Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
My Favorite Tools for Creating Screencast Videos – Updated
Creating a screencast video can be a great way to show your students and or colleagues how to do things on their computers, phones, and
Weekend Project – Identify a Goal for Your Blog
When it comes to blogging one of the patterns that I see every school year starts to emerge around this time of year. That pattern
The Week in Review – Feels Like Fall
Good morning from Maine where it looks and feels like fall. This week we were blessed with great weather to enjoy the outdoors. This was
How to Password-protect Shortened URLs
Earlier this week I posted a tutorial on how to use Goo.gl to create, distribute, and track use of shortened URLs. After posting that tutorial
How to Create Google Alerts
In one of yesterday’s posts I mentioned using Google Alerts to track a topic on the web. A few hours after I published that post
Differences Between American & Canadian Thanksgiving
This coming Monday in the United States is generally referred to as Columbus Day. In Canada this coming Monday is Thanksgiving. Start your Friday morning
Use Feedly & Google Keep to Keep Track of Your Favorite Blogs
A few months ago Evernote made changes to their free plan that essentially made it worthless. At that time I completely switched all of my
A Cute Video About Email Etiquette for Students
Next Vista for Learning is a unique video sharing website because it focuses on sharing videos made by students to help other students (you will
Google Apps for Education Has a New Name – Everything Else Pretty Much the Same
Google Apps for Education users might have noticed a small tweak to their accounts this week. That tweak was a name change. Google Apps for
Add Page Numbers to Your Google Docs Table of Contents
When you compose a long document in Google Documents it’s helpful to add page numbers as you go. That’s been possible in Google Docs for
Kids’ “State Dinner” Cookbook Offers Healthy Recipes for Families
Choose My Plate is a USDA website designed to promote healthy eating. Throughout the site you can find tips on creating and maintaining a healthy
5 Formative Assessment Tools You Can Embed Into Your Website or Blog
Earlier this week I had a chat with a teacher about the role of formative assessments in his classroom. As most of my conversations about
Goo.gl – Save Time, Shorten URLs, and Track Interactions
Goo.gl is Google’s free URL shortening service. As I explain in the video embedded below, Goo.gl can be a good tool to help you get
A Clarification About the Explore Feature In Google Slides
Last week I published a video about the new Explore feature in Google Slides. Since I published that video I have received a bunch of
Coming Soon – Discovery Education’s Annual Fall VirtCon
Every fall Discovery Education hosts a virtual conference that is open to the world. The DEN Fall VirtCon is a blended online and physical conference.
How to Put a Random Name Selector In Your Blog
Whether it is to call on a student to answer a question during a lesson or two choose a line leader for the day, we
5 Types of Stories Students Can Tell With Digital Maps
When most teachers hear or read about Google Maps, Google Earth, ESRI, and other digital mapping tools they tend to think about social studies topics.
Use Storyboards to Create Halloween Lessons & Cards
Now that we’re into October you might be thinking about Halloween-themed lessons for your students. Storyboard That offers a series of activities about Halloween. In the series you will
7 Highlights of the Practical Ed Tech Handbook – Get Your Free Copy
Last week I published an updated version of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook. It has been downloaded more than 1,500 times in the last four
Blogs & Social Media Course for Teachers & Principals Starts Tonight
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?
Sushi, Gmail, and Kahoot
At the end of every month I like to take a look at the search terms visitors frequently use on Free Technology for Teachers. It gives
Wizer – Create & Share Interactive Writing & Drawing Assignments
Wizer is a great, free service that bills itself as a tool for creating “blended worksheets.” While that is a fine a description I think it
The Week in Review – A Costume Wedding
Good morning from Maine where I’m getting ready for my friend Josh’s wedding later today. Since Josh and his fiance are fun-loving people and it’s
How to Use the New Explore Function in Google Slides
Earlier this week Google introduced a new feature to Google Slides, Docs, and Sheets that they are calling “Explore.” The Explore function in Google Slides
Other Places We Can Connect
I receive a healthy amount of requests on my personal Facebook account every week. I decline most of them because I like to keep my
The Most Popular Posts of the Month on Free Technology for Teachers
The end of September is here and by now we’re settled into the the new school year. I hope that the first month or so
5 Neat Things Students Can Do With Google Drawings
Google Drawings is one of the tools in the Google Drive suite that often gets overlooked by students and teachers. It can be a handy
A Short Overview of PrepFactory for Middle School
Last week I shared the news about PrepFactory updating its offerings to include language arts and math practice exercises for middle school students. The new
QuickKey + Inexpensive Phone = Time Saved On Grading
QuickKey is a popular iOS and Android app that can help you save a ton of time when grading multiple choice or true/false quizzes. I
GameOn World – A Great, Multiplayer Geography Game
GameOn World is a new, multiplayer geography game developed by a high school teacher and his student in Portland, Maine. The game is similar in
How to Live Stream from YouTube’s Creator Studio
This is a guest post from Ben Sondgeroth (@mr_sondgeroth) of EdTechTeacher, an advertiser on this site. You may have noticed that Google+ no longer supports
Practical Ed Tech Handbook – Updated for 2016-17
Last year I published a 30 page document that I called The Practical Ed Tech Handbook. This week I spent some time revising that document
5 More Overlooked Google Slides Features Students Should Know
One of last month’s most popular posts featured five frequently overlooked Google Slides features. Last week I featured a video about making comics in Google
TurboNote Adds New Features for Syncing Notes to Videos
TurboNote is a great Chrome extension that lets you take time-stamped notes while watching videos on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and many other video sharing sites.
ClassDojo Launches a New Series of Videos About Empathy
Earlier this year ClassDojo launched a new video series that they called Big Ideas. The first videos in the series were all about growth mindset.
How to Use Google Scholar to Track Product Developments
Last week I wrote about how students can use Google Scholar to track product developments and innovations over time. In the video embedded below I
A Brief History of the Cuban Missile Crisis
No unit of study about the Cold War is complete without including the Cuban Missile Crisis. The latest TED-Ed lesson provides students with a five
Spend a Few Fall Evenings Learning New Tech Skills To Use In Your Classroom
Next week I’m starting three sections of my popular Practical Ed Tech online courses. On Monday Blogs & Social Media for Teachers & School Leaders
The Evolution of Presidential Campaign Commercials
As the campaign for the White House continues to heat up, tonight’s debate should make that clear, it might be a good idea to take
Identifying Arguments – A Debate Assignment for High School Students
The first debate between U.S. Presidential candidates is happening tonight at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT. Lifehacker has a list of all of the ways that
Google Inches Closer to Making Google Play Available on More Chromebooks
Earlier this year Google announced a move to make Android apps and other element of the Google Play store available on Chromebooks. The first opportunity
27 Ideas for Teaching With & About Topographic Maps
The USGS offers free topographic maps for most of the United States. The maps can be downloaded as PDFs through the USGS store. The maps
The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it certainly feels like fall. This week my daughter turned one month old. The time is flying. As you can
MIT + K12 = Science Videos for K-12 Students
MIT + K12 is an MIT project that features MIT students explaining math and science concepts for K-12 students. The website isn’t a collection of
A New TED-Ed Lesson Explains Why There Are So Many Types of Apples
It is apple picking season here in New England. Take a stroll through a local orchard and you’re likely to see a bunch of different
MindMup Adds New Options to Their Mind Mapping Tool for Google Drive
MindMup is one of my favorite online mind mapping tools. MindMup works in your browser and it can be integrated into your Google Drive account
Which Parts of the Brain Do What?
Which Parts of the Brain Do What? is the title of a new MinuteEarth video. In the short video students can learn a bit about
Great Review Games for the Classroom That Isn’t 1:1
A comment that I frequently hear during or after my workshop on backchannels and informal assessment goes something like this, “I would love to do
FAQs About Practical Ed Tech Webinars
This week I have received a bunch of questions about the Practical Ed Tech courses that I am teaching in October. These are the most
You Choose 2016 Teaches Kids About the Presidential Election Process
Last month I featured the classroom debate kits from PBS Election Central. This week PBS published another good resource for helping students learn about the
Short Lessons on the Autumnal Equinox
The autumnal equinox occurs today in the northern hemisphere. If you’re looking for some resources for teaching about the equinox and the change of seasons,
PrepFactory Introduces Great, New Practice Activities for Middle School Students
PrepFactory is a popular service that for years has offered great, self-paced SAT and ACT preparation activities. For the new school year PrepFactory has expanded
Trace Product Developments Through Google Scholar Patent Search
Last week I was on Facebook chatting with an old friend about an older friend of ours who passed away almost a decade ago now.
How to Insert Columns Into Google Docs
Yesterday, Google announced a change to the way in which search works in Google Drive. Buried at the bottom of that announcement was a note
How to Create Comic Strips in Google Slides
Earlier today I published a post listing a handful of tools that students can use to create comic strips. Google Slides is one tool that
Draw and Tell: Create Animated Screencasts with Elementary Students
This is a guest post from Tom Daccord (@thomasdaccord) of EdTechTeacher, an advertiser on this site. Thanks to a recent partnership with Khan Academy, Duck
4 Browser-based Tools for Creating Comic Strips
Lately, I’ve published quite a bit about Pixton and Storyboard That. Both of those services provide good platforms for creating comic strips. Those aren’t the
Quill Adds 50 New Passages to Their Free Interactive Writing Lessons
Quill is a free service that puts a new spin on the old writing worksheets that most of us used in middle school. Essentially, Quill provides
View 3500+ Art Exhibitions Online
Thanks to Open Culture I have just learned about the Museum of Modern Art’s new website that showcases artwork from the more than 3500 exhibitions
How to Create, Share, and Print Thematic Maps
Google’s My Maps and Google Earth tools can provide a great way to create thematic maps. Unfortunately, those tools are quite limited if your students
Five Good Digital Exit Ticket Tools
One of the strategies that I use when creating lesson plans is to reflect on the previous lesson. Part of that reflection includes feedback from
Wild Weather Kitchen Experiments
Wild Weather Kitchen Experiments is a short series of instructional videos produced by The Open University. Each of the four videos in the series features
Fun and Short Smithsonian Videos
Ask Smithsonian is a fun video series featured on the Smithsonian Magazine website. All of the videos in the series are less than two minutes long.
5 Common Classroom Blog Mistakes
A classroom blog can be a powerful tool for improving communication with parents, for building a sense of community amongst your students, and for creating
5 Benefits of Having a Classroom Blog
1. Being authors on a blog gives students the opportunity to share their thoughts with you, their classmates, and their parents on a longer timeline
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good evening from Maine where it was a beautiful day for walking in the woods and along the water. Max and Mason were very happy
7 Good Tools for Creating Timelines
Timeline creation is a go-to project for many history teachers. When I made timelines as a student and in my first year or two of
Try My Simpleshow for Creating Explanatory Videos
My Simpleshow is a free tool for creating Common Craft style explanatory videos. The best aspect of My Simpleshow is the emphasis that the developers have placed on
Streamline Your Feedback Process in Google Docs
JoeZoo Express is a free Google Docs Add-on that could change the way that you grade students’ work in Google Documents. JoeZoo enables you to
How to Create Simple Comics on Pixton
On Monday I shared some thoughts about using Pixton to engage students in creative writing. Over the last couple of days some folks have asked
The World of 7 Billion – A Student Video Contest
The World of 7 Billion is an annual video contest designed to get students to think about issues related to population growth. The contest asks middle school
How to Refine Google Searches According to Date
Google’s search function has a lot of handy features that students often overlook while conducting research. One of those features is the option to refine
Telling Stories and Solving Problems With Storyboards
Last night I hosted a free webinar about using storyboards to tell stories, illustrate problems and solutions, and to summarize favorite books. The webinar was
NEW Apple Teacher Site Offers FREE Professional Development
This is a guest post from Sabba Quidwai (@AskMsQ) of EdTechTeacher, an advertiser on this site. Last week was a big one for Apple enthusiasts,
IP Addresses Explained by Common Craft
You may have heard the techie people in your life use the term “IP address” while explaining a problem regarding your computer connecting to the
How to Create a Check-in/ Check-out System In Google Forms
About eighteen months ago I published a video tutorial on how to create a simple check-in/ check-out system in Google Forms. Since then Forms has
The Sights, Sounds, and Science of Autumn
This morning I woke up to a chill in the air. As I walked my dogs I spotted a bunch of fallen, red leaves. In
Symbolab – An Online Graphing Calculator and More
Symbolab is a service that launched four years ago. When I tried it then I described as a cross between Google and Wolfram Alpha. I described
Help Me Choose My Next Video Topic
Every week I make new video tutorials that I publish on my YouTube channel. The topics of most of those tutorial videos comes from questions
Pixton Offers a Great Way to Create Engaging Writing Lessons
For years I’ve advocated for using comics as a way to get students engaged in the writing process. To many students, creating a comic seems
6 Things to Check When a Website or App Isn’t Working
This is the time of year when you might find yourself trying to use an app or website for the first time after a few
The Problem With Automating Your Blog
The web is great. Everyday a new tool appears that makes some task easier than ever to accomplish. But not every task that can be
Campaign Comics Templates for Kids
Make Beliefs Comix offers comic strip templates and writing prompts in up to seven languages. The templates and prompts can be completed online or you
How to Create Shared Google Calendars
Last week on the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook page someone asked me for a recommendation for creating and maintaining a shared calendar. My immediate
Youngzine is Updated for 2016-17 School Year – Great Current Events Resource
Youngzine is a great service that provides teachers with current events articles written for classroom use. I first used the site in 2012 and it
Check the Source Before You Subscribe or Buy
The online education community has a problem. We want our students to be aware of copyright and respect the work of authors yet we don’t
3 Features of Flubaroo That Are Often Overlooked
The Flubaroo Add-on for Google Sheets is a powerful tool for quickly grading multiple choice and short answer quizzes created with Google Forms. Flubaroo has
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Woodstock, Maine where as I look out from my deck I can see some leaves starting to turn red and orange. This
Three Online PD Courses Starting In October
With the new school year underway it can be hard to find time for professional development. Fortunately, online courses can make it a bit easier
5 Tools to Organize and Cite Research Sources
The ways in which we conduct research and organize research have changed significantly over the last couple of decades. When many of us were in
How to Randomize Google Forms Response Options
Earlier this week I received an email from a reader who was looking for a way to have all of her students take the same
How to Print Grade Reports from Flubaroo
The Flubaroo Add-on for Google Sheets is a powerful tool for quickly grading multiple choice and short answer quizzes created with Google Forms. Flubaroo has been around
Google Books Ngram Viewer Overview
The Google Books Ngram Viewer is a search tool that displays when and how often a term appears in books indexed by Google Books. By
Two Crash Courses on Classic Literature
A few years ago John Green started a Crash Course series on classic literature. The early episodes featured Hamlet, The Great Gatsby, and The Odyssey
How to Enable Automatic Grading in Flubaroo for Google Sheets
The Flubaroo Add-on for Google Sheets is a powerful tool for quickly grading multiple choice and short answer quizzes created with Google Forms. Flubaroo has been around
Improved Management of Google Drive File Uploads
One of the things that I like about Google Drive is that I can upload and store just about any file in my account. Additionally,
How to Conduct a Reverse Image Search
Tineye is a free tool that helps you conduct reverse image searches. In a reverse image search you’re searching for the places where an image
How to Accept Multiple Correct Responses on Google Forms Quizzes
The Flubaroo Add-on for Google Sheets is a powerful tool for quickly grading multiple choice and short answer quizzes created with Google Forms. Flubaroo has
Free Webinar – Digital Storytelling With Storyboards
Next Tuesday evening (September 13th) at 7pm Eastern Time I will be hosting a free webinar sponsored by Storyboard That. The webinar will focus on designing and delivering