Student "Blogs" Using Google Slides

Sometimes you'd like your students to do a blogging type project, but not actually have a real blog.  Google Slides is a great tool for this type of activity.  Each slide can be one entry into the blog.  This is particularly wonderful for giving the students a chance to reflect on their learning - something that is so important but often gets lost in the chaos.

I have created a basic template in Google Slides for a "blog" post.  You can click here to get a copy of it.  Here is what the template looks like:

You'll notice a few things...

• The slide size is set to 8.5 x 11 to mimic a piece of paper.
• I did this just in case this needs to be printed for any reason.  You can easily change the slide size to be whatever you want it to be, including something like 8.5 x 14 to give them a longer space to "blog" for each entry.  You can view this post for instructions on how to change your slide size.
• There is a picture across the top. 
• This mimics a header or banner that you typically find on blogs.  You can easily adjust the size, color, and font of the title or subtitle, adjust the white layer box, and/or switch out the image to meet your needs.  You can also give your students the chance to adjust these features to fit their style if you'd like.
• There are a few "Click to add text" boxes.
• I have gone into the master layout of the slide and added in these boxes exactly where I want them.  They are placeholder boxes that give the "Click here to add text" prompt and they will be on all the new slides that you add.   This post about the master slide layout will help you see how.
• There is a column for evidence of learning. 
• This is a place where students can insert images of what they are working on to document their progress.  They could also put text boxes here with links to videos, images, audio files, etc. to show how their work is coming along.  This is geared toward a reflection type blog.  You could use this column for whatever you want.  I included a sidebar because blogs typically have some sort of sidebar and I felt it added to the blog feel of the template.  To change the title of "Evidence of Learning", you'll need to go to the master slide layout and edit it there.  

I would typically put the header image, the white layer box, and the blog title into the master layout of the slide as well so that it will show up on each new entry slide the students add.  I didn't do that here, just in case you are working with older students who want to edit the picture and blog title themselves.  This means they will have to paste those header elements onto each new slide they create.  If you are working with younger students, or you just want your older students to have a specific image and blog title, you can put these elements into the background of the master slide so that they cannot be edited on each individual slide.  You can view this post to see instructions on how to edit the master slide layout.

Using Google Slides for a blog activity is great because you can put links to these "blogs" on your class pages or even embed some of them, which makes it easy to showcase the work to parents or other students.