Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
Woodrow Wilson’s Mother’s Day Proclamation and the History of Mother’s Day
According to President Woodrow Wilson’s proclamation in 1914, the second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day in the United States. As the second Sunday in
8 Options for Making Digital Maps
In yesterday’s post about English Heritage’s Map of Myth, Legend, and Folklore I included a mention of using StoryMap JS to create interactive maps. That prompted
Twelve Tools for Creating End-of-Year Review Activities
The sun is shining and I had my first flip-flops sighting of the year this morning. That means the end of the school year can’t
Give Video Feedback in the Otus LMS
Otus is a learning management system that I’ve watched evolve from a relatively simple iPad app into a full-fledged LMS that can be used on
An Interactive Map of English Myths and Legends
Thanks to the Maps Mania blog I just learned about English Heritage’s Map of Myth, Legend, & Folklore. The interactive map feature a couple of
Three Ways to Create Digital Collages to Summarize the School Year
The sun is shining, the weather is warming, and kids are getting antsy. That combination means that the end of the school year is drawing
How to Add a Calendar to an Edublogs Page or Post
Having a calendar page on your classroom blog is a good way to help keep your students and their parents informed about upcoming events and
Forms, Expeditions, and RSS – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where I’m looking forward to a fun day of playing outside with my daughters. Earlier this week I took a day
5 Ways to Quickly Create Audio Slideshows for End-of-Year Events
Around this time every year I start to field a bunch of emails from readers who are looking for advice on how to quickly create
Invite a Friend to Newlearn.io to Win an Amazon Gift Card
Disclosure: Newlearn.io is currently an advertiser on this blog. Last week I wrote about a newer service for finding and sharing standards-aligned teaching materials. That
5 Google Earth Pro Tips for Teachers and Students
Google Earth is currently available in a few different versions. There is the web browser version that was built for use in Chrome and Chromebooks.
What is RSS? How Can You Use It?
This is the last thing that I’m going to publish about this ridiculous copyright infringement debacle I’ve been dealing with for a week. But as
How to File a Copyright Claim With Google
In my previous post I detailed the copyright debacle that has consumed way too much of my mental energy and way too much of time
How to File a Copyright Infringement Complaint With Facebook
I frequently deal with websites that are plagiarizing my work. Usually, I deal with sites that are plaigiarizing my work by simply sending them a
DIY Apps, Email Tips, and Video Lessons – April’s Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining on the first day of May. After an extremely stressful five days of dealing with a
ICYMI – Google Team Drives Are Being Renamed to Shared Drives
From the department of, “Google’s always changing something,” yesterday Google announced that Team Drives are going to be renamed as Shared Drives. Depending upon the
How to Re-use a Google Forms Quiz
Last night a reader named Melissa emailed me with the following question, “Is there a way to get rid of scores on a Google Form
Taskade 2.0 – Collaborative Notes + Video Chat
At the end of January I published a video overview of a neat collaborative notes and task management tool called Taskade. Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo’s
5 Tips for New Google Expeditions Users
Image copyright: Richard Byrne Google Expeditions is often the first educational virtual reality tool that I introduce to teachers who come to one of my
Live Nature Webcams – Lambs, Eaglets, Piglets, and Calves, Oh My!
Image copyright: Richard Byrne Last night while I was working on a list of alternatives to YouTube I found myself distracted by the live nature
Mobile Apps, Copyright, and Flipgrid – The Week in Review
Good evening from rainy Maine where I spent part of the day pumping water out of the basement of my 170 year old house. I
Checkology – Lessons in Being Discerning Media Consumers
Checkology is a website designed to help students learn to be discerning consumers of online, print, and television media. Checkology has a free version and
ClassHook Offers a New Way to Organize Educational Videos
ClassHook is quickly becoming one my favorite tools for teaching with video clips. In fact, I recently included ClassHook’s Pause Prompts feature in my Best
More About Sub-image Searching
Last week I wrote a post about using the search strategy of sub-image searching to identify the meaning of the lettering on a tea set
How to Remove the Default Navigation Bar on Blogger Blogs
Blogger provides anyone who has a Google account with a quick and easy way to start a blog. I have been using it for more
How to Create Individualized Online Spelling Games for Your Students
Last Sunday I published a written overview of how to use Flippity’s Spelling Words template to create individualized online spelling games for your students. The
Spring and Summer Professional Development Opportunities With Me
As some of you know, the primary funding for Free Technology for Teachers comes through the sale of my Practical Ed Tech webinars and workshops.
Google Earth Timelapses and Historical Imagery
Google Earth Pro (the desktop version of Google Earth) has offered historical imagery for many years. You can access that imagery by selecting the timeslider
This is a Copyright Infringement
If you have been following my blog for more than a few months, you’re probably already familiar with my ongoing battle against copyright infringers all
ReadWorks Offers a Split Screen to Help Students Complete Assignments
ReadWorks is a free service that provides high-quality articles and lesson plans for K-12 ELA teachers. Every article on ReadWorks is accompanied by a lexile score
Newlearn.io – Search and Share Resources by Standard
Newlearn.io is a free social network for finding and sharing free teaching materials according to Common Core standard or keyword. Resoures that you find through
A New Way to Access Google Slides, Docs, and Sheets Offline
Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets have had an offline mode for many years. Enabling offline access for those tools takes just a minute (watch this
Only Six Seats Left!
The snow is gone here in western Maine! It won’t be long now until we’re breaking out the shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops. As
Four Free Tools for Creating Your Own Mobile Apps
Creating a mobile app can be a great way to get students interested in learning programming concepts and to get them to dive into researching
5 Ideas for Using Glide to Create Your Own Mobile Apps in Your School
The most popular video on my YouTube channel last week was this one about how to make your own mobile apps through a free service
More Than 17,000 Teachers Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way
Over the last ten years the most common reason that people give me for unsubscribing to the blog is “too many updates.” That is why
13 Flipgrid Tutorial Videos – #FlipgridFever
Flipgrid is a free video response service that has become massively popular in the last couple of years. Everywhere that I go, including today’s visit
AP Government Review Resources – Kahoots and Quizlets from C-SPAN Classroom
AP exam season will be here soon. As they have done for the last five years, C-SPAN Classroom will be hosting a live Cram for
Create Individualized Spelling Games Through Flippity Spelling Words
Flippity’s Spelling Words is a free Google Sheets template that you can use to create individualized spelling games for your students. To do this you
DIY Apps, Patriots’ Day, and Taxes – The Week in Review
Good evening from rainy Paris, Maine. If April showers bring May flowers, I’m going to have a nursery on my hands in a couple of
A Flipgrid Feature That is Often Overlooked
Earlier this week I was leading a workshop about making videos with students. The first part of the workshop included using Flipgrid. One of the
Two New Options in Google Classroom’s Classwork Page
This week Google added a couple of frequently-requested features to Google Classroom. Those features are automatically placing the latest work at the top of the
How to Use Google’s Dataset Search Tool
Yesterday, I wrote an overview of Google’s relatively new Dataset Search tool. It is a tool that is designed to help users locate publicly available
How to Measure Distances & Share Google Earth Views
Thanks to YouTube’s “on this day” feature last night I was reminded that two years ago I published a video overview of what was then
Edublogs Explains How to Handle Student Blogs at the End of the Year
The end of the school year will be here before too long. For many of you it’s only about six weeks away. If you and
What Is Turbulence? – A Physics Lesson You Can Feel
At the end of 2018 I shared a half-dozen resources for learning about the science of flight. This morning I watched a new TED-Ed lesson
Google Dataset Search – Locate Publicly Available Datasets
Google Dataset Search is a search tool that I learned about this week during one of Daniel Russell’s presentations at the TLA conference. Google Dataset
Sub-image Search – A Strategy for Answering “What Is This?”
Image Credit: Becky Willough Earlier this week I had the good fortune to sit in on two presentations at TLA given by Daniel Russell. He
Best of the Web – The TLA Edition
Greetings from the Austin, Texas airport where I’m waiting for a flight home after a great three days at the TLA annual conference. I gave
How to Make Your Own Mobile App
On Tuesday morning I published a post about great service called Glide that enables anyone who can make a Google Sheet to make his or
A New Way to Customize Google Slides
Earlier this month Google announced a huge update to Google Slides in the form of native support for audio files. Yesterday, Google Slides got another
Glide – Make Your Own App by Just Making a Spreadsheet
Glide is an amazing free tool that I featured in a presentation during yesterday’s TLA Tech Glamp. Glide enables anyone who can make a spreadsheet
A Few Resources for Learning About Income Taxes
Tomorrow is the deadline to file income taxes in the United States. If you have high school students, some of them may be filing taxes
Pictures of the American Revolution – And Other Resources for Patriots’ Day
Tomorrow is Patriots’ Day in Maine and Massachusetts. The day commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord. As a New Englander this is a good
Only Seven Seats Left!
The snow is almost gone here in western Maine. It won’t be long now until we’re breaking out the shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops.
Spring, Winter, and a New Look – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’re hoping the sun comes out today like it did last weekend. Of course, after last weekend’s warm weather we
The Google Science Journal App Now Saves Data in Google Drive
Google’s Science Journal app is one that I regularly feature in my presentations and workshops about blending technology into outdoor lessons. With the app (available
Kahoot Adds a Smart Practice Mode
Kahoot has added a new way for students to use the free Kahoot iOS and Android apps. The new way to use the apps is
How to Set Google Drive to Automatically Convert Files
Google Drive is more than just a suite of document, slides, and spreadsheet tools. You can use it to simply store all kinds of files
How to Use The Most Dangerous Writing App
On Monday I wrote a review of a neat tool called The Most Dangerous Writing App. It’s a website that provides a blank canvas to
A Great Email Etiquette Lesson from a Student
This morning, like most mornings, I opened my email to see a bunch of requests for help with various educational technology tools. Half of them
Q&A Recording
Yesterday afternoon, as I’ve done for the last five weeks, I hosted a live Q&A session in which I answer questions that readers have sent
How to Protect a Range in Google Sheets
During yesterday’s live Q&A session I answered a question about sharing a Google Sheet spreadsheet in a manner that would let students edit some, but
How to Mirror Your Android Device to Your Mac or Windows Computer
Whenever I give a presentation about augmented reality or virtual reality I’m asked how I project my Android phone’s screen. Vysor is the product that
Flippity’s Google Sheets Add-on is Back!
On Monday I shared an update from Flippity about their Google Sheets add-on being broken and taken offline because the deprecation of the Goo.gl service.
Braingenie – Math & Science Practice from CK-12
Braingenie is a free service offered by the CK-12 Foundation. Braingenie provides online math and science practice activities for elementary, middle, and high school students.
Five Resources for Teaching & Learning About Mount Everest
April and May is the peak of the climbing season in the Himalaya Mountains. In May many mountaineers will be making their summit attempts on
Word Hippo – Convenient Source of Definitions, Antonyms, Translations, and More
Word Hippo is a nice little tool that students can use to find definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and translations for words. The service also provides students with
Synth Adds Podcast Moderation Features
Synth is an excellent tool for creating short podcasts. In fact, it’s one of my picks for Best of the Web for the 2018-19 school
Join Me Tomorrow Afternoon for a Live Q&A
Tomorrow at 4pm Eastern Time I’ll be going live on my YouTube channel to answer another round of questions from readers like you. If you have a
Important Information for Fans of Flippity
Flippity is one my favorite Google Sheets add-ons. I probably refer people to it more than any other individual Google Sheets add-on. I do that
The Most Dangerous Writing App – Great for Jumpstarting Creative Writing
The Most Dangerous Writing App is a free service that is designed to force you to write without stopping for a preset amount of time.
Seven Good Tools for Creating Word Clouds
The popularity of word cloud generation tools seems to have declined from their peak of about six years ago. None-the-less they are still useful in
Create Text Message Exchanges Between Fictional and Historical Characters
The Classtools SMS Generator is one of my favorite tools from the large catalog of free tools offered by Classtools. The SMS Generator is intended for creating
A Few Good Resources for Earth Day Lessons
Earth Day is a couple of weeks away. Here are a few resources that you might consider incorporating into your Earth Day lesson plans. I’ll
Poetry, Slides, and Interactive Videos – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the spring skiing is awesome! This is a great time of year to be outside in the sun and snow.
How to Create Video-based Lessons
Earlier today I answering a question about uploading videos to EDpuzzle when I realized that I haven’t made a complete tutorial video on how to
What Makes Birds Different Colors? – A Nice Lesson for Spring
The birds are starting to return here in northern New England. It’s always nice to hear the first birds of the spring chirping away early
How to Share Google Slides via QR Code
Earlier this week I published a video and blog post about how to share Google Forms through QR codes. In response to that video a
Questions to Ask When Planning a Classroom Video Project
Making videos can be a great way to get students excited and invested in the process of researching a topic and presenting their findings for
Webinar Next Tuesday – Introduction to AR & VR in Your Classroom
Next Tuesday at 4pm ET I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar designed to introduce you to how to use some augmented reality and virtual
A Chrome Extension for Clutter-free Reading and Printing
Mercury Reader is a Chrome extension that removes sidebar content from articles that you view in your Chrome web browser. It will hide banner ads,
How to Make Interactive Videos
For many years I helped teachers and students use YouTube’s annotations tool to create series of interactive or choose-your-own-adventure videos. Unfortunately, YouTube discontinued that service
A Poem for Every Day of National Poetry Month
Last fall I wrote about the Poetry 180 project hosted by the Library of Congress. Now that National Poetry Month is here, it’s a good
Practical Ed Tech Q&A Recording
This afternoon I hosted another live Q&A session on my YouTube channel and on Facebook. If you missed it, the recording of the session is
How to Set Answer Requirements on Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms is a good tool for creating online surveys and quizzes. Setting answer restrictions is one of the overlooked features of Microsoft Forms. Creating
How to Create QR Codes for Google Forms
Now that Google has shutdown Goo.gl many people have been looking for a new way to create QR codes for Google Forms. Goo.gl was convenient
Join Me This Afternoon for a Live Q&A
Tomorrow at 4pm Eastern Time I’ll be going live on my YouTube channel to answer another round of questions from readers like you. If you have a
Google Slides Now Has Native Support for Audio! Finally!
For years Google Slides users have wanted to be able to add audio to their slides. There have been Chrome extensions that would do it
Poetry Comics from Make Beliefs Comix
April is National Poetry Month. Last week, I shared a couple of Read Write Think resources for helping students create theme poems and shape poems.
How to Use BoClips to Find and Share Great Educational Videos
Back in January I discovered BoClips while walking around the BETT Show in London. It’s an educational video hosting site that has quickly become one
Add-ons, Jeopardy, and Carmen San Diego – The Month in Review
Good morning from Maine where we still have plenty of snow, but it is starting to melt fairly quickly. This month I had the privilege
More Than 14,000 People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way
Every week I record three to five tutorial videos. I’ve been doing this for the last five years. There are now more than 1,000 videos
5 Ways to Blend Technology Into Outdoor Lessons – Spring 2019
As the winter fades and spring begins to bloom here in New England, kids and adults are itching to get outside more often. This is
Math Keyboard and More Updates to Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms doesn’t get as much coverage on this blog as Google Forms, but that doesn’t mean that Microsoft Forms doesn’t have some great features.
Six G Suite Updates You Might Have Missed in March
Every month Google rolls out new features for G Suite and many of their other products. Some of those updates are irrelevant for teachers and
Cards, Assessments, and Poems – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the April showers have arrived a couple of days early. That’s okay because all week long it was sunny and
5 Resources for Teaching and Learning About the Science of Baseball
The Major League Baseball season started yesterday. The Yankees won, boo! The Red Sox lost, double boo! If you have students who are as excited
There’s a Poem for That! – Lessons for National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month. Earlier this week I shared a couple of Read Write Think poetry activities that you can use in elementary school.