New Q&A Feature for Google Slides

One day after announcing that you can now schedule posts in Google Classroom, Google comes out with another great new feature. This time the update comes to the almost always neglected Google Slides. Google's new announcement is a Q&A feature, which will allow your audience to ask questions and vote on other people's questions. This is great news for those of us that were a little sad when Google Moderator was put to rest.

Please note, if you are in a Google for Education district, this feature might not have hit your domain yet. But it is active in your personal Google account. Here is a quick run down on how it works. 

To access the feature, click on the drop down next to present and select 'Presenter view.'

Next, click on 'Start new.'

Presenter's Screen

The presenter will get a pop-up window that shows the audience tools. You are able to switch back and forth with your speaker notes. When your presentation is being displayed, each slide will have a header added showcasing the question URL. After the presentation, you have the ability to turn off the Q&A feature. Upon enabling it again, you will be prompted to continue or reset (for next presentation). 

Presenter's Screen

Displayed Presentation

When your participants go to the provided URL, they are allowed to ask a question and vote on other people's questions. Each time a question gets a 'thumbs up' it moves up the list to be ranked higher, while a 'thumbs down' moves the question farther down the list. This is a great feature for when the presenter is only able to answer a certain number of questions. This ensures that the top ranking questions are asked first. 

Audience's Screen

As a presenter, you can present the question to the audience while you are answering it. After answering the question, hit the 'hide' button on the question and answer pop-up and it will return back to your presentation. 

Presenter's Screen

Displayed Question

I love this new feature, as it opens the door to allow everyone in the room a voice to ask questions. Best part is that you don't have to switch back and forth from one tool to another. Thanks, Google!