This week, I was presented with a problem - what can we do to support a student (or parent) who does not speak English very well? I knew of a few options: phone apps that translate conversation, Google Translate...but we needed more. What about class discussions? How can we help this student participate? Well wouldn't you know, there's a digital tool for that! Microsoft Translator is a website that is essentially a multilingual chatroom. One person (the teacher) sets up the room and then invites others via a link or a code. As the others join, they can select their own language. Anyone who wants to speak can either type or speak out loud...and everyone else sees a translation into their target language. When the "class" is over, there is an option to download the transcript. This is a fantastic tool for anyone whose first language is not English, but it would also be beneficial to students who may have difficulty hearing or processing.
If you are in need of some quick translation tools for your existing documents...Google Documents has a built-in "Translate Document" feature. Simply open your document, go to "Tools" and select "Translate Document". Give it a new title and select your language. It will automatically create a new document in the desired language.
If you need to translate a Google Slides presentation, it requires a few extra steps, but it can be done! In your Slides presentation, you will need to install the "Translate My Slide" add-on:
Click Add-ons
Get Add-ons
Use the menu to navigate to "Approved for you"
Select Translate My Slide
Click Install
Once the add-on is installed, you can translate the slideshow. This method will translate the open slideshow, so you probably want to start by making a copy of the presentation!
Click Add-ons
Go to Translate My Slide
Select "Start a new translation"
Choose a source language (or let it detect the language) and a target language
Turn on "Translate all slides in 1-click" if you want to translate the whole slideshow
Click "Translate"
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