Avatars, File Management & Google Slides, Oh My!

Avatar PNG Files from Google Slides

This week students completed their work building avatars with Google Slides. I can't wait for them to use these creations in upcoming projects. Some are even using their creations for projects in other classes, like Social Studies to show what they know about the American Revolution or Neolithic Times. So exciting!

While making avatars, students explored toolbar buttons, menu bar dropdown lists, tried a few right-click options and utilized some shortcut keys. There are many means to the same end. Check out the graphic below to see the objects and the tools that we explored. (From an earlier post.) 

Short descriptions of some of the favorites are included here:

Zoom for narrowing in on small details or to see the big picture. 

Paint Format, a hidden gem lets you copy the properties of one object (a shape or text) and apply them to another of the same kind. 

So many Shapes, the rectangle oval, trapezoid, callouts and donut shapes. Spoiler alert! You can enter text directly into any shape. You DO NOT need to place a text box over the shape. Word Art yes, text, not necessary. 

Line button. It takes some practice but the curve and polyline tools are a big hit! My goodness they are creative.

Crop (and Mask) to manipulate the image sizes using gutters to make them fit like a true comic. 

Fill Color & Borders were helpful for our avatars when making hair, tie-dyes, and other materials.

     

Check out our digital avatar poster or view our Zoom classes below to see the work that has been submitted thus far. Bookmark it to check in for some late arrivals as some students are still fine tuning their creations. We close each class with an exit ticket. Most days it includes sharing with me using the Zoom chat. Students are always asked to 1) share something that they learned or 2) tell something that they wonder. See some of their actual comments in the "chat" window.