Google Updates

Google has some new and notable updates that I thought would be helpful to share :) 

Google Sheets now has add-ons! 

Docs have had this feature for a long time, but Slides just updated to have them this past week. If anyone has ever used Peardeck (which allows you to add fun interactive questions to your presentations), it now has an add-on. It makes utilizing this engaging tool super simple! I would highly recommend checking it out. It also ties nicely into the idea of exit tickets we discussed at our PLC meeting the other day at lunch. There is a whole post I wrote on Pear Deck on the blog if you want to read more about it.  Another add-on that seems like it has good potential is Unsplash photos (Free stock photos to use as backgrounds), or the noun project (free icons to add to your presentations). Since its a new feature, there is only a limited number created right now, but I'm sure there will be more to come!

Pear Deck

I attended the Tech Innovation Conference from ERLC in Edmonton earlier this week, and one of the presenters used a website called Pear Deck to do his presentation. I had heard of it before, but hadn't really given it the time of day. However, after seeing his engaging presentation, I knew that I needed to give it a shot! 

Pear Deck is a platform that allows you to create slides to deliver information to your students, but the fun part is that you can add different types of questions to your presentation for students to answer as you go (multiple choice, long answer), and you can also add youtube videos right into your presentation. The best part is, you get students to join your presentation, and it plays it right on their devices for them to follow along. If you upgrade to premium,  it spits out a Google sheet with all of the students answers to the questions recorded in a handy spreadsheet when you are finished. 

My kids absolutely enjoyed a "boring" social lesson today because of this fun tool. I highly recommend checking it out!

Some of the slide options you have

It is as simple as typing your info in

You can see what your students will see on their screens using the student preview