Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Supercharge Google Slides with Add-ons

Google Slides is already a powerful tool for student creation and collaboration. You can see a wide range of educational uses in my Google Slides resource document (bit.ly/curts-slides).

As awesome as Google Slides is, you can make it even awesomer with the use of Add-ons!

Just like Docs, Sheets, and Forms, you can install Add-ons for Google Slides. Add-ons are third-party tools that provide you with extra features and functions that are not normally available in Slides.

In this blog post we will take a look at how to find, install, and manage Add-ons, as well as nine of my favorite Add-ons for Google Slides that can be valuable for students and educators.

🧰 Resources



❓ What are Add-ons?

  • Add-ons are third-party tools that you can install and use inside of Google Slides.
  • They provide additional features or tools that you normally would not have in Slides.
  • Many are free, but some have a paid version with more features.
  • Note: Your school may need to approve add-ons.



⚙️ Managing Add-ons

Finding an Add-on
  • From Google Slides click the "Add-ons" menu.
  • Choose "Get add-ons" from the drop-down menu.


  • This will open the "Google Workspace Marketplace".
  • Here you can search and browse through add-ons for Slides.
  • Click on any add-on you would like to learn more about.
  • You can now learn more about the add-on including: Description, Reviews, Number of users, Pricing (if any)



Installing an Add-on
  • If you want to install the add-on, click the "Install" button.
  • You will now need to select your Google account and give the add-on permission to install.



Using an Add-on
  • To use an add-on, click the "Add-ons" menu.
  • Choose the one you want from your list of installed add-ons.
  • Launch the add-on.
  • Most add-ons will open in a panel on the right side of the screen.



Removing an Add-on
  • If you no longer want an add-on you can remove it by clicking "Add-ons" then "Manage add-ons".
  • Click the add-on you want to remove and then click "Uninstall".



In the next portion of this blog post we will explore some good Add-ons to try out for use in schools...


🖼️ Unsplash Images

Install

Overview
  • Unsplash Images gives you access to completely free high-resolution photos to use in slideshows.
  • You can search in the add-on panel and then click an image to insert.



📄 Icons for Slides & Docs

Install

Overview
  • Search for over 8 million icons from Flaticon to insert into your Slides.
  • Option to choose icons in the same style.
  • Change the size and colors of the icons.



⌨️ Easy Accents

Install

Overview
  • This Add-on allows users to easily insert accents for different languages directly from a sidebar in their Google Slides.



🉑 Slides Translator

Install

Overview
  • Slides Translator lets you select text in your Slides and translates it to the selected languages in the Sidebar.
  • It also includes Voice Typing in 60+ language dialects.



🎲 Slides Randomizer

Install

Overview
  • This add-on allows you to randomly rearrange the order of your entire slidedeck or just selected slides.
  • Randomization can be done manually or daily or each time the slideshow is opened.
  • Useful for quiz/review activities, calling on students, and more.



🧰 Slides Toolbox

Install

Overview
  • Slides Toolbox provides loads of tools for doing bulk actions, including:
  • Export outline text - Export all the text from your slides to a text file.
  • Export slides as images - Save all of the slides as individual images.
  • Create slides from images - Import images from Drive in various arrangements.
  • Create slides from Docs - Import the text from a Google Doc to create slides.
  • Sort slides - Reverse the order of all the slides.
  • Randomize slides - Rearrange the order of the slides randomly.
  • Table of Contents - Create a table of contents hyperlinked to each slide.



🎵 Music Snippet

Install

Overview
  • Music Snippet (formerly called "Flat") allows you to create musical notation and insert it as an image into your Slides.
  • With a paid Flat for Education account, you can also re-open the notation later to edit it or play it. 



✅ Grackle Slides

Install

Overview
  • Grackle Slides checks the accessibility of Google Slides and guides users through corrections.
  • Some checks include titles, alternative text for images, color contrast, lists, and more.



🍐 Pear Deck for Google Slides

Install

Overview
  • Pear Deck lets you add interactive elements to your slides including multiple choice, text entry, numeric entry, drawing, and draggable activities.
  • You can insert pre-made template slides provided in the Add-on.
  • Or you can add interactive elements to slides you have already created.
  • When you present the slideshow through the Pear Deck Add-on, students join the presentation and can interact with it.
  • You can show students responses by clicking the "Show Responses" button in the bottom right corner of the screen. Responses can be shown individually or aggregated together to look for patterns.


Pear Deck Resources


🏁 Conclusion

And of course these are just a small sampling of the Add-ons available for Google Slides. If there are other Add-ons for that you have used, be sure to share your recommendations, and how you have used them.


Post by Eric Curts
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