From Group Projects to Personalized Emails: 3 Google Hacks I Really Enjoy

I am here to share my favorite ways that I use Google for teaching. In this post, I will reveal my favorite 3 Google hacks that make teaching easier, smoother, and some fun!

By Dr. Alisa Beyer, Psychology Faculty

First, I enjoy finding systematic ways to share information with students. I get emails with different events and there is general information to always share (advising, FOI Canvas, mental health resources, student tools on cgc.edu, etc). I channel all that chaos into one beautiful, shared Google Slides deck that my faculty colleagues can add to as well. It’s my one-stop shop for sharing what students need to know—minus the inbox clutter! I share it at the start of class and post it in my announcements in Canvas. Here is an example of the PSY student slides.

I also used to do the same for BSHS FOI students and place it as a rolling announcement slide in the Canvas shell.  
​
As events happen, I hide those slides.  To hide a slide, (without deleting it) so that it doesn’t appear during a presentation: Open slides. If you right-click on the selected slide (or slides), you will see a menu appear and select Skip Slide. If you want to show the slide again, right-click the hidden slide and click unskip slide to make it visible again.

---

1st: Creating a Google Slides Presentation for Updates/Announcements


Method 1: Sharing a Link to View in Slideshow Mode
1) Publish to the Web:

• In Google Slides, click on File > +Share > Publish to the Web.
• Choose Embed if you want to generate an embeddable code or Link for a sharable link.
• Set the desired options like auto-advance timing if you want the slides to automatically transition.
• Click Publish and copy the generated link.

2) Insert into an Email or Announcement:

• In your email (Gmail), you can insert this link directly.
• You can make the link text say something like “Click Here to View Updates.”
• Alternatively, use an image or a button to link to the Google Slides presentation.

Method 2: Embedding in an Announcement in Canvas
1) In systems like Canvas, our Learning Management System (LMS), you can embed the Google Slides using the generated embed code (from the File > +Share> Publish to the Web section).

2) Paste the embed code into the LMS announcement field to have the Google Slides displayed directly within the system.

Second, a few of my classes do team projects for research or service-learning.  When it comes to team projects, I’m all about collaboration with structure (and minimal drama). I’ve got some example group contracts that help students divvy up tasks like pros. Who doesn’t love a well-defined role in a group project?
2nd: Group Contacts in Google Docs

Group contact example for service-learning data team work
Group contract example for research project team work

How to Assign Tasks in Google Docs:

1. Highlight Text: Select the text you want to comment on.
2. Add a Comment:

• Click the + comment button or press Ctrl + Alt + M (Cmd + Option + M on Mac).

​Assign a Task: Type @ followed by the person’s email to assign the task. Google will notify the person and keep track of the action item for you.

---

Third, is Autocrat, an extension for Google Sheets that allows personalized emails and cards/certificates. I love Autocrat.  If you haven’t met this Google Sheets add-on yet, you’re missing out. It’s like having a personal assistant who sends out personalized emails, certificates, and cards—in a simple process. 
3rd: Auto Send Personalized Certificates/Cards


I love using Autocrat for personalized messages that include some sort of card or certificate. Autocrat - extension for Google spreadsheet that allows you to automatically send messages. I posted a Tech Tuesday about this for student birthday messages (students opt-in with Google Forms).  I have also used Autocrat for OER messaging to faculty, Psi Beta invitations, and more.  


The tools that I use for creating these are: 

• Google slides (create your personalized card/certificate/message) -- you would have a placeholder like (name) and (message) for it to be personalized.
• Google spreadsheet (this is where the information is kept and you learn a new extension for this - Autocrat)
• Google forms (create a questionnaire for information needed if you don’t already have it collected)

Check out brief instructions and resources here.

---

Tech Tuesday Contributor

Dr. Alisa Beyer became part of the CGCC community in 2017. Along with her passion for teaching psychology, she is also engaged in service-learning and open-education initiatives.  
​
Alisa has continuously enriched our teaching and learning community with her innovative ideas, and we’re truly fortunate to have her expertise. Over the past two years, she has shared a wealth of valuable insights—from guiding us through digital decluttering to using Google Sheets for personalized birthday greetings, utilizing tech tools to support students struggling with academic procrastination, incorporating a fun Bingo activity, and deepening our understanding of OER. All of these resources can be found on the  CTLA Teaching and Learning Blog. We are deeply grateful for her unwavering dedication to improving the learning experience, including her latest contribution in today's Tech Tuesday post.