Month: March 2014

Template: Basic interactive poster using Google Drawing

For some of the subjects I teach, students are required to create a digital text (as part of the General Education for Adults (CGEA) vocational qualifications). A simple test to work out if a text is ‘digital’ is-can it be consumed in its entirety by printing it out? If the answer is ‘Yes’, then it does not meet the criteria for a digital text. Another way of looking at it is a text that is multi-media, multi-modal or interactive (alright, enough of the academics already!)

So I have been looking at ways for students to create these digital texts using Chromebooks. I was considering Prezi but did not like the idea of students having to create an account, having everything public, etc. Plus, am I the only one that gets a little motion sick with all that zooming and whirling?

So I looked to Google Drive…

I have only just very recently become acquainted with the delight that is Google Drawing. It is so easy and flexible to use. So I played around with creating a simple digital text template. Here is a preview of what I came up with:

SMLInteractive poster-basic

Yes, it’s simple but I thought it was a good starting point. From here, it can be adapted to many different abilities and outcomes and hopefully inspire students to totally reinvent the poster with their own touches and design.

I am planning to develop a more sophisticated interactive poster template to share. In the meantime, here is a link to the template for your own use.

Google Apps Tutorial: How to use slide master in Google Presentation

I’m a big fan of Microsoft PowerPoint. It has so many powerful features making it far more than the tool for mass boredom that it is usually (ab)used for. To be honest, Google Presentation is very basic in comparison. The great thing is, like many other Google tools, it is constantly evolving and improving.

In this tutorial, I show you how to use one of the most recently added features, slide masters, to quickly and easily liven up your Google Presentation.

A journey across the Googleverse

I am a huge fan of G Suite for Education (formerly Google Apps for Education) after many years as a staunch Microsoft Office user. No, it doesn’t mean I have left the Microsoft offerings behind completely but I am finding more and more I am looking to Google Drive solutions first.

G Suite makes technology so much more accessible by

Image of a globe with Google App icons

Join me on a trip through the Googleverse. Image: CC Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported, Valentyna Sagan

doing away with the need for software licenses and heavy duty hardware. It also makes available powerful collaboration tools and makes sharing so easy. My perspective is education, particularly adult and secondary, but many of the ideas can be embraced in other environments, too.

Google Apps can help facilitate both differentiation and efficiency. Sure, there are limitations but Google are constantly evolving the platform. I’ll be honest, there are still times I turn to Microsoft PowerPoint in particular  but I am constantly surprised at how much can be accomplished within the Googleverse.

Here I hope to bring together practical tips and ideas, both my own and from others, to help you along with your Google Apps journey.