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Generate Instant Pear Decks

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  I’ll keep this short as the video explains most of you. Any new educational technology can be complicated to dig into from scratch as you attempt to align it to learning outcomes.  Well, a new feature that Pear Deck has introduced has taken a giant leap forward to help educators do just that.  Before we jump into the new features, if you are unfamiliar with Pear Deck and why my students and I consider it the #1 EdTech tool that helps their learning, check out the video in the previous blog post.   But if you are more concerned with why you should even dive into Pear Deck or learn about this new AI generation of Pear Deck sessions to a learning target, check out the video below. Like I said, I’m keeping it short so you have time to watch the video. If you have questions, please contact me at mohammam@elmbrookschools.org or the Pear Deck Learning team at support@deck.peardeck.com . Also, check out the amazing Stacey Roshan's video on this update. 
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Now Hear This ... Slide!

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I was listening to the newest episode of the Shukes and Giff Podcast when they mentioned a new Chrome extension from the EdTech Team called AudioPlayer for Slides from EdTech Team. I was super excited to check it out as it allows users to record new audio and add it to a slide.

 I teach physics in a co-taught classroom in which many of the students have difficulty demonstrating their understanding by composing written text. Many times they are able to successfully demonstrate their understanding verbally, though. This new extension will allow students to record their own audio explanations and add them to a slide to be played when viewed in presentation mode.

 Last school year, we converted all of our lab reports from Google Docs to Google Slides as it allows for more robust creations and creates manageable chunking of tasks for learners who can easily get lost in long scrolling documents. In addition, it allows us to provide prompts and directions in the speaker notes leaving the majority of the canvas blank for learners to create. So, this new extension is a perfect fit for allowing all of our learners the ability to demonstrate understanding in the mode that suits them best. For example, a student may have a graph on a slide of their report in which they are expected to provide a detailed explanation for. 

For some learners, describing the graph verbally may remove some barriers to demonstrating mastery that typing out a complete answer would present.

 Below is a short video walkthrough of the app I created. I do a voice recording at one point so watch your audio level.

As you can see, it is not just for recording new audio. Existing audio can be added right from drive to the slide. It can be played on one slide or over multiple slides!  So get the extension here. Then enable it and you'll be ready to go! Thank you EdTech Team for the great extension!

 My only wish is that it didn't sit in the center of the screen when recording, or that it could be moved, as it blocks the current slide from being viewed. But, that is a minor complaint for a major leap forward in slide creation!
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