areas and you need to select a topic or grade level before this filter is available.)
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