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Add Audio to Google Slides

Google Slides provide the most flexibility of any tool in the Google App suite.  Some people call it the Swiss Army knife of Google!  Now you can add audio files! 

From the Google Slides top toolbar, select Insert>Audio for any audio file stored in your Google Drive. 

Your audio file appears on the slide in the form of a sound icon.

Select the icon and Format options dynamically appear on your menu bar:


Click Format options and playback options are now available to you on the right side of  your screen:


You can control how the audio file starts playing, its volume, if it should continuously play, or whether to stop or not when the slide changes.  

Why would I use this option?

If you use Google Slides as your presentation software for your courses, I'm sure you can think of a wealth of ways to incorporate audio into your classroom.  A few I thought of:

  • Add music files to the first slide, so music plays as students enter the room.  
  • Add ambient background noises to 'set the mood' for your content. 
  • Add audio files from speeches, radio broadcasts, or podcasts related to your content.
  • Play a goofy sound for fun during a part of your lecture.
You can also create your own audio narration files for free by navigating to online-voice-recorder.com .  Click the microphone to start recording:  

Simple online voice recorder tools allow you to trim the beginning and end of the recording.  Download your recording, upload it to your Google Drive, and add to your presentation!

This feature provides some abundant opportunities for use with students as well - next week's Terry's Tech Tips topic!

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