Fresh Takes 4 Teachers
Digitize Your Whiteboard and Paper Notes With OneDrive
From Evernote to Google Drive to CamScanner there are plenty of mobile apps that you can use to snap a picture of a whiteboard or
Wall of Birds – Hear the Calls of Birds and See Their Ranges
Wall of Birds is a new site published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Wall of Birds features a mural of 243 hand-painted birds.
Best Job Ever – Short Stories About Outdoor Jobs #bestjobever
National Geographic’s YouTube channel has a relatively new playlist called #bestjobever. The playlist features short stories about people who have interesting jobs that are primarily
3 Tips for Using YouTube Videos In Your Classroom
In my workshop YouTube, It’s Not Just Cats & Khan Academy I share a lot of tips and tricks for safely using YouTube in your
Pindex – Another “Pinterest for Education” Site
Pindex is a new site that like many before it is attempting to position itself as “Pinterest for education.” On Pindex (still in private beta)
Three Google Slides Features New Users Often Ask About
Last week I published a post answering three questions that new Google Docs users frequently ask. That post turned out to be quite popular so
Lucidpress Adds New Video, Font, and Download Options for Creating Multimedia Documents
Lucidpress is a great tool for collaboratively creating multimedia documents. In the past I have described it as offering the best of Apple’s Pages combined
PrepFactory Helps Students Prepare for the SAT & ACT
PrepFactory is a free service that offers excellent SAT and ACT preparation activities. The site offers free guides to SAT and ACT strategy along with
AC/DC and Other Lessons on Electricity
This evening I watched another episode of American Genius on Netflix. The episode that I watched tonight was about the work of Thomas Edison to
60 Second Adventures in Thought – An Open University Course
60 Second Adventures in Thought is a series of videos produced by The Open University in which six famous thought experiments are explained. The entire playlist
Literature Map Helps You Find Authors You Might Like
Finding books that kids will like can be a difficult task. Literature Map is a tool that might make that process easier. Literature Map provides a web of authors
New Playback Options Added to Haiku Deck
Haiku Deck is my favorite alternative to using PowerPoint or Google Slides to create presentations. Haiku Deck’s themes, templates, and integrated Creative Commons image search
The Week in Review – A New Family Member
Good morning from the Free Technology for Teachers World Headquarters in Woodstock, Maine. It’s a beautiful late winter morning here. The sun is shining and
Cloudschool – Create & Distribute a Variety of Multimedia Courses
Cloudschool is a free service for creating and publishing multimedia lessons. In your free Cloudschool account you can create courses of study for your students.
A Crash Course on Foreign Policy
Last fall PBS Digital Studios and Crash Course launched a series on government and politics. The 50th and last installment in the series is about
Change Your Clock, Have a Heart Attack? – Daylight Saving Lessons
In most of North America this weekend we will be moving our clocks forward by one hour for Daylight Saving Time. Last night’s edition of
Three Helpful Google Docs Updates Released This Week
This week the Google Docs team released three updates. All three updates have potential to be useful in school settings. First, Google Docs in your
Wikipedia Releases an Updated App for Exploring Interesting Content
The Wikimedia Foundation has released a new version of their Wikipedia iPad and iPhone app. The latest version, available now, features an aspect they’re calling the
3 Google Docs Options First Time Users Often Ask About
Earlier this week I led a short workshop for first-time Google Docs users in a school district near my home. I have facilitated these kinds
Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality Explained by Common Craft
Bit by bit artificial intelligence (AI) is working its way into our lives. If you have seen IBM’s Watson in action, you’ve seen AI at work.
Lessons on Colds & Flu
I jinxed myself last week by saying aloud, “this is the first winter in a few years that I haven’t gotten sick.” Less than a
What’s Due Adds What’s Seen to Help You Help Students Complete Assignments
WhatsDue is a free service (available for Android and iOS) that enables teachers to create and send due date reminders to their students. Students receive
Three Tools Students Can Use to Add Annotations to Videos
When we talk about flipped lessons it often involves a lot of heavy lifting on a teacher’s part. From finding a video to adding questions
10 Apps, Sites, and Lessons for Promoting Health and Fitness
In all of my Best of the Web presentations I try to present resources for a wide variety of classroom settings and subject areas. Health
Five Tools for Sharing Portions of Videos
Online videos can be quite useful for reiterating a lesson to your students, for inspiring thought and conversation, and for introducing a new concept to
Three Mobile Apps That Can Help Students Search
Students might forget their lunches, their gym shoes, and their homework assignments when they leave their houses in the morning, but they never forget their
QuizSlides is Closing Accounts – Use It or Lose It
QuizSlides is a service whose purpose is to help you build quizzes based upon your slides. I’ve been using the service off and on since
Perspecs Shows Students Three Sides to Every Story
Perspecs is a new app that aims to provide users with three sides to every news story. On Monday through Friday the free Android and
More Resources for Teaching and Learning About Flight #STEM
On Sunday I wrote a post about an interactive timeline of the developments made by the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss. Here are some more
Use the Crowd to Go Beyond Google
Whenever I have the opportunity to speak about personal/ professional learning networks (PLNs) one of points that I stress to the skeptical members of the
FAQs About the 2016 Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps
Last month I announced that I will be hosting the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps again this year. The two day event will be held
My Favorite Internet Search Tips for Teachers & Students
Whether you teach students who are ten years old or forty years old there will be times when they turn to you and say, “I
Comparing Textbooks to Wikipedia – A Student & Teacher Lesson
Last week during NCTIES I shared an activity that I have done with students and teachers to help them identify the similarities and differences between
The Contest for Human Flight – Interactive Timeline
Last night I started watching American Genius on Netflix. American Genius, produced by National Geographic, features the stories of American inventors and innovators who were
How to Refine Google Searches by File Type & Domain
Two of the simple, but powerful Google search strategies that I often share in my workshops are searching by file type and searching by domain.
The Week in Review – Home With Max
Good evening from Maine where I’m home after a great week in North Carolina for the NCTIES 2016 conference. Many thanks to everyone who came
PowerPoint Playbook – Animating Numbered Lists
Last fall I featured Tom Richey’s free PowerPoint and video collection for AP US History and AP European History students. Tom’s YouTube channel is full
Travel the Iditarod Race in Google Street View
The Iditarod Sled Dog race begins today. It’s one of the events that I would love to see in person some day. While I cannot
Check Out the New Google Docs & Slides Templates
This week Google added some new templates to the Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets template galleries. The most notable of these templates for students and
How to Find Google Earth Files That Aren’t in the Google Earth Gallery
Yesterday, during my workshop on Google Earth and Google Maps someone asked me if I knew of any files about Rome. I did know about
Apply Soon for the Discovery Summer Institute
A few years ago I had the privilege to speak at Discovery Education Network’s Summer Institute. It was a great event and I have wholeheartedly
CamFind – Conduct Research With the Help of Augmented Reality
In my last presentation at the NCTIES 2016 conference I shared some mobile apps and ideas for using them with ELA and social studies classes
Great Tools for Creating Backchannels & Informal Assessments
Yesterday at the NCTIES 2016 conference I hosted a three hour workshop on creating and using backchannels and informal assessments in the classroom. The tools
Best of the Web – Spring 2016
This afternoon at the NCTIES 2016 conference I had the privilege to once again give my Best of the Web presentation to a packed room
How to Use Google’s My Maps in Your Classroom
This morning at the NCTIES 2016 conference I facilitated a short workshop on using Google Maps and Google Earth in the classroom. Both tools are
Register Early and Save $75 on Two Great Summer PD Events
This summer I will once again be hosting professional development events in Maine. This summer I will host the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp on
Quickly Dictate Notes in Multiple Languages on Dictation.io
Dictation.io is a good tool to add to yesterday’s list of free tools for dictating notes. On Dictation.io you can simply click “start dictation” then
How to Make Copies of Google Docs That Aren’t Directly Shared With You
On a fairly regular basis I share charts and other digital hand-outs that I have created in Google Documents. For example, I recently shared this
Organize Your Projects with Trello
This is a guest post from Kate Wilson (@katewilson13) of EdTechTeacher, an advertiser on this site. Getting and staying organized as an individual varies with
The Month in Review – February’s Most Popular Posts
Good evening from Maine where while the month of February is coming to a close I am getting ready for my favorite March event, the
Three Free Tools Students Can Use to Dictate Notes
Food speech recognition software can be very pricey, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re looking for some free speech to text options for
Two Last Minute Lessons on Leap Year
Today is February 29th. My friend Rod’s son is turning sixteen or four depending upon how you look at it. Why? Because there won’t be
How Big Is The Sun? – And Five Other Lessons on the Size of the Universe
We had a beautiful winter sunset here in Woodstock, Maine tonight. It was a nice ending to a relaxing weekend. Watching the sunset while I
200+ Practical Ed Tech Tutorial Videos
Over the last fourteen months I’ve steadily created screencast videos for my Practical Ed Tech Tips playlist. That playlist now contains more than 200 tutorial videos. In
Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads? – And Two Other Interesting Dog Lessons
My dog Max, like a lot of other dogs, tilts his head whenever I ask him a question like “do you want to go for
The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts of the Week
Good evening from the Free Technology for Teachers World Headquarters in Woodstock, Maine. This week Max and I had two visitors to my office. My
How to Create Interactive Writing Assignments to Share Through Google Classroom
Wizer is a neat tool for creating a variety of interactive assignments including writing assignments, multiple choice quizzes, and labeling assignments. You can distribute your
Open eBooks – Thousands of Free eBooks for Students and Teachers
Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo this morning learned about a new program that will provide Title I schools with access to thousands of free ebooks. Open
Improved Voice Commands and More New Google Apps Features Released This Week
A few months ago Google adding voice typing as a native feature in Google Docs. This week they improved the voice typing feature by adding
Padlet Adds Helpful New Attachment Previews
Padlet is a fantastic tool that I have used and recommended countless times over the years. My tutorial video about it is the most viewed
How to Blur Faces & Objects in YouTube Videos
Sharing video highlights of school events can be a great way to build community interest in the good things that are happening in your school.
Six Timeline Creation Tools for Students Compared In an Updated Chart
Last August I published a chart in which I compared the core features of six online timeline creation tools. Since then one of the tools,
Join Me This Summer for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps
All winter people have been asking if I will be hosting the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp again this year. I’m excited to announce that
The 2016 Google Science Fair is Now Open
The 2016 Google Science Fair is now open. This annual event asks thirteen to eighteen year old students to carry out a test or experiment
Organize Research While Creating Slides on Buncee
For years I’ve used the slideshow creation process as a means of organizing my thoughts. I teach the same idea to students. The process of
Tagboard Offers New Features for Following Hashtags Across Multiple Networks
Tagboard is a tool that allows you follow a hashtag and see all of the Tweets, Instagram, Facebook, and Google+ posts about it in one
Wizer – Create Interactive Writing Activities to Share Through Google Classroom
Wizer is a free service that bills itself as a tool for creating “blended worksheets.” While that is a fine a description I think it
Newsela Offers Text Sets About the 2016 Election
Newsela is a popular service that aims to help teachers find current events articles that are appropriate for their students’ age and reading abilities. For the
Google’s Guides to Apps Accessibility
This morning I received an email from a reader who wanted to know if I had any resources about user accessibility of Google Apps. I
Collaboratively Create Reminders & Task Lists on Pinside
Pinside is a free online sticky note service. Pinside can be used to create boards of notes for yourself or boards to share with others.
Elementary School Lessons About Fossils and Rocks
The American Geosciences Institute produces K-5 GeoSource which is a site that hosts lesson plans and other educational resources for teachers. K-5 GeoSource has a
Summarize the Day With Pic Collage
Creating collages can be a good way for students to organize their thoughts in a visual manner. In creating their collages they are organizing images
The Week in Review – Thinking About Summer on the Coldest Day of Winter
Skiing across Moosehead Lake. Good morning from Maine where the snow flurries are reminding us that winter is still here. Last Sunday we had the
35 Permission Slip Templates
If you have ever organized a field trip, you have probably had to gather permission slips signed by your students’ parents. Your school might have
A Crash Course on Philosophy
Last fall I shared more than 100 animated lessons about philosophy. This week, through Open Culture, I learned about a new Crash Course in philosophy.
7 Blogging Platforms for Teachers Compared and Ranked
Last week I published an updated version of one my popular ed tech tools comparison charts. That chart was about creating multimedia quizzes. This afternoon
The Instructional Technology Tool I Recommend in Email More Than Any Other
Every week I receive at least a handful of emails from readers who have watched one of my Practical Ed Tech tutorial videos and wanted
13 Google Forms Tutorial Videos
Last week the new version of Google Forms became the default version in many Google Accounts. But, as many people have pointed out to me,
Fun Math Activities for Parents To Do With Their Kids
Bedtime Math is a great site on which you can locate fun mathematics activities for elementary school and middle school students. The activities are designed
Growth Mindset – Big Ideas for the Classroom
Last month ClassDojo launched a new video series that they are calling Big Ideas. The series is all about growth mindset as it pertains to
C-SPAN Offers a Free Electoral College Poster and Lesson Plans
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
Quizalize – Create Interactive Review Games to Play Synchronously or Asynchronously
There is certainly not a shortage of interactive quiz platforms available to teachers today. Platforms like Socrative and Kahoot have turned boring review activities into
How to Use Find & Replace in Google Docs
The latest addition to my playlist of more than 90 Google Apps tutorials videos addresses a question that I received in my email this morning
A Convenient New Way to See Who Has Access to Your Google Drive Folders
Creating shared Google Drive folders provides teachers and students with a great way to contribute to a pool of B-roll media, to share study guides,
PicLits – Inspire Creative Stories Through Pictures
PicLits is an excellent site for finding creative writing prompts. PicLits aims to provide inspiration for writing short stories. PicLits tries to reach this goal by providing users with
4 Videos That Help Students & Parents Understand Financial Aid
The FAFSA and financial aid packages offered by universities can be difficult for the first-time college student to navigate. And if you’re a first generation
5 Dice – A Fun Math Activity on iPads
5 Dice is a nice iPad app designed to provide students with a place to practice and develop their understanding of the order of operations. The
The Electoral College Explained
We’re choosing a new President of the United States this year. We’re still in the primary and caucus phase of picking candidates. Once that’s done
The Clear Alternative to Evernote Clearly
Clearly was a popular Chrome extension that allowed you to view and save web pages without all of the sidebar and header content that appears
How to Create Video-based Quizzes on Blubbr
Blubbr is a neat quiz creation service that enables you to create interactive quizzes that are based on YouTube clips. Your quizzes can be about
Reading Lessons for President’s Day
Presidents’ Day (in the United States) is tomorrow. ReadWorks offers a collection of articles and question sets to support your lessons about President’s Day. ReadWorks is
The US Presidents in Google Earth
Monday is President’s Day in the United States. In celebration of that day, Google has published a kmz file containing images and links to information
How to Get Add-ons in the New Version of Google Forms
Last week Google announced support for Add-ons in the new version of Google Forms. Lack of support for Add-ons had been holding me back from
The Week in Review – Snow and Ice
Good morning from snowy Woodstock, Maine where I’m getting ready for a fun weekend of skiing and ice fishing on Moosehead Lake. As it is
How to Create a Collaborative Whiteboard Space on NotebookCast
NoteBookCast is a free whiteboard tool that will work in the web browser on a laptop, iPad, Android tablet, and Windows tablet. NoteBookCast is a
7 Tools for Creating Multimedia Quizzes Compared in One Chart
Last winter I made a series of charts in which I compared popular ed tech tools. I’m now going through those charts and removing some
Rate Some Educational Videos and Inspire Your Students
Next Vista for Learning is my favorite place for students and teachers to share the educational videos that they create. Throughout the year Next Vista
How to Resize Videos in Google Forms
Shortly after I published a post about the recent changes to Google Forms I received an email from someone who wanted to know if there
Why Do We Love? – One More Valentine’s Day Lesson
Earlier this week I shared some resources for teaching about science and statistics related to Valentine’s Day. This morning I noticed a new TED-Ed lesson