Distance Learning Hack: How to Use Printables in Google Classroom

Any other year, you can open the Microsoft Word documents you have from last year, print them, and voilá your lesson is done.

But, if you're teaching virtually, you can't do that this year.

You absolutely can still use those writing activities though!

Students will just type on the lines instead of write on them!

I'm here to save you from the horror show of recreating everything you've ever done.

With 97 simple steps.

Okay not 97, but like... more than a few. 😬

This blog post could have been called "Distance Learning Hacks: Turn your Word docs into Google Classroom resources your students can actually use in 6 tedious steps" but that title seemed a bit long and I thought people would be turned off by "tedious".

It's a little tedious though.

You've been warned.

1. Save each page of your Word document separately.

I used to write directions for my mom to do things on the computer and step 1 was always "Walk into the computer room". 🤪

So, do that. Turn your computer on. Open the document you want to use online.

Okay, so now we should all be on the same page.

Let's say you have a Microsoft Word document named "AR Verbs Classwork" and it's 3 pages.

Resave it as "AR Verbs Classwork 1" and then again as "AR Verbs Classwork2" and then one more time as "AR Verbs Classwork3".

In the first document, delete pages 2 and 3.

In the second, delete pages 1 and 3.

In the third, delete pages 1 and 2.

So now you have 3 separate documents - one for each page of the original document.

2. Save each page as a PDF.

For each document, go to File > Save As > select PDF from the dropdown > Export.

It only takes a few seconds, but you have to do it 3 times, so it gets... what's the word... oh yeah.

Tedious.

3. Save each PDF as a jpeg.

Open each PDF in the folder you just saved them in.

I have a mac, so they open in Preview on my computer.

From this point, you have 3 choices.

Choice 1: Click File > Export > choose JPG from the dropdown > Save.

Choice 2: Click File > Duplicate. Then another PDF will show up on your screen. For that one, click File > Save > choose JPG from the dropdown > Save.

Choice 3: Go to ilovepdf.com/pdf_to_jpg, click "Select PDF files", select them from your computer, click Open. Click "Convert to JPG" in red on the right. The files will save to your downloads folder.

I personally prefer Choice 2 because it will automatically save the jpeg in the same folder as the PDF.

For choice 1, you have to navigate through your folders and make it save in the proper spot or you'll never find it ever again.

Choice 3 is optimal if you're converting like a bajillion PDFs, otherwise I find it too laborious.

But you do you. 😘

4. Open a Google Slide and format the pages to 8.5x11".

Go to your Google Drive.

Click "New" in the upper left corner, and then select Google Slides.

Go to File > Page setup.

Choose Custom.

Make the slide size 8.5 x 11.

Click Apply.

5. Insert your individual jpegs into the Google Slides.

Go to Insert > Image > Upload from computer.

Select all the jpegs so you have every page of your resource now on Google Slides.

Make sure each jpeg is on its own separate page and they are in order.

6. Insert text boxes where you want students to type.

Last step!

This is by far the most tedious part.

I would encourage you to teach your students how to create text boxes and place them exactly where they want to type, so you don't even have to do this step.

If you can't put this burden onto your students, then you have to click the box with the T in it, click where you want the text box to be, and then they can type into it.

The text box default is to have a clear outline, so you can change that if you want students to see the text boxes, or you can leave a note at the top of the page letting them know they can type into the lines because the text boxes are already there.