Fresh Tech for Teachers
Best of 2022 So Far – Mote
With the exception of the webinar I’m hosting tomorrow, I’m taking the rest of the week off. While I’m gone I’ll be republishing some of
Best of 2022 So Far – QRToon
With the exception of the webinar I’m hosting tomorrow, I’m taking the rest of the week off. While I’m gone I’ll be republishing some of
Summer Reading, Notebooks, and Thinking
If you’ve joined one of my webinars about search strategies or taken my Teaching History With Technology course, you probably know that I advocate for
What I Do When a Website Steals My Work
I’ve been writing this blog for fifteen years this year. For most of those years I have been battling with people about copyright. Some people
Geo Artwork – A Fun Game About Geography and Art
If you and or your students enjoy online geography games like GeoGuessr, you need to try Geo Artwork from Google Arts & Culture. Geo Artwork is
How Do Fireworks Work? – Another Question from my Daughters
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July and that means there will be fireworks displays in towns all over the United States. My little town is
Tomatoes, Templates, and Fireworks – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where sun is rising and it’s going to be a nice summer day to start a long weekend. I’ll be mowing
A Good Place to Find Free Images and Music for Classroom Projects
In my guide to finding media for classroom projects I provide a list and description of my favorite resources. The next time I update that
Seven Summer Webinars With Me!
As I announced last week on Practical Ed Tech, starting on July 6th and running through August I’m hosting a series of webinars on a
Five Ideas for Classroom Apps
On Wednesday I published a post about how to create your own mobile apps for classroom use. If you read that post and wondered why
How to Use Custom Fonts in Google Forms to Improve Readability
One of last week’s most popular posts was about the news of Google adding new font customization options to Google Forms. Like all updates to
Bikes, Bubbles, and Forms – The Month in Review
Good evening from Maine where the sun is setting on the month of June. Despite some crummy weather to start the month, we’re ending with
A Whole Bunch of Resources for Learning About the Tour de France
The Tour de France begins tomorrow. Watching the race every morning for three weeks is one of the things I look forward to every summer.
A Google Maps and Earth Activity for Art Classes
When I conduct workshops on Google Maps and Google Earth I always point out that the uses for those tools extend beyond the realm of geography and
Flipgrid is Dead!
If you’re attending the ISTE conference in person this week or you’re following updates from it on social media, you probably heard a thing or
Two Ways to Make Your Own Classroom App This Summer
Summer is here in the northern hemisphere and for many of us it’s a time to work on things that we’d like to use in
50 Ideas for Short Tech Workshop Sessions
Are you a tech coach, tech integrator, or media specialist who has been asked to run a summer workshop for your staff? Or are you
25 Ideas for Whiteboard Videos
Years ago apps like ShowMe and Educreations helped to popularize creating whiteboard-style instructional videos. Today, screencasting tools like Screencastify and Google’s Chrome screencast tool along with Flipgrid’s whiteboard tool make
Climate Kids Helps Kids Learn About Climate Change
NASA’s Climate Kids website has many excellent online and offline resources for teaching students about climate change. One of those resources is the Big Questions page. The Big
Short Lessons About American Independence Day
American Independence Day, the Fourth of July, is one week away. Most of you reading this aren’t in school right now. That said, I can’t
Transforming the Traditional Learning Environment with BookWidgets
Disclosure: BookWidgets is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com BookWidgets is an online tool that you can use to create interactive activities for your students to use
Enroll in Tract’s Free Virtual Summer Creator Camp
Disclosure: Tract is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com. Throughout the school year I published a handful of blog posts and videos about an exciting platform called
Automatically Forward Important Google Workspace Email to Secondary Email Address
It’s summer (in the northern hemisphere) and for many people reading this blog that means it’s time to cut back on reading work email. Some
Ten Good Templates for Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts Activities
At the start of this year ReadWriteThink re-released all of their popular interactive templates for creating all kinds of things including poems, story plots, timelines,
Stories, Studios, and Smoke – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is rising on what is going to be a warm and sunny summer day. It was a busy
Spaces Adds New Features for Creating Better Digital Portfolios!
Disclosure: Spaces is currently an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com Spaces is a great digital portfolio service that I’ve been using and recommending for the last couple
A New Limit on Zoom Meetings
Most readers of Free Technology for Teachers who are hosting Zoom meetings on a regular basis are probably using a Zoom subscription through a school
Amazing! This Interactive Story Building Lesson Still Works!
Last night I was scrolling through my archives to see what I was writing about ten years ago. I do that from time to time
A Quick and Easy Way to Make Printable Mazes
Maze Generator is a free site that does exactly what it says on the tin, it generates mazes. To make a printable maze on Maze Generator
Meet Otus – A Fun and Free ISTE Event
Disclosure: Otus is currently an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com Otus is a learning management system that first popped onto my radar nearly a decade ago. Since
New Google Forms Customization Options
There is good news for those who are tired of the same old font choices in Google Forms. Starting today (for some users) you can
My Three Favorite Google Tools for Social Studies Teachers and Students
As longtime readers of this blog know, my background is largely in social studies with a smattering of teaching computer science and doing some corporate
Tools for Asynchronously Collecting Stories
Nearly fifteen years ago I used VoiceThread to have my students collect stories from their parents about changes in the community since their time in
A Short Explanation of Book Creator in the Classroom
Just in time for the annual ISTE conference the folks at Book Creator have released a new video highlighting how their multimedia ebook tool can
Two Ways to Make Your Own Wordle-style Games
Last week I wrote about Strive Math’s new Custom Wordle game creator. That little tool can be used to create Wordle-style games based on words
Five Ways to Work With PDFs in Google Drive
Some of the questions that receive more than frequently than others revolve around working with PDFs. The answers that people are looking for are often
How to Record a Video Lesson in PowerPoint
A few years ago I published a video about how to create a video by using the recording tool built into PowerPoint. Since then Microsoft
Quizdini is Shutting Down
Quizdini is shutting down after a decade of offering a good platform for teachers to create and give online quizzes. Its last day will be
Type Studio 2.0 – Edit Videos by Typing and More!
Type Studio was one of my favorite new tools last year. What I liked about it was that it took a completely new approach to
The Essays and Madness of King George III
I recently started reading The Last King of America by Andrew Roberts. It is an extensively detailed biography of King George III. I’m about fifty
Giraffes, Stories, and Bubbles – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where consistent summer weather seems to be eluding us. As I write this it’s overcast and 50F! I guess we’ll be
Ten Google Sites Tutorials for New and Experienced Users
Summer is here (in the northern hemisphere) and it’s a great time to casually work on things that we don’t always have time for during
Short Lessons About the Longest Day of the Year
Perhaps my favorite thing about living in northern New England is the amount of daylight we have in the summer. I enjoy the early sunrises
Conclusion to the Arthur Davidson Email Scam – Lessons in Context Clues and Motorcycles
Back in March I got an email from someone claiming to be a Boston-based intellectual property attorney working for the law firm of Arthur Davidson. The
A New Way to Find Registration-free Tools
No-Signup Tools is a new site that features exactly what its name implies, web tools that you can use for free without having to sign-up
How to Work While Going to School
Last month I started watching a new Crash Course series called How to College. The series is a great one for students who are first
Unpoppable Bubbles – Another Fun Summer Science Lesson
Last week I shared a handful of resources for building solar ovens. The week before that I shared some at-home summer science lesson resources from
Five Things I Like About the New Chromebook Screencast Recorder
Last week Google introduced a new way to record screencasts on your Chromebook. You can watch my tutorial about how to use it right here
Three Ideas for Telling Stories With Pictures
This is an excerpt from this week’s Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week newsletter. This week, subscribers to the newsletter received a PDF that
When You Give a Kid a Camera
Last year we gave our daughters (four and five years old) a couple of kid-friendly digital cameras. My daughters love taking pictures with their little
A Quick and Easy Way to Make Your Own Wordle-like Game
A few months ago I published a video about how to make your own Wordle-style games. Since then Wordle craze has not shown any signs
A Giraffe in Our House – More Fun With Augmented Reality
Tomorrow we’re going to the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. My daughters have been looking forward to it for weeks! The giraffes are what they
Screencasting on Chromebooks – Built-in Tool vs. Third-party Tools
Last week Google introduced a new screencasting tool for Chromebooks. Besides being a built-in part of Chrome OS the screencasting tool has some nice features
How to Embed Full Page Content Into Google Sites
The design options in Google Sites have come a long way in the last decade. In the early days Google Sites had lots of functionality,
Bicycles, Chrome, and Science – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining and it’s going to be a nice day for outdoor play. Earlier this week we rode
45 Canva Tutorials for Teachers and Students
Aside from Google Workspace, Canva is the tool that I’ve published the most tutorials about on my YouTube channel. In fact, with the publication of my latest video
How to Add Narration to Canva Presentations
Earlier this week I published a video titled What’s the Best Way to Share Tech Tips With Staff? That video was based on my blog
How to Take a Screenshot on a Chromebook
Yesterday I shared directions about using the new screencast recording tool that is built into the latest Chromebooks. While screencast videos are great for providing
How to Record Screencasts on Chromebooks Without Extensions
A couple of days ago Google announced some new Chromebook features for teachers and students. One of those features is a new screencast recording tool
Focusable Looks Like a Promising New Approach to Online Instruction
Focusable is a new service from the same people that brought us Swivl and Synth. Focusable is currently in a private beta (public beta to
Science Fun in the Sun – Free Science Lesson Plan
As I write this it’s a cloudy and relatively cold June day here in Maine. The sunshine will return and with it there will be
Tech Coaches, Here Are 50 Ideas for Summer Workshop Sessions
Are you a tech coach, tech integrator, or media specialist who has been asked to run a summer workshop for your staff? If so, I
Ten Ways to Use Adobe Creative Cloud Express in School
While watching the NBA Finals a couple of nights ago I saw a commercial for Adobe Creative Cloud Express. In that commercial they said something
Five Great Chrome Extensions for Teachers
After seeing my browser in one of my tutorial videos or one of my presentations, people often ask me about the extensions that I have
How to Share Photo Albums in Google Sites
At this time of year I field a lot of questions about sharing photographs from school events like field trips, graduations, and concerts. Late last
Free to Use and Reuse Images of Athletes and Sporting Events
The Library of Congress is a great place to find historical pictures, drawings, and maps to use in lesson plans and classroom projects. Finding things
A TED-Ed Lesson for Every Element on the Periodic Table
For years I have referred readers to the University of Nottingham’s Periodic Table of Videos. That table provides a video about every element that is in
A Lesson About Money for Students Getting Summer Jobs
Summer is near and for many high school students that means it is time to start working at summer jobs. For many students the first
Writing, Typing, and Virtual Tours – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where fog and light rain are making for a less than ideal morning. We have our last Tinkergarten class of the
What Makes Us Itch? – A Science Lesson
Last weekend we had our first really nice summer-like day of the year. There was lots of sunshine, it was warm, and there was little
Five Fun Science Games for Kids
I’m taking my daughters to a science museum today. Thinking about the museum and the interactive displays that they have got me thinking about some
Lessons for World Bicycle Day
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I love to go for long bike rides. That’s why I’m excited
Use Google Drive to Comment on PDFs, Images, and Videos
Google Drive can be used to store just about any kind of file that you have. What a lot of people overlook is that you
Newsletters vs. Blogs and Social Media – Thoughts for Tech Coaches
A few weeks ago a reader reached out to me for advice on creating a tech tips newsletter for her staff. Specifically, she wanted to
Games for Students to Play to Improve Their Typing Skills
A few days ago I published a short video about an interesting way to improve your typing skills while reading classic literature. That video prompted
Fun Science Lessons for Students and Parents to do This Summer
Today is the first day of June and even though it was only 44F when I woke up this morning, summer is on my mind.
Menus, Backgrounds, and Videos – The Month in Review
The month of May has come to a close. I can tell by the traffic patterns on my blog that many of you have started
How to Quickly Remove and Replace Image Backgrounds
At the start of the month I featured four tools for removing image backgrounds. To end this month I have one more cool tool to
What is Lightning? – Another Question from My Daughter
On Saturday we had the first thunderstorm of the summer at our house. I made it back from a bike ride just as the thunder
Improve Your Typing While Reading Classic Literature
There is no shortage of typing games available on the web (find 700 of them right here). Most of those games are based on rote
How to Archive Google Classroom
The end of the school year is here or at least very near for most of us. Google Classroom users will probably want to archive
Two Ways to Quickly Turn Writing Into Videos
Last week I shared some observations from evaluating the websites of a handful of relatively large school districts. In that blog post I mentioned that
History, Book Reports, and the Great Outdoors – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where a light drizzle is providing a damp start to the weekend. Despite the weather we’ll still have fun at our
Five Concepts You Can Teach Through Geocaching
Geocaching is one of the things that I spend a good bit of time talking about in both my workshop and in my webinar about
Five Virtual Tour Creation Projects for Students
Google’s old VR Tour Creator offered a great way to create virtual tours that could be viewed in your web browser and or in the Google
Ten Topics in Teaching History With Technology
My popular Teaching History With Technology course begins next week. There is still time to register right here. There are ten big topics that will be covered in
Big Mistakes in Cartography
When I taught geography one of the first topics that I covered was map projections and how some of them can distort how we view
How to Create a Custom Theme for Your Google Site
Do you use Google Sites for your classroom website? Do you have students use it for classroom projects like making digital portfolios? Are you tired
Three Observations About Quality School District Websites
This morning I spent a couple of hours looking at the websites of relatively large school districts. These are my thoughts and observations after viewing
How to Make a Google Form
YouTube Studio has an interesting analytics feature that shows you what people are searching for on your YouTube channel. It will also show you something
Getting Started With Jamboard – And Ideas for Using It In Your Classroom
This morning I received an email from a reader who wanted to know if I had a video about the basics of using Google Jamboard.
A Teacher’s Guide to Creating Common Craft Style Videos
Yesterday, I published a post about a live course that I’m teaching in June. If you’re looking for something that is self-paced, Common Craft offers
Videos for Teaching and Learning About Memorial Day
Next Monday is Memorial Day. Students often confuse the origin and purpose of Memorial Day with those of Veterans Day. The following videos can help
Alternatives to Book Reports – A Post Inspired By My Daughter
My five-year-old daughter has a healthy obsession with the According to Humphrey the Hamster series of books. She got one of the books for Christmas
Teaching History With Technology – Online Course Starting in June
This summer I’m not hosting the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. I am, however, hosting a some online courses for those who are interested. The
The Homestead Act and a Research Prompt
Last Friday the document of the day on the Today’s Document from the National Archives blog was a copy of the Homestead Act passed on
Classroom Posters – The Rules of Civil Conversation
When I taught civics learning to create sound, well-reasoned arguments and present them in a calm manner was a significant goal in every course. I
Menus, Maps, and Broadcasts – The Week in Review
Good morning from western Maine where the warm weather is supposed to returned after a couple of cold and rainy days. We’re planning to have
Five Google Earth Activities to Get Kids Interested in the Outdoors
In last week’s Week in Review I mentioned a new book titled Outdoor Kids in an Inside World. In the book Steven Rinella presents a