When we think of Google Slides, we right away think of presentations. certainly, this is the most obvious uses for slides. Initially, slides appears to be a somewhat reduced or lesser tool as compared to Microsoft’s Powerpoint, but looks can be, and ARE deceiving. Through the lens of a pedagogically savvy teacher, the power of slides is not in the formatting and animations (slides offers plenty of both) but in the add-ons that turn a presentation tool into a genuine school tool.
Throughout these learning modules, we are going to work your tech skills to the point where you can not only see the power of Slides, but you feel confident to begin using what is often referred to as The Swiss Army Knife of Google.
When you open a new presentation, you are met with a very basic screen:
There are a couple text boxes to help a person get started, and to the right there are a number of themes you can use to get started. Scroll down, and click on one if you like it. You can always change the theme later.
If you don’t find a theme you like, there are many online sources that offer slides themes. Slides Carnival is one of the larger providers, Slides Go also has some nice themes as does Graphic Mama. There are many other providers out there, so feel free to do a Google search to find what you are seeking. To be clear, the theme is merely the look, the appearance of your slides. It has nothing to do with pedagogy, and everything to do with style.
At the top left of your screen; in the same place it is in other Google products, we see the words “Untitled presentation”. Predictably, that’s where you’ll name your slide deck. Best practices in technology would say that it’s a good idea to give it a name right away, before you even start to put much work into it.