Whether you use Google Slides™ for presentations or assign templates and other activities created in Google Slides™ for students to work on, there is valuable space in the speaker notes! This post is going to focus more on how to use the speaker notes for including directions for students; however, it may give you some ideas on how you can jazz up the area for your presentations to help you keep on track.
I really like to use the speaker notes to include directions for students in the activities I make for Google Slides™. This allows me to have the entire slide as a working area without taking up room for directions. There are all sorts of ways you can make the most out of the speaker notes with the tips mentioned below.
Using Google Slides™ Speaker Notes on Computers vs. iPads
When you open a Google Slides™ presentation on a Chromebook or laptop/computer, the speaker notes automatically appear under all of the slides.
 | |
|
However, when you open a presentation on an iPad, the speaker notes need to be turned on. I mentioned this tip in my blog post: Using Activities in Google Slides™ on the iPad if you are interested in more iPad tips! To turn the speaker notes on, click the three dots in the upper right hand corner. Slide the toggle next to Speaker Notes to turn them on.
 |
| Slide from Digital Book Report in Google Slides™ |
Formatting Text in the Speaker Notes
I've run into a lot of educators who had no idea that you can format and change the text in the speaker notes! For presenters, this will help your eyes track the notes you have provided as you look back and forth between your audience and your presentation. This is also really beneficial for students to visually break up the information, especially when you have a lot of directions to include.
As you can see in the speaker notes of the timeline template above (click HERE to read about this activity and download a free copy) I was able to bold text, italicize text, underline text, change the type of font, change the color of font, change the size of font and more! All of the text formatting that works on the slide will work in the speaker notes too.
Simply highlight the text you would like to change and make your selection in the toolbar!
Adding Links
You can also hyperlink words in the speaker notes!
In the Winter Sports Digital Journal above I provided a link to a kid friendly website that would allow young students to research the sport of curling without having to go to Google. Of course I am a HUGE proponent of teaching children how to research and find reliable sources on the internet but this is nice for times when you want students to quickly draw information from an article in order to work on another skill (ie. writing/reading comprehension).
To do this, highlight the word(s) you want to appear as the actual link and then click on the insert link icon (this icon will not appear on the tool bar until a word has been selected):
Adding EM😎JIS
Yaaaaas🙌Emojis WILL display in the speaker notes. It's the little things but they really can be helpful! As a presenter, I can quickly look at my speaker notes and my emojis will immediately trigger the ideas I want to talk about. For students, these little images can help them make meaning of the directions but most importantly, catch their attention👀.
 |
| Slide from Solar System Research Project in Google Slides™ |
It is also nice to add emojis for encouragement like on this slide from my Christmas Themed Digital Activities:
You can add emojis several different ways! One way is to place your cursor where you would like for an emoji to be inserted and then go to Insert>Special Characters:
 |
| Slide from Digital Cookbook Template |
You will then need to select Emoji from the dropdown menu.
Select the emoji you would like to use and it will be added!
You could also visit a website like Get Emoji>copy the emoji you would like to use>paste it in your speaker notes!
My favorite way to insert emojis into the speaker notes (or really ANYTHING I do on my laptop) is using the Emoji One Chrome Extension. I find it a lot quicker for some reason!
 |
| Slide from Digital Reading Response Choice Board |
Resizing the Speaker Notes
If you have a lot of information in the speaker notes, instead of scrolling you can easily resize the area by hovering your cursor over the three dots at the top of the speaker notes until a hand appears. Then click and drag upwards.
 |
| Slide from Digital Reading Response Journal |
What else could we do to make the most of the speaker notes in Google Slides? Leave a comment below. I would love to hear your ideas!
