Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
A Calendar of G Suite Updates
As I’ve said many times over the years, it can be a challenge to keep up with all of the updates that Google makes to
The Month in Review – The Most Popular Posts
It’s the end of the month and as I always do, I’ve put together a list of the most popular posts of the last 30
The Tour de France Begins Tomorrow – Resources for Learning More About It
The Tour de France begins tomorrow. What started out as a promotion to boost the sales of newspapers in France is now one of the
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode 10 – ISTE Recap + Q&A
Just a few minutes ago I wrapped-up the tenth episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. Most of the time was spent on my ISTE recap,
Great Chromebook & G Suite PD on Both Coasts
Summer is here and it’s a great time to learn new skills and brush-up on old ones. If your school is moving to Chromebooks and
iMendi Quick Vocabulary Review in Eight Languages
iMendi is a simple site for reviewing key vocabulary words and phrases in eight languages. To use the site simply select a language and start
Front Row Offers Differentiated Resources for Social Studies Instruction
Front Row has developed a great reputation over the last couple of years for the differentiated math and ELA resources that it offers to teachers
Join Me Tomorrow for Practical Ed Tech Live – ISTE Recap + Q&A
Join me tomorrow morning at 9am EDT for episode #10 of Practical Ed Tech Live. I’ll be doing my complete recap of ISTE 17 and
Go Back to School With Me
Throughout the year I am fortunate to work with teachers all over the United States and Canada. I have recently opened up some space in
A Comparison of Historic Journeys
I’m writing this as I zoom through the air at 500+ miles per hour to get home after ISTE 17. Just 100 years ago this
Kahoot Unveils a New Mobile App and Game Play Options
Kahoot announced the release of new mobile app this week at ISTE 17. The app, still in beta, addresses a lot of the complaints about
The ISTE Presentation Almost Everyone Missed – And Shouldn’t Have
The ISTE 17 presentation that I was looking forward to more than any other was Dr. Gary Stager’s 50th Anniversary of Logo. I got there
Ten Ways to Use Google Earth In Your Classroom – Handout
This week Google announced that Google Earth can now be integrated into your school’s G Suite for Education services. Which means that your students can
Google Earth Is Now a Component of G Suite for Education
Earlier this year Google released a Chromebook-friendly, browser-based version of Google Earth. This week at ISTE 17 Google announced that the new version of Google
ClassTag’s Newest Features Bridge the Gaps in Teacher-Parent Communication
This morning at ISTE 2017 I met with Vlada Lotkina from ClassTag to talk about teacher-parent communication. ClassTag originally launched as a tool for streamlining
New Grading Options in Google Forms
Google Forms has a new grading option that was released on Monday at ISTE 2017. The new option allows for batch grading of questions. You
Dave Vernier’s Eclipse Tips
On Monday at ISTE 17 I met with a representative of Vernier Software & Technology. They’re producing some neat equipment for science classrooms as well
SeeSaw Unveils New Features at ISTE 17
This morning at ISTE 2017 I had a nice conversation with Carl Sjogreen from SeeSaw. Carl shared with me the newest features being added to
Two Programs Providing Internet Access to Low-income Homes
Today at the ISTE conference I attended the morning TeachMeet ISTE session. At the end of the session Jay Eitner took the stage and shared
WordWanderer – Another Neat Word Cloud Tool
There certainly is not a shortage of word cloud creation tools on the web. The latest that I’ve tried is WordWanderer. WordWanderer attempts to be
Blogs in the Age of Google Classroom
This week at ISTE 17 there will plenty of buzz about Google products and products that integrate with Google Classroom. Google, and some Google devotees,
eduClipper Was Acquired by Participate – What That Means for Teachers
The popular social bookmarking and digital portfolio tool eduClipper has been acquired by Participate. Fortunately, teachers and students who currently use eduClipper won’t notice any
Quickly Print a Storyboard Template from Google Slides
Earlier this week I watched a webinar that was hosted by Lee LeFever from Common Craft. You probably know Lee and his wife Sachi’s work
The Week in Review – The ISTE Prelude
Good afternoon from San Antonio, Texas where I have just checked-in at the ISTE 2017 conference. The conference doesn’t officially begin until tomorrow, but there
Four Online PD Opportunities Starting In July
In June I hosted four online courses for teachers and school administrators. In July I am offering four more online learning opportunities. A description of
A Good App and A Good Site for Learning About Endangered Animals
WWF Together is a beautiful iPad app and Android app that features interactive stories about endangered animals around the world. Each of the interactive stories includes beautiful
Get Inspired By These Videos
This is a guest post from Rushton Hurley. Rushton is the founder of Next Vista for Learning and the author of Making Your School Something Special. I love
Dictate – Speech Recognition for PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook
Dictate is a free add-in for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Once you have Dictate installed you can speak to have text appear in your
The Not at ISTE 2017 Survey
The annual ISTE conference starts on this coming Sunday. I’ll once again be attending with a media credential. While I already have a list of
Free Webinar – Protecting Students While Empowering Them to Publish
Red Jumper, the producers of the popular Book Creator app, is hosting a free webinar about protecting students when they publish online. The webinar is
Turbulence Explained – #BigMetalBird
Big Metal Bird is a series of videos about aviation and the aviation industry. The videos were produced by United Airlines and some of the
Mapping Local Art – A Google Maps and Earth Activity
Winslow Homer [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons. Whenever I conduct workshops on Google Maps and Google Earth I always point out that there are uses for those tools
Convert Physical Sticky Notes Into Digital Notes
Post-it Plus is a free iPad app that you can use to turn your physical sticky notes into digital notes. With this free app installed on
An Easier Way to Register for Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps
Last week I publicized the group discount rate for the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp and the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp. Since then I’ve
How to Print Google Forms
Google Forms can be provide you with a good way to create a quiz for your students to complete online. It’s also a great tool
Collaborate With Students to Create Quiz Games
Triventy is a free quiz game platform that earlier today I introduced to a great group of teachers in New Hampshire. The concept behind Triventy will
Three Good Ways to Create Stop Motion Videos – Tutorials
Last week I published a blog post about creating stop motion videos on Chromebooks. That post led to some emails from readers who were wondering
More Than 100,000 Interesting Historical Images to Download for Free
A Cow Grazing Adriaen van de Velde Image Source: J. Paul Getty Museum The Getty Museum’s Open Content Program offers more than 114,000 images that you
Create Mind Maps in Google Drawings
In a webinar that I hosted last week I was discussing using mind maps to generate ideas for blog posts. Someone in the webinar asked
Crello – A Good Option for Creating Graphics
Crello is a free platform that bears a striking resemblance to Canva. Like Canva, Crello offers a variety of free design templates that you can
Formative 2.0 is Coming Soon – Save Your Data Soon
Formative is one of my favorite free tools for conducting interactive formative assessments. I’ve used it to create image-based quizzes and diagram-based quizzes. You can
12 Sites and Apps for Learning to Code
Last week on Twitter I mentioned that Logo was my introduction to computers and programming. Today we have many more ways to introduce students to
Soundtrap Now Offers MIDI Export
Soundtrap is a great tool for students to use to create music online. Soundtrap offers a wide variety of virtual instruments that students can use
The Week in Review – The Recombobulation Area
An appropriate sign after TSA in Milwaukee. Good morning from Maine where I’m enjoying a nice cup of coffee while my dog sleeps next to
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode 9
Yesterday afternoon I hosted the ninth episode of Practical Ed Tech Live in which I answered some of the questions that I get from readers
Group Discounts for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps
The first of this year’s two Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps is just six weeks away. Group discounts are still available to school districts that
Snap – A Great Way for Students to Try Programming
Earlier this week I Tweeted that anyone who is going to the ISTE conference in San Antonio needs to put Gary Stager’s presentation titled Logo
Owl Eyes – Guide Students Through Classic Literature
Owl Eyes is a free tool that provides teachers with a good way to provide students with guidance while they are reading classic literature. Owl Eyes
Three Places to Find Public Domain Video Clips
On Wednesday I published suggestions for places to find public domain images. Then yesterday I received an email from a reader who was wondering about
How to Move from Google Drive to OneDrive
Earlier this week I shared information about moving your data from G Suite account to another. But what if you’re leaving a school district that
Backup and Sync Will Automatically Save Your Desktop Files
Backup and Sync is a new service coming soon from Google. On June 28th you will be able to install Backup and Sync on your Mac
How to Create Stop Motion Videos on a Chromebook
Last night I published an article about the Stop Motion Animator Chrome app. To clarify some of the nuances of using that app, in particular
Make Stop Motion Videos on Your Chromebook
On Monday I livestreamed a presentation about making videos with students. In one part of the presentation I was asked for a recommendation for a
Three Good Places to Find Public Domain Images
My earlier post about Common Craft’s new video prompted a few people to ask me for recommendations for places to find public domain images and
Public Domain Explained by Common Craft
Public Domain Explained by Common Craft is a new video that answers some common questions about the differences between works that are in the public
How to Create a Word Cloud In Google Docs
Last week during Practical Ed Tech Live I answered a request for a suggestion for a tool to create word clouds. One of the tools
CK-12 BrainFlex Can Help Kids Keep Their Math & Science Skills Sharp This Summer
For the third summer in a row the CK-12 Foundation is hosting the CK-12 Brainflex Summer Challenge. The challenge is a free program that students can
Soapbox – A New Tool for Creating Screencast Videos on Chromebooks
Soapbox is a new tool from Wistia that makes it easy to create great screencast videos on a Chromebook or any computer that is using
Quickly Generate an Outline in Google Documents
Google Documents contains lots of handy features that often go overlooked. One of those features is the outline tool. The outline tool will quickly create
Leaving One G Suite District for Another? – Take Your Data With You
Over the last few weeks I received a bunch of questions from readers who are leaving one school district that uses G Suite (formerly known
Diigo vs. Google Keep – A Comparison of Bookmarking Tools
During Practical Ed Tech Live last Thursday afternoon I answered a request for a comparison of Diigo and Google Keep as alternatives to Delicious. The video
5 Google Docs Formatting Tips
Some of the first questions that new Google Docs users ask are usually centered around formatting options in Google Docs. The stress of the transition
Create Simple Animations With ParaPara Animation
Parapara Animation is a free animation creation tool developed and hosted by Mozilla. The tool is easy to use and it does not require registration in
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine where it is starting to feel like summer. Some of us were starting to go a little nutty with the constant
Six Hours of Professional Development for $25
During the school year we tend to think to ourselves, “I’ll do some professional development during the summer.” Then the summer arrives and we find
Six Types of Classroom Video Projects – And 18 Video Creation Tools
The process of creating and publishing videos can be a great way to get students excited about researching, storytelling, and sharing their work with an
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #8
Yesterday was a sunny day in Maine so I went outside to broadcast Practical Ed Tech Live. The background noise was a little louder than
How to Forward Your G Suite Email to a Personal Gmail Account
Now that the summer break is here for those in the northern hemisphere, hopefully you will have a bit less email in your school account.
5 Neat Things You Can Do With Google Sheets
Once you get the hang of working with Google Sheets there are a lot of great ways to use spreadsheets as a teacher or as
4 Good Formative Assessment Tools for Classrooms That Aren’t 1:1
Earlier today Kahoot announced that they now have 50 million users. That prompted one person to email me asking if there was something similar that she
Simpleshow Foundation Seeks Volunteers to Help Educate Through Video
The Simpleshow Foundation is a non-profit organization founder by mysimpleshow’s founders for the purpose of helping to educate the world through video. The Simpleshow Foundation
Be Internet Awesome – Google’s New Internet Safety Curriculum
Be Internet Awesome is Google’s new Internet safety curriculum. I learned about it from Larry Ferlazzo and then spent some time exploring it myself. The
An Overview of Google’s Public Data Explorer
Google’s Public Data Explorer draws on data sets from the World Bank, the US CDC, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources of public data.
Free Webinar – Behind the Scenes at Common Craft
Common Craft burst onto the explainer video scene way back in 2007 with RSS in Plain English. That video demonstrated a new way for students
More Than 500 Tutorial Videos + Live Q&A
My YouTube channel currently has more than 500 videos that I have created to demonstrate all kinds of ed tech tools for everything from creating
4 Updates to ClassDojo’s Student Stories
Last fall ClassDojo introduced a new digital portfolio tool that they call Student Stories. Initially, it was only available on iPads then it expanded to
7 Travel Tips for Teachers Flying to ISTE (or other conferences)
The annual ISTE conference is just a few weeks away. So this is probably a good time for me to share some of my best
Six Hours of On-demand Professional Development
During the school year we tend to think to ourselves, “I’ll do some professional development during the summer.” Then the summer arrives and we find
Easier Data Interpretation and Visualization in Google Sheets
Interpreting data from a spreadsheet can feel a bit overwhelming to a lot of students. That’s why I’m excited about Google’s latest update to Google
A Convenient New Way to Search for Educational Videos
ClassHook is a free service that can help you find video clips to support your lessons. The clips that you’ll find in ClassHook come from well-known
World Population Trends – Interactive Map & Guiding Questions
World Population Trends is an interactive story map series produced on the ESRI platform. Fifteen maps in the series show patterns of change in the
How to Download Your Remind Message History
At about this time last year I published a video that showed you how to download the history of the messages that you sent through
How to Quickly Download Google Drive Files
This is the time of year when some of us may be leaving one school district to head to another. If the one that you’re
Some Seats Still Available at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps
For the last five years the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps have drawn educators from all over the world to Maine. This summer the Practical
Fact Fragment Frenzy
Fact Fragment Frenzy is a free iPad and Android app from Read Write Think. The purpose of the app is to help students learn how
Shuck 400 Oysters…Bus Huxley Shows You Can Learn Anything Online
Gardner Waldeier is one of the most interesting people that I know. We first met when he showed up to a cycling club group ride
A Clever Use of Google Keep for Grading in Google Docs
Earlier this year Google Keep became a core service of G Suite for Education. That update brought with it an improved integration of Google Keep
If You’re Still Using Delicious, Stop and Try Something Else
Delicious (Del.icio.us), once the darling of the Web 2.0 bookmarking community, has been sold again. This marks the fifth time that the service has been
The G Suite Newsletter – What’s New In G Suite
There are times when it seems that keeping up with the updates in G Suite can be a full-time job in itself. Fortunately, at then
How to Invite Students to Google Classroom & How to Join a Google Classroom
The addition of Gmail users to the Google Classroom platform has made it possible for almost anyone to create and join courses in Google Classroom.
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from rainy Maine. I’m not complaining too much about the rain today because I’m inside spending today working on developing and editing materials
4 Virtual Reality Videos About Antarctica
Virtual reality is giving many of us the opportunity to see places that we may never visit in a level of detail that could never
5 Handy Twitter Tips
In my previous post I shared the Classtools.net list of teachers on Twitter. Writing that post prompted me to put together a playlist of the
Classtools Offers a Good Way to Find Teachers on Twitter
Finding people to connect with is one of the most common challenges for teachers who are new to using Twitter. Classtools.net has a free service
10 Apps & Sites That Help Students Learn To Spell
Last night a new champion was crowned in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I followed a lot of the finals on Twitter last night. Like
Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode 7
Earlier today I hosted the seventh episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. In today’s episode I answered five questions from readers and put out a
12 Lessons About Inventions That Kind of Changed the World
TED-Ed has a series of twelve video lessons called Moments of Vision. The videos in the series teach short lessons about inventions that may or
Try Kami for Annotating PDFs
This afternoon during Practical Ed Tech Live I answered a request for a tool that can be used to annotate PDFs. One of the suggestions
Grade Items in G Suite Side-by-Side With Otus Rubrics
Otus is a fantastic learning management system that is steadily growing in popularity in large part because of its easy of use and flexibility. Proof