Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
Google Forms & Sheets for Beginners – A Practical Ed Tech Webinar
Throughout the year I host many professional development webinars at PracticalEdTech.com. The next one in my Tech Tuesday series is Google Forms & Sheets for
10 Things You Can Do With Google Sheets
As I mentioned yesterday in my run-down of ten ways to use Google Forms, Google Forms and Google Sheets is the part of G Suite
This Is Augmented Reality, This Is Virtual Reality
The difference between augmented reality and virtual reality is one of the things that I get asked to clarify on a fairly regular basis. This
The Imperial Presidents – And Other New Lessons from Tom Richey
After a little bit of a summer break it looks like Tom Richey is back to publishing some great videos for history students. His latest
Student Stories Drawings in ClassDojo
Student Stories is ClassDojo’s student portfolio tool that they launched around this time last year. A few weeks ago I gave a run-down of new
Ten Things You Can Do With Google Forms
Google Forms and Google Sheets is the part of G Suite for Education that I get most excited about teaching to others. That is largely
25,000 78 RPM Records for Your Listening Pleasure
A few years ago I spent time preparing my grandparents’ home to be sold. In the process my uncles and I came across many artifacts
How to Print a Guest List From a Google Calendar Event
Google Calendar, like most products in G Suite, has lots of little features that are often overlooked. Just because those features are overlooked doesn’t mean
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #14
This morning I recorded a new episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. As always, I streamed the episode simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube. If you
Student Use of Adobe Spark – Your Questions Answered
My post about alternatives to YouTube’s video editor has sparked a lot of questions from readers in the last 24 hours. No question has been
How to Create Virtual Reality Panoramas
A couple of years ago Google launched the Cardboard Camera app for capturing your own virtual reality panoramas. At the time that it was launched
How to Create Animated GIFs
Last week I wrote about a free animation tool called Flip Anim. In that post I mentioned using animated GIFs of math problems or to
Alternatives to YouTube’s Video Editor – It’s Going Away
Earlier this summer Google announced that the YouTube video editor will be “going away” on September 20th. Since then I have fielded many requests to
How Do Glaciers Move?
Five years ago my old pal Morrison (RIP) and I traveled down the Columbia Icefields Parkway. It was a great way to experience part of
What Happens to Your Brain When You Get a Concussion
As the return of football season approaches we hear more stories about professional and student athletes dealing with concussions. TED-Ed recently published a timely lesson
Get Your Year Organized With Keep, Calendar, and Classroom
Tomorrow afternoon at 4pm EST I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled Keeping Track With Google Keep, Calendar, and Classroom. In the webinar you
All About Cookies
Here’s a good video from Explania that clearly explains a part of our daily computer uses that we often don’t think about at all. In
Free Solar Eclipse Glasses in Your Community
In 15 days a solar eclipse will cover a large portion of the United States. Star Net, a production of Space Science Institute’s National Center
Ten Things Students Can Do With Google Keep
Ever since Evernote gutted their free plan, Google Keep has been my go-to recommendation for bookmarking, note-taking, and task management. There is more to Google
The Week in Review – It’s Only August
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining on nice August morning. It’s only the first week of August, but I have already spotted
Flip Anim – Quickly Create Animated GIFs
Flip Anim provides possibly the easiest way draw and create an animated GIF. Within minutes of learning about Flip Anim on Larry Ferlazzo’s blog I
Map of Play
KaBoom is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help build safe playgrounds in cities and towns all over the United States. One of the
Federal vs. Private Student Loans
For many students and their parents figuring out how to pay for college is a huge and stressful part of the college selection process. Planet
Google Earth for iPad Now Equal to Android Version
Back in April Google introduced a completely new version of Google Earth for Android and for use in your web browser. This week that new
Use a Screen Reader With Google Classroom
Earlier this week a follower of the Practical Ed Tech Facebook page asked if a screen reader could be used for Google Classroom. You can
A New Google Forms Feedback Feature You and Your Students Will Like
Earlier this week Google released a bunch of updates to Google Classroom and Google Forms. One of the updates to Google Forms is the option
Three Google Classroom Updates That You Will Appreciate
Six updates to Google Classroom were released yesterday. Three of those updates could immediately improve your use of Google Classroom this fall. Those three features
Practical Ed Tech Live Episode #13
On Tuesday afternoon I hosted another episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. As I do in every episode, I answered some questions that I had
Three Good Videos About Solar Eclipses
On August 21st a solar eclipse will cover a large portion of the United States. If you’re in an area that the eclipse will cover,
Teaching History With Technology – Expanded to Four Weeks
This afternoon at 3pm EST I am starting the latest version of my Practical Ed Tech online course Teaching History With Technology. I’ve hosted this
Solar System and Storyboards – Free Lesson Plans
Disclosure: Storyboard That is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com Storyboard That offers a robust platform on which students and teachers can create comics and storyboards. Even
Two New Google Forms Features for Teachers
Last month Google released a handful of updates to Google Forms. Today, two more features were announced. Both features were designed with teachers in mind.
6 New Google Classroom Features to Note
Earlier today Google published a blog post that featured ten updates to Google Classroom and Google Forms. A few of those updates are relatively minor
Learn Anything (Almost) Through These Interactive Mind Maps
Learn Anything is a neat website that is essentially a giant mind map. Enter a topic into the search box on Learn Anything and a
The Google Earth Blog is Ending Daily Posts
For most of the last decade The Google Earth Blog founded by Frank Taylor has been one of my go-to places for Google Earth tips,
The Month in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on the month of July. Mason and I sat out on the deck enjoying the last
Create Formative Labeling Activities
Back in June Formative released an overhauled user interface for creating digital formative assessments. One of the things that you can do in the updated
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good evening from Maine where we enjoyed a beautiful summer day. These are the kind of summer days that you want to bottle and save
Digital Storytelling With Comics – Free Ebook
Disclosure: Storyboard That is a long-running advertiser on Free Technology for Teachers. A few years ago I put together a PDF of five projects that
A Game for Learning About International Trade
This post contains content that I originally published a couple of years ago. An email from a reader who was looking for suggestions on activities
Tools to Show Your Students the Reach of Their Blogs
ClustrMaps is a free service that you can use to show students the global traffic sources of their blogs. ClustrMaps will display a real-time map of
Down for Everyone? Or Just You?
Down For Everyone Or Just Me? will tell you if a site that you’re trying to visit is down or not. To use the site just
Practical Ed Tech Search Strategies Webinar
Next week I’m kicking-off a new series of Practical Ed Tech webinars. The first in the series is Search Strategies Students Need to Know. This
A Virtual Amusement Park About Molecules
The NanoSpace Molecularium is a nice web resource produced by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The purpose of the site is to provide elementary school and middle
Historical Patterns Animated
Some of my favorite social studies lesson plans included having students use maps to analyze data and identify patterns in history. Over the years I’ve
Ignite Teaching is Shutting Down Next Week
Ignite Teaching is a free mobile app and web app that students can use to collaborate on the development of multimedia projects. It became fairly popular
View and Print in 3D More Than 200 Objects from The British Museum
The British Museum collection on Sketchfab contains 252 3D models of artifacts in The British Museum’s collections. You can view these models in 3D in
Warning! The Default Order of Icons in G Suite Launcher is Changing
Today, Google announced an upcoming change to the default display of apps in the Google app launcher. That’s the little menu that appears in the
The Half-life of Links and School Social Media Plans
In Randy Krum’s book, Cool Infographics (disclosure, he gave me a copy) he shares that according to research done by Bitly, the half-life of a
Learn About the Sounds of Nature on Wild Music
Wild Music is a fun and educational website on which students can learn about sounds commonly heard in nature. On Wild Music students can listen
Blocking and Filtering in Gmail
This afternoon a friend sent me a text message asking about methods for blocking and or filtering messages in Gmail. Like requests of this nature,
Develop and Track ACT & SAT Prep Activities in PrepFactory
Disclosure: PrepFactory is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com PrepFactory offers students a great selection of free SAT and ACT preparation activities. PrepFactory focuses on helping students
The Week in Review – New Headquarters
Good evening from the new Free Technology for Teachers world headquarters in Paris, Maine. Today, we moved into a home in the Paris Hill historic
Five Ways to Create Screencast Videos on Chromebooks
Creating a screencast video is a good way to show your students or colleagues how to use a new web tool. When Chromebooks first hit
Explore Street View Imagery With Your Voice
This afternoon at the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp we spent some time exploring and talking about ways that Google Maps, Street View, Google Earth,
Try iMendi for Quick Language Review Activities
iMendi is a handy website for reviewing key vocabulary words and phrases in eight languages. iMendi is available in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, and Czech.
DIY VR Viewer
The post immediately preceding this one featured the new “solo” mode for Google Expeditions. Expeditions is the mobile app that allows users to experience virtual
Students Can Now Guide Themselves In Google Expeditions
On Wednesday Google released an update to Google Expeditions that allows students and others to guide themselves on Google Expeditions. Expeditions are Google’s Virtual Reality
Capture More Than Just a Visible Screen With Nimbus Screenshot
Recently, a reader asked me to suggest a tool for creating a screen capture image that would include more than just what was visible in
9 Features of ClassDojo’s Digital Portfolio Platform – Coming Soon
About this time last year ClassDojo introduced a digital portfolio platform that they call Student Stories. Since its initial launch ClassDojo has steadily added new
The Five Most Popular Ed Tech Tutorial Videos of 2017 So Far
Every week I publish a couple of tutorial videos on my YouTube channel. As we’re now more than half way through the year, I thought
In Case You Missed It – The Periodic Table in Pictures and Words
One of the most popular posts of the month so far featured The Periodic Table of Elements, in Pictures and Words. In case you missed it,
Save Time by Using JoeZoo Express to Give Feedback in Google Docs
JoeZoo Express is a Google Documents Add-on that can save you a ton of time when you are grading or editing your students’ writing in Google
View and Print 3D Models of Smithsonian Artifacts
Smithsonian X 3D (SIx3D) offers a neat way for students to learn about artifacts from the Smithsonian museums. The site is the result of a collaboration
Math Shorts – 21 Math Lessons from Planet Nutshell
I became a big fan of Planet Nutshell the first time that I saw their series of videos on Internet Safety. Math Shorts is another
The Week in Review – Fun and Learning at UTC
Good evening from Maine where I’m wrapping up a busy week that included hosting four webinars and two days of presenting at the Upstate Technology Conference
The Periodic Table in Pictures and Words
The Periodic Table of Elements, in Pictures and Words is an interactive site that shows students how each element is used or is present in
Metaverse – Program Your Own Augmented Reality Apps
Metaverse is a free platform that lets anyone create an augmented reality app. I had the opportunity to have a guided tutorial through the Metaverse
Hyperdocs, Chromebooks, and Customized PD
A couple of weeks ago I featured two Chromebook training opportunities. One of those I’m hosting next week in Portland, Maine. The other is being
More Than 40 Examples of Classroom & School Blogs
Earlier this week at the Upstate Technology Conference in South Carolina I gave a couple of presentations about using blogs and social media in school.
Try Book Creator In Chrome to Create Multimedia Books
Book Creator is a one of the most popular iPad apps in schools. It’s a fantastic app for creating multimedia stories. Now that platform is
Anchor Offers the Easiest Way to Publish Podcasts
Anchor is a free audio publishing service that I started using last winter. I was drawn to Anchor by its ease of use. Recording on
Workbench Offers Good Hands-on STEM Activities
Workbench is a service that offers a huge catalog of hands-on learning activities for students. Last month at the ISTE conference I got to see
Try YouTube Live To Reach More Students
Back in May I shared how Tom Richey was using YouTube Live to host AP World History review sessions for students. That’s one way to
5 New Google Forms Features
Earlier today Google announced the release of five new features for Google Forms users. Four of the five new features are significant for most users.
TagCrowd Offers Three Ways to Create Word Clouds
TagCrowd offers three ways to create word clouds. You can create a word cloud by copying and pasting text into TagCrowd, you can upload a
Join Me Tomorrow Night for a Practical Ed Tech Jumpstart
The landscape of educational technology is constantly changing and it’s easy to feel like you don’t know where to start. That’s why I created the
A Guide to Creating Explanatory Animated GIFs
In yesterday’s episode of Practical Ed Tech Live I answered this question: Is there anything that pieces the snapshots back together in a single frame?
The Week In Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining and I’m ready for a bike ride with some old friends that I haven’t seen in
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #11
This afternoon my daughter and I recorded the eleventh episode of my almost weekly series, Practical Ed Tech Live. In every episode I answer a
More Than 8,500 People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way
My virtual mentor, Chris Brogan, says that watching and listening is the new reading. He’s been saying this for a while which is why I’ve
Five Uses of Comics In Your Classroom
On Thursday afternoon I hosted a webinar about using comics in the classroom. The recording of the webinar is only available to those who registered,
Students Can Discover Careers Through Next Vista for Learning
As many readers of this blog already know, Next Vista for Learning is one of my favorite video sharing sites for students and teachers. Videos hosted on Next
Live Nature Webcams In Google Earth
When the new version of Google Earth was released in April, it signaled the beginning of more things to come for Google Earth on Chromebooks.
How to Use Speech-to-Text in Gmail
In Sunday’s Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week I mentioned a Chrome extension that you can use to dictate messages in Gmail. That extension
The Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp Starts in Two Weeks
The Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp starts two weeks from tomorrow. There is still time to register and join us in Portland, Maine for two
How to Use ClassTag to Streamline Communication With Parents
ClassTag is a free service that lets you send email, push, and SMS/text announcements to parents. Additionally, ClassTag offers free tools for scheduling conferences, events, and for
How to Use Unio to Deliver Lessons to Students’ Screens
Unio is a free platform for creating lessons and delivering them directly to your students’ laptop screens. It’s designed to let you project a lesson
Fun DIY Projects To Complete With Your Kids
DIY.org is a neat website on which kids can find dozens of DIY projects that they can do on their own or with their parents. DIY.org
Have a Teenager Still Looking for a Summer Job? – Take a Look at These Options
One of the talks that I give from time to time is titled Preparing Students to Work and Learn Independently. The focus of the talk is to help
A Random Name Picker for Your Classroom
Name Picker Ninja is free tool for quickly randomly selecting a name from a list. Using Name Picker Ninja is a simple matter of pasting or
Newspapers, Timers, and Name Pickers
Every month I take a look at how people find Free Technology for Teachers and what they search for when they land on the blog.
An Interactive Display of the Declaration of Independence
The Digital Declaration of Independence is a fantastic website on which students can learn about the Declaration of Independence and the men who signed it.
Short Lessons About Fireworks
Over the weekend fireworks starting popping around my house. To my dog the sounds of fireworks are the sounds of the sky falling. To many
A Good Tool for Quickly Creating Comics
ToonyTool is a free website for quickly creating single frame comics. To get started with ToonyTool simply go to site and either upload a background picture
How to Add Images to Google Slides
On Friday I received an email from a reader who was asking about how to add images to Google Slides. I made the following video
Unio – A Free Virtual Whiteboard for Broadcasting Lessons
Unio by Harness is a free virtual whiteboard system that you can use to broadcast illustrations and demonstrations to your students’ laptops. I learned about
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine. Happy Canada Day to all of my friends north of the border. I’ve had many great days working with teachers in
Free Webinar – Comics In the Classroom
Having your students create comics can be great way to help them get to know each other and for you to get to know them.