Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
What To Do When Your Pictures, Text, and Videos are Stolen Online
For years I’ve written and ranted about websites committing blatant copyright violations. Some of you have been supportive of my rants, thank you. This morning
How to Block an Instagram Account
Tweens and teens love Instagram. Common Sense Media recommends that teens and tweens use the privacy setting to restrict who can follow them on Instagram.
This Little Change Can Save Your Laptop’s Battery
Earlier this morning in my post about customizing your Chrome settings I included the screenshot that you see in this post. That screenshot illustrates an
Customize Your Google Chrome Settings
Google Chrome has many excellent features, provided you know where to find them. If your school has made you switch to a Chromebook, you may
Benefits of Cross-curricular Learning
This post was commissioned by Kids Discover Online. In the course of a typical day you probably find yourself using knowledge and skills from a
Constitution Day Virtual Field Trip to the U.S. Senate
Constitution Day in the United States is this coming Sunday. On Friday, Discovery Education is hosting a virtual field trip to the U.S. Senate. The
Built to Last – Scratch
This fall will mark the tenth anniversary of Free Technology for Teachers. Over those ten years I have reviewed thousands of free resources for teachers and
How to Organize Shelves in Google Books
Creating bookshelves in Google Books is a great way to organize a selection of books around a topic that your students are studying. Think of
The Harvest Moon Explained by NASA
The astronomical start of autumn is less than two weeks away. But this year the Harvest Moon that is typically associated with Fall is occurring
Six Ways to Create Screencasts on Chromebooks
The number options for creating screencast videos on Chromebooks has increased every year since Chromebooks first hit the market. For a while there was only
How to Collaborate to Create YouTube Playlists
Last fall I published a video in which I demonstrated how to collaboratively create a YouTube playlist. The concepts in that video are still valid,
A Chemistry Rap and Five Resources to Help Students Learn the Periodic Table
A few years ago my brother in-law Dr. Nathan Hnatiuk who teaches Organic Chemistry at Cedarville University shared this fun organic chemistry rap video on his
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine. By the time that many of you read this, I will be fly fishing for landlocked salmon on one of my
20th Century World History Declassified
The Wilson Center Digital Archive offers many collections of declassified historical documents. The documents contain memos and transcripts of communications between diplomats and country leaders. The collections
Verifying Twitter Suggestions
Twitter can be a great place to ask for suggestions from other teachers. Almost every day I answer questions from teachers on Twitter. Yesterday, someone
How to Install Backup and Sync for Google Drive
Contrary to what some poorly written headlines will tell you, Google Drive is not going away. What Google did announce this week is the deprecation
Good Resources for Constitution Day Lessons
Constitution Day in the United States is just nine days away. By law, public schools are required to include a Constitution lesson during the day.
Print Dozens of NASA Infographics or Make Your Own
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website contains a large library of infographics that you can download and print for free. The library contains infographics about spacecraft,
National Geographic 101
National Geographic 101 is a nice series of videos produced by National Geographic. The videos in the series provide short (2-5 minutes) explanations of an
5 Simple Things That Can Improve Your Videos
Whether for it is for education or entertainment we are all watching more videos than ever before. YouTube states that more than one billion hours
Introducing Programming to Elementary School Students
Earlier this week a reader emailed me with the following question: How would you introduce / start coding with a Grade 2 and 3 class?
Vocabulary Lists Could Help Your Students Conduct Better Searches
As I mentioned in a video posted earlier today, I have been doing some research about how students search. Specifically, they’re search habits and how
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #17
Yesterday afternoon I recorded a new episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. This is my (usually) weekly live stream in which I answer questions that
How to Make a Blogger Blog Private
Recently, I received an email from a reader who had seen my comparison of classroom blogging tools and wanted to know more about how to
A Handy Google Scholar Search Refinement Tool
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’m working on book. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research for the book through Google
Hack the News With Mozilla’s X-ray Goggles
Mozilla offers some great tools that can help students understand how webpages are created. Thimble is one of those tools that I have featured in
Read2Me – Free Text to Audio Conversion
Read2Me is a free service that will convert a webpage or an uploaded document into an audio file that you can listen to on the
The Practical Ed Tech Handbook for 2017-18
For the last couple of years I have published a free PDF titled The Practical Ed Tech Handbook. Over the weekend I updated it to
Built to Last – Purdue OWL
This fall will mark the tenth anniversary of Free Technology for Teachers. Over those ten years I have reviewed thousands of free resources for teachers
Try the Mega Seating Plan Android App
Last week I suggested using the Mega Seating Plan website as a tool for creating random and or assigned seating charts. Yesterday, I learned that
This is Your Brain on Snapchat
Do you spend a lot of time on Facebook? Do your students spend every spare minute on Snapchat? Have you wondered how this affects your
Join Me Tomorrow for Quick & Powerful Video Projects
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, Get to Know Free Technology for Teachers, workshops and webinars is one means through which I keep this blog running.
Great Writing Prompts for Elementary School Students
Last month Night Zookeeper launched a fantastic creative writing platform called Writing Sparks. Writing Sparks offers timed writing prompts to share with your elementary school
Get to Know Free Technology for Teachers
On a fairly regular basis I get comments on the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook page and in my email that read something like this,
SeeSaw 101 – How to Get Started Making SeeSaw Digital Portfolios
For the last couple of years SeeSaw has been my first choice for a digital portfolio tool. It works well on all platforms and it’s
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good afternoon from sunny Paris Hill, Maine. It was a busy week here and I’m sure it was for you too. As I mentioned earlier
Where to Find and How to Use the New Kahoot Math Games
Earlier this week Kahoot launched a new featured called Kahoot Studio. Studio is a curated collection of math games made by Kahoot and aligned to
How to Find and Use YouTube Embed Codes
You might have noticed that YouTube made some layout changes. One of those changes included altering the sharing menu and moving the location of the
Loom – Screencast on Chromebooks, Macs, and PCs
Loom is a free screencasting tool that works on Chromebooks, Macs, and Windows computers. Loom is a Chrome extension. With Loom installed you can record
How to Share a Portion of a YouTube Video
Over the years I have used videos to recap a lesson, to introduce a new concept, and to spark discussion amongst my students. When sharing
Kahoot Launches a New Collection of Math Games
Kahoot, the immensely popular review game platform, has launched a new component for teachers. The new component is called Kahoot Studio. Kahoot Studio offers curated
The Month in Review – A New Englander’s Favorite Season
The end of August is here and that means that this New Englander’s favorite season is just around the corner. From leaves starting to change
Membit – Augmented Reality Photo Maps
Membit is a neat augmented reality app for use on iPhones. The app lets you place view images superimposed over the current backdrop that you
How to Use Canva to Create Certificates
Canva is a great service for creating all kinds of graphics including collages, posters, greeting cards, and even certificates to print and give to students.
Getting Started With Weebly for Education
There are three services that I recommend more than any others when I am asked for a recommendation for a classroom blog or website tool.
Why Americans and Canadians Celebrate Labor Day
Next Monday is Labor Day. For most of us in the U.S. and Canada this marks the unofficial end of summer. If your students are
Create Random Seating Assignments With Mega Seating Plan
On Sunday evening I shared the Mega Report Writer for streamlining the process of writing narrative reports. The same teacher who developed that tool also
5 Tips for New Google Calendar Users
On Monday morning I shared a few tips for new Google Docs users. This morning I have tips for those who are new to using
The Library of Congress Puts Hamilton’s Papers Online
The Library of Congress has put their collection of Alexander Hamilton’s papers online for the public. The collection of papers includes some of Hamilton’s letters
Front Row Offers New Science Units for the New School Year
Earlier this summer I featured Front Row’s updated social studies units that complemented their existing language arts units. Over the summer Front Row expanded their
Three Google Docs Features New Users Often Ask About
If your school is making the switch to G Suite for Education this year, you probably have a question or two about how Google Docs
Reminder – Searching is a Thinking Skill
Have you ever had a conversation with a student that went like this? Student: “Mr. Byrne, Google has nothing on my topic.” Mr. Byrne: “What
Email Etiquette Reminders for Students
The start of the new school year is a great time to review email etiquette with students. Doing some basic things like adding a proper
Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads? Why Do They Pant?
My old dog Morrison used to tilt is head to his right whenever I would ask him if he wanted to play stick. He wasn’t
Mega Report Writer – Streamline Narrative Report Writing
Mega Report Writer is a free tool designed by a teacher for the purpose of helping other teachers more efficiently write narrative reports. To get
The Week in Review – Isla Turns 1!
Good morning from Maine where we’re getting ready for friends and family to come celebrate Isla’s first birthday. We had a little cake on her
Ask for Fascinating
This is a guest post from Rushton Hurley. Rushton is the founder of my favorite educational video site, Next Vista for Learning. If your term
Kids Discover Online Offers Great Concept Maps
Kids Discover Online offers excellent reference articles for elementary school and middle school students. All of the articles are offered in multiple versions to match
12 Alternatives to Google Image Search – PDF Handout
Google Images is the default search tool for many students when they need an image for a project. But Google Image search does have some
Telling Stories and Illustrating Concepts With Storyboards
Storyboard That is a great tool for creating storyboards, cartoons, and graphic organizers. Yesterday afternoon I hosted a webinar all about using Storyboard That in
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #16
Yesterday afternoon I hosted another episode of my weekly series called Practical Ed Tech Live. During each episode I answer a handful of questions that
Share Your Sutori Timelines in Google Classroom
Sutori, formerly known as HSTRY, is a great tool for creating multimedia timelines. One of its best features is the option to include quiz questions
The Berlin Job – And the Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall is a TED-Ed lesson that was released last week. It’s a fine primer on the basics of the
TinyTap Introduces a New “Houdini” Mode for Educational Games
TinyTap is a great tool for creating your own educational games for students to play on their iPads or on their Android tablets. Earlier this
Phrasal Verbs Friends – Fun Phrasal Verb Videos
One of the challenges that ELL students face is understanding the meanings of phrasal verbs. In the past I have featured a couple of apps
How to Add a QR Code to a Google Document
Earlier this morning someone sent me a direct message on Twitter to ask me how to add a QR code to a Google Document. This
How to Collect Files Through Google Forms
One of the many updates that was made to Google Forms this summer was the option to accept file uploads from people who are not
5 Topics to Cover Early This Year On Your Classroom Blog
The new school year is here and you might be trying to get a new classroom blog rolling or get your old one going again.
Making Connections – Free Webinar Next Monday
Too often our students look at the subjects they study in school as isolated sets of facts to be learned. This is due in part
Free Webinar – Telling Stories & Illustrating Concepts With Storyboards
This Thursday afternoon at 4pm EST I am hosting a free webinar all about using storyboards to tell stories and illustrate concepts. In this webinar
Reminder – Real World Problems = Problems That Matter to Students
As the new school year gets rolling many of us will be considering using problem-based learning to engage our students in learning experiences. Some of
5 Things You Can Learn in Tomorrow’s Practical Ed Tech Webinar
Last week on Practical Ed Tech I hosted Google Forms & Sheets for Beginners. The webinar sold out and many people have since asked if
TimelinesTV – Good, Short History Lessons
I was recently looking through some of my older posts about timelines when I was reminded of TimelinesTV. TimelinesTV was originally built as a site
10 Good Options for Creating Digital Portfolios
Yesterday’s Practical Ed Tech weekly newsletter featured ten tools that your students can use this year to create digital portfolios. A copy of the handout that
Resources for Teaching Digital Citizenship – A PDF Handout
The new school year is when we think about all of the new apps and sites we want to use with students. As we do
What Was There? – An Augmented Reality Activity
My bicycling club has a route that goes past some neat local history landmarks. One of those landmarks that most people miss is the site
The Week in Review – Back to School Webinars
Good morning from Maine where we’re waiting for the sun to poke through the clouds so that we go enjoy a nice walk in the
Crowdsourcing Advice for New Teachers
Every year new teachers join our profession not knowing what they don’t know. To help new teachers, five years ago I crowdsourced advice for new
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode 15
On Thursday morning I hosted another episode of my fairly regular Practical Ed Tech Live series. In each episode, hosted on YouTube and on Facebook,
One More Round-up of Solar Eclipse Resources
Throughout the last month I have shared some resources for teaching and learning about the solar eclipse that is passing over the United States this
8 Free Timers to Help You Keep Activities on Schedule
One of the challenges of teaching in a block schedule is that some high school and many middle school students struggle to focus for 80
5 Updates to Google Docs to Note
Throughout the summer Google added many new features to Google Forms and Google Classroom. Now it’s time for Google Docs to get some updates. Yesterday,
How to Use Google Sheets to Create & Print Word Searches
Flippity is a service that I have been writing about for a few years now because they provide teachers with easy-to-use Google Sheets templates. The
How to Use SeeSaw’s New Messaging Option
SeeSaw is a great digital portfolio tool that works on Chromebooks, iPads, Android tablets, and any computer with a modern web browser. Earlier this year
An Augmented Reality Hackathon for Teachers
Earlier this week I shared some ideas for creating and using your own augmented reality experiences in school. Metaverse is the free platform that makes
Book Creator is Now Live for All Chromebook Users
Earlier this summer Book Creator, a massively popular iPad app, was made available in a beta version for teachers to try on Chromebooks. As of
The History Project Has a New Name
The History Project is a great tool for creating multimedia timelines. This morning I went to use the service and noticed that it’s name has
Tools for Creating Stop Motion Movies
Kevin Hodgson recently updated his excellent Making Stop Motion Movies website on which he features examples of student projects and provides good information about the
Three Good Resources for Learning About Careers
One of my favorite things about working and living in a small community is that I get to see what many of my former students
Writing Sparks – Writing Prompts for Students
Writing Sparks is a new writing platform developed by the same folks that created the popular Night Zookeeper platform. Writing Sparks provides you with timed
DIY Augmented Reality – 3 Ways To Use It In School
Disclosure: Metaverse is a new advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com Metaverse is an amazing platform that brings that for the first time enables anyone to create rich
Three Countdown Calendars For Your Classroom Blog
In my workshops about developing blogs and websites for classrooms I always make the point that you should add some content that will appeal to
If I Don’t Like It, I Don’t Write About It
Every morning I receive at least ten pitches from PR agents promising that a company offers something that is new, unique, revolutionary, or better than
Reminder – These Are Attachments You Should Never Open
This morning as I sifted through the mountain of spammy PR emails that greet me every morning, I noticed one email that had the subject
18 Updates to Google Tools That You Might Have Missed This Summer
The middle of August is almost here which means that many have returned for the start of the new school year. And those who haven’t
Stockio – Free Images, Icons, Fonts, and Videos
Atlantic Puffin Pair – Ray Hennessey via Stockio. Stockio is a website that offers free images, icons, fonts, and videos to download and re-use in
Every Kid in a Park – Free Admission to National Parks
In yesterday’s week-in-review post I mentioned that I hope my daughter grows up to enjoy the great outdoors as much as I do. Then almost
The Week in Review – Soaking Up Summer
Good morning from Maine where despite seeing a few maple leaves already turning from green to red, we’re still soaking up summer. Last weekend Isla
417 History and Civics Lessons In One Place
On Friday I featured Tom Richey’s YouTube channel which is full of great content for Advanced Placement U.S. and European History students. Today, I want