With more learning taking place remotely and online, teachers are creating more Google Slides presentations than ever before. Lately, I have received so many questions asking how to add audio to Google Slides presentations. Unfortunately, Google does not provide an easy way to do this directly inside of Google Slides, but there are still several options for adding music, narration, and voice over to Google Slides. In this post, you’ll find the two options I use to insert audio into Google Slides presentations.
If you’re like me and prefer to learn visually, check out this video I made. It provides step-by-step instructions for how to add audio to Google Slides presentations.
Option 1: Add Audio to Google Slides with Pear Deck
Google Slides does not provide a way for you to add audio directly inside of the program, but there are add-ons you can install that will allow you to insert music and narration into presentations. Pear Deck is the best option I have found that allows teachers to insert audio in Google Slides. If you are unfamiliar with Pear Deck, it is an add-on that allows teachers to engage students by adding interactive activities to Google Slides. I have another blog post all about how to install and use Pear Deck. You can also find information about using Pear Deck in the following video.
After you have the Pear Deck add-on installed and open in Google Slides, click the blue “Add Audio to Slide” button in the Pear Deck toolbar. A screen will appear that will allow you to record your voice or music and upload the recording directly to Slide. You will need to make sure your computer has a microphone to record the audio. When you are finished recording, click “Add Audio to Slide.” Pear Deck will embed the audio directly on the Slide.
I prefer using this option to add audio because it is the easiest to record and embed. The only downside is that students can only use the audio component when viewing the lesson in Pear Deck. To learn more about how students access a Pear Deck presentation, check out my Pear Deck blog post or the video above.
Option 2: Add Sound to Google Slides with an External Recording
If using Pear Deck is not an option for you, you can create an external recording and embed it in the presentation. To do this, record your audio or music however is easiest for you. You could do this by using a microphone and creating an audio file on your computer. You could also use an app to create an audio recording on your phone.
When your recording is ready, upload the audio file to your Google Drive. To do this:
- Open your Google Drive.
- Click “+ New.”
- Select your file. The file will automatically load to your Google Drive.
After you have saved your recording in your Google Drive, use the following steps to insert the audio in your Google Slides presentation.
- Click “Insert” from the menu at the top of the Google Slides presentation.
- Select “Audio” from the dropdown menu.
- Find your audio file in the tab labeled “My Drive.” Click the file. Then, click the blue “Select” button. Your audio file will be added to Google Slides.
Conclusion
I’ve received so many questions about how to add audio to Google Slides and for good reason! Adding music or a voice over is a great way to engage students and help struggling learners. Whether inserting audio to a Google Slides presentation for fun or to meet an IEP, these two methods will help you get the job done.
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