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Posted 2 July 2019
Our region is looking to move away form using SMART Notebook as a presentation tool, and transition to using a combination of different platforms as a replacement. In looking for SMART replacements, there are a few things SMART Notebook does really well that we have found a hard time replicating in other platforms; one in particular was manipulatives, or being able to easily move objects on the screen around.
We are currently using Google Slides as a presentation tool, and one difficulty is having students move around text boxes within a Slide presentation. We have tried a few solutions, but they all fell short. The biggest difficulty we had was that when moving a text box in Google Slides, it was necessary to click exactly on the text box line, otherwise you may alter the shape of the box, highlight the text, or find some other result in the myriad of choices. It may be appropriate to ask this of middle or high school students, however, we anticipated our littles having a trouble with the dexterity associated with the precise clicking. Let me be clear, this is a skill that should be worked on, but perhaps it's best to scaffold that skill rather than simply expect mastery level work on the first attempt.
While sitting in a session with Eric Curts at ISTE 2019, I had an idea on how to make text manipulatives easier to work with in Slides. DISCLAIMER: This solution is designed for pre-filled text boxes. Another solution would be necessary if you were looking to have students fill in the text boxes AND move them... I'll keep brainstorming that one.
The solution: Insert a transparent shape over top of the text box, and group them together.
The solution: Insert a transparent shape over top of the text box, and group them together.
Let's take a step by step look at how to do that:
Step 1: Insert a text box (with text). It may be helpful to adjust the size of the text box to fit the text entered.
Step 1: Insert a text box (with text). It may be helpful to adjust the size of the text box to fit the text entered.
Step 2: Insert a shape over the text box. It may be easiest to use a rectangle as the selected shape, as text boxes are usually rectangles. Additionally, it is helpful to adjust the size of the shape to match the size of the text box... more on that in a bit.
Step 2: Insert a shape over the text box. It may be easiest to use a rectangle as the selected shape, as text boxes are usually rectangles. Additionally, it is helpful to adjust the size of the shape to match the size of the text box... more on that in a bit.
Step 3: Set the color fill of the shape to transparent
Step 3: Set the color fill of the shape to transparent
Step 4: Set the line color of the shape to be transparent. TIP: While a transparent line will offer the best illusion of simply moving the text, a very light color outline makes the box easier to find if they are ever ungrouped (ex. to edit the text).
Step 4: Set the line color of the shape to be transparent. TIP: While a transparent line will offer the best illusion of simply moving the text, a very light color outline makes the box easier to find if they are ever ungrouped (ex. to edit the text).
Step 5: Click and drag across both the text box and the inserted shape to select both items. Right click on the selection and choose "Group".
Step 5: Click and drag across both the text box and the inserted shape to select both items. Right click on the selection and choose "Group".
A few final notes:
A few final notes:
- It is helpful to trim the size of your text box in Step 2 and have the rectangle match the size/shape of the text box in Step 4. Doing so avoids "accidental clicks"... meaning you don't click in one place not knowing there is an invisible shape there... the "text box" is the text.
- If you are using a mouse and/or track pad it appears the grouped item is a direct click and drag, which is awesome! When we tried with my colleagues touchscreen chromebook (Pixelbook), this doesn't seem to be the case, instead we had to tap on the text box and then drag on the screen to move it. Not a huge deal, but something to be mindful of.
Hopefully you are able to find this useful, and if you have other solution/idea I would love to hear it! Please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at @MrChemGeek, or email directly at rbray@btboces.org.
Thanks again to Eric Curts for giving me the inspiration for this, as well as letting me workshop the idea during his 2019 ISTE session. If you aren't already following Eric on Twitter, you need to fix that :-)
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