Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
This Time With Four Part Harmony and Feeling…
It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. And although the pandemic ended my annual tradition of watching the road race in my hometown my tradition of posting
Two Cool Mapping Tools in the Felt Mapping Platform
A couple of weeks ago I published an introductory overview of a new digital mapping platform called Felt. As I said in that introduction, I’ve
How to Search Within Your Google Drive Folders
Yesterday afternoon I shared a tip for keeping track of what you put into your Google Drive folders. This morning I have a tip on
Watch Out for This Email Scam Pretending to Be From YouTube Support
If you have a YouTube channel, there is a new (new to me anyway) email scam that you need to be aware of. This scam
How to Add Descriptions to Google Drive Folders
A few days ago I received an email from a reader who was looking for suggestions about how to keep track of what is contained
More Than 70,000 Pieces of ClipArt and Pictures for Students
The Florida Center for Instructional Technology hosts two fantastic resources for teachers and students in search of clipart and pictures for classroom projects. One of
How to Read Music – And 17 Other Lessons About Music
Music Snippet is a Google Docs add-on that I’ve written about in the past. It’s handy tool for writing music in Google Docs. A reader
Maps and Videos About Where Thanksgiving Foods Come From
Where Does Your Thanksgiving Dinner Come From? is an interactive storymap that I’ve shared in the past and still find interesting. The map displays where eight
Two Good Ways to Create Simple and Focused Websites
Parts of this post originally appeared late last year in an issue of my Practical Ed Tech weekly newsletter. I am often asked for recommendations
STEAM Lessons About the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
Watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a little tradition in my house just like it is in millions of other homes in the United
Elk, Geography, and Art – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where I’m home after spending most of the week in western Nebraska. It was there that I took the picture featured
Five Digital Mapping Tools That Aren’t Made by Google
Google Earth and Google’s My Maps are great tools for students to use to create multimedia maps. But Google isn’t the only game in town
How to Create a Story Map
StoryMap JS is a tool that I’ve been using and recommending for many years. It’s a free tool that students can use to create a
Loom Adds New Features That Will Be Helpful to Teachers and Students
Loom is one of the tools that I regularly recommend when I’m asked to recommend a video tool for creating instructional videos. This week Loom
The Science Behind My Favorite Thanksgiving Foods
American Thanksgiving is one week away. The traditional Thanksgiving meal is one of my favorite combinations of foods. My mouth is watering just thinking about
Where I’d Like to Go – A Geography Lesson With Google Drawings
I originally wrote this blog post and recorded the video in 2021 while thinking about icebreaker activities for the start of the school year. The
Plate Tectonics and a Search Lesson
This is a post from my archives that fits with the theme of Geography Awareness Week. This morning I responded to a Tweet from someone
A Google Earth Lesson With the “I’m Feeling Lucky” Button
Since it is Geography Awareness Week I thought I’d pull a lesson plan from my archives to share with you. From voyages to games to
Fifty Tech Tuesday Tips
Are you a tech coach, tech integrator, or media specialist who has been asked to run a little tech workshop? Do you need some ideas
An Overview of Five Fun Geography Games for Students
Today is the first day of Geography Awareness Week. In the following videos I provide an overview of five map-based geography games that your students
Tools for Translating Live Presentations
Last week a reader emailed me to ask the following question: Do you have any recommendations for a live translation during a keynote address or
Creating and Conducting Polls in Google Slides and PowerPoint
Poll Everywhere is a polling tool that I’ve used off and on throughout the past decade. It’s a great tool for gathering questions from an audience,
Felt – A New Way to Create Multimedia Maps
About a week ago Larry Ferlazzo mentioned a new mapping tool in one of his blog posts. That tool is called Felt. I tried it
Keep, Quiz, and Templates – The Week in Review
Good evening from Banner County, Nebraska! I’m here for the next few days to visit my good friends Kris and Beth Still. Those of you
Free, Customizable Clip Art
CoCoMaterial is an online library of almost 2,500 drawings that you can download and re-use for free. I’ve been using it for about a month
YouTube Studio Settings for Teachers
Many years ago I was at the annual ISTE conference when I heard a speaker say, “if you want the biggest authentic audience for your
Making and Leading Virtual Tours With Expeditions Pro
Many of us lamented the loss of Google Expeditions because it was a great tool for leading students on virtual reality tours of all kinds
Now You Can Use Focusable Without Registering for an Account
I have been using Focusable since September to help me stop procrastinating and focus on the work that I need to get done when I’d
Fun Facts About Turkeys – And a Digital Turkey Project
We frequently have wild turkeys come through our backyard. And almost as frequently one of my dogs will chase them until they fly off. I
SpacesEDU Updates iPad App
Spaces is a digital portfolio tool that I’ve covered since the beginning of 2021 when it launched with a great feature called Asynchronous Breakout Rooms.
Tips for Managing Google Drive Folders
A couple of mornings ago a reader asked me to help her figure out how a Google Doc she didn’t remember sharing was accessed by
CollegeLab – A Tool to Help Students Find Colleges They May Like
A long time ago when I was a high school student trying to decide where I should go to college the process was a rudimentary
A Small Collection of Resources for Teaching and Learning About Veterans Day
This Friday is Veterans Day. If you find yourself looking for some quick lessons to review with your students, here’s a small collection for you.
30+ Activity Templates to Use in Google Classroom
Disclosure: BookWidgets is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com It was around this time last year that I tried BookWidgets for the first time. I was immediately
Math and Geography
Over the weekend a Tweet from Thomas Petra reminded me of a great Google Earth resource that he developed years ago. That resource is Real
Is This the End of the Google Keep Chrome Extension?
I’ve been using Google Keep for nearly all of my bookmarking for the last half-dozen years or more. It nicely syncs my bookmarks, notes, and
5 Things You Can Make With Microsoft Flip Besides Selfie Videos
Microsoft Flip (formerly known as Flipgrid) is a great tool for getting to know your students through the use of short selfie-style videos. I’ve also
GeoQuiz History Edition – A Fun and Challenging Geography Game
The start of Geography Awareness Week is nine days away. It’s probably my favorite academically-themed week of the year. (Yes, that’s my social studies teacher
Documents, Maps, and Clocks – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it is unusually warm for November. There have been many years in the past when I have been skiing by
How Focusable Helps Me Stop Procrastinating
On Thursday morning I wrote about a new TED-Ed lesson that explains why we procrastinate. The lesson also offers some suggestions for breaking the procrastination
Get Ready for The Great Thanksgiving Listen 2022
During Tuesday night’s episode of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions the topic of audio recording came up. That prompted me to go on a little
Why We Procrastinate and Tips to Stop Doing It
I meant to write about this a few days ago. TED-Ed recently published a new lesson that tackles an issue that most of us have
ICYMI – Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions
A couple of nights ago Rushton Hurley and I resumed our Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions series. We were joined by a handful of fine folks
A New Primary Source Crowd-sourcing Project from the Library of Congress
By the People is a crowd-sourcing project that enlists the help of the public to transcribe thousands of primary source documents that are housed by and
How to Make Multimedia Maps on Padlet
Geography Awareness Week is coming up in a couple of weeks. In preparation for my favorite academic week of the year, I’ve recorded an updated
The End of Daylight Saving Time is Near…for this year
This coming Saturday night is the end of Daylight Saving Time for this year in North America. I’m excited to turn the clocks back one
A Webinar (or Workshop) and an eBook for Your School
Last December I published the first edition of 50 Tech Tuesday Tips. When I did that I made the offer of hosting a free webinar for
Candy, Pizza, and Games – The Month in Review
Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on the month of October and my daughters have finally fallen asleep after the excitement of
The Difference Between Stocks and Bonds
Last week I finished reading Liar’s Poker written by Michael Lewis. The book is partly about his experience as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers
Free Webinar This Tuesday – Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions
This coming Tuesday, November 1st at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT Rushton Hurley and I will be hosting the second episode of our third season of Two
Grateful Dead Writing Prompts
One of the things that people sometimes find surprising about me is that I enjoy listening to and watching old Grateful Dead shows. One of
One Last Round-up of Halloween Resources
As my daughters have reminded me about 1,000 times in the last week, tomorrow is Halloween. If you have elementary school students who are equally
How to Create a Digital Map Collection in Wakelet
Wakelet is a free, collaborative bookmarking and file organization tool that puts things into a nice visual display. So when a former colleague emailed me
Chrome, Crows, and Games – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sunrise is still more than an hour away as I drink my first cup of coffee. It’s going to
How to Import PDFs Into Book Creator Projects
About a week ago Book Creator rolled-out the third or fourth new feature of this school year. That feature is the ability to import PDFs
How to Adjust Playback Volume in Google Slides
Support for audio files was welcome addition to Google Slides when it was announced in the fall of 2019. But four years later there are
Make Green Screen Videos With Zoom and Adobe Express
A few weeks ago I shared directions for creating green screen videos in Canva. That method is great because it doesn’t require you to record
Finding and Exploring 15 Minute Cities
City Access Map is an interactive map that anyone can use to find and explore the walkability of cities around the world. Specifically, City Access
How to Set Notifications for Individual Google Documents
Google Drive has long let you receive email and desktop notifications for edits and comments to your shared Google Docs. Unfortunately, it was an “all
Five More Things Students Can Explain With Simple Animations
Last week I shared five suggestions for things that students can explain with simple animations. This week I have five more ideas to share with
The Differences Between Crows and Ravens
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven gets read a lot in schools at this time of year. Why you should read Poe’s work is explained in
A Fun Tool for Creating Avatars
The internet is full of websites on which you can make little icons and avatars. What it’s not full of is free sites for that
How to Create a Timed Quiz in Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms recently got some new features that are helpful for teachers. One of those new features is the ability to set a time limit
My Top Five Tips for Creating Instructional Videos
Over the years I’ve made more than 1,000 videos for my YouTube channel and nearly as many for students in my classrooms. Here are five
The Common Cold Is Still Here! – Why Is It So Hard to Cure?
If you watched the video that I published on Wednesday you can hear me beginning to lose my voice. That’s because like everyone else in
Trick O’ Treat Safety Review Games
Halloween is just eight days away. If you’re an elementary school teacher, you might be planning to do some trick o’ treating safety reviews with
Geography, Monsters, and Drawings – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is rising and it’s a brisk 29F as I sip my dark roast coffee. It was a busy
TED-Ed Lessons With a Halloween Theme
Halloween is a little more than a week away. It is during the next week that a lot of students will be introduced to the
Why Does the Road Crack? – Another Question from my Daughters
One of my favorite things to do these days is to ride bikes with my daughters. Sometimes I even record those rides on Strava because
Five Things Students Can Explain With Simple Animations
One of my all-time favorite tech coaching experiences was helping an eighth grade science class produce short animations to explain forms of energy. It was
You Should Write About Rainbows!
Today is my youngest daughter’s 5th birthday! When I told her that I needed to do some writing this morning she said, “you should write
Now You Can Import PDFs Into Book Creator
Earlier this fall Book Creator added some helpful new features in the form of audio, video, and text commenting. This week the folks at Book
Another Good Place to Find Free Drawings for Classroom Projects
Earlier this year I published a list of good places to find free images and drawings to use in your classroom projects. Thanks to something
Halloween-themed Physical Education Lesson Plans
Halloween is less than two weeks away. I don’t know about your students and children, but mine are very excited about it! That’s why I
How to Play GeoGeek AR
Last week I wrote a brief overview of a fun geography app called GeoGeek AR. The “AR” in the app’s name stands for augmented reality.
Five Google Workspace Tips That Can Make Your Day Better
The best part of a being a teacher is making connections with kids. Making those connections takes time. Unfortunately, teaching also comes with a lot
Making and Teaching With Animated Explanations – A New Practical Ed Tech Course
At the end of this week’s Practical Ed Tech newsletter I teased a new online course that I’ve been developing. That course is Animated Explanations.
C-SPAN Offers a Free Electoral College Poster
C-SPAN Classroom is one of my go-to sources of ideas for lessons on current events related to U.S. government and politics. Membership in C-SPAN Classroom
How to Catch Monsters – A Halloween Play Script
How to Catch Monsters is a free play script published by Playbooks Reader’s Theater. The play was written to be performed by students in first
Two EdTech Guys Take Questions – Season Three, Episode Two
Last week Rushton Hurley and I hosted the second episode of the third season of our Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions series. We were joined by
Webinar – Engage and Investigate With the Ken Burns Classroom Collection
As a student and teacher of U.S. History, I’ve enjoyed many of the documentaries produced by Ken Burns (even if my students didn’t always enjoy
GeoGeek AR – An Augmented Reality Geography Game
GeoGeek AR is a fun app for testing and developing your knowledge of world geography. As its name and icon imply, the app uses augmented
Five Ways QR Codes Can Be Helpful in Your School
Last week I was looking through my YouTube Studio analytics and noticed that once again my video about creating QR codes for Google Forms was
Voices, Search, and Bare Trees – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the leaves are falling faster than ever. A couple nights ago a big rain storm through and some of our
50 Tech Tuesday Tips for You
Are you a new tech coach, tech integrator, or media specialist who has been asked to run a little tech workshop? Do you need some
A Fun Timeline Game for History Students
Play Your Dates Right is another great game template developed by Russel Tarr at ClassTools.net. The concept of Play Your Dates Right is that students
How to Print Guest Lists for Google Calendar Events
Google Calendar, like most products in Google Workspace, has lots of little features that are often overlooked. Just because those features are overlooked doesn’t mean
Explore the K-12 Section of The Open Library
The Open Library is a part of the Internet Archive that provides vistors with the opportunity to search for, browse through, and read eBooks. The Open Library is a collection of
Lesson Plans About Setting SMART Goals
Storyboard That is a great tool that can be used for creating cartoons, flowcharts, timelines, and wireframes in addition to typical storyboards. Storyboard That also
Read and Help Transcribe Walt Whitman’s Notebooks and Diaries
A handful of years ago the Library of Congress launched a crowd sourcing project called Crowd which has since been renamed as By the People.
Grid Views and Timelines in Google Slides
Last week I hosted a webinar about using Google Workspace in the context of social studies classes. One of the things that I mentioned in
Animations of Historical Movements and Patterns
Some of my favorite social studies lesson plans include having students use maps to analyze data and identify patterns in history. Over the years I’ve
How to Add Background Music to PowerPoint Presentations
Last week a reader emailed me to ask for help adding background music to a PowerPoint presentation. He mentioned that he was using the web
Record a Tour in Google Earth
The Amazing Race is the only reality game show that I’ve watched with interest for as long as it has been on television. Years ago
This Little Trick Makes Podcast Editing Easier
When editing a video there are visuals that make it relatively easy to know where to cut. The same is not true when editing audio
A Classic – How to Use Classtools.net to Create a Fake Text Message Exchange
Russel Tarr, owner of Classtools.net, has developed and published a bunch of great tools over the years. One of my favorite of those is the
How to Create Your Own Search Engine
A couple of weeks ago I published a post about two ways to add an image search tool to your website. One of those methods
Why Our Voices Sounds Different to Us Than to Others
One of the questions that I often get asked after giving a keynote is “has anyone told you that you sound like Ray Romano?” I
Pizza, Cats, and Videos – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where we’re going to enjoy a nice long weekend of riding our bikes, raking some leaves, and visiting Storyland one last