google slides

The NEW SIDEBAR in Google Slides has 6 helpful tools in one place!

TECH TREATS TIP: The New Sidebar in Google Slides puts 6 helpful tools in one spot to the right of your presentation so that you can find and use them easily when you're editing your presentation. The 6 tools are - 1) Templates - a variety of templates that can be applied to your presentation, 2) Building Blocks - pre-formatted pieces of content that can be added to your presentation, 3) Stock & Web - images, stickers, and visual elements that can be added to your presentation, 4) Drive & Photos - access items in your Google Drive and Google Photos to add them to your presentation, 5) Slides Recordings - you can record yourself presenting, then have access to the recordings, and finally, 6) Speaker Spotlight - you can insert your video feed directly into your presentation. Each of these tools can be found on the toolbar under either Insert, View, or Slide so you can access each of them in another place but having them all together in the New Sidebar is a great new addition to Google Slides!

Check out the NEW TEMPLATES in Google Slides! They're awesome!

TECH TREATS TIP: When I first saw Templates on the right side in Google Slides, I thought that it was replacing Themes because Themes is usually showing on the right side when Google Slides opens. Thankfully, this is not the case. We still have Themes and now we have Templates, too! If you want to see Themes instead of Templates, just click on the word Theme at the top of Google Slides and Themes will open in the right side navigation pane instead of Templates. Also, if you want to see Templates but they're not showing, just click on the Slide tab at the top of Google Slides and then click on Templates. We have so many new templates to choose from that it might be hard to make up your mind. As you scroll through the new templates, you can click on any of the templates to see all of the slides in the template. You can click on any slide in a template to add it to your presentation or you can insert all the slides from a template into your presentation. 

IMPORT THEME is the perfect way to use saved theme templates!

TECH TREATS TIP: The Import Theme feature in Google Slides is amazing! I'm always looking for great templates for Google Slides and one of my favorite sources is Slidesmania (slidesmania.com). The templates are free and they are saved in your Google Drive. With Import Theme, I can import a saved theme template and I can choose the slides that I want to use from all of the slides. This is instead of using the template and having all of the slides in my presentation and having to delete the ones I don't want to use. Also, this eliminates the possibility that I would accidentally use the template and then I would no longer have my template that I could use again. I could make a copy of the template and use the copy but then I would again have all of the slides in my presentation. Import Theme is the perfect solution. You have access to all the slides but you can pick and choose the ones you want to use. You will still have your template saved in your Google Drive and you will still be able to customize any slides that you use in your presentation. 

You'll be the star of the Slideshow with SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT!

TECH TREATS TIP: What's the difference between Speaker Spotlight and the new Record feature in Google Slides? They're closely related and they're both new features but I'll explain the difference. Speaker Spotlight is designed to show the presenter on the slide when you're in Slideshow mode. It's most useful when you're presenting remotely. You can put the Speaker Spotlight on all of the slides or you can put it on just specific slides. The shape does not have to be the same on all of the slides and it can be in a different place on any of the slides. You don't have to be recording to use Speaker Spotlight. However, you can use the Record feature to record when you're using Speaker Spotlight. The Record feature will not override the design of the Speaker Spotlight shapes that you have set up and will follow that design. The Record feature is to record your presentation with a camera view of yourself. The Speaker Spotlight feature allows a camera view of yourself on specified slides while you're in Slideshow.

Lights, Camera, Action! Get ready to RECORD SLIDESHOW!

TECH TREATS TIP: All you have to do to access this great new feature in Google Slides is click on the Record button that now appears in the upper right corner of every Slides presentation and then click on Record New Video. After you enable the camera and microphone on your device, you'll see yourself in the camera view in the bottom right corner of the presentation. Click on the big red button to start recording. Google will display a window for you to click on Allow and then the countdown will begin before the recording starts. When you're done, click on the big red button again and recording will stop. You'll have the option to save the video to Google Drive or to re-record. The video will also be saved in the Google Slides presentation. Just click the Record button in the Google Slides presentation and you'll see the video listed.

Here's another great new GOOGLE SLIDES feature - ADD GIFS AND STICKERS!

TECH TREATS TIP: Amidst all of the debate about how to pronounce "GIF", Google Slides has added a new feature to be able to Add GIFs and Stickers. It's so easy to insert GIFs and Stickers into your Slides presentations. All you have to do is click on Insert, hover over Image, and click on GIFS and Stickers. When the navigation pane opens, type what you're searching for and you'll have a good selection to choose from. After inserting, you still have edit options. You can move the GIFs and stickers around, resize them, and even crop them. In the example, I cropped my GIF to a shape (circle). Check out this great new feature. It's easier than figuring out if you pronounce GIF like "Jif" or like "gift”!

Check out this new feature! Now you can ANNOTATE in GOOGLE SLIDES!

TECH TREATS TIP: Annotate is a new feature in Google Slides and it's awesome! When you're in Slideshow, you can annotate over any slide. This can really add to your presentation and it's so easy to use. Once you turn on the Pen and click on it, you have 4 colors to choose from. After you select the color that you want, you're ready to annotate on the slide. You can add multiple annotations to a slide or just one, depending on what you need. If you want to erase the annotations, just click on the Eraser and click on Erase All. The annotations will be gone but you'll be free to annotate again on the slide or annotate on any other slides in your presentation. 

Make your slide presentation visible to anyone with PUBLISH TO THE WEB!

TECH TREATS TIP: This is a new location for Publish to the Web. It used to have its own spot on the main File menu but now it's hiding under Share. Technically, Publish to the Web is a way to share your Google Slides presentation, so it makes sense that it's under Share. People who have used Publish to the Web before might have trouble finding it but it has definitely not gone away. It's such a great tool for making your slide presentation visible to anyone on the internet. Also, if you update your slides presentation after you've published it, the presentation will automatically be updated and you won't have to post a new link or get a new embed code. Look for Publish to the Web in its new location and try it out!

The new EYEDROPPER TOOL makes adding custom colors so much easier!

TECH TREATS TIP: I'm so happy that Google Slides has this new Eyedropper Tool feature! I always like to match my text color to the colors of my Google Slides presentation so I had to find another way to match custom colors before we got the Eyedropper Tool. I was using a Google Chrome Extension called ColorPick Eyedropper and it worked great but it wasn't as easy as the new Eyedropper Tool in Google Slides. First, I had to install the extension. Each time I used the extension, I had to copy the color code and then go into the custom colors and paste the code to use it. The Eyedropper Tool is so much easier. We don't have to install it because it's built right into Google Slides. We don't have to copy and paste any color code, either. You just select your text, click on the Eyedropper Tool, hover over the color you want, and click. The text is now that color and the color is saved in your custom colors!

Being able to PRESENT IN A WINDOW gives you lots of options when presenting a slideshow.

TECH TREATS TIP: I think that being able to present in a window is a great feature in Google Slides because it gives you so many options. When a slideshow is in full screen it takes up your whole screen. If you present in a window, you still have the full screen view of the slideshow but it's in a window so you can see your other windows. You can also separate the window tab from the other tabs and move the window around while still seeing the full screen view. You can also resize the window to show other windows while you're viewing the slideshow. Whatever you do to adjust the window, you can still navigate through the slideshow just as you do in full screen. I have used all of these options and I find them really helpful whenever I'm presenting a slideshow in Google Meet. 

Check out the new Slideshow button and see how easy it is to have your SLIDESHOW AUTO-PLAY!

TECH TREATS TIP: Many times people when people want a slide presentation that can be auto-played, they will use the Publish to the Web feature in Google Slides. This works great but it's not as easy as Slideshow Auto-Play. Using Slideshow Auto-Play eliminates having to create a separate link, which is what you get with Publish to the Web. Also, if you're presenting live and decide to Auto-Play, you don't have to stop and go through the Publish to the Web process. You can start Auto-Play right away while you're live in the presentation. It's fast and easy!

Being able to HIDE the FILMSTRIP is a great new feature that many have been wishing for!

TECH TREATS TIP:  You might be wondering why you would want to hide the Filmstrip. Here are some reasons - You might need to have more space around a Google Slide while you're creating and editing it. With the Filmstrip hidden, you have plenty of "gray space" that you can use. You might be presenting in Edit Mode and want to prevent people from seeing a preview of the upcoming slides. This keeps the focus just on the slide that you're showing. Whatever reason you have, being able to hide (and unhide) the Filmstrip is a great new feature! 

The THEME BUILDER was previously called the Master Slide and it's still amazing!

TECH TREATS TIP:  The Theme Builder can be used to create new themes or edit existing themes in Google Slides. If you save a theme in your Google Drive, you can use the theme over and over again. If you use a template from Google Slides or from an online program (SlidesMania, Slides Carnival, etc.), you can edit the template using the Theme Builder. This is so helpful and gives you so many options. The Theme Builder was previously called the Master Slide and it's still amazing!

Being able to LINK TO ANOTHER SLIDE or WEB PAGE makes a Virtual Classroom truly interactive! 

TECH TREATS TIP:  A Virtual Classroom or interactive activity created in Google Slides should always be viewed in Presentation mode, not Edit mode. It is created in Edit mode and all of the links are set up in Edit mode. In order to ensure that the Virtual Classroom or interactive activity is viewed in Presentation mode, you need to click on the File tab and click on Publish to the Web. You will then have the option to get a link or an embed code. The link can be given to anyone to view the Virtual Classroom or interactive activity in Presentation mode. The embed code allows it to be embedded and viewed in Presentation mode.

We can finally INSERT AUDIO and it's so easy!

TECH TREATS TIP:  If you only want audio on the slide where you inserted it, you should select "Stop on slide change" in the Settings. Since your audio file has to be in Google Drive before you can insert it, make sure that you upload it before you go to insert audio. If you record your audio, simply save it to Google Drive. If you're looking for audio files online, there are lots of sites with free audio but I prefer YouTube Audio Library. It will download to your computer and then you can upload it to Google Drive. The awesome Google Slides theme that I used for this presentation is from SlidesMania. Check out their other fantastic free themes!

You can easily EMBED a SLIDES PRESENTATION on your school district website.

TECH TREATS TIP:  If you want to edit your Presentation after it has been embedded, you open the Google Slides presentation and make the changes. It will automatically update wherever it is embedded. You don't have to go to the website or web page to update the presentation. Many websites have complicated ways to edit so this saves you from having to deal with the website editing process. 

AUDIENCE Q & A is great for presentations, classes, meetings, and more!

TECH TREATS TIP:  When you no longer want to show a question to the audience, you can click on Present for another question or simply click on Hide for the current question. Also, instead of showing the questions to the audience, you can just view the questions and answer them while presenting. Audience Q & A can be turned off any time by clicking the ON button and switching to OFF. 

PAINT FORMAT is not just for copying formatted text. See what it can do for pictures!

TECH TREATS TIP:  The Paint Format tool can also be used to copy the formatting on shapes and text in Google Slides. This is so helpful when you're trying to apply the same formatting throughout a slide presentation. The Paint Format tool is not exclusive to Google Slides. Look for it in Google Docs, Sheets, and Drawings, too, and use it to make your life easier!

IMPORT SLIDES is a fast way to insert slides from another presentation into your presentation.

(UPDATE: Click on File and Import Slides.)

You have lots of options to INSERT IMAGES in GOOGLE. Check them out!

LINK TO ANOTHER SLIDE makes your presentation interactive and it's so easy to do!