Google Slides is an incredibly versatile tool. On the Google Teacher Tribe podcast, Kasey Bell often refers to it as the “Swiss Army Knife” of the G Suite tools because of how much you can do with it.
But what if we could supercharge this already powerful tool?
We can! With add-ons (extra features within the app that enhance it) and extensions (mini-programs that modify and enhance Chrome) it’s possible!
During a past #Ditchbook Twitter chat (Thursdays at 7 p.m. PST / 8 p.m. MST / 9 p.m. CST / 10 p.m. EST), we asked educators to share their favorite add-ons and extensions for Google Slides. As usual, they shared some amazing ideas!
Some of these may be familiar and some may be brand new. Did you know that there is a Magic Rainbow Unicorn add-on for Google Slides? Or a way to make your phone work as your Google Slides remote?
Scroll down to find these ideas and more to supercharge your Google Slides presentations. Note: Each of the headings is a clickable link that will take you to a site with more information or directly to the Chrome web store or G Suite marketplace.
20 add-ons and extensions for Google Slides
Add-ons for Google Slides
1. PearDeck
Turn your Slides into formative assessments and add interactive questions to your presentations with the Pear Deck add-on.
Also check out 20 ways to use Pear Deck to engage students to learn more about how to use this awesome tool with your class.
A4: @PearDeck for the win #ditchbook https://t.co/DiFfSexCJO
— James Varlack (@jamesvarlack) September 27, 2019
2. Noun Project
Add icons directly to your presentations without ever leaving Google Slides!
Visit 10 ways icons from The Noun Project can impact learning for more ideas.
A4: Nearpod, PearDeck, Adobe Stock, Icons by Noun Project, Unsplash Photos, and Bitmoji! #ditchbook #nearpodchat
— Angie Smith (@smittygetstechy) September 27, 2019
3. Magic Rainbow Unicorn
Have you ever wanted a way to add the rainbow colors to all of your text without needing to individually change each letter? Well look no futher! The Magic Rainbow Unicorn add-on does it for you!
A4. SO MANY!!! @PearDeck for immediate feedback when presenting. @Screencastify to allow students to explain their thinking. @unsplash for beautiful images. Bonus: Color Pick Eyedropper, Bitmoji, Insert Icons and Magic Rainbow Unicorn. #DitchBook
— Corey Mathias (@EdTechAntics) September 27, 2019
4. Insert Icons for Slides
Over 1,800 icons available to add directly into your Google Slides presentation.
A4: Insert Icons!! It’s a great add-on! #ditchbook
— Kimberly Wassmuth (@kmwassmuth) September 27, 2019
5. Slide Randomizer
If you use Google Slides as flashcards or just want to switch things up in a presentation you can use slides randomizer to automatically shuffle your slide deck.
6. Animated GIFs
Animated GIFs make our presentations fun and engaging. Since the original publishing of this post the GIF add-on mentioned here has been removed. However adding GIFs to your presentation is easy to do. Kasey Bell of Shake Up Learning has a great post on how to do it "How to Insert Super Cool GIFs in Google Docs and Slides" or try talltweets.com to turn your Google Slides into animated GIFs.
Hi joining the party late A4 my favorite add on is a gif add on - I insert them into instructional slides . I use 30 hands starter to make videos. #DitchBook
— olddognewtricks (@KimWienholt) September 27, 2019
7. Icons from Flaticon
Flaticon's add-on gives you free access to TONS of icons for your presentations (or docs or forms or sheets!).
Have students play a game to practice vocabulary! Insert a chart to create the board, merge the cells, and select fun colors for each space. Use the @theflaticon add-on in #GoogleSlides to pick game pieces. Love @GoogleForEdu #ditchbook #gsuiteedu
— Michele Klein (@She3llyLynn84) June 20, 2019
Link: https://t.co/PNVdXTVyyv pic.twitter.com/yn5eGfEFHy
8. Nearpod
Deliver the magic of Nearpod to any Google Slides presentation. With Nearpod, students have the ability to participate in lessons that contain virtual reality, 3D objects, and so much more.
A4: @Bitmoji @PearDeck @nearpod are my top three fave Slides add-ons/extensions. #DitchBook
— Lᴀᴜʀᴀ Sᴛᴇɪɴʙʀɪɴᴋ #RockNTheBoat (@SteinbrinkLaura) September 27, 2019
9. Unsplash
With this add-on you can add the entire Unsplash library of curated high-resolution photos directly in Google Slides for your presentations.
Extensions for Google Slides
10. Clipboard History Pro
If you find yourself copying and pasting information a lot then Clipboard History Pro is a great extension to add. Manage your clipboard history, access favorite clips and even send clipboard items to your smartphone.
I am a stickler for colors to match up on Slides, so Eyedropper is a must, Clipboard History Pro if you are copying and pasting a lot of info, and of course Bitmoji! #ditchbook
— Kyle Anderson (@AndersonEdTech) September 27, 2019
11. EquatIO
Use this extenstion to easily create mathematical equations or formulas quickly and easily.
A4- Big fan of using @Screencastify, @PearDeck and #EquatIO within Slides. They maximize engagement, collaboration and are very easy to use for the students. #ditchbook
— Matt Meyer (@54Mr_Meyer) September 27, 2019
12. Fireshot
Look over student work, grab screenshots of samples to discuss, stick them on slides. Use Fireshot as a quick and easy way to share feedback with the class.
I love the FireShot extension so I can grab student samples and put onto a slide. #ditchbook
— Stella Pollard (@Stella_Pollard) September 27, 2019
13. Color Pick Eye Dropper
Sometimes we want to use the EXACT color we found on a website or in a picture online. Use the Color Pick Eye Dropper to find the color values you want to replicate.
A4. SO MANY!!! @PearDeck for immediate feedback when presenting. @Screencastify to allow students to explain their thinking. @unsplash for beautiful images. Bonus: Color Pick Eyedropper, Bitmoji, Insert Icons and Magic Rainbow Unicorn. #DitchBook
— Corey Mathias (@EdTechAntics) September 27, 2019
14. Bitmoji
Bitmojis are so fun! They’re these little cartoon character images of yourself that let you express emotions and communicate. Use the Bitmoji Chrome extension to add these stickers to your slides for some added engagement.
A4: @Bitmoji @PearDeck @nearpod are my top three fave Slides add-ons/extensions. #DitchBook
— Lᴀᴜʀᴀ Sᴛᴇɪɴʙʀɪɴᴋ #RockNTheBoat (@SteinbrinkLaura) September 27, 2019
15. Pear Deck Power-Up
The Pear Deck Power-Up extension makes sure that videos, animations, and GIFs embedded in your Pear Deck slides play at full resolution.
A4: Sir Links-A-Lot is my favorite for sending out copies or templates of Slides, and because I use @PearDeck a lot, the #PearDeck Power Up extension allows for videos and gifs (with a hard G, it's not peanut butter, haha!) to play in your sessions #ditchbook https://t.co/Mu6yWn4oA3
— Kyle Anderson (@AndersonEdTech) September 27, 2019
16. Sir Links-A-Lot
If you like to change your Google Slides URLs to make it easy to share a forced copy, template, preview or PDF then the Sir Links-A-Lot extension will save you TONS of time!
Sir Links-a-Lot extension (creates different shareable links to Google files): https://t.co/hefqxP9lCO #DitchBook https://t.co/yzwQGUBbCY
— Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) January 12, 2018
17. Screencastify
Screencasting and sharing has never been easier and now all of the Pro features of the Screencastify chrome extension are completely FREE!
Piggy bag on CC that I learned from @MissBeckasaurus: Use screen recording tool like Screencastify to film slide deck along with your voice-over plus captions, & your students now have a UDL-friendly resource to answer 'What'd I miss?' Flipped class material, too. #DitchBook
— Brian Rozinsky (@brianrozinsky) September 27, 2019
18. Remote for Slides
Get the ability to control Google Slides on any device, remotely. That's it. No fancy hardware. No extra remote to remember. It's as easy as adding this Chrome extension.
A4: Slides Remote. Turns your phone into a zero lag presenter remote. #ditchbook https://t.co/pVxDJuMFhL
— Adam Juarez (@techcoachjuarez) September 27, 2019
19. Tab Carousel
After students have completed an assignment in Google Sides you can open up each presentation in a separate tab and use Tab Carousel to automatically cycle through each tab to showcase student work.
A4 inadvertently answered this on q2. Tab carousel to auto switch tabs. Load all student slides on all the tabs. Run the extension to preview each group’s work. #ditchbook https://t.co/ABnSM9EuWS
— Bill Selak (he/him) (@billselak) September 27, 2019
20. Poll Everywhere
Poll your class or audience anytime. Choose from a variety of activity types, insert them into your decks, and watch results as they come in on the screen — all within Google Slides.
A4 the PollEverywhere add-on to instantly grab information from the group (Q&A in presentation mode is close second) I put in for #iste2020 Cha Cha Cha into Slides *hoping to get selected* #DitchBook https://t.co/yQQdYxEKGT
— тana Ruder (@TanaRaiyne) September 27, 2019
What are your favorite add-ons and extensions for Google Slides? Tell us in the comments below!
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I get that but I myself am not a teacher and looking for something that can help me make my own slides. I’ve gotten into frame animation, movement and all that but need help on making the performance smoother.
Thanks for the article, very interesting indeed! In my opinion though, I like add-ons that offer me an all-in-one solution rather than very specific tasks. Just to share, I have found a new add-on that does that very well: SlidesPro – might be worth checking 🙂
Adding link below in case anyone is interested:
https://gsuite.google.com/marketplace/app/slidespro/390861213836