Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
Reducing Stress Through Tech – Podcast
Earlier this week I had the pleasure to be a guest on podcast hosted by Paulie Gavoni and Drew Carter. Their podcast is called The
NearbyWiki – A Mapped Display of Wikipedia
NearbyWiki is a new website that displays Wikipedia entries on an interactive map. The purpose of NearbyWiki is for visitors to learn about buildings, statues,
TARA – A Planning Tool for New and Veteran Teachers
TARA is a new tool designed to help you streamline your lesson planning process. It was designed by a couple of teachers for teachers. Earlier
Broadcast Google Slides Directly to Your Students’ Computers
A few weeks ago I wrote about and published a video about using Display Note to broadcast your computer screen directly to your students’ screens.
An Interactive Map of the Roman Empire
A few years ago I wrote about a must-bookmark resource from Stanford University for history teachers and students. That resource is called ORBIS and it
New Google Docs Features You Might Have Missed
This spring (fall for my friends in the southern hemisphere) Google has added some new features to Google Docs. I’ve written about a couple of
The National Archives to Host Online Professional Development This Summer
The National Archives offers many excellent resources for history teachers. For example, they recently published a new guide to understanding perspectives in primary sources. And
Ziplet Now Integrates With Microsoft Teams
Ziplet was one of my favorite tools in 2021. Ziplet has a few features that make it an outstanding tool for conducting online exit ticket
A Crash Course in Decisions About College
The folks at Crash Course have developed a new channel and series of courses called Study Hall. One of those courses is called How to
Two Easy Ways to Support This Blog
The popularity of my blog has waxed and waned over the years. But for nearly fifteen years I’ve published new blog posts almost every day.
How to Use Google Maps and Street View in Canva Presentations
This blog post and video is the result of my failure to get another service, that won’t be named, to do what I hoped it
Add Dropdown Menus Into Sentences In Google Docs
A couple of weeks ago I shared some information about the new project planning templates in Google Docs that include dropdown menus. Today, I’d like
Videos, Certificates, and Birds – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we have gone from it feeling like it was barely spring to feeling like it’s the middle of summer in
A Cool Lesson for a Hot Spring Day – How the Popsicle Was Invented
It was 86F here in Maine yesterday. In the afternoon my kids had popsicles outside for the first time in 2022! That prompted my five-year-old
The Season Finale of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions
In case you missed it, yesterday afternoon Rushton Hurley and I hosted the season finale of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff!
WeVideo and Vimeo Offer Great Tips for Recording and Editing Videos
Thanks to mobile devices and wealth of video editing tools we can all be video producers today. But creating a good video requires more than
A Good Place to Find Old Maps Online
Old Maps Online is an online map that you can browse and search to find historical maps to view online, to download, and to print.
How to Create an Online Course With Three Simple Tools
Summer is coming (in the northern hemisphere) and for many of us that means spending some time participating in professional development activities as a leader,
SplashLearn – More Than Just Fun Math and ELA Practice
When an email about SplashLearn splash landed in my inbox last week I didn’t give it much thought because I get dozens of pitches every
Living Wage vs. Minimum Wage
Last night I was reading a discussion on FlyerTalk that got into the question of whether or not tipping should be an expectation of hotel
How to Create and Send Personalized Certificates in Google Workspace
As we get close to the end of the school year you may find yourself needing to create and distribute certificates to students. These could
Another Easy Way to Create End-of-Year Slideshow Videos
Yesterday I shared three quick and easy ways to create end-of-year slideshow videos. Shortly after I hit publish on that blog post I realized that
Three Tools for Quickly & Easily Creating End-of-Year Slideshow Videos
In my weekly newsletter I mentioned that a sure sign that the end of the school year is near always lands in my inbox as
How to Create Your Own Virtual Reality Tours
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about and gave a video demonstration of how to lead students on virtual reality tours with Expeditions Pro.
Create Location-based Reminders in Google Keep
Other than the Chrome web browser, Google Keep is the app that I use more than any other on my Pixel 5 phone (a phone I
Two Webinars Coming Up This Week
The sun is shining, summer is so close, but there’s still time to learn some new things to try in your classroom before the end
Drawings, Templates, and Deer – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’re recovering from the destruction of our tulip garden at the hooves and teeth of some whitetail deer. We’ll be
Understanding Perspectives in Primary Sources – A New National Archives Resource
Once they understood the difference between a primary and secondary source, helping students understand the context, meaning, and purpose of primary source documents was one
Science Friday is a Must-bookmark for Science Teachers
Science Friday is a must-bookmark for teachers and students of science. As the name implies, every Friday a new batch of podcast segments about a wide
Gmail Settings to Avoid Embarrassment
We’ve all done it, you hit “send” on an email then realize you misspelled an important word or you click send and realize that you
Three Registration-free Drawing Tools for Students
Tools like Google Jamboard and Explain Everything can be great for creating drawings to illustrate concepts. They can also be good tools for students to
Electric Lessons – Energy 101
The ski mountain that is about ten miles down the road from where I live has a large array of solar panels. Their goal is
Filmstrips and Rubber Trees
This morning as I was braiding my five-year-old daughter’s hair she was playing with one of seemingly ten thousand hair ties that we have in
New Google Docs Templates for Project Management
For years I’ve used tables in Google Documents to help students organize group notes and to keep track of who is doing what in group
Blending Technology Into Outdoor Learning
On Monday we had our first truly warm and sunny spring afternoon here in western Maine. I went fly fishing for a little while on
How Not to Cite an Image Source – Eight Years Later
I originally wrote this blog post eight years ago. I was reminded of it yesterday when I saw a similar top ten list to the
Visual Dictionaries for Kids
Now that my daughters are learning to read I have a new and better appreciation of importance of good visual aids as they learn new
Quick and Easy Ways to Remove Image Backgrounds
Removing the background from an image is a good way to protect your privacy and that of people who might unintentionally be in the background
Book Widgets Now Offers Digital Rubrics
BookWidgets is a service that I wrote about back in October. When I wrote about it then, it offered dozens of templates for creating interactive
The Most Popular Posts in April
April 2022 has come and gone. Where there was snow on the ground at the start of the month there is now some green grass
Badges, Takeout, and Dubbing – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining and it might get above 60F for the first time in a long time. We’re going
Mentimeter – Share Slides and Poll Your Class on One Screen
Mentimeter is an online polling and quiz tool that I’ve used since its launch over a decade ago. In that time it has evolved and
50 Ideas for Summer Workshop Sessions
Are you a tech coach, tech integrator, or media specialist who has been asked to run some summer workshops for your staff? If so, I
DisplayNote – Broadcast Your Screen to Your Students’ Computers
DisplayNote Broadcast is a free tool for broadcasting whatever is on your screen to the screens on your students’ laptops, iPads, and phones. One of
Digital Empowerment Journals for Students
A few weeks ago I shared a collection of resources for fun physical education activities. That collection featured free resources for National Field Day organized
How to Download and Reuse Google Drive Files
Yesterday I published a post about using Google Takeout to download the contents of your Google Workspace account before leaving a job. If you only
How I Dubbed My Video About Creating a Professional Development Series
If you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel, you probably noticed that my latest video was dubbed into Spanish. No, I didn’t suddenly become fluent in
Changing Schools After This Year? Use Google Takeout Before You Go
In the last week I’ve had a couple of people reach out to me for advice on what to do with their Google Drive files
How to Use Calendly and Zoom Together
A few days ago I published a blog post about how I was able to streamline my appointment scheduling process. In that post I wrote
A New PowerPoint Recording Option
For a couple of years now I’ve been using and recommending Canva’s presentation recording tool because it has a built-in teleprompter. That feature lets you
Five Videos to Build a Google Forms Course
Yesterday I published a blog post about creating an online course with ConvertKit. A couple of weeks ago I published a blog post about building
Three Great Ways to Create Online Exit Ticket Activities
This morning I received a question from a reader of my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. She wanted to know what I would suggest as an
How to Create an Online Course With ConvertKit
A couple of weeks ago I published a video and blog post about how to create a professional development series in Gmail. The method that
More Adobe Spark Alternatives
The Best Adobe Spark Alternative was one of last week’s most popular posts here on Free Technology for Teachers. The alternative that I recommended in
One Simple Tool Streamlined My Appointment Scheduling Process
For as long as it has been available I’ve used appointment slots in Google Calendar when scheduling meetings with colleagues and or students. That works
Snow, Turtles, and Maps – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining, the grass is starting to turn green, and spring feels like it’s here to stay. It
New Chrome Web Store Badges Might Help You Pick Better Extensions
Earlier this week Google announced a new badge program for developers who make Chrome extensions. The program is supposed to make it easier for end-users
Pickles, Popcorn, and More Food Science
Like many four-year-old children, one of my daughters is a picky eater. Cucumbers are one of the only vegetables that she’ll eat these days. She’ll
An Update to Unraveling an Email Scam
About a month ago I published a video and blog post in which I explained the process that I used to unravel an email scam
How to Create an Online Yearbook
Earlier this week a reader sent me an email asking for suggestions for free tools that she can use to create an online yearbook. I
Reasonable Colors – Get Help Picking Accessible Color Schemes
Reasonable Colors is a new open-source project developed by Matthew Howell. The purpose of the project is to help developers and others choose high-contrast, accessible
The Best Adobe Spark Alternative
In the last two weeks I’ve had a handful of people email me to ask for alternatives to Adobe Spark for creating videos. I’m taking
How to Mirror an Android Phone to a PC or Mac
In this week’s Practical Ed Tech Newsletter I included a video in which I simultaneously displayed my Android phone’s screen and iPad’s screen on my
How to Create a Custom Map on an iPad
Yesterday morning I answered an email from a reader who wanted to know if it was possible to create Google Earth projects on an iPad.
A Handful of Resources for Teaching and Learning About Earth Day
This Friday is Earth Day. Here’s a handful of resources to consider using if you find yourself looking for some resources to help your students
Ten Fun Things for Students to Map
Last week I published a video about how to record a Google Earth tour in your web browser. That’s just one of many tools that
It’s Patriots’ Day! Resources for Learning About the Start of the American Revolution
Today is Patriots’ Day here in Maine, in Massachusetts, and in a handful of other states. It’s a day to mark the anniversary of the Battles
Expeditions Pro – Guide Students on Virtual Reality Tours
Last year many of us were disappointed when Google announced the closure of their Expeditions program. Shortly after that announcement a new company popped-up to
How to Record a Google Earth Tour in Your Web Browser
The online version of Google Earth has improved a lot since it was first launched back in 2017. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t have a built-in
Poetry, Design, and SEL – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where overcast April weather has returned after a beautiful Friday afternoon of riding bikes with my kids. Despite the weather we’re
Eight Good Tools for Hosting Online Brainstorming Sessions
Earlier this week I shared a new video that I made about hosting online brainstorming sessions on Padlet. Of course, there are other good tools
Create Audio Slideshow Videos With Phideo – No Registration Required
Phideo is a new online tool for creating audio slideshow videos. As the title of this post states, registration is not required in order to
We’ve Got Worms! And More Questions from My Daughters
Earlier this week we had some relatively warm days and were able to do a little spring yard work. My daughters like to try to
Three Good Tools for Creating Infographics
Yesterday morning I got an email from a reader who was looking for some suggestions for tools that her eighth grade students could use to
A Good Source of U.S. History Lesson Starters
When I taught U.S. History one of my go-to methods for starting classroom conversations about a new topic or unit was to give my students
How to Host Online Brainstorming Sessions on Padlet
Padlet is a tool that I’ve used for well over a decade to conduct all kinds of online activities including making digital KWL charts, hosting
Four Convenient Classroom Timers
I’ve always taught in schools that use a block schedule. The shortest blocks being 80 minutes and the longest ones being 240 minutes! Therefore, I’ve
Let Me Host Your Next Professional Development Session
Later this month I’m hosting webinars for two organizations that purchased a bunch of copies of my 50 Tech Tuesday Tips eBook. I would be happy to
How to Create a Professional Development Series in Gmail
As we head into the last part of the school year some of us are starting to think about and plan professional development activities for
The Mystery Pollinator!
This morning my local television news station broadcast a segment about hummingbirds and when to put out hummingbird feeders. We always put out a few
ICYMI – Two EdTech Guys Take Questions
Last week Rushton Hurley and I hosted another episode of our Two EdTech Guys Take Questions webinar series. If you missed it, you can watch the recording right
Tract Offers Fun Ways to Wrap-up the School Year
Disclosure: Tract is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com At this time last year my students were starting to get antsy and I was starting to think
A Free Design Skills Course for Students
As you probably know, I am a huge fan of Canva. I use it on a daily basis to create YouTube thumbnails, presentations, and teaching
Seven Activities for National Poetry Month
A little Twitter conversation last week reminded me that the start of the baseball season is full of hope and for all but one team
Five Image Editing Features Built Into Google Slides
Regular readers of my blog probably know that I’m a big fan of using tools like Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud Express, and Pixlr to edit
Librarians, Logic, and Learning – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’re excited for the first day of Tinkergarten even though the weather forecast has some rain in it. Tinkergarten is
Three Ways to Create Simple Portfolio Websites
We’re nearing the point in the school year that many of us start to think about activities for students to do to summarize their highlights
The Geography of Baseball Fans
The Major League Baseball season started yesterday. This morning while I was flipping through some highlights of yesterday’s games, I was reminded of a neat
Create Your Own USGS Maps
Earlier this year I highlighted the galleries of free to use and re-use media that the USGS hosts. Earlier this week I was back on
50 Tech Tips and a Tech Tuesday Webinar
Every month this year I’ve hosted a webinar for people who have purchased a copy of 50 Tech Tuesday Tips. I’m doing the same again next
Annotate PDFs With Lumin PDF – Free for Teachers
Lumin PDF is a neat tool that I wrote about a couple of years ago when one of my colleagues needed a way for her
A Few Good Resources for Learning How Blockchain Works
For the last year or so whenever I watch a sporting event on television there are advertisements for cryptocurrency exchanges. It has even pervaded niche
My Updated Guide to Finding Media for Classroom Projects
Two Sundays ago my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter was all about finding pictures, videos, and sounds for classroom projects. As a part of that newsletter
Five Helpful WriteReader Features for Teachers and Students
Disclosure: WriteReader is currently an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com. WriteReader is a great platform for online creative writing projects. It has many features that make it
Social Studies Teachers! One Month Left to Apply for an Awesome Fellowship
I shared this news back in January, but that feels like so long ago now that some tulips are starting to poke out of the
The Math and Science of Baseball
Tomorrow is the opening day of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. I’m excited to watch the Red Sox beat the Yankees tomorrow afternoon! If
Using Branching Logic in Microsoft Forms to Provide Directions
Branching logic is a great feature in Microsoft Forms that can be used to direct people to specific questions or further information based on how
Free Webinar This Thursday!
This Thursday at 4pm ET/ 1pm PT Rushton Hurley and I will resume our Two EdTech Guys Take Questions webinar series. It’s free and open
Thank Your School Librarians! And Ask Them for Help!
While looking at the Kikori SEL calendar I noticed that today is National School Librarian Day! Many of you who read this blog are school