The sixth day of Google focuses on how you can use Google Slides for podcasting or having background audio playing while presenting.
Audio in Slides
For several months, Google has been promising the ability to insert audio files in Google Slides. Have no fear, the time is finally here.
To insert an audio file, go to the ‘Insert’ menu, followed by ‘Audio’. Select the audio file from your Google Drive. You will notice that you are only able to insert audio files that live in your Google Drive. They must also have a file type of .mp3. If you have an mp4 file, you will not be able to upload to a slide.
I have also discovered that you are able to customize and change the audio icon. Just know that your audience must know that the image will actually play an audio file when hovered.
Ways to Use the Feature
Podcasting: You can use Google Slides as a way to create a class podcast without actually uploading audio files to a podcasting platform. Now that WeVideo allows for podcast creation, the combination of both WeVideo and Google Slides will make this very easy for creating a ‘podcast’ in a more closed environment. Each student or group could have their own slide for their own episode. On one side of the slide, could have the name of the podcast episode with the audio file on the other side. For those interested in learning more about how this can be done, click HERE for instructions.
Online PD: Instead of creating a screencast, I decided to create several different audio files on different slides of an online professional development training that some staff members needed to complete. By using this approach, staff members only needed to listen to several short audio file segments, rather than listening to/watching a 40 minute video. Below are two screen shots of two particular slides. You will noticed that I added words (play the audio file) to make sure that staff knew they had to listen to something.
Any questions, you know where to find me. And that is my Spiel…
Craig M Sheil 