Google Slides now plays videos from Google Drive!

Yes...you read that right.  For many of us, we have the challenge of our students being blocked from YouTube.  Students and teachers in our elementary schools were not able to add videos to their presentations because there was no way to access them.  No more!

Google Slides now allows all users to add videos directly from their Google Drive avoiding YouTube altogether.  As a teacher, you can now record your video, save it to your Google Drive and insert it as part of your lesson.  Students can now use tools like screencasting or video cameras to show off their reading fluency, explain a concept, record an interview and so much more.

Check out the screenshots below to see where the option is available.  As always, contact your Ed Tech Coach if you have additional questions.

Comic Strips with Google Drawing/Slides

Earlier this week I had the pleasure to work with Jennifer Furey of ITSCO in Mrs. DeMooy's 5th grade classroom at Emerson Elementary. Jennifer led the students through a lesson creating comics using either Google Drawings or Google Slides.  Using comics is not only fun but it makes students think about how text and images work together to tell a story.  The finished comics can then be downloaded as PDF's or photo formats(PNG, JPG) to be inserted on a web site, tweeted out, added to a blog or embedded in a classroom newsletter. Thank you Jennifer for the great idea!