Did you know that there are great options to convert pdf files to Powerpoint? And, they don't just convert each page as an image but actually recreate file w/text boxes, etc. Not perfect, but very good. Click this Google Search link to locate options: http://bit.ly/35491xO (I've used both "Smallpdf" and "Ilovepdf" and had great results.) Once you have the Powerpoint, you can, then, easily, convert to Slides while uploading. (Just click the "cog" in the upper right corner of Drive, then "Settings" and make sure you have "Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format" checked as shown below.) If you're trying to create a presentation from a pdf, these tools are lifesavers!!

It is very simple to use a QR code for students to access a GIF.  Just upload the GIFS to your Drive account and, from there, create the QR code. (If the GIFs you want to link to are already in Drive, you're good to go!) You do have to make sure that anything that you want others to access is set to "Anyone with the link can view". The easiest way to do that is to just create a folder and set the folder to “anyone with the link can view”. Then upload all your GIFs to that folder or if already in Drive drag into that folder. If you already have the GIFs in a folder, just set that folder as “anyone with the link can view” and it will, automatically set all files within correctly. One note: If you are using a school G-Suite account, there is a little trick to setting the files to "anyone with the link can view" if you want others outside of your organization to be able to view. Here's how: Once you have your GIFs set as "Anyone with the link can view", you can create the QR code. For example, here is a QR code to one of the GIFs in the GIF Collection. There are a couple of tricks you need to know for getting the QR code.   One is that after you open the GIF in Drive, you have to go to the "3 dots" in the upper right and choose "Open in New Window" (this is, also, necessary if the file you want to link to is a pdf).  THEN, you get the QR code.  If you are linking to a Docs, Slides or Sheets file, the QR code is created while you are on the file. (Just be careful with a Slides file because if you are on Slide 4 when you create the code, the code will open the presentation on Slide 4.) I use this extension to create my QR codes:  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/the-qr-code-extension/oijdcdmnjjgnnhgljmhkjlablaejfeeb (Just click "Add to Chrome" and it will appear in your toolbar to the right of where you enter web addresses.) Usually, I just screenshot the code when it comes up, but you can, also, click "Edit this QR code" under the code and it will go to a page where you can "right click" on the code and save it from there.   If you are creating quite a few codes, it's easiest just to put them in a Slides file so you can print them all at once.  One hint when adding several to a Slides file is to put a text box under each one to indicate what the code goes to or you risk getting your codes mixed up.

I, often, am asked about creating GIFs. Many of the most prolific GIF-makers out there like to use various apps, such as IMGPlay. Personally, I like to simply use my iPad or iPhone to video what I want to GIF. Then, I go to https://ezgif.com/video-to-gif and upload the video. (If you prefer to work on your GIF on a different device than the one you used to video it, I suggest just uploading to Drive (you'll need to install the free Drive app). I've found that to be the fastest, easiest way to get media off of an iDevice and onto a desktop or laptop. You can download from Drive once you are on your laptop/desktop machine.) Once I upload my video to ezgif, I can cut off any unwanted parts from the beginning or end of the video (if you don't want to cut anything, just be sure to play the video all the way through and set the "End time" by clicking "Use current position"). I can, also, do a number of additional things in EZGif such as crop, add text, speed up or slow it down (SUPER useful for all things physical!), etc. I, also, like this method because it allows you to video several actions at one time and then simply pull them apart once you upload the video. (Do be sure not to go too long because there is a file size upload limit. As you work with it you will learn how much you can do.) If you give GIFFING a go and have any questions, feel free to contact me!