Fresh Tech for Teachers
Join Me on Wednesday for a Live Q&A
I get a lot of emails from readers who ask all kinds of questions related to educational technology. I try to answer as many of
Important Changes for Those Who Follow in RSS and Email
Those of you who follow this in an RSS reader like Feedly or Flipboard may have recently noticed a change in the way that the
An Educational Game About Animal Habitats
Habitats is an educational game from the Smithsonian Science Education Center. The online game challenges elementary school to match animals to their habitats. In the
Weather, Keynote, and Flying – The Week in Review
Good afternoon from Paris Hill, Maine where the sun is shining and my daughters are napping. Their naps should give me just enough time to
Wiggle & Stomp – A Fun App for Learning About Animals
Shutterbugs Wiggle and Stomp is an educational game produced by the Smithsonian. The purpose of the game is to help children recognize the movements of
ClassHook’s Pause Prompts Let You Add Questions to Existing Videos
ClassHook is a great service for finding video clips to use in your classroom. ClassHook clips come from well-known movies and television shows. You can
Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp FAQs Answered
Earlier this month I opened registration for the 2019 Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. The super-early registration discount ends next week. If you’ve been wondering
eMammal Lite – Practice Identifying Animals and Learn Where They Live
eMammal Lite is an online activity based on the wildlife photographs on the Smithsonian’s eMammal site. eMammal was previously known as Smithsonian Wild. All of the
Ten Things You Can Learn at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp
This year’s Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp is designed for two purposes. First and foremost, it is intended to give K-12 teachers, tech coaches, and
Built to Last – A Look at What Works in Ed Tech
This morning I had the honor of giving the opening keynote at the SET-BC District Partner Conference in Vancouver. The title of my talk was
How to Find More Free Images to Use in Adobe Spark Videos
Adobe Spark is one of my favorite free tools for creating videos. It works well on Chromebooks and any other laptop that is using a
A Helpful Search Refinement Option for Students Studying Trending Topics
Earlier this month I published Ten Search Strategies Students Should Try. An eleventh strategy that students can try when they are researching current events, trending
A Comparison of Blogging Services for Teachers and Students
The Edublogs Student Blogging Challenge kicks-off two weeks from now. You don’t need to be an Edublogs user in order for your students to participate
An Online Lab for Learning About Weather Patterns and Forecasts
The Smithsonian Science Education Center’s Weather Lab is one of many online learning activities produced and hosted by the Smithsonian. The Weather Lab is designed to help
Presidents Day Sale on Practical Ed Tech Webinars
One of the ways that I keep the lights on at Free Technology for Teachers is through the sale of online training webinars on my
Whiteboards, Valentines, and Adventure – The Week in Review
Good morning from Paris Hill, Maine where the snow has stopped and the sun is shining. It’s a perfect day to go snowshoe festival. That’s
Free Lessons on Developing Speaking and Listening Skills
The BBC’s Skillswise website offers many good activities for learning and practicing skills in language arts and mathematics. A section of the site that could
Try the Random Name Picker on ClassTools
Random Name Picker is a free tool from Russel Tarr at Classtools.net. Random Name Picker lets you input names and spin a virtual wheel to have
A Guide to Blogging Terminology
In my previous post I shared some information about the upcoming Edublogs Student Blogging Challenge. If you’re new to blogging or it has been a
The Next Student Blogging Challenge Starts Soon
Blogging can be a great way to get students interested in writing and publishing their work for an audience. The challenges of classroom blogging have
How Ocean Currents Work – And 24 Other Lessons About Oceans
How Do Ocean Currents Work? is a TED-Ed lesson that makes a fantastic addition to TED-Ed’s list of lessons about oceans. The list now has
ReadWorks Now Offers Illustrated eBooks
ReadWorks, a fantastic free service for ELA teachers, recently added new illustrated ebooks to their library. These illustrated ebooks can be used in the same
FAQs About the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp
Earlier this week I sent out an email about super-early registration for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. Some people have already jumped on that
A Handful of Resources and Ideas for Valentine’s Day Lessons
Valentine’s Day is only a couple of days away. If you’re looking for some last minute activities to do in your classroom, take a look
New Features are Coming Soon to Your Gmail Inbox
Last year Google added Smart Replies to all Gmail accounts including those of G Suite for Education users. The Smart Replies feature has become quite
Try These 6 Things When a Website Doesn’t Work as Expected
In the last week I’ve fielded a half-dozen emails from readers who were experiencing problems with web tools not working as they expected. This seems
How to Use Keynote to Create Choose Your Own Adventure Stories
Last week I published a video about using Google Slides to create choose your own adventure stories. That prompted a couple of people to ask
Six Online Whiteboard Drawing Tools
Thanks to an email from a reader I was alerted that a few of the online whiteboard tools that I have reviewed in the past
Search, AR, VR, and Stories – The Week in Review
Good morning from cold and windy Maine. How windy? In the words of my two-year-old, “soooo windy!” Before sharing the list of the week’s most
How to Use Google Slides to Create Choose Your Own Adventure Stories
Google Slides has lots of little hidden features and overlooked tools that students can use to make all kinds creative presentations. One of those overlooked
Building Models to Understand Brain Injury – A Hacking STEM Project
I’m still working through many of the notes that I took during the 2019 BETT Show that wrapped up in a London a couple of
What is Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality?
Go to any educational technology conference or ed tech blog today and you are bound to encounter augmented reality and virtual reality products. They’re the
Anchor Has Been Acquired by Spotify
Anchor, one of the best new podcast creation tools to emerge in the last few years, has been acquired by Spotify. In an email sent
How to Use Location-based Reminders
I started this year with a goal of improving my fitness. As I wrote on January 2nd, I use Google Keep to set reminders to
Building Image-based Search Challenges
On Monday I wrote about a couple of image-based search challenges that I do with students. I use those challenges as a way to get
A Couple of Free Online Alternatives to Audacity
On Monday someone Tweeted at me a request for an alternative to Audacity that his students could use online to record and edit audio tracks.
Tracing the Evolution of Phones – A Google Scholar Practice Activity
Google Scholar can be an excellent place to find articles from academic journals. Articles from academic journals aren’t the only things that students can search
Two Image-based Search Challenges to Use With Your Students
One of my favorite ways to reinforce the use of good search strategies to students is to show interesting pictures and have students try to
Search Strategies, PDFs, and the Super Bowl
Good morning from Maine where I’m not doing anything particularly exciting other than brewing up a batch of chili to have during the Super Bowl
Ten Search Strategies Students Should Try
Students often think that because they can type a phrase into Google or saying something aloud to Siri they know how to search. Of course,
Taskade – Collaboratively Create Meeting Notes and Task Lists in One Place
Taskade is a task management tool that you can use on your computer, phone, or tablet. The service is collaborative because you can invite other
How to Use Audio or Video in Your Sub Plans
The other day I saw a meme that read, “a teacher never realizes how much they do until it’s written down in sub plans.” Many
Videos, Image Editing, and G Suite – The Month in Review
Good morning from frigid South Paris, Maine. As I posted in an Instagram story, this morning it’s so cold that even in my office I’m
Two More Lessons in TED-Ed’s “Why Should You Read…” Series
Last fall TED-Ed started publishing a series of lessons titled “Why Should You Read…” The series features TED-Ed lessons that explain the significance of classic
CleverPDF Offers 20 Ways to Work With PDFs in Other Formats
CleverPDF is a free service that anyone can use to convert a PDF into a Word document, a Pages file, or an ePub file. That’s
Six Educational Activities That Have a Super Bowl Theme
The Super Bowl is this weekend. My prediction is that the Patriots will win. I’m guessing that my American readers have a student or two
Common Craft Explains Podcasting
The development of easy-to-use podcast production tools like Anchor and Synth have contributed to the proliferation of podcasts in the last few years. The ways
Take Your Class On a NFL Virtual Field Trip
The Super Bowl is happening this weekend. If your students have an interest in football, you might be interested in a virtual field trip that
The Sunset for Classic Google Sites Has Been Extended to 2021!
Last year Google announced a timeline for the shutdown of the classic version of Google Sites. That announcement called for the classic version of Google
How to Make Room in Your Google Docs Dashboard
One of the participants in my current Getting Going With G Suite course asked me about how to change the layout of her Google Docs
What’s the Difference Between England, Great Britain, and United Kingdom?
Since I’ve just returned from a trip to London, I figure it’s a good time to revisit one of my favorite geography videos. That video
How to Create a Self-grading Quiz from Google Classroom
This afternoon I received an email from a reader who had watched one of my YouTube videos about Google Forms. She wanted to know if
A Few of My 2019 BETT Show Highlights
On Friday evening after spending the day at the 2019 BETT Show I recorded a video of my observations of walking through the maze of
The 2019 Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp
After putting it on hiatus last year, I’m happy announce that the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp is returning this July! Registration is now open
PhotoScissors, STEM, and BETT – The Week in Review
Good evening from terminal five in Heathrow airport. I’m waiting for my flight home after spending a couple of days in London for the annual
Free PDF Containing 30 Pages of Illustrated Vocabulary Lessons
I get what feels like zillions of emails every day from companies that I have never heard of. 90% of them go straight to the
More Good News for Remind Users – And a Bit of Bad News
Last night I shared the great news that Verizon has reversed their policy on the fee that they were going to start charging Remind to
Boclips – Millions of Ad-free Educational Videos
Today at the BETT Show Bethany Beaudrie introduced me to a new educational video provider called Boclips for Teachers. Boclips hosts more than two million
Huge News! No Service Disruptions for Remind Users on Verizon Mobile Plans
Eleven days ago Remind announced that they would be discontinuing delivery of text messages to students and parents who were on Verizon wireless plans. That
Immersive Reader in Virtual Reality
Immersive Reader is one of my three favorite Microsoft products (the others others are Hacking STEM and Flipgrid). Today at the BETT Show I got
2,000+ New Stickers and Emojis Are Being Added to Flipgrid
Today at the BETT Show I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Charlie Miller. You might not know his name, but you probably know the
I Don’t Like Vegetables – A Free Book About Eating Vegetables
One of my favorite parts of the BETT Show is the section called BETT Futures. BETT Futures is comprised of small stands of small start-ups.
Three Good Places to Find Hands-on STEM Activities
On a fairly regular basis I’m asked for recommendations for hands-on STEM activities. In fact, just this morning I answered an email from a reader
Share Rubrics and Other Improvements to Microsoft Teams for Edu
Back in August rubric grading was added to Microsoft Teams for Edu. With that feature enabled you can attach rubrics to assignments for students to
Students Can Create Their Own Tours to Share in Google Expeditions
Googles’ Tour Creator launched last spring and since then has become one of my favorite tools for history and geography classes. One of my few
JotForm Offers a Great Way to Collect Registrations for Summer Camps and Field Trips
Summer might feel far away right now, but those of us who organize summer camps and summer field trips are already getting into full planning
How to Change Google Classroom Notification Settings
Earlier today a subscriber to my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter asked me if it was possible to change the frequency of Google Classroom notification emails.
Lego Launches Their 2019 Master Educator Program
Lego Education is one of the vendors whose stands that I always enjoy visiting at big education conference like the BETT Show (I’ll be there
Vizor 360 is Now Free for All – Create Interactive 360 Imagery
Vizor offers great tools for creating interactive 360 imagery. I’ve previously covered their Patches program for creating animated VR because that was the free service
You Can Now Publish Entire Book Creator Libraries
Book Creator, one of my favorite tools for creating multimedia ebooks, has announced a new publishing option that many teachers have requested. Book Creator now
Here’s How Parents Can Receive Text Notifications in the SeeSaw App
In all of last week’s kerfuffle about Remind and Verizon it got lost that there are other ways for students and their parents to receive
A Master List of Resources About Microsoft’s Inclusive Classroom Tools
Microsoft offers many excellent tools that improve the accessibility of documents, web pages, PowerPoint presentations, and other online media. Many of those tools are included
How to Use PhotoScissors to Remove the Background from Any Image
In yesterday’s Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week I shared directions for using Remove.bg to take the background out of selfies and then use
A Virtual Amusement Park About Molecules
The NanoSpace Molecularium is a nice educational game produced by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It is available to play in a web browser and is available as an
Remove Image Backgrounds With PhotoScissors
PhotoScissors is a free image editing tool that you can use to remove the background from your images. PhotoScissors is available to use for free
How to Print Google Slides
One of the frequently asked questions during my Getting Going With G Suite workshop is “can I print Google Slides like I can print my
37 People Signed Up for #EdTechFitness Challenges This Week
One of the new projects for 2019 that I am most excited about is my new Ed Tech Fitness site. As I shared at the
Remind, Timelines, and Landmarks – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of the biggest snow storm of the year. The forecast for where I live calls
Colds, Flu, and Boogie Wipes – Timely Science Lessons
As anyone who has heard me speak this week can attest, I’m getting over a miserable cold. I’m not the only one as this cold
Despite Earlier Reports, Verizon Hasn’t Reversed All Fees to Remind
Yesterday EdSurge ran a story about Verizon promising to reverse course on the fees it is going to charge Remind to deliver text messages. The
5 Good Tools for Creating Timelines
The video I posted earlier this week that demonstrated how to use Canva to create timelines sparked a couple of reader emails about other options
Picture Yourself in Front of Any Landmark With Remove.BG and Google Slides
Last weekend I published a video about Remove.bg and it has certainly been a hit with many readers. I’ve received a lot of comments and
Recap is Shutting Down in June
Back in October Swivl, the parent company of Recap, announced that they would be discontinuing the Recap service at the end of January. In response
New Features Added to Synth – Simple Podcasting for Students
Synth is one of my favorite new ed tech tools of the 2018-19 school year. If you’re familiar with what Synth does, it provides a
The WWII Museum Announces D-Day Electronic Field Trip
This year is the 75th anniversary of D-Day. This spring the WWII Museum (a must-see for anyone visiting New Orleans) is hosting a virtual field
Anyone Can Learn to Type Thanks to Typing Club’s Accessibility Settings
Typing Club is a free typing instruction site that offers some unique features for students and teachers. One of those features that I covered in
DuckDuckGo + Apple Maps = Private Map Searches
DuckDuckGo, the search engine that claims to not track your searches, has announced an integration with Apple Maps. According to the announcement this integration will
Now Booking Summer Workshops
Good morning from cold and snowy Paris Hill, Maine. I know that right now June feels a long way away, but I’m already planning my
A New Look is Coming to Google Slides, Sheets, Docs, and Sites
The next time that you open Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, or Sites you might notice some changes to the look of the editing and design
How to Use Canva to Create a Timeline
Canva is one of those great tools that the more time you spend with it the more cool features you discover in it. One of
The History of Science
The History of Science is a Crash Course series that just came to my attention when I stumbled onto The Atomic Bomb: Crash Course History
Search and Save Videos Within Wakelet
Wakelet is quickly becoming a popular tool for bookmarking and note-taking individually and or collaboratively. You can use Wakelet to create collections and sub-collections of
How to Save Time When Posting Social Media Updates
Yesterday, I saw quite a few Tweets and Facebook posts along the lines of “I’ll just use social media updates now” in response to the
Free Alternatives to Remind – Spoiler Alert! They’re Limited
This morning the educational technology community was buzzing with the news that Remind is going to stop offering free text message delivery to those users
A Huge Change Coming to Remind – No More Texts for Verizon Subscribers
Many of us woke up to an announcement from Remind that they are going to discontinue text message delivery for teachers, students, and parents who
More Free Webinars from the Council for Economic Education
The Council for Economic Education has recently published their schedule of free professional development webinars that they are hosting in the first five months of 2019.
Upcoming Conference Appearances
Throughout the year I conduct many professional development workshops in schools and libraries. Usually, those events are not open for public registration. But I also
Doodles, Footnotes, and Literature – The Week in Review
Good morning from frigid Maine where it’s -5f and the wind is howling! In other words, it’s a perfect day to shovel snow off my
How to Remove the Background from Your Pictures
Thanks to the ever-clever Tony Vincent this week I learned about a neat tool called Remove.bg. Remove.bg is a free tool that will remove the