Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
Please Practice Good Digital Citizenship
I talked about this briefly on my Anchor podcast yesterday, but I need to elaborate a bit here. During the last year I have increasingly
A Note About Toontastic 3D on Chromebooks
A couple of hours ago I received an email from a reader who seemed slightly annoyed with me because she couldn’t find Toontastic 3D for
A Map of Languages
Locallingual is an interactive map of languages and dialects around the world. You can click on the map to read the language(s) spoken within a
MoocNote Offers a Chrome Extension for Taking Notes on Videos
MoocNote is a good tool for adding time-stamped notes to the videos that you watch. You can also use it to create time-stamped questions for
Next Vista’s Video Contests Show Great Examples of Student Productions
This is a guest post from Ruston Hurley, the founder of Next Vista for Learning. Imagine that your students are thinking of ways to explain
Tips for Accessing Sites Blocked by Your School
I originally published this a few years ago. I’m bringing it back up because I was recently asked about this issue again. For those hoping
FormLimiter – The Solution to Slow Responders
A couple of days ago I received an email from a reader who was looking for advice about Google Forms. The problem he was having
EDpuzzle – Readers’ Favorite App
At the end of December I asked you to submit your nominations for favorite educational apps. The nomination form was divided into three sections. Those
A Short Guide to Using Adobe Spark in School
I have received a lot of questions about Adobe Spark since I published my latest post about creating videos on Chromebooks. Many of the most
SeeSaw Now Supports Text Labeling – 15 Lesson Plans for Using Labels
SeeSaw, a great digital portfolio platform, recently added a new text label feature. The labeling tool in SeeSaw lets your students add text labels to
The Week in Review – Wacky Weather and Popular Posts
Good afternoon from the Free Technology for Teachers world headquarters in frozen Woodstock, Maine. It was a crazy weather week here as we went from
Toontastic 3D – Create 3D Cartoon Videos on iOS, Chrome, and Android
On Thursday Google released a new version of the popular animation creation app, Toontastic. The new version is called Toontastic 3D and it is available
18 Cartoon Videos About Cyber Safety for Students
Planet Nutshell produces short animated videos to explain products, services, and concepts. One of their series of videos is all about Internet safety for K-12 students. The
First Steps With Shared Chromebooks
Earlier this week I received an email from a reader who had just received Chromebooks to use in his classroom, but not enough Chromebooks that
Tips for Setting Up AP History DBQ Essays
Tom Richey has a great YouTube channel for history students and teachers. In addition to lessons on a wide variety of topics in U.S. and
How Igloos Can Keep You Warm – And Winter Phys Ed Activities
How an Igloo Keeps You Warm is a new video from It’s Okay To Be Smart. The video does a great job of explaining how
10 Free Ways to Create Videos on Chromebooks
Last week I published an updated list of tools for creating videos on Chromebooks. It’s time to update it again as I forgot to include
New Google Classroom Features Focus on Individual Instruction
Earlier today Google added some new features to Google Classroom. The most notable of the new features is the option to give assignments to individual
Colds, the Flu, and You – Lessons on Staying Healthy
I am just getting over a cold that had me sniffling, sneezing, and coughing for about ten days. Fortunately, it was just a cold and
TinyTap Talk or Type – Voice Response Activities
TinyTap is a service that lets you create educational games for your students to play on their iPads, Android tablets, and in their web browsers.
Learn English With Next Vista for Learning – Or Help Others Learn
This is a guest post from Rushton Hurley, the founder of the non-profit Next Vista for Learning. Are you trying to learn another language? It
Why We Feel Attached to Our Stuff – A TED-Ed Lesson
A few years ago I realized that somewhere along the line I started to collect coffee mugs. I never set out to collect coffee mugs,
How to Use Pixiclip to Create Instructional Videos
Pixiclip is a free tool for creating simple instructional videos. I featured it in the Practical Ed Tech newsletter a couple of weeks ago and
Launching Innovation in Schools – An edX Course
Launching Innovation in Schools is a free edX course that is starting next week. It grabbed my attention because one of the instructors is Dr.
How to Quickly Access Ten Google Sheets Templates for Teachers
Flippity is a great resource for G Suite users that I have been sharing with readers for a couple of years now. Flippity provides teachers
Track Progress Toward Goals With This Google Sheets Template
This morning I received an email from a subscriber to the Practical Ed Tech newsletter. She had read my tip of the week about using
Otus – A Good LMS Option for Small Schools
During the weekend I received an email from a teacher who was looking for an LMS recommendation for his small, private school. The school has
Storyboard That Offers Lesson Plans for Every Month
Creating a storyboard can be a good way to outline a story, to illustrate your own ideas, or to analyze problems. Storyboard That offers dozens
Pass the Past – A Review App for History Students
Pass the Past is a free iPad app designed to help students review U.S. and World History. The app was designed for students preparing for
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine where the air is cold, the snow feels crisp, and the sun is shining. In other words, it’s a perfect winter
Two Tools That Help Students Analyze Writing
On Twitter Clint asked me for a recommendation for a tool that his students can use to analyze writing. Two tools immediately came to mind.
Text to Speech in Chrome
Earlier today Charles on Twitter asked me for a recommendation for a Chrome extension that offer text to speech capabilities. The first thing that came
Use Google Keep to Help You Reach Your Goals
How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? How about your students? If one of your resolutions is a daily habit like reading more
Teaching History With Technology Begins on Monday Night
Last summer twenty-five middle school and high school teachers joined me to learn about tools and tactics for teaching history with technology. So far another
9 Ways to Create Videos on Chromebooks
A few weeks ago I wrote a post in which I shared eight good tools for creating videos on Chromebooks. The danger with making lists
Two Ways to Create Book Trailers on Chromebooks – Video Demonstration
A book trailer is a short video designed to entice someone else to read a book that you enjoyed. Having your students create book trailer
Classroom Deliberations – Lesson Plans on Current Issues in U.S. Politics
C-SPAN Classroom Deliberations is a good resource for teachers of U.S. history or civics. On the site you will find 34 lesson plans centered around
Quick Rubric Offers an Easy Way to Create Rubrics Online
Quick Rubric is a free tool for writing, editing, and printing rubrics. On Quick Rubric you can create a rubric that is tailored to your points/
How to Manage Google Chrome Extensions
Have you ever looked at your Chrome browser and noticed an extension that you haven’t used in months? If so, it might be time to
Ten Things Flubaroo Can Do for You
In this afternoon’s webinar about Google Forms and Sheets for Beginners I shared a few of the features of Flubaroo for grading quizzes created in
The Real Value of Google Forms, Sheets, and Add-ons
The first time that I figured out how to make a quiz in Google Forms, I was hooked. Then Kern Kelley showed me how to
Discovery Education Announces New Virtual Events for Students
This winter Discovery Education will be hosting a series of virtual events for students. The content of the events range from the Inauguration of a
Student Videos Celebrating Service – Cool Projects
This is a guest post from Rushton Hurley, the founder of Next Vista for Learning. Teachers have a love-hate relationship with cool projects. They often
WriteReader Offers Suggestions for Post-break Writing Activities
The holiday break is over and a lot of students have stories to tell about what they did in their two weeks away from school.
The Week in Review
Good evening and Happy New Year from Maine. I’m celebrating the New Year by taking some cold medicine and going to bed early. I took
10 Ideas for Using Comics In Your Classroom – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
A Cute Video About Email Etiquette for Students – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Practical Ed Tech Handbook – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Great Ideas for Using Scratch in Elementary Math – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Control What’s Projected With Chromecast or Extended Display – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
How to Create Online Collaborative Whiteboards – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
How to Enable Automatic Grading in Google Forms – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
15 Tools for Teaching History With Technology – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Two Ways to Visually Show Classroom Noise – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Google Cast for Education – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
The Best Ways to Use Padlet – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Blogs & Social Media for Teachers & School Leaders
Have you ever started a classroom blog with the best of intentions only to see it fall by the wayside after a couple of months?
More Than 100 Sets of Primary Source Documents for Students – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
10 Ways to Use Adobe Spark in School – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Great Tools for Creating Screencasts – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
10 Sites and Apps for Vocabulary and Spelling Practice – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Kahoot Adds a Team Mode – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Quizalize – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
More Than 40 Alternatives to YouTube – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Three Tools Students Can Use to Add Annotations to Videos – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Blogging Platforms for Teachers Compared and Ranked – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
Click to Spin – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
3 Hours of On-Demand PD
In December I hosted three one-hour webinars on Wednesday afternoons. The first was Quick & Powerful Video Projects, the second was Winning Blog Strategies, and
5 Tips for New Chromebook Users – Best of 2016
As I usually do during this week, I’m taking some time off to relax, ski, and work on some long-term projects for the next year.
The Week in Review – Christmas Eve Edition
Good morning from Maine where vacation will begin when this post is complete. This week was full of my typical scramble to buy Christmas presents
Track Santa and Learn About Christmas Traditions Around the World
If your family celebrates Christmas and you’re looking for a nice activity to do with young kids at home, take a look Google’s annual Santa
Explore Maps of Historical Sites in Every U.S. State
The Traveling Salesman Problem is a website developed by William Cook at the University of Waterloo. The site features interactive maps that chart the short
Free World and U.S. Map Puzzles for iPads & Android Tablets
Digital Gene offers a variety of educational apps for iPads and for Android tablets. Two of the Digital Gene apps that could be useful for
More Than 300 Ed Tech Tutorial Videos
Throughout the year I offer webinars on a variety of educational technology topics. But I also publish a tutorial or two on my YouTube channel
Twelve Posts from One Topic
One of the most frequently cited reasons for discontinuing a blog that I hear is “I don’t have anything to write about.” Said another way,
Math Vocabulary Cards in English and Spanish
One of the challenges that some students face in learning math is just understanding the vocabulary used in mathematics. Math Vocabulary Cards can help students
Five Strategies to Help Students Conduct Better Informational Searches
Google is great for navigational and transactional searches. If you need to find your way to the movie theater or find the best price for
Online Activities for Teaching With Primary Sources
As a history teacher I have a natural attraction to old maps, dusty documents, and all manner of primary source media. While it is a
Quick Lessons About the Winter Solstice
The winter solstice is today in the northern hemisphere. Should you need some short explanations of solstices to share with your children or students, take
Three Ways to Create Image-based Formative Assessments
From math to science to geography to art there are plenty of times when an image-based formative assessment is the best way to gauge a
Nominate Your Favorite Ed Tech Tools of the Year
At this time of the year you will find lots of “app of the year” type of blog posts on the web. The problem with
8 Ways to Create Videos on Chromebooks
A couple of days ago Tony Vincent Tweeted my list of tools for creating videos on Chromebooks. That list was last updated in November. Tony’s
How Trees Survive The Winter
It was a crisp -10F at my house this morning. When it’s that cold everything seems crisp, brittle, and well…frozen. It makes you wonder how
How to Insert Video Clips Into Adobe Spark Projects
Last week Adobe Spark added a new option to their video editing program. You can now insert video clips into your projects. Previously you could
How to Use Canva’s Newest Sharing Features
Last week Canva added three new ways to share your designs. You can now publish your designs as simple webpages, collaborate on designs with other
Anchor – Simple Podcasting
Earlier today I Tweeted a link to my first Anchor.fm recording. Anchor provides a simple way to create and publish short podcasts. In fact, you
One Image Inspires a Lesson
This is a guest post from Rushton Hurley. Rushton is the founder of Next Vista for Learning, a great place to find and share educational
Three Ways to Create Year-in-Review Videos
It is the time of year when just about every media company is publishing a year-in-review video. Those year-in-review videos will cover everything from the
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine where the snow is falling and my dogs and I couldn’t be happier about it! This is the second snowstorm that
How to Record a Webcam Video on Your Chromebook
Recording a video with the webcam on your Chromebook can be accomplished through the use of a free Chrome app called CaptureCast. CaptureCast, produced by
YouTube, It’s Not Just Cats & Khan Academy
This coming Wednesday I will be hosting my last webinar of 2016. The topic is YouTube. Specifically, I will be showcasing the features of YouTube
Canva Adds New Awesome New Features!
Last week I shared a video tutorial about how to create greeting cards with Canva’s excellent templates and design tools. That’s an example of just
Teaching History With Technology – An Online PD Course
Last summer twenty-five middle school and high school teachers joined me to learn about tools and tactics for teaching history with technology. During the fall
Spend the Summer in Washington D.C. as a C-SPAN Fellow
Summer might be six months away, but it’s already time to start thinking about summer professional development opportunities. Social studies teachers should take note of
Adobe Spark Now Lets You Insert Videos into Your Videos
Adobe Spark is one of my favorite new tools to 2016. In fact, I like it so much that I now feature it in my
Brrr…Lessons on Winter Weather
The weather forecast for my town calls for a temperature of -5F and a wind chill of -33F tonight. I’ll be bundling up when my
Media Literacy & Fake News – A Lesson Plan
C-SPAN Classroom has a new lesson plan that is quite timely given all of the recent stories about fake news stories created and shared through
Three Ways to Create Multimedia Year-in-Review Timelines
The year is almost over and for many of us this is a time to look back at the year. Creating a year-in-review is a
PBS LearningMedia’s Digital Innovator Program Seeks Applicants for 2017
PBS LearningMedia is hosting their Digital Innovators program again in 2017. The program recognizes K-12 teachers who excel at using digital media in their classrooms. There is