Edit Office Documents in Drive

Tech Tip Tuesday

You don't have to install Office to edit your Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or PowerPoint presentations. 

The following instructions are from G Suite Learning Center.

If you’re using a Chromebook or the most recent versions of the Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on your phone or tablet, you can already edit Office files!

If you’re using a computer

1. Download the Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides Chrome extension.
2. From Google Drive, double-click any Office file to start editing.

G Suite Learning Center offers tutorials and tips on many Google App products. You can even download cheat sheets. Check out this Google Doc cheat sheet. 

Save it as a PDF

Tech Tip Tuesday

There are a few advantages to saving documents and files as PDF. First, anyone, no matter the device used, can open a PDF. Second, it freezes your formatting and layout. Third, with programs like KAMI users can still annotate on the document while the original stays in its original format. 

To save a Microsoft Document as a PDF: Click File> Click Save As> Choose the Storage Location> File Name: Name your Document> File Type: In the drop down menu choose PDF> Click Save

To save a Google File as a PDF: Click File>Download as>PDF Document(.pdf)

It's that easy!

Add-ins for Microsoft Products

Tech Tip Tuesday

Just as Google has Add-Ons to add functionality to your Docs and Sheets,  Microsoft offers Add-Ins for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. 

To find Add-In:

Open Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint

Click on the Insert Tab

Choose Store from the Add-in Section

Suggested Add-ins to Add to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint: 

• Pickit Presentation Images - Free HD images and icons
• Pexels - Free Stock Photos
• Lucidchart Diagrams for Word - Draw and insert flowcharts, mind maps, and more
• Translator  - Translates words and sentences
• Assignment Buddy: Research Assistant - Helps you find information form the web
• GeoGebra Tube - Insert interactive GeoGebra worksheets for learning and teaching math and science
• Compare Text for Office - Compare a text with another to find differences
• To-do - Helps to create to-do list
• GeoGebra for PowerPoint - Insert interactive GeoGebra worksheets for learning and teaching math and science 
• Khan Content from Microsoft - Insert free videos and exercises from KhanAcademy.org
• PhET Sims - Free, fun, interactive simulations for science and math to embed in your presentation
• CK-12 Science Resources - Embed into your presentation videos, real-world examples and texts dealing with a variety of science concepts
• CK-12 Math Resources -   Embed into your presentation videos, real-world examples and texts dealing with a variety of math concepts

 

Insert PowerPoint Themes into Google Slides

Tech Tip Tuesday

Still like that PowerPoint Theme? But want to use it in Google Slides? Now you can in 6 easy steps. 

1. Begin a new Google Slides presentation or Open an existing presentation.

2. Click Slide

3. Click Change Theme. The Theme panel will open on the right-side of your screen.

4. At the bottom of the Theme panel, click Import Theme button. 

5. The Import Theme window will open. Choose a presentation from your Google Drive and click Select or click Upload to choose a presentation from your computer. 

6. Once you have found your file, click Import Theme.

Your new theme is now applied. 

Google Slides & PowerPoint - More than Just Presentation Tools

Google Slides and PowerPoint are both great tools when it comes to presentations. They both have some of the same features, although I think PowerPoint is a more robust program. In either case, they can be used for more than just a presentations. Both programs can be used to make newsletters, posters or flyers.

By default these programs are set up to contain slides - but did you know you can change the size of the slide to match any paper size?

In Google Slides - 
Click File > Page Setup
By default the page size is Widescreen 16:9 - click on that option and then select Custom Size. Type in the size you want the page to be - 8.5 X 11, 11 X 17, 8.5 X 14 - whatever your heart desires. It can even be a size that doesn't fit your printer (you can save it as a graphic and send it to be printed at Office Max or other store that does poster size printing).

In PowePoint - 
Click Design > Slide Size
Select Custom Slide Size > Click the down arrow on page size and select Custom. Type in the size you want and click OK.

Now that your page is set up like a normal piece of paper, you can add text boxes, graphics, shapes - whatever you want. It's easy to create a layout because everything is an object so it can be moved and re-sized easily. You can also use multiple pages (slides) to put together a large poster - just tape the pages together for the finished product.

Creating a Video with PowerPoint

It just doesn't get any easier than this. You can turn any PowerPoint into a video with just a few simple steps. 

Because many of us and our students  are familiar with PowePoint it's a great solution to create a quick presentation. If you want to spice it up a bit and make it easy for students and others to access, you may want to convert it to a video.

Here's a short video tutorial that shows you how to do just that - https://youtu.be/aINGhb1hHkI. 

Removing a Background from a Graphic Using PowerPoint

We've all been there. We find the perfect graphic to use in our presentation or in a publication and it has an awful background around it that ruins everything. Have no fear, there is a way to remove that background. 

I like to use PowerPoint to remove backgrounds - just insert the graphic onto a slide and use the remove background option to get it looking good. 

Here's a quick video to show you how it's done. 
https://youtu.be/YkcSJjNwFL0