Free Tech 4 Teachers
Elementari: Where Creativity and Coding Meet in Your Classroom
Introduction Ever stumble upon a tool that makes you think, “Where has this been all my teaching life?” That’s Elementari —a platform where creativity, literacy,
EdTech for Neurodiverse Students with Autism
Introduction Neurodiverse students are encountered more frequently in today’s classrooms. Those with autism represent a particular challenge for schools and families– and edtech may be
YourStory Education: Chat With History
YourStory is thrilling for kids. Imagine texting Benjamin Franklin about his famous kite experiment. “Hello! Who are you? What did you do?” you type. Ben
TidyText Fixes ChatGPT Formatting Fiascos
Streamlining Your Documents with TidyText Introduction TidyText fixes the mess that ChatGPT leaves behind when you generate text. Imagine this: You’ve just crafted the perfect
5 Fast Steps to Using Canva and Classwork.com Together
Ever feel like you need a magic wand to turn your mountain of paper worksheets into sleek, interactive digital lessons? Well, grab your wizarding hat
Retro Report Ignites Gen Z Civic Engagement
Retro Report Ignites Gen Z Civic Engagement with New Initiatives Retro Report, the Emmy Award-winning nonprofit newsroom (free access), is stepping up to address a
Khan Academy for Teachers is Now Free in US
Announced on May 21, 2024, the press release titled “Khan Academy and Microsoft partner to expand access to AI tools that personalize teaching and help
AI Slide Generators: 4 Benefits for Teachers
Introduction In the ever-changing world of educational technology, AI slide generators can play a key role in transforming how instructional content is developed. AI slide
AI in Education: SlaySchool
SlaySchool: Another AI in Education Tool with Promise for Your Students AI in education has brought about many unique and useful tools. As we continue
Collaborative Learning with Listium
Who doesn’t love making lists? With Listium, crafting and sharing lists becomes a breeze, transforming classroom activities into collaborative learning experiences. With its user-friendly interface
ActiveLearningLabs.com – Free Simulation Platform
The era of passive learning is waning, slowly giving rise to a demand for something more engaging, more challenging. Today’s students seek not just information
Will Magic School AI Outlast the AI Gold Rush?
Many generative AI wrappers have popped up in the last 12 months of the AI Gold Rush. Flush with investor capital, there’s a new one
Free Ed Tech: Classwork.com’s Digital Learning Platform
And here’s some great news for FreeTech4Teacher educators looking for free ed tech: Classwork.com is free again and we’re offering you a 60-Day Free Trial
AI Tutoring is Expensive; Sizzle is Free
AI Tutoring is Powerful but Really Expensive!! AI tutoring is poised to be one of the most impactful and ethical uses of AI in education.
AI Chatbots: 3 Free LLMs That Transform Teaching
AI Chatbots: Free for the Foreseeable Future Since December 2022, we’ve seen a big shift in how we can teach, thanks to AI chatbots, also
EduEase: A Free AI Quiz from Any PDF
Hey Educators, Check Out This Free AI Tool! We’ve all been there – drowning in paperwork, lesson plans, and the never-ending quest to make our
Whatever the Reason, Free TeacherMade Activities are Here for the Season!
Whatever the Reason, Free Classwork.com Activities are Here for the Season! There is so much to celebrate at this time of year– and with free
Thankful for Educators Everywhere
It’s Thanksgiving in the USA, a time when we ask ourselves what we’re thankful for. It may sound trite, but it’s heartfelt… we’re thankful for
Turning Text into Educational Videos with AI-Powered Tools
In this post, we’re looking at AI tools that let you turn text into videos. In some cases, it will even write the text for
A Fun and SAFE Halloween
Halloween is just around the corner, and while it’s a time of spooky fun and sweet treats, it’s also essential to prioritize safety. Here are
Some Free Halloween Activities from Classwork.com
It’s that scary time of year when your students are so excited about Halloween that it’s really hard to keep them focused. Each year at
Video Lessons and Quizzes Using Twee.com
There’s a reason why there is so much hype around AI– it’s a huge time-saver for content generation. AI can be used to save you
The Power of AI in the Classroom: Generate Engaging Video Questions for Free!
The digital age has brought video and sounds into the classroom like never before. But, as we all know, passive watching and listening isn’t enough.
The Evolution of Collaborative Whiteboarding: A New Chapter sans Jamboard
Change is the only constant, and in the tech world, it’s more like a daily ritual. Today, we’re diving into some significant updates from the
Important Changes Coming to Third-Party App Access in Google Workspace for Education
As part of its ongoing commitment to enhancing security and the user experience, Google Workspace for Education is introducing highly restrictive changes within third-party app
Harnessing the Power: Creating Images with Canva’s AI
In the ever-evolving world of design, Canva stands out as a versatile tool, offering a plethora of options for creating stunning visuals. However, its capabilities
Innovative Learning with Google Bard: Generating Questions from Documents
In the modern educational landscape, technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing learning experiences. Google Bard stands out as a versatile tool, enabling educators to
5 Good Places for Free Video Clips for Your Digital Interactive Projects
In today’s digital age, incorporating multimedia elements into your teaching materials can significantly enhance the learning experience. If you are using Classwork.com to create interactive
5 Good Places to Find Free Audio Clips
Are you in search of quality audio clips to enhance your digital interactive curriculum? If you’re using Classwork.com, you know how easy it is now
Celebrating Constitution Day with These Free Resources
As we approach the commemoration of Constitution Day, it is a golden opportunity to immerse students in the rich tapestry of our nation’s foundational document.
A Tour of the New Google Earth
In the latest update, Google Earth has unveiled a range of features that enhance the user’s experience, primarily accessible through the Chrome browser or the
Create Custom Instructions for Chat GPT
Want to learn the nifty trick of personalizing your Chat GPT experience? It’s pretty straightforward and can save you lots of time in a prompting
Admins: Manage Marketplace Apps in Google Workspace
In this tutorial, viewers are guided through the steps to manage access to Google Workspace Marketplace apps within a specific domain. The walkthrough demonstrates how
5 Google Drive Features You May Be Overlooking
Today we’re introducing you to five Google Drive features that are often overlooked but can be incredibly beneficial. Let’s dive in and explore these features
Five Good Places to Find Images for Your Classroom
In this video, Richard looks at 5 preety cool sites where you can find photographs and illustrations that are free to use in your classroom.
A New Chapter for Me
On a November afternoon in 2007 I started writing at FreeTech4Teachers.com. Back then I had no intention to keep it up every
Seven Mind Mapping Tools to Try This Year
Earlier this week a reader emailed me to ask for my suggestions for online mind mapping tools for her students to use this fall. My
Five Great Microsoft Forms Features for Teachers
Most of the time I like Google Workspace tools better than the equivalent tools from Microsoft. There is one exception to that rule. That exception
Five Tutorials on Google Earth Basics
The start of the school year is when many of us are excited to try new and different things. If you’re looking for something
Lesson Plans for Setting SMART Goals This Fall
Storyboard That is a great tool that can be used for creating cartoons, flowcharts, timelines, and wireframes in addition to typical storyboards. Storyboard That also offers
Keep, Books, and Canva – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s overcast and drizzly, again. It has been that kind of summer. Nonetheless, it has been a good summer filled
Seven Mind Mapping Tools to Try This Year
Earlier this week I shared a handful of ways to use Book Creator this fall. At the bottom of that blog post, I mentioned Book Creator’s
How to Use Microsoft Flip – Teacher and Student Views
It’s that time of year again when many of us are thinking about ways for our students to get to know each other and us.
How Wastewater Gets Recycled
This morning my YouTube subscriptions included a notification of a new TED-Ed lesson that caught my attention. That lesson is titled How the Water You
47,000 People Get Their Educational Technology Tips This Way
This morning when I checked my YouTube Studio account I noticed that my little channel had passed the 47,000 subscriber mark. Despite publishing videos on YouTube since
All About Venice – Another Post Inspired by my Daughters
A few days ago while driving home from seeing a community theater’s musical production of The Little Mermaid one of my daughters asked me “why
Five New Padlet Features to Try
Along with Google Workspace tools, Padlet is one of the educational technology tools that I’ve used the most consistently over the last fifteen years. I’ve
Bring the Joy Back to School With Book Creator
Disclosure: Book Creator is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com Book Creator has been one of my go-to multimedia creation tools for nearly a decade. For back-to-school
18 Google Keep Tutorials for Teachers
A couple of weeks ago I published a short tutorial on how to use Google Keep to scan and search handwritten notes. Publishing that tutorial
Ten Books That Shaped America
Just like I do with my weekly newsletter, C-SPAN Classroom sends their weekly newsletter on Sunday evenings (Eastern Time). When I read it last night
How to Create and Share Canva Templates
In the winter of 2021-22 my kids and I conducted a winter bird survey at our house. Because my kids were little and because I thought
Don’t Let the Graphs Fool You
Tools like Canva, Adobe Express, and even good ol’ PowerPoint make it incredibly easy to quickly create good looking graphs. But as Randy Krum points
Audio, Assessments, and Summer Cold – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is rising on what should be a great summer day. Fortunately, I’m feeling much better than I did
Three Google Slides Accessibility Features You Should Know How to Enable
As the new school year approaches it’s a good idea to review some of the easily overlooked, but important features of some of the tools
By Request – Teacher and Student Views of Joining Google Classroom
Twice this week readers emailed me to ask if I had any tutorials about how students join Google Classroom. I didn’t have a current one
How to Use AI in Google Slides
In case you haven’t heard, AI is the buzzword of the year in education and technology. If you haven’t tried any AI tools yet, Google
Don’t Rely Social Media for Distributing Important School Information
Last year I wrote about the qualities of a good school district website. Unfortunately, the school district in which my kids go to school didn’t
18 Google Calendar Tutorials for Teachers
Earlier this week I shared directions for creating appointment slots in Google Calendar. After doing that it occurred to me that I’ve made a lot
Five Uses for Google Docs Besides Essay Writing
Over the last sixteen years I’ve used Google Docs and had students use Google Docs for lots of activities besides just writing essays. I’ve used
How to Create an Online Reservation System With Calendly
In one of yesterday’s posts I shared directions on how to create an online reservation system by using Google Calendar’s appointment slots feature. If you
How to Embed Videos Into Book Creator Pages
Book Creator is a tool that I’ve been using and recommending for many years. It provides a great way for you and your students to
How to Create a Reservation System in Google Calendar
This morning I answered an email from a reader who was looking for a suggestion for an alternative to using Google Forms for letting students
Two Ways to Create Simple and Focused Websites
At this time of year I am often asked for recommendations for simple website builders that teachers and students can use to create small websites.
Staying Organized With Google Drive Folder Descriptions
At the start of every new school year I have high hopes for doing a better job of staying organized than I did the previous
How to Add Audio to Almost Anything in Google Workspace
Mote is a great tool for adding audio comments to Google Docs, Google Classroom, and Google Slides. You can also use Mote to add audio to Google
A New Accessible PhET Simulation
PhET is a free resource that I’ve been recommending for many years. It now offers more than 100 math, physics, chemistry, and biology simulations that
Slides, Assessments, and Bikes – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’ve finally had a nice stretch of summer weather, if you ignore yesterday’s rain. This week was full of bike
One Good Way to Record a Video in Gmail
Sometimes it is easier to reply to an email with a video than it is to write out a reply. For example, when a colleague
All About Batteries – And How to Preserve Your Laptop’s Battery Life
This week TED-Ed published a new lesson that addresses a topic that just about everyone who owns a cell phone has wondered about at one
Write Out – Poetry, Prose, and Parks!
A couple of years ago one of Kevin Hodgson’s blog posts introduced me to the national Write Out project. This is a two week, online
An eBook for History Teachers and History Students
At the start of every school year I like to review search strategies with students. If you like to do the same and want some
Seven ClassTools Templates to Try This Year
ClassTools has long been a favorite resource of mine for creating all kinds of fun, online activities for social studies classes. As the new school
Three Self-Paced Courses for the Start of the School Year
If you’re interested in a professional development course that you can do while sitting outside before the summer ends, take a look at the courses
How to Create and Share Google Photos Albums
A couple of days ago a reader emailed me to ask for suggestions on how to share pictures with her students’ parents without having to
How to Scan and Search Handwritten Notes in Google Keep and Docs
In this week’s Practical Ed Tech Newsletter I shared a couple of studies that support the benefits of handwriting notes over typing notes. In the
Five Tools for Creating Automatically Scored Formative Assessments
This morning I answered an email from a reader who was asked to teach additional classes this fall. She reached out to me for suggestions
Great Debates and Taylor Swift
EconEdLink is a resource that I’ve recommended to social studies teachers for many years now. In addition to great economics lesson plans like this one
Canva, Pictures, and Micro:bits – The Month in Review
Good evening from Maine were the sun has set on the month of July, 2023. This month I hosted a course on search strategies for
How to Annotate Images on Google Jamboard
Even though it’s not as popular as it was a couple of years ago, Google Jamboard is still a great tool for conducting a variety
How to Get in the Flow
In a world in which there is no shortage of digital distractions it can be hard to get into the flow of working a project,
A New Google Classroom Control Over Assignment Submissions
When you return to school this fall Google Classroom will have some new features for you to try. One of those new features that was
Math, Calories, and Copyright – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is rising over what should be a nice summer day to play outside. We’re going to ride bikes
Introduction to Classwork in Microsoft Teams
Teachers who use Microsoft Teams will have a convenient new feature to use this fall. That feature is called Classwork and it will enable you
Journey to Mars – A Collection of Resources for Teaching and Learning About Mars
Earlier this year SciShow Kids published a series of four videos all about Mars. To wrap-up that series SciShow Kids recently published a compilation of
Something Fun I Learned About Myself Through Google Alerts
Like any good digital citizen I have Google Alerts set up for my name and related spellings of my name. Over the years I’ve learned
An Old Car Math Problem
A couple of weeks ago I worked at a car show near my home. One of the many vehicles on display was a 1903 Oldsmobile.
Try the Pairs Math Game in Your Library or Classroom
The Pairs Math Game is a free game developed by Phil Shapiro. Phil is a teacher and librarian who developed the game to be played
TeachMeet Online – A Free Conference Coming Soon
I went to my first TeachMeet event in London about ten years ago. It was a ton of fun and I learned a lot from
How to Download Google Maps
Summer is not over (at least not in the Northern Hemisphere). There’s still time before school starts again to go for a hike in a
Five Wolfram Alpha Tutorials for Teachers
Yesterday afternoon I published a new video and post on Ed Tech Fitness. The video and post were about using Wolfram Alpha to create personalized
Planning and Preparation Best Practices for Phys Ed
A couple of weeks ago I shared the news about the updated version of OPEN Phys Ed. Just because the site has been redesigned, that
These Old Commercials are Grrreat!
The Internet Archive is a great place to find all kinds of old media that is either in the public domain or is available for
Three Lessons from the Life of Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick passed away last week at the age of 59. Computer Weekly published a nice piece about his life. You may not recognize the
Four Dozen Google Forms Tutorials
I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year
Using AI for Creating Formative Assessments
I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year
Five Resources for Teaching and Learning About Copyright
I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year
1,001 Novels Mapped
I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year
Three Ways to Create Your Own Mobile App
I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year
10 Google Earth and Maps Activities for Math Lessons
I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year