Do you have notes or practice activities that you want to turn digital? Have you shied away from doing so because it seems too time consuming? Let’s be real, who even has the time these days to do something extra. Don’t worry, I’ve got you!
In this post I am going to show you how to insert a PDF into Google Slides™ so you can take your paper notes or practice and turn them digital!
Step 1: Prep Google Slides
Open a new Google Slides presentation. Delete the text boxes on the slide. Then, change the slide size. First, on the top toolbar click “File”, select “Page setup”, select “Custom”, and change the size to 8.5 x 11 inches. Click “apply” to save the new settings.
Next, title your Slides presentation. Now it is all prepped and ready to start digitizing!
Step 2: Covert PDF to Images
Since Google Slides does not support inserting a PDF, you will have to convert your PDF file to images first. We do this so you can use the images as backgrounds for the slides.
First, go to the website smallpdf.com. Then, select the square that says convert PDF to JPG.
Next, choose your file you want to digitize and import it. Then, select entire pages since you want the entire document digitized.
*There are many PDF converters out there. You can Google it and find other ones that are free!
- https://pdftoimage.com/
- https://www.freepdfconvert.com/pdf-to-jpg
- https://www.ilovepdf.com/pdf_to_jpg
Step 3: Determine What Pages of PDF You Want To Keep
Once you have converted your PDF to JPEG images, you might be left with upwards of 20 or more images. Most often you will not be using all of the pages from your PDF.
Therefore, go back to your PDF to determine what parts of your file you want to keep and which pages you do not need. For example, keep the notes pages, but do not keep any “Teacher Tips” or instructions pages.
Also, you can keep practice pages so students can type their answers. Please note that it can be hard for students to insert equations or math symbols without an extra Google add-on. Another option is just to leave blank spaces for students to insert images of their work OR even create a separate doc for students to show you what they know.
Step 4: Download Images
Download the zip file of all of the images. If you are on a MAC, open it and drag the folder to the desktop. If you are on a PC, you might have to right click and extract the files.
Next, open up the folder with the images of your file. Delete any images of pages that you will not use.
Step 5: Upload Images to Google Slides
Open the Google Slides presentation. Next, you will take your images and make them a background. This is the best method because students will NOT be able to move it or delete it.
If you have one image you want to upload, on the slide click “Background”, select “Choose image”, and choose the image you want. Using that method for longer resources would be too time consuming so I use a Google Add-On to speed up the process.
Go to “Add-ons”, select “Get add-ons”, and search for Slides Toolbox. *Click this link to get Slides Toolbox.
If you have Slides Toolbox, open it. Go to “Import Tools” and then “Create slides from images”. Select “Single image”, check off “Set as Page background”, and click “Next”.
Under “Upload” select all images you want to upload. It will put each individual picture on its own slide. It may take a second to load, but it is still faster than doing each individual one.
Step 6: Edit & Format Slides
Edit and format each slide to your needs by adding text boxes where needed. You can edit the font and its size inside each text box. You can also label them by stating “Type here” in them.
If you need a Google add-on for typing math, I like the add-on Hypatia the best.
That’s it! You can share it with your students via a link or Google Classroom.
I hope this tutorial was helpful! Learning how to insert a PDF into Google Slides has given me the ability to simply edit resources I already have instead of starting from scratch. Do you love inserting a PDF into Google Slides too?! Comment below or tag me on Instagram and let me know!
Creating engaging resources doesn’t have to stop here! Head to LindsayBowden.com/Training to sign up for my free training on creating engaging teacher resources!
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