Tag: Hack

Adding Audio to Play on a Set of Google Slides

Not long ago, Google finally added the functionality of adding audio to Google Slides for all users.  And, not long thereafter, we started asking for improvements! 😬  Hey, it’s what we do! 😃

In this post, I’m going to share with you a hack to get the most asked for improvement.  It’s not an elegant hack (that’s an oxymoron, I think) but it’ll do until Google adds the actual functionality.

When you add audio, the main choice that you’ll have to make is
– “Do I want this to stop playing when I advance to the next slide…
– or do I want it to continue until the audio ends…
– or do I want it to loop until the end of the slideshow?”
Unfortunately, there’s no option to have it play on Slides 1, 2, 3 and 4 and then stop on Slide 5.

But what if that’s what we want?  In this post, I’ll show you a hack to set your audio to play for a subset of slides, but not for others.

My first idea for a hack was adding a different piece of audio on Slide 5, but that just leads to both audio files playing simultaneously.  Back to the drawing board.

My second idea worked.  So, here it is…  #EduGIF first, step-by-step instructions next.

This animation shows how to add audio for only a subset of the slides in a Google Slides file. The steps are typed out below the image.

Continue reading Adding Audio to Play on a Set of Google Slides

Adding Audio in Google Slides (Hack)

Listen, I get it – when you’re showing your students the chambers of the heart, you want to have “Total Eclipse of the Heart” playing.  And, when you teach your class about the food chain, you need “Hungry Like the Wolf” rocking out of your speakers.  But, guess who doesn’t get it?  Google.  No audio in Google Slides.  Sorry, no music for you.

But!  I’ve got your back.  When you present about the states of water, you need to be playing this, or maybe this.  I didn’t invent this hack, but I created a GIF to showcase it for you.

Step by step instructions are below the GIF.

Adding Audio in Google Slides Animation

  1. Insert > Video
  2. Search for & Insert the video for the song you want from YouTube
  3. Right Click, Video Options
  4. Select “Autoplay when presenting”
  5. If desired, set a specific start time
  6. Make the video tiny
  7. Rock out when in presentation mode
  8. Keep in mind – your song will stop when you move on to the next slide, so plan accordingly

Note – this is a copyright gray area (or worse), for sure. I always try to use Vevo videos, because we at least we know that those were uploaded by the companies that own the rights to those music videos.