Teachers are trying to figure out how to take materials they already own and use them for distance learning. One question that I have seen repeatedly is, “How they can pull out single pages from a secured PDF file to assign to my students?” Even though the file is a secured PDF, there is a workaround to get individual pages to add to Google Slides.
Teachers are also looking for ways to make these PDFs interactive in Google Drive. This post will walk you through using the Windows Snipping Tools to capture screen shots of the secured PDF pages. It will also show you how to turn these screen shot images into interactive Google Slides.
Step 1 – Setting up Google Slides
Open up a new Google Slides Presentation.
Close the Themes window and delete the text boxes so you have a blank slide to work with.
Change the size of the slide to a standard piece of paper 8.5 by 11.
Step 2 – Open the PDF File on your Computer
Now that your Google Slide Presentation is ready, you need to find the page(s) you want to use from your PDF.
Open the PDF to the page you wish to copy. Be sure the entire page is visible on your desktop, so you can copy it. You may need to downsize the PDF by changing the viewing percent from 100% to Fit to Page. This percentage will vary depending on the size of your screen.
If you have Windows 10, 8.1, or 7, a Snipping Tool is included in your program files.
The easiest way to find your Snipping Tool is to do a computer search. Click on the Start button. Type Snipping Tool in the search box. The tool should be an option you can open by clicking on the link.
A pop-up box will open with tools for using the Snipping Tool. Be sure your settings are set for rectangle. Click the New button.
Using the snipping tool, draw a box around the part of the PDF file you want to save. The rectangle will open in the Snipping Tool.
Save the ‘snip’ to your computer.
Now that your PDF image is saved, you need to add it to Google Slides.
Go back to the Google slide you set up earlier.
On your toolbar, click Change background.
Click Choose image.
Search for where you saved the image or open the folder where the image was saved and drag the image onto the slide.
Click Done.
If you inserted the image as a background properly, you will not be able to click on it and drag it.
Test to see if your image moves.
Step 5 – Method 1 – Setting up Google Slides for Typing
Step 5 – Method 2 – Setting up Google Slides for Typing
Another method for making places for student to type is to put a table over the page. Tables work well for a series of multiple choice questions.
Click Insert Table. Choose how many rows and columns you want to add.
Drag the lines of your table to make them line-up with your questions.
Highlight the table with your mouse. Change the font style, size, and color to make it easier for students to see their typed answers.
1 comment
Thank you so much. This was so helpful…I have been trying to find a simple way to change my PDF files so that my students could write on them. I can’t thank you enough for sharing this.