Tag Archive for: Google Slides

705 – Tech Like a Pirate Pt 3

Collaborate with WELSTech on our classroom technology discussion of Matt Miller’s book, Tech Like a PIRATE! We review chapters 5 & 6 this week and share a few summer hardware pics we’ve added to our setups. There’s community news covering AI Sermons, Google Ads for Non-Profits, and video professional development for teachers.

The discussion

Image is AI-generated using Canva.com

Collaboration and Imagery – Martin and Sallie discuss chapters 5 & 6 of Matt Miller’s Tech Like a PIRATE: Using Classroom Technology to Create an Experience and Make Learning Memorable.

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Next time

Tech Like a Pirate – Chapters 7 & 8

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694 – One Button Dissertations

WELSTech is back with our Incredibles of EdTech series. We welcome Rachel Feld to the discussion of multi-purpose tools that would make Elastigirl proud. MLC Spring registration is open, there’s still room for you at the Lutheran Leadership Conference, and picks of the week includes buttons for all things, including starting your car, and a presentation zooming utility.

 

The discussion

Tools to do it all – Prof. Rachel Feld from Martin Luther College joins Martin and Sallie this week as we continue our school year series – The Incredibles of EdTech. Just like Elastigirl, the discussion features versatile tools which can stretch to fill many edtech needs.

Ministry resource

Martin Luther College Continuing Education/Graduate Studies Spring 2023 classes

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Next time

Communication planning with Wendy Kuschel

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542 – Back to the Basics: Presentations

The last installment in WELSTech’s “back to the basics” March focus is all about presentations. From classroom to Bible study to conferences, most listeners will agree that presentations are common across all ministry and non-ministry related roles. Jason Schmidt joins the conversation about tips and tools for great presentations. There’s a new Chrome OS platform and affordable robots for classrooms included in this week’s discussion as well.

The discussion:

Present that – Jason Schmidt from Bennington Public Schools in Omaha, NE co-hosts this week, and he’s all about #appsmashing your way to great presentations.

News in tech:

The first Chrome OS tablet is here

WELS now:

‘Tis the season to register!

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Polling tools for your presentations

Featured video:

Enjoy the MLC College Choir singing In My Father’s House.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 543 – April arrives with a focus on Awesome Apps, and the week 1 discussion is all things related to mobile photography. Release date: Wednesday, April 4.

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Desktop Publishing in the Cloud

As more and more of our work moves to “the cloud” and away from locally installed software, desktop publishing is one area which lacked a suitable online replacement. The desktop publishing standard, Microsoft Publisher, has long provided flexibility when it comes to layout so you can place images and text wherever you desire. Contrast this to word processing software which imposes strict rules around positioning text and images on the page.

Now with a simple modification of online presentation software, Google Slides, users can experience a parallel free-form layout environment for creative endeavors. The key is to change the page setup dimension from the traditional 4:3 or 16:9 ratio to A4 dimensions – 8.5:11 (portrait) or 11:8.5 (landscape). Watch this 1 minute video to learn how:

Application/audience

The work of church and school is greatly enhanced by excellent communication. From bulletins to event flyers to study materials to newsletters, called workers, church office personnel and volunteers alike will appreciate having this flexible design/layout tool in their digital toolbox. And moving this work to the cloud “ups the ante” on ease of sharing and collaboration during the development stage.

This sample 8.5 x 11 newsletter was created in Google Slides. It includes several different layouts for text as well as images and mailing space. Once the design work was complete, the files was downloaded in PDF format for printing.

Related resources

Try out different Slides themes, including the built in themes (Help) and those available from SlidesCarnival.com, to enhance design work.

Visit the Learning in Hand blog for a step-by-step tutorial on using Google Slides to print custom Post-It notes.

Also, Canva.com offers an alternative cloud-based design option. They have tons of professionally-designed layouts which can easily be customized. Much of their content is free, but some of the most desirable images do come with a price tag. Still, the cost is low (typically $1 per image) for superb design.

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