Information taken from Trails Optional blog by Jen Deyenberg’s blog.  It could be a good starting point for our classroom teachers.

1) Change the Default Font Settings – This drove me a bit crazy for a while – I could change the text settings easily once I opened a text box and started typing, but I didn’t know how to change the default settings.  I asked for help on Twitter and had my answer from TeqSmart via TechyTurner in about 5 minutes – so here is it for everyone else that it is driving a little bonkers.

Click on the Text Tool (Big “A”) on the toolbar and select one of the six text settings that you want to change.  On the properties tab change the settings as you require (colour, size, font) and choose Save Tool Properties – and your settings are changed.

2) The Magic Pen – The Pen Icon with stars around it is a very neat tool. If you draw a circle it will put a spotlight on the circular spot and greys out the rest of the screen. If you draw a rectangle it will zoom in on the rectangular spot. If you just use it as a normal pen the notes will fade in 10 seconds – the kids will think you are a superhero (mine do – I should get a cape!)

3)Shape Recognition Pen – This is a handy tool to draw free hand shapes. When you draw something reasonably close to a given shape, it will automatically transform into that shape.

4) Screen Shade – and a Cell Shade too! Use this tool to hide or cover a slide from the top, bottom, or either side. A similar tool can be used with a table to hide a cell. In a multi-cell table you can shade one, any, or all of the cells. If you right click on a cell, one of the options is cell shade.

5) Create a Theme – if you make a great background and header for a page and want it to be fixed without endless locking, you can choose Format – Themes – Create Theme From Page. This will save your custom theme in the theme folder in the gallery.