Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
Join Me for a Free Webinar This Thursday – Two Ed Tech Guys Take Question & Share Cool Stuff
This Thursday at 4pm ET Rushton Hurley and I are hosting Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. You can register for
Some of my Favorites – Flipgrid Whiteboard
This week is school vacation week here in Maine. I usually take this week off to go ice fishing on Moosehead Lake. Unfortunately, that’s not
Some of my Favorites – Talking With Mr. D!
This week is school vacation week here in Maine. I usually take this week off to go ice fishing on Moosehead Lake. Unfortunately, that’s not
Some of my Favorites – Canva Comics
This week is school vacation week here in Maine. I usually take this week off to go ice fishing on Moosehead Lake. Unfortunately, that’s not
Some of my Favorites – Knowt!
This week is school vacation week here in Maine. I usually take this week off to go ice fishing on Moosehead Lake. Unfortunately, that’s not
Some of My Favorites – MIT App Inventor
This week is school vacation week here in Maine. I usually take this week off to go ice fishing on Moosehead Lake. Unfortunately, that’s not
Music, QR Codes, and Cold – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’re going to have another cold and snowy weekend. Every morning this week was below zero (Fahrenheit) when I let
Three Easy Ways for Students to Make Short Audio Recordings – No Email Required
Earlier this week I answered an email from a reader who was looking for suggestions for tools that her elementary school students can use to
Whiteboard.chat – Create Online Whiteboards You Can Share and Monitor
Back in September I wrote a review of a new online whiteboard tool called Whiteboard.chat. I like it because it allows teachers to create whiteboards
ClassTools Wikipedia Timeline Generator – Create and Edit Timelines
Russel Tarr, a history teacher and developer of ClassTools.net, recently released a new template called the Wikipedia Timeline Generator. This free tool will take a
How to Customize Video Playback in PowerPoint
Whether it’s to illustrate a point, to tug at heart strings, or to provide comic relief a good video clip can help move a presentation
Wakelet Adds Reactions
Wakelet is a service that continues to add useful features for teachers and students. One of the ways that I like to use Wakelet is
How to Create Animated Valentine’s Day Cards
On Wednesday I shared a video about how to make edible glass candy hearts. That activity could get messy in your classroom or kitchen. If
How to Edit Master Slides in Google Slides
Twice in the last week I’ve received questions from readers about Google Slides. In both cases the questions were related to using fonts and color
Edible Glass Hearts and Other Lessons About Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is this coming Sunday. My daughter’s preschool is having a little celebration on Friday during which little cards will be exchanged. She’s very
70 Lesson Plans About WWII
A few years ago I visited the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. If ever have a chance to visit, take it! I spent about
My NASA Data Story Maps – Lesson Plans Based on NASA Data
A few weeks ago I published a summary of nine neat NASA resources for teachers and students. Shortly after that I received an email from
Fun Activities for Snowy Days
We’re finally starting to see snow accumulation here in Maine that is typical for our winters. We had a big storm last week followed by
The Easiest Way to Create QR Codes for Google Forms
Last fall I published a video and blog post about using QRCode Monkey to make QR codes for Google Forms. Doing that makes it easy
How to Give Yourself a Grace Period in Gmail
Have you ever hit “send” a bit too quickly when writing an email? Have you ever accidentally sent an email to the wrong person or
Poetry, Music, and Zoomed-out – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s going to be a chilly and sunny winter day. We had nearly two feet of fresh snow fall this
Filters, Captions, and Other Zoom Features You Might Have Missed
A few weeks ago I published an article in which I mentioned that Zoom didn’t have a native transcription or captioning feature. Within minutes of
Three Good Resources for Teaching With Primary Sources
I’m currently developing a new version of my popular online course, Teaching History With Technology (you can see a preview last year’s course here). Part of
Magnetic Poetry With Google Jamboard and Google Classroom
Earlier this week a reader emailed me looking for an alternative to Read Write Think’s old Word Mover activity which is no longer available because
Musical Explorers World Map
Carnegie Hall hosts some excellent online instructional resources for music teachers. One of those resources is called Musical Explorers Around the World. Musical Explorers Around
How to Create a Privacy Zone in Strava
A couple of weeks ago I created a Strava group for teachers. Since then a few dozen people have joined an even more people have
How to Create Posters and Embed Them Into Your Google Site
Canva has been my go-to tool for making posters, infographics, video covers, and social media graphics for most of the last eight years. Over the
How to Use Pictures in Flippity Templates
Flippity is a free service for making games, flashcards, and timelines with Google Sheets. I’ve been using and recommending it for years. In fact, my
How to Share Videos in Google Classroom Without Using YouTube
Earlier this week a friend asked me for some help sharing videos in Google Classroom. He wanted to share videos without having to upload them
Coverr – Free B-roll Video Clips
Coverr is a relatively new website that is offering free B-roll video clips that you can download and reuse in your own projects. Most of
GeoQuiz – How Many Countries Can You Identify?
GeoQuiz is a new geography game website that was featured on Product Hunt a couple of days ago. GeoQuiz is a simple game that just
Spaces – Digital Portfolios With Asynchronous Breakout Rooms
Disclosure: Spaces is a new advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com Spaces is a new digital portfolio tool that offers some unique features that teachers and students will
A Handful of Super Bowl Themed Educational Resources
The Super Bowl is happening this coming weekend. My prediction is that the Southern Affiliate of the Patriots Tampa Bay will win. And while this year’s Super
The Most Popular Posts of the Month – Ending With a Flood!
Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on the last day of January. The first month of the year went much too fast.
How to Embed a Section of a Video Into Canvas Courses
On Friday afternoon I received an email from a reader who was looking for a little help embedding YouTube videos into Canvas. Specifically, this person
Games, DJs, and Exercise – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s a brisk 4F outside. My dogs wasted no time coming back to the house when I let them out
Snoopy in Space – Lesson Plans About Space and More
From a very young age I’ve enjoyed Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and all of the characters in Peanuts. Watching Charlie Brown specials and reading the Peanuts
Dotstorming Gets an Updated Look and Easier Navigation
Dotstorming is a multimedia collage tool that has some neat voting and discussion features built into as well. I used it for a few years
ICYMI – Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions – Episode 30
Last week Rushton Hurley and I hosted the first 2021 episode of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff (we’re seeking suggestions for
A Good Video Series for Introducing Arduino
Earlier this week I shared how I used Tinkercad to introduce my students to key concepts in Arduino design and programming. One of the supplementary
Book Creator Now Offers More Templates and Themes
At the end of last year Book Creator introduced a new couple of new features (new fonts and new color options) and hinted that something
How to Save Your Zoom Meeting Annotations
Last week a colleague asked me if there was a way she could save the sketches that she made for students during her Zoom calls.
A Map Projection Game, Video, and Lesson Plans
Last week I shared a new Crash Course about geography. One of the first videos in that course tackles the question “what is a map?”
Muted Notifications During Google Meet Calls
There’s a new Google Meet feature that those who utilize pop-up notifications will probably like. Now when you’re sharing your screen in a Google Meet
See Video, Chat, and Notes at the Same Time in Microsoft Teams
Mike Tholfsen has released a new video that teachers using Microsoft Teams for online instruction should be excited to see. In this new video Mike
Introducing Arduino in a Pandemic
Watching my students design and build Arduino projects is one of the things that I enjoy the most about my job. We’ve just gotten to
Citizen DJ – A Free Tool for Remixing Music and Spoken Audio
Citizen DJ is a free tool for remixing and creating new songs from audio files that are in the public domain. The tool was developed
How to Edit Your Videos by Typing in Type Studio
On Friday morning I published a blog post about a new video editing tool called Type Studio. At the end of the blog post I
Tips to Help Busy Teachers Get and Stay Fit
This article originally appeared on one of my other blogs, EdTechFitness.com. In December of 2018 I was the biggest I’ve ever been in my life.
G Suite Audio, Accessibility, and Timelines – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we play outside even if it’s cold and snowy. Sometimes that means doing traditional snow activities like skiing and sledding
My Big List of Padlet Tutorials
On Thursday morning I published a video about how to use Padlet to create multimedia timelines. As I mentioned in Thursday’s blog post I’ve been
Type Studio – A Truly Unique Way to Edit Your Videos
Type Studio is a new video editing tool. When I used it for the first time yesterday I actually said aloud, “Whoa! That’s Awesome!” What
What is a Map? – And a New Crash Course in Geography
For as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed looking at maps. Whether it’s a standard Mercator projection printed on paper or a digital map,
How to Create a Multimedia Timeline With Padlet
Yesterday morning I published a list of my recommended tools for creating multimedia timelines. Padlet is one of the tools that I included in that
For My Fellow Runners and Bikers…
As some of you know I’m an avid cyclist (6300 miles last year) and occasional runner (mostly when I’ve lost my mind). I keep track
ReadWorks Adds an Offline Mode for Students
ReadWorks is a non-profit service that I’ve been recommending for years. It is a free service that provides high-quality fiction and non-fiction articles and lesson
20,000 Teachers Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way
About seven years ago I noticed that “too many updates” was the most common reason for people unsubscribing from the emails from this blog. To
Six Good Tools for Making Multimedia Timelines
Creating timelines has been a staple in history teachers’ playbooks since the beginning of history. Writing a timeline is a good way for students to
My Favorite Chrome Extensions Right Now – And What They Do
It’s a fairly regular occurrence that people watch one of my screencast videos and then ask me what all of the extensions are that appear
How to Quickly Record Audio in Google Slides, Docs, and Classroom
Last week I wrote a short overview of a new Chrome extension called Mote. In that blog post I focused just on the aspect of
How to Check and Edit the Accessibility of Word Documents
In my previous post I shared directions on how to assess and edit the accessibility of PowerPoint presentations. The tool that I featured in that
How to Quickly Check and Improve the Accessibility of Your PowerPoint Slides
In this week’s Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week newsletter I talked about making virtual presentations accessible to those who rely on captioning. Many
Free Webinar This Thursday – Two Ed Tech Guys Take Question & Share Cool Stuff
Last spring, summer, and fall Rushton Hurley from Next Vista for Learning and I hosted a free webinar series called Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions
Time, Space, and Exercise – The Week in Review
(Not my house). Good morning from Maine where I’m hoping for snow. It has been a couple of weeks since our last snow storm and
Mote – An Easier Way to Add Audio to Google Slides
Mote is a new Chrome extension that I learned about from one of Greg Kulowiec’s Tweets earlier this week. With Mote installed in your Chrome
Lava Lamps and Security
Network and data security is something is emphasized throughout the year in my Introduction to Networking course. To spark discussion in the class, I often
Flowcharts in my Classroom Today
One of the courses that I’m teaching this year has an emphasis on computer repair and support of computers in a small business environment. Documenting
How to Use Your Android Phone as a Document Camera
Around this time last week I published a short blog post about a new iPhone called Overviewer that turns your iPhone or iPad into a
Microsoft EDU – You’ve Got Questions, He’s Got Answers
Many times over the last year I’ve mentioned Mike Tholfsen from Microsoft and his many Microsoft Teams tutorial videos. His YouTube channel is really the
Full Episodes of National Geographic Specials
I’ve been a fan of National Geographic for as long as I can remember. I got hooked early in elementary school by looking through the
Doodle for Google 2021 – “I am strong because…”
The Doodle for Google art contest is back for the 13th year in a row! This year’s theme is “I am strong because…” Just like
New Google Meet Tools to Help You Improve Call Quality
Google has added a new tool to Google Meet to help you answer the question, “why is Google Meet call quality so bad?” Now when
Wolfram Alpha for Social Studies
Trying search tools besides Google is one of the ideas that I feature in Ten Search Strategies Students Need to Know. Wolfram Alpha is one
Tax Help for High School Students
Yesterday afternoon one of my students said, “Mr. Byrne, how do you do taxes?” It was one of those questions and moments that embodies the
How Many People Does it Take to Make a Cup of Coffee?
I drink a lot of coffee! Thanks to the timer on my coffee maker my day usually starts by smelling freshly brewed coffee at 4:47am.
Nine Neat NASA Resources for Students and Teachers – Updated
Years ago I published a list of nine neat NASA resources for students and teachers. At the time the list was current. Over the weekend
New Microsoft Teams Features for 2021
When it comes to learning about the latest features of Microsoft Teams there is no one better to follow than Mike Tholfsen. I’ve mentioned him
Four At-home Science Experiments for Kids
Winter in Maine has lots of short and cold days. While I take my kids outside for sledding and skiing as much as possible, we
Annotations, Document Cameras, and Exercise – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s going to be nice day with clear skies and temperatures peaking around 30F. In other words, it’s going to
Daily Artifacts of U.S. History
Earlier this week I was catching up on some RSS feeds in Feedly when I came across this drawing from the patent application for the
Ten Time-savers for G Suite for Education Users
Do you have a New Year’s resolution to exercise more, read more, or just spend more time doing something fun? If you’re a G Suite
How to Give Self-grading Quizzes to Students Who Don’t Have Email Addresses
Yesterday afternoon a reader sent me an email to request help creating and distributing self-grading Google Forms quizzes to her students who don’t have email
Every U.S. Election Through 2012 Explained
The events of the last 24 hours in Washington DC have stirred emotions in nearly all of us. This morning my students wanted to talk
Overviewer – Turn Your iPhone or iPad Into a Document Camera in Zoom
Thanks to a recent article on The Verge I just learned about a new, free iPhone and iPad app called Overviewer. Overviewer is a free
Virtually Explore America’s Quietest Roads
America’s Quietest Roads is an interactive map created by a road traffic analytics company called Geotab. The map features the quietest state or federal highway
Google Docs Comments Now Include Autocorrect and Smart Compose
Smart Compose is a feature of Gmail and Google Docs that some people dislike, but I love it. I know that it saves me time
Video – How to Annotate Your Screen in Google Meet
Last week I wrote a blog post about drawing on or annotating your screen during a Google Meet call. The way to do that is
Seven Apps and Sites to Encourage Healthy Diet and Exercise Habits
It’s that time of year when many of us have healthy eating and exercise on our minds. Even if you’re a regular exerciser like me,
My Favorite Feature of OneNote’s Chrome Extension
OneNote is the Microsoft product that I use more than any other in my daily work and personal life. I have it installed on my
Boomwriter’s Writing Bee – A Unique Creative Writing Contest for Kids
Disclosure: Boomwriter is currently an advertiser on my blog. Boomwriter’s Writing Bee is a free event that takes a unique approach to inspiring elementary and
A Demonstration of Sworkit Kids
Just before the winter (summer) holiday break I published a short article about using Sworkit Kids to lead your students in fun brain break activities
How to Add a Dynamic “Latest News” Section to Google Sites
A couple of weeks ago a reader emailed me with a question about creating a Google Site that her colleagues could comment on. She wanted
How to Add an Announcement Banner to Google Sites
The “new version” of Google Sites that was released in 2016 is finally the only version that is available. And now Google seems intent on
Whiteboards, Drawings, and New Snow – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where fluffy snow is falling from the sky in the early morning hours. My kids will be excited to see it
Draw on Your Screen in Google Meet
Annotate Meet is a Chrome extension that lets you draw on your screen during a Google Meet call. A reader named Eli mentioned it to
A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit
It’s the first day of 2021! Have you made a New Year’s resolution to curtail your junk food habit or quit a similar bad habit?
How to Create Your Own Online Memory Games
As I do every year, I’m taking this week off from writing new blog posts. This week I’ll be re-running a few of the most
Three Ways to Share Docs in Google Classroom – When to Use Each Method
As I do every year, I’m taking this week off from writing new blog posts. This week I’ll be re-running a few of the most
How to Make Digital Bookshelves in Google Slides
As I do every year, I’m taking this week off from writing new blog posts. This week I’ll be re-running a few of the most