Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
How to Create Map Overlays
Felt was one of my favorite new tools in 2022. In fact, I liked it so much that I included it in my Best of
Two Ways to Create Short Audio Recordings to Share via QR Code
A couple of weeks ago a loyal reader reached to me for my thoughts about sharing audio recordings via QR codes. His idea was to
Skiing, Puzzling, and Overlooking – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s overcast and unseasonably warm. I took most of the week off to ski with my kids, teach some skiing
Best of 2022 – Thank Your School Librarian
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Screencasting on Chromebooks
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – DIY Online Board Games
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Using Focusable as a Progress Journal
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Periodic Table of Videos
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – ViewPure Alternatives
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Exposing DMCA Email Scams
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – A Fun Map Puzzle
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Readlee
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
New Course – How to Create & Sell Your Digital Products in 2023
Two weeks I hosted a webinar about creating and selling digital teaching materials. After the webinar a handful of people reached out to ask if
Best of 2022 – Can I Use That Picture?
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Overlooked Google Docs Features
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Five Good Resources for Learning About Airplanes and Airlines
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Free and Customizable Clip Art
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – My Favorite Chrome Extensions
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – The Science of Winter Olympic Sports
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
HUE Animation Studio – The Complete Stop Motion Animation Kit
For the first time in more than a decade I’ve partnered with a company to give away a physical technology product. I’ve partnered with HUE
Best of 2022 – A Big List of Geography Resources
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – How to Stop Procrastinating
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Image Background Removers
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – A Calendar of SEL Activities
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Best of 2022 – Game Templates in Canva
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not
Generators, Animations, and Snow – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the wind is howling and the temperature is rapidly dropping. We had planned to ski today, but the wind and
All About Reindeer
My daughters are very excited for Santa and his reindeer to visit our house tonight. We’ll be leaving out snacks for him and his reindeer.
Short Lessons on How Snow is Made
My oldest daughter is super excited to start her third year of ski lessons this winter. I’m also very excited about it because I’m going
Tracking Santa and Programming With Santa
My kids are home from school today as this is the first day of their winter vacation. The level of anticipation for Santa’s arrival is
How to Change Padlet Notification Settings
Last week Padlet released an update to their notification system. The updated system gives you more control over which notifications receive and how you receive
My Five Favorite Features of Canva Documents
A couple of weeks ago Canva opened the public beta of their new Documents tool. I’ve previously highlighted Docs to Slideshow conversion tool within it
A New Course to Start 2023
Last week I hosted a webinar about creating and selling digital teaching materials. After the webinar a handful of people reached out to ask if
Free Shipping for Heavy Products – A Programming Challenge
While writing yesterday’s blog post about electricity, portable generators, and the power outage in my town, I jumped on Amazon to look at the prices
Slideator – Add Your Voice to Almost Any Type of Slideshow
Slideator is a free tool that you can use to add voice-over and webcam recordings to your slides. Slideator works with just about any type
How a Generator Works – And Other Short Lessons About Generating Electricity
Last weekend we had a huge snowstorm that knocked out the electrical power in my whole neighborhood and in about half of our town. In
How to Redirect Students When They’ve Completed a Google Form
Yesterday I published a video about collecting pictures through Google Forms. That post was inspired by a request for help from a former colleague of
Another Favorite is Shutting Down
Last week I shared the disappointing news that Tract is closing down at the end of the year. Sadly, this morning I learned that
How to Collect Pictures Through Google Forms
Last week a former colleague of mine reached out to me for help setting up a system to collect profile information to put into a
Quickly Turn Documents Into Slideshows in Canva
The new Canva Documents has a bunch of neat tools including the AI writing tool that I highlighted last week. Continuing on that theme of
17 Tools for Collaboratively Creating Mind Maps and Flowcharts
Last week there was a spike in traffic to my blog post about using whiteboard and brainstorming templates in Canva. Seeing that spike reminded me
44,000+ People Get Ed Tech Tips This Way
This morning when I logged into my YouTube account I noticed that my little channel now has more than 44,000 subscribers for the first time.
Slides, Experiments, and Skis – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where everything is covered in snow this morning! The first proper snowstorm of the year rolled in yesterday and it’s still
New Features of the LOC’s By the People
By the People is a Library of Congress project that I’ve written about and featured in my Teaching History With Technology courses since 2018. On
Take a Look at Padlet’s New Notification Options
Padlet is a tool that I’ve been using for over a decade in a wide variety of classroom settings. In fact, I’ve been using for
Create Animations from Audio in Adobe Express
I like to end the week with something fun. If you do too, head over to Animate from Audio hosted by Adobe Express. Animate from
How to Clip Sections of Your YouTube Videos
A few weeks ago I published an overview of some YouTube Studio settings that you should know how to use. This week while helping someone
Some Thoughts About AI in Education
On Tuesday I published a short overview of ChatGPT which is a free artificial intelligence writing tool. I followed that up with a post on Wednesday
Can I Use That Picture? – A Short Guide to Using Pictures from the Web
A couple of weeks ago in my Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week newsletter I included a PDF guide to use in determining whether
Bookmarking With the Updated Google Keep Chrome Extension
A little over a month ago I was worried that my days of using the Google Keep Chrome extension to bookmark websites were coming to
25,000+ People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way
Last week I wrote about going back to basics with email and RSS. The main point of that article being that email and RSS are
Artificial Intelligence in Canva Documents
Last week Canva opened access to their highly anticipated Canva Documents tool. It includes all of the features that you’d probably expect to find in
Tract is Coming to an End
One of the unfortunate realities of the educational technology market is that sometimes really good products and services aren’t sustainable businesses. That appears to be
Webinar Today – How to Create & Sell Your Digital Products in 2023
One of the ways that I’m able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through the support of generous people like you who purchase
A Short Overview of ChatGPT
Yesterday I published Ten Canva Features for Students – An Experiment. The first part of the experiment was publishing a blog post that was written
Color Our Collections – National Portrait Gallery Coloring Pages
Color Our Collections is a feature of the Smithsonian Learning Lab. Within the collection you will find coloring pages based on some of the art
Get Your Free Copy of The 2022-23 Practical Ed Tech Handbook
Near the start of every school year I publish an updated version of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook. This year it took me a bit
Ten Canva Features for Students – An Experiment
Canva is a graphic design platform that offers a wide range of features for creating professional-looking documents. Some of the key features that may be
“Dad, It’s Still Autumn” – Corrections from My Daughters
Those of you who have been following my blog with regularity over the last couple of years have probably seen my informal series of posts
A New Google Slides Feature That Could Help Reduce Collaborator Confusion
For as long as Google Slides has existed one of the problems with it has been collaborators accidentally editing over each other’s work. In the
What’s New in Focusable? More Ways to Help You Focus
Focusable is the first thing listed in my Best of the Web 2022 presentation. Since the first time that I tried it back in September,
How to Create & Sell Your Own Digital Products in 2023
One of the ways that I’m able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through the support of generous people like you who purchase
Canva, Search, and Goodbye – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s a cold and breezy December morning. It was a busy and sad week here at the Free Technology for
New Base Map Options on Felt
Felt is a new digital mapping tool that I’ve featured a few times in the last month because I think it is fantastic alternative to
How to Create Image Revealing Effects in PowerPoint
On Wednesday I published a short video about how to create image revealing effects in Google Slides. Shortly afterwards a viewer emailed me with a
ICYMI – The Grand Finale of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions Live
On Tuesday evening Rushton Hurley and I hosted the final live presentation of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. We’ll be
Back to Basics With Email and RSS
Over the last few weeks I’ve fielded a lot of emails from readers who are wondering if they should stay on Twitter. Most of those
How to Create an Image Revealing Effect in Google Slides
About a week ago a reader reached to me to ask for a suggestion on how to create an image revealing effect without the use
Best of the Web 2022 – Webinar Recording
Yesterday afternoon I hosted a free webinar in which I shared my favorite new edtech tools of 2022 and some old favorites that had significant
A Few New Search Tools from Google
Those of you who use Chrome as your primary web browser on your computer or phone, that’s 75% of all readers of FreeTech4Teachers.com according to my
A Handful of Resources for Computer Science Education Week
This week is Computer Science Education Week. I’ve long thought that every student should have some experience with computer science. After all, computer science is
Free Winter-themed Physical Education Lesson Plans
As I wrote at the start of this school year, OPEN Phys Ed is the resource that would be at the top of my bookmarks
Interactive Math & Science Simulations for Online and Offline Use
PhET is one of my favorite resources for math and science teachers. In fact, it’s included as one of my Best of the Web picks
Free Webinars Today and Tomorrow
Today at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT Rushton Hurley and I are hosting the last live episode of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share
Biographies in Infographic Form
Last week while looking for a Canva template to create the copyright guide that I distributed in my Practical Ed Tech newsletter I came across
Ten Good Tools for Making Multimedia Timelines
Last week I read a Book Widgets blog post about fun ways to use timelines in your lessons. Reading that post inspired me to make a
How to Correctly Use Google Images to Find Pictures for Your Projects
Last week a student in my Google Earth & Maps Crash Course emailed me with a question about using Google Images for a classroom project.
A Free Smithsonian Webinar Tomorrow
Some of my high school history students often took a while to understand the idea that just because a document is an old primary source
How to Find and Download Your Old Canva Projects
Last week a reader emailed me to ask for help with Canva. Specifically, he wanted to know where all of his videos had gone. He
Two EdTech Guys Take Questions – The Grand Finale!
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020 Rushton Hurley and I have held a regular series of live Q&A sessions. This week we’re wrapping
Posters, Pictures, and Leftovers – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where yesterday it felt like winter and today it feels like spring. My family is supposed to go see the Christmas
50 Canva Tutorials for Teachers
Other than Google Workspace tools, Canva is the tool that I’ve published the most tutorials about on my YouTube channel. In fact, with the publication of my latest Canva
Two Ways to Make Timelines With Adobe Express
A couple of days ago I read a Book Widgets blog post about fun ways to use timelines in your lessons. Reading that blog post
Image Candy – A Free Suite of Image Editing Tools
Image Candy is a free set of image editing tools that you can use without having to register for any kind of account. In all
The True Costs of Owning a Car – A Lesson Plan for High School Students
I paid $1500 for my first car. That was a hefty sum for me back in the fall of 1996. That car needed a little
How Airplanes Fly – And Other Good Resources for Learning About Flying
I’m currently reading Bill Bryson’s book, One Summer: America, 1927. The book is centered around significant events of that summer including Charles Lindbergh’s crossing of
November’s Most Popular Posts on Free Technology for Teachers
Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on the month of November. At this time of year sunset is a rather early 4:04pm
How to Make Custom QR Codes With Adobe Express
Yesterday afternoon I published a video and blog post about using Canva to create custom QR codes that include your own images and graphic designs.
Free Webinar Next Wednesday – Best of the Web 2022
Tomorrow the calendar turns to December and many of us will start to think about the year that was. One of the things that
How to Create Custom QR Codes in Canva
Over the last fifteen years I’ve seen QR codes rise in popularity, fall in popularity, and rise again. They never lost their appeal to me
One More Day
Over the last year many of you have kindly supported my work here on Free Technology for Teachers and Practical Ed Tech by purchasing a
A Mean PhET Simulation
PhET is one of my go-to resources for math and science teachers. Just before the Thanksgiving break (for those of us in the United States)
Threadit is Closing – A Few Alternatives to Try
Threadit is a Google product that when it launched I thought could have become a rival to Microsoft Flip. As feature-laden as Threadit is, it
15 Years of Free Technology for Teachers – Some Thoughts
Fifteen years ago today I was supervising detention when I wrote the first post on this blog. I did not have any idea what was
In Memory of Ed Webster – Resources for Teaching and Learning About Mount Everest
This morning I opened Facebook and saw the news that fellow Mainer, mountaineer, and author Ed Webster had passed away on Thanksgiving morning. He’s probably
Three YouTube Features Every Teacher Should Know How to Use
In last week’s Practical Ed Tech Newsletter I detailed a few features of YouTube Studio that every teacher who uploads videos to YouTube should know
Clipart, Maps, and Food – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it feels like winter is here to stay. A couple of the local ski mountains are open, a thin coat
Clipart & Drawings for Classroom Projects
Earlier this week I shared ClipArt ETC and Clippix ETC as good resources for locating free clipart and pictures to use in classroom projects. That
An Encyclopedia of Comic Artists
Peanuts drawn by Charles Schulz, Calvin and Hobbes drawn by Bill Watterson, and The Family Circus drawn by Bil Keane were the comics that I was
A Thanksgiving Leftovers Search Lesson and Bookmarking Tip
One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is eating the leftovers the next day. I enjoy a good turkey sandwich almost as much as Ross,