Google Slides Essay Template
A little tongue in cheek I like to say “Don’t use Google Docs.” When we go digital we want to take advantage of what digital offers that paper did not. Oftentimes what we might use a Google Doc for we would really want a Google Form or to use something like Quizizz that will grade it for us. Google Slides is an amazing platform for collaboration, feedback, and multi-media use. Unlike Google Docs, you or the students can insert videos onto the slides.
Essay in Google Slides
Scrolling in Google Docs can be a drag. When you use Google Slides each slide has a unique URL. Have students do their rough draft of their paper in Google Slides. Each paragraph on a separate slide. Assign students to turn in the link to the slide that contains their conclusions, this allows you to jump straight to the conclusions to provide feedback. If a student is stuck on a particular spot, they can link you to the slide that they are seeking feedback on.
Use the Speaker Notes
Students can use the speaker notes under the slide to
Feedback While They Work
Google Slides is a great platform for giving students feedback while they are working on their papers. Not only can you insert granular feedback just like you can in a Google Doc but you can add video feedback, drag a Bitmoji onto the slide, add pictures, or add a separate slide just to provide teacher feedback. You have as much room as you want! Use the tiny triangle next to the plus icon for adding a slide in the toolbar to add a teacher feedback slide.
Send to a Google Doc
If you would like the final draft to be in a Google Doc, I have coded a way to automatically send the text from the slides to a Google Doc. Next to the Help menu is a “Slides Essay” menu. Choose “Create Doc.” The document is created in Google Drive and the student can finalize their paper in Docs if desired.
Authorize the Script
You will need to authorize the script. You may see a warning and a blue button that says “Return to safety.” This indicates that no one at Google has reviewed my code. You will see this every time you use a template with Google Apps Script that has not been reviewed by Google employees. I have personally coded this script, it is safe. Click on Advanced. This will expand out more warning text. Click on Unsafe (it is safe) to authorize the code. You are authorizing yourself to access your Google Apps.