Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
How to Use Yo Teach! to Create a Classroom Backchannel
On Friday I wrote an overview of a new backchannel tool called Yo Teach! It’s a great alternative to the much-loved, but now gone, TodaysMeet.
Poetry 180 – A Poem for Every Day of the School Year
Poetry 180 is a Library of Congress project that was created when Billy Collins was the U.S. Poet Laureate. The purpose of the project is
Image Search, Posters, and Buttons – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine on the first day of September. September in part of the world is the start of fair season. I can almost
Virtual Manipulatives for Mathematics Lessons
Toy Theater is a website that offers a huge library of online games that students can play to hone their skills in language arts and
Classroom, Games, and Books – The Month in Review
Good afternoon from Maine where it is a beautiful late summer day. I don’t know about you, but I always feel like August passes too
Yo Teach! – A Great Alternative to TodaysMeet
Since TodaysMeet was shuttered in June I have fielded lots of emails and Tweets from teachers looking for alternatives to it. I have been suggesting
Three Short Lessons About the Origins of Labor Day
This weekend, Labor Day weekend, is the unofficial end of summer. After this weekend nearly all students and teachers will be back in school. If
250 Google Tools Tutorials for Teachers
A few years ago I decided to start making video tutorials for the many Google tools that I write about on this blog and feature
Another Small, Convenient Update to Google Sites and Google Forms
Earlier today I shared the news of the new option to add buttons to Google Sites. This afternoon Google announced another small update to Google
A Science Lesson for Dog Owners
As regular readers of this blog know, I love dogs. But as much as I love them there is one habit that I wish “man’s
How to Create an eBook on Book Creator
On Tuesday I shared five ideas for making ebooks with your students. Book Creator is a great tool for making those ebooks. With Book Creator
Google Sites Has a New Design Component
The “new” version of Google Sites (it has been out for two years) has a new design component that you can use to make navigation
Join Me Tomorrow Evening to Get Organized With Google Classroom and More
Tomorrow at 7pm EDT I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled Get Organized With Google Classroom, Calendar, and Keep. In the webinar I will
Anchor Adds New Ways to Craft Podcasts
In the last year Anchor.fm has become my go-to recommendation for easily creating podcasts with students. The web version of Anchor.fm lets you record, edit,
How to Quickly Add Page Numbers to Long Google Documents
Since Sunday evening when I published the 2018-19 Practical Ed Tech Handbook I have had a couple of people ask how I added the page
A New Way to Add Google Keep Notes to Google Documents
Last year Google added the option to insert your Google Keep notes into your Google Documents. That feature made it easy for students who use
View Upcoming Google Classroom Assignments in Google Docs
A new little side panel option recently appeared in my Google Docs. In fact, it appeared while I was in the middle of a workshop
5 Ideas for Making Multimedia eBooks With Students
For many years Book Creator was my go-to recommendation for teachers who wanted to have their students create multimedia ebooks on iPads. So when the
G Suite and Chrome Accessibility
Accessibility options for G Suite for Education services and Google’s Chrome browser have improved in the last couple of years. If you use these services
ClassDojo Releases Three New Features for the New School Year
If you’re a ClassDojo user, you should have recently received an email about three new features that have been added for the 2018-19 school year.
Get Your Copy of the 2018-19 Practical Ed Tech Handbook
Last night subscribers to the Practical Ed Tech Newsletter were sent copies of the 2018-19 Practical Ed Tech Handbook. This annual publication is a free,
Use This Chrome Setting to Save Your Laptop’s Battery
Even though it has improved in the last year, Google Chrome is still notorious for draining laptop batteries. This is particularly true when you have
Tips on What to Include in Digital Portfolios
During the course of the school year our students will create some fantastic digital artifacts. Building a digital portfolio is a greatway for students to
Emojis, Citations, and Tech Fails – The Week in Review
Good evening from Maine where a few more red leaves are appearing every day. As the summer winds down I’ve take a couple of afternoons
Find Relevant YouTube Videos With These Search Tools
Last week I shared some tools for displaying YouTube videos in your classroom without showing all of the distracting comments and sidebar materials found on
For New Google Slides Users: Import Your PPT Slides
If you’re making the switch from a Windows desktop/laptop environment to a Chromebook environment this year, don’t abandon your old PPT and Word files. You
A Couple of Reminders About Email Etiquette
Two things prompted this post. First, this week I have received a dozen or more emails from teachers who didn’t bother to write anything like,
The Answers to 5 Questions Frequently Asked by New Chromebook Users
Thanks to a reader named Barbara I was reminded of a short video that I made a couple of years ago for new Chromebook users.
Three Tools to Help Students Understand Classroom Noise
I like the sound of a classroom full of kids talking and working together on projects. But there are times when students need to be
New Artifact Collections Added to DocsTeach
DocsTeach is one of my go-to recommendations for anyone who teaches U.S. History at a middle school or high school level. The site offers a
How to Add Emojis to Google Docs – And a Classroom Activity
Thanks to the influence of Tony Vincent I’ve started to see the utility of adding emojis to documents and graphics. Scroll through Tony’s Twitter feed and
How to Create a Bibliography With MyBib
Earlier this week I learned about a new bibliography creation tool called MyBib. MyBib is an open source project. Unlike some of the big names
5 Google Slides Editing Tips
Google Slides has come a long way since its early days as a bare-bones slideshow tool. Today, it is packed with features. Some of those
Kahoot Adds New Features for Teachers
Kahoot has just announced a feature that teachers have requested for a long time. You can now upload a spreadsheet of questions to create a
A Great Example of a Teacher and Student Working Together
A couple of years ago I was contacted by a teacher just down the road from me in Portland, Maine who had developed an online
Get Organized With Google Classroom, Calendar, & Keep
If you have been following this blog throughout the summer, you know that Google has made a bunch of updates to Classroom. If you haven’t
Five Chrome Extensions for Teachers and Students
Extensions for Google Chrome can do all kinds of helpful things for you and your students. This is the time of year when teachers who
How Submarines Work
SciShow Kids is one of my favorite YouTube channels for kids. SciShow Kids publishes a steady stream of science lessons for elementary school students. The
MyBib – A Free Citation Generator
MyBib is a free, open source citation generator that rivals similar services that charge a subscription fee. MyBib can create citations and bibliographies in a
The Return of My Favorite Forms Add-ons – And One That Never Left
On Saturday morning I shared my delight in discovering that the CheckItOut Google Forms add-on is working again. That’s not the only one of my
What To Do When Your Classroom Technology Fails
In my previous post I highlighted five things that you can do to make sure that your classroom technology is ready for the new school
5 Back-to-School Tech Tips for Teachers
The new school year has now started for almost everyone. And if it hasn’t started in your area, it will be starting soon. In the
Fake News, Books, and Audio Slides – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it is good to be home after two weeks of travel for back-to-school workshops. Nothing says “back to school” quite
Create a Word Search on ABCya
ABCya is known for their many educational games available to play in your web browser or as stand-alone iOS and Android apps. ABCya also provides
How to Create a Comment Bank in Google Classroom
Google Classroom got a bunch of new features this summer. One of those is a new option to create a comment bank to use when
Check It Out – CheckItOut for Google Forms is Back!
CheckItOut is a Google Forms Add-on that makes it easy to keep track of the things that you let kids borrow from your classroom. It’s
Participate – Create and Share Collections of Resources
Participate offers a variety of free professional development resources for teachers. Last month I featured one of their free online book clubs. Today, I’m featuring
5 Ways to Display YouTube in Class Without “Related” Content
One of the questions that I’m frequently asked at the beginning of the school year goes something like this, “do you know how I can
Great Tips & Reminders for Securing Your Mobile Phone
Many students use their smartphones more often than their laptops to browse the web, shop, and access important files. That’s why we need to teach
Six New Layout Options for New Google Sites
Whether you like or not, the old version of Google Sites will soon go the way of the dinosaurs. The new version of Google Sites,
How to Create a Backchannel Chat
For most of the last decade I recommended using TodaysMeet to create backchannel chats. In June TodaysMeet shut down. Since then I have been using
60 Second Adventures in Economics
The Open University hosts a series of six short videos intended to introduce viewers to some of the basic concepts of macroeconomics. In 60 Second Adventures
Blue Snowball Microphone – Takes a Lickin’ and Keeps on Tickin’
I have been recommending Blue Snowball microphones for many years. They provide outstanding audio quality for not a lot of money. And they have always
Factitious – A Game That Tests Your Ability to Spot Fake News
Factitious is a game for testing your skill at identifying fake and misleading news stories. The game was developed by the American University Game Lab
Free Webinar – How to Create DIY Explainer Videos
A decade ago Common Craft introduced the world to a new style of explanatory videos. That style which came to known as the Common Craft
Your Next Read – Webs of Book Recommendations
Your Next Read is a site that provides you with a web of book recommendations based on the authors and books you already like. Here’s how
Best of the Web Summer 2018
This morning I had the privilege to visit the Lewis County C1 School District in Missouri. One of the presentations that I gave there was
An Animated Shark Tracking Map – How Far Do Sharks Roam?
Years ago I included a shark tracking Google Earth layer in my workshop about Google Earth. It provided a good example of how Google Earth
How to Manage Installed Chrome Extensions
During a workshop that I was leading this week someone asked me how she could remove some of the extension icons that were displayed in
Google Classroom, Jeopardy, and Scratch – The Week in Review
Good evening from Paris Hill, Maine where I’m home after a week on the road in which I facilitated professional development for teachers in Kansas
SeeSaw’s Android App Has New Features for Students and Teachers
SeeSaw is one of my favorite tools for creating and maintaining digital portfolios. In fact, I featured it in a workshop that I facilitated yesterday.
56 Examples of Using Scratch Across the Curriculum
Scratch is one of the ed tech tools that I always mention in my Built to Last presentation. That presentation is an overview of ed
How to Record Audio in Google Slides
The Audio Player for Slides Chrome extension was recently updated with some features that teachers have wanted for years! First, you can now use the
Add Music to Play Continuously in a Google Slides Presentation
A couple of weeks ago I published a video about how to use the Audio Player for Google Slides Chrome extension. That extension was updated
Find Some Flipgrid Pals for Your Classroom #GridPals
In addition to the new features in the mobile app, the Flipgrid website has a new feature for teachers. That feature is the #GridPals tab
Certify’em Has New Options for Automatically Issuing Certificates from Google Forms
Certify’em is one of my favorite Google Forms Add-ons. With Certify’em activated you can automatically issue certificates to students when they get a passing (or
Flipgrid’s Mobile App Now Has Basic Editing Options
Buried in amongst the other Microsoft EDU announcements that were made this week was the news that Flipgrid’s mobile app was updated. The latest version of
SpeakPipe Adds New Landing Pages for Gathering Voice Recordings
SpeakPipe is a service that I have used and recommended for many years. It’s a service that provides you with the ability to collect voicemail
Rubric Grading and Ten Other New Microsoft for EDU Features
Google wasn’t the only tech giant to release new tools for teachers and students this week. Microsoft has also announced eleven new features for teachers
A New Place to Learn About Google Forms
The Google for Education Teacher Center has a new section called Welcome to Your First Day of Google Forms. In this section you will find
Two New Google Classroom Features Available to Everyone
Back in June Google announced that Google Classroom would be getting a bit of redesign along with some helpful new features. Initially, the new design and
How to Create a Jeopardy-style Game in Google Slides
I think I was in the second grade the first time that I played Jeopardy-style review game. More than three decades later playing Jeopardy-style games
ClassTag’s Marketplace Opens Tomorrow – Enter to Win Free Supplies
Last month ClassTag announced that they were launching a Marketplace through which teachers can earn classroom supplies and other products as rewards for having a
A Free Presidential Timeline Poster for Your Classroom
For the last few years C-SPAN Classroom has offered a free poster depicting a timeline of American presidents. That offer is back for the 2018-19
Videos, Scratch, and Fly Fishing – The Week in Review
Good evening from rainy Paris Hill, Maine where I’m home after a few days of fly fishing. It was nice to get away and recharge
Use Flipgrid to Publish Instructional Videos
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
10 Overlooked Google Docs Features
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
How to Use Google Slides to Create Interactive Diagrams
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Take a Look at Microsoft’s Free Hands-on STEM Lesson Plans and Projects
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Five Observations Students Can Record With Google’s Science Journal App
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Ten Free Apps for Elementary School Math Lessons
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Free iPad Apps for Creating Animated Movies
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Add Science & Math Simulations to Your PowerPoint Slides
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Check Out NASA’s Interactive Guide to the Solar System
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
A Distraction-free Way to Search and Watch YouTube
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
How to Use Google’s VR Tour Creator
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Five Tools for Creating Animated Videos on Chromebooks
The new school year will be here soon and I haven’t taken a break all summer. I’m taking a short break from the Internet to
Scratch 3.0 and a New Creative Computing Curriculum Guide
Earlier this summer I shared the news that Scratch 3.0 would be available in a beta form in August. August is still a couple of
GIFs, Forms, and Math – The Month in Review
Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on July. As I do at the end of every month I’ve put together a list
Try Using Icebreaker Tags at New Staff Orientation
The new school year is almost here and that means there will be new staff orientation meetings are happening everywhere. Rather than using generic name
A Short Guide to Getting Started With Google Drive
Six years ago I published a short PDF that contained directions for getting started using Google Drive. I still get requests for that document even
Join Me Tomorrow for 5 Ways to Blend Technology Into Outdoor Lessons
Tomorrow afternoon at 4pm Eastern Time I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled 5 Ways to Blend Technology Into Outdoor Lessons. I hosted this
7 Ways to Make Animated GIFs
Whiteboard-style videos and Common Craft-style videos can be a great for helping students understand big concepts in short, easy-to-follow videos. But for smaller concepts, an animated
GIFs, Whiteboards, and Slides – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the heat, humidity, and rain combined to cancel our morning plans. Mason doesn’t even want to go outside. In the
150+ Tips for New Teachers
One of the best things about being a teacher is the support that you can often find from colleagues in your own building and, increasingly,
How Does Air Conditioning Work? – A Lesson for the Dog Days of Summer
Here in northern New England we don’t handle hot and humid weather well. The first heat wave of the summer always sends people scrambling to
Brush Ninja – Make Animated GIFs on Your Desktop or Mobile Device
Brush Ninja is a free tool for creating animated GIFs. Unlike some similar tools, Brush Ninja works equally well in the web browser on a
Take a Look at TypingClub’s Unique Approach to Typing Practice
TypingClub is a site that offers an extensive set of typing lessons for students. On TypingClub you’ll find lessons that use a traditional approach to
Climate Kids’ Big Questions Teaches Students 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