Using shared Google slides for group tasks

In the old days (before I drank the Google Drive Kool-Aid) when I had students work in groups in class, I'd give them a piece of newsprint and a marker, and have them create a summary of their discussion on the paper. One student wrote on the paper while the rest looked on and contributed. When they were done, I'd have them post their sheet on the classroom wall as their group spokesperson explained to the class what their group had done. It worked pretty well.

Then I discovered the power of using a shared Google Presentation (now called Google Slides), which is Google's online version of PowerPoint -- on steroids. Now what I do when I have students work in groups is, ahead of time, set up a Google slide document which I share with the whole class. I create one slide per group of students (so, for example, in a class of 30 students, I'll typically create 6 slides, with one slide designated for each group of students, 5 students per group). In class the students then discuss their group task, except instead of recording their ideas on the newsprint poster, they type on their group's shared Google slide. There are multiple advantages of this over the old newsprint:

1. What they type is easily legible (vs. handwritten poster) and students can also insert photos, videos or any other media or visuals.
2. Students can use the slide for the highlights of what they want to say, and the notes portion of the slide (beneath the slide) to include more detail (as well as references and links, if needed).
3. More than one student can type and edit, because each student usually has a computer or other Internet enabled device on which they can access the slide (so that the ideas of students who are quieter aren't left out, or misinterpreted by the person who is recording what s/he thought was said). e.g. if the person who is typing misinterprets what their group member said, the group member can edit what was typed to correct it. If a student's idea is not included on the slide, s/he can add it.
4. If students are not physically in the classroom (e.g. if a student is at home, sick), I give them the option to join class via a Google Hangout. When students work in groups, the student on Hangout joins with their group and participates along with everyone else. When the group uses a shared Google Slide, the student at home can follow along and add her/his ideas just as the ones who are face-to-face in class can do.
5. When groups present their findings, I project the slides on screen in class.
6. After class, all students still have access to the shared slides to use for review.

Below I have a video demonstrating how I create these shared Google slides: