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19 Ways To Make Google Slides Interactive

[PLUS The Tools To Use]

There’s always a push to make classrooms more personalized and pursue more multimodal options. But you may already have a good infrastructure developed with PowerPoint or Google Slides. You don’t want to dump what already works. 

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Instead, tweak the slide decks, PowerPoint, and Google Slide presentations you already have in your arsenal.

google slides interactive

19 Ways To Make Interactive Google Slides To Increase Classroom Engagement

Here are a few quick and easy ways to tweak your Google Slides presentation to boost daily student engagement.

  1. Use hyperlinks: Link different slides or external content within your presentation to allow users to explore additional information. You can add links to help videos, news articles, and how-to guides. This promotes self-paced learning in your classroom. 
  2. Embed videos: Include videos that enhance your content and engage the audience. You can add a video of yourself walking through a concept or an example of a difficult concept. Infusing multimodal learning strategies into your instruction allows students to grasp new knowledge differently. 
  3. Insert audio: Add background music or narrations to your slides for a multimedia experience. Add verbal prompts as students complete a lesson. This mimics guided practice typically inside a classroom so that students can have that benefit anywhere. 
  4. Create interactive quizzes: Incorporate multiple-choice or true/false questions to test students’ knowledge. You can do quick checks for understanding so you can adjust your lesson. It shows students how they are grasping new information. This gives students ownership over their learning. 
  5. Use branching scenarios: Create decision points where the audience selects options, leading to different paths in the presentation. This type of multimedia is beneficial when teaching processes. You can create scenarios for your students to take. 
  6. Include interactive charts and graphs: Enable users to manipulate data and explore different visualizations. A good example would be to include diagrams for the cell. You can allow students to answer guided questions about different parts of the cell. 
  7. Add clickable buttons: Design buttons that trigger actions, such as showing or hiding content. You never want to include too much information on a slide, but sometimes, you may need more details in a self-guided slideshow. Buttons that let you expand can help this. 
  8. Utilize slide transitions: Use dynamic slide transitions to create visual interest and engage the audience. But don’t overdo it!
  9. Incorporate animations: Animate objects on your slides to bring them to life and capture attention.
  10. Include drag-and-drop interactions: Create activities where users can drag objects to specific areas on the slide. With TeacherMade, you can create your own drag-and-drop activities for students. 
  11. Insert interactive maps: Allow users to explore maps by zooming in, panning, or clicking on specific locations for additional information. You can incorporate Google Maps into your Google Slides presentations. 
  12. Use interactive timelines: Create timelines that users can scroll through or interact with to explore different events. This is perfect for getting the order of events down in novels and major historical events. 
  13. Add live web content: Embed live web pages or social media feeds to provide real-time information. If you’re incorporating current events into your classroom, this is a great feature– try curating a Twitter feed of notable people. 
  14. Include interactive infographics: Present complex data using interactive infographics that allow users to interact with different elements.
  15. Use interactive 3D models: Incorporate 3D models that users can rotate, zoom in or out, or interact with for a detailed view.
  16. Integrate audience response systems: Use tools like polling or live Q&A to gather audience input and encourage participation. You can incorporate instant feedback with TeacherMade’s 20+ question types. 
  17. Create interactive puzzles or games: Design interactive puzzles or mini-games that the audience can play within the presentation. With TeacherMade, you can turn any of our question types into a game or competition that you do in class. 
  18. Enable annotation tools: Allow users to draw or write on the slides, encouraging collaboration or personal note-taking. You or your students can draw on Google Slide presentations with TeacherMade. 
  19. Provide interactive handouts: Include supplementary materials like interactive PDFs or worksheets the audience can fill out during or after the presentation. You can make any PDF into an interactive assignment with TeacherMade. It’s simple.
    • Step 1: Upload your file. The file you upload becomes the background of your new online worksheet. (We support these file types.)
    • Step 2: Add fields for student responses.
    • Step 3: Add answers to questions for self-scoring.
    • Step 4: Send an assignment link to students or sync with your school’s LMS platform.
    • Step 5: Get instant feedback and results.

Choose The All-In-One Tool For Student Engagement

TeacherMade is the all-in-one tool to increase student engagement and simplify formative assessment in your classroom. With TeacherMade, you can:

  • Create interactive assignments and assessments.
  • Convert existing PDFs into online interactive activities.
  • Provide effective student feedback and auto-score assignments.
  • Integrate with major LMS platforms (Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, and Microsoft Teams).
  • Simulate online testing with a variety of question types.
  • Utilize advanced math tools.
  • Add multimedia to assignments.
  • Collaborate with other teachers.