Google Slides Saved my Classroom Management

The months of April and May are always challenging for teachers - there are no more vacations in sight, the kids are hyped up with spring fever, and state testing makes meaningful teaching feel impossible.

Google Slides has seriously saved my sanity this year - and it's SO simple! I wish I would have thought about it sooner as it is a total game changer in my classroom.

With the dreaded "Spring Fever" comes the inability for students to control their chatter. In 9th grade, the struggle is OH so real. I have always given time limits for tasks, but I was the one watching the clock and announcing the time. I then started using timers, but I always had kids look at the timer with 2 minutes left and ask... "What are we supposed to be doing?" It was a total mood killer when I felt like I was being a rock-star.

Enter Google Slides and the Power of YouTube Timers.

Google Slides makes it incredibly easy to insert any YouTube video into a presentation. Click "Insert" at the top and choose "Video" it will give you the option to search for a YouTube video or you can copy/paste a YouTube link. You can even insert videos that are saved on your Google Drive (awesome for any personal videos or student presentations).

Did you know that YouTube has TONS of different timers available? Type in "Five Minute Timer" to the search and you will see so many different options - silent timers, timers with music, various different colors and backgrounds, and different alarm sounds. I also have yet to find a timer amount that isn't there - including weird numbers like 7 minutes.

Instead of having a separate browser tab displaying one huge timer, you can now have it embedded into your Google Slides presentation! But, we still need to solve the problem of the dreaded "What are we supposed to be doing?" question.

I like to choose the slide layout "Section Title and Description" that displays a perfectly halved, yet still colorful and cute, layout. I use one half to place my inserted timer, and the other half to list the directions for what students should be doing.

 If there are multiple tasks, I number them by priority.

This simple change in routine has been a life saver for me. While planning, I can set up multiple tasks with various timers in the order of the lesson. It helps keep class on track so we don't loose track of time, gives students a reminder on what to do, and gives students a visual cue for how much time is remaining. 

You can also use the video feature to enter other YouTube videos you may want to show to the class. For example, there's a great YouTube video about Keystone Species, but I know that through the course of a discussion I will likely completely forget to open it in another tab or window to show to students. Problem Solved! I simply inserted it into Google Slides so when we arrived at an appropriate part of the lesson, I could play it without opening anything new!

Such a simple change for much more effective classroom management and time management in my classroom! Hopefully you find it helpful too!