Fresh Tech for Teachers
Short Lessons on the Differences Between Canadian and American Thanksgiving
Monday is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. It’s about six weeks earlier than it is here in the United States. I’ve celebrated both versions of Thanksgiving
Eight Good Tools for Creating and Publishing Timelines
Having students create timelines has been a standard in the playbooks of history teachers since the beginning of history. Writing a timeline is a good
Brief Explanations of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Why Some States No Longer Have Columbus Day
Monday is Indigenous Peoples’ Day here in Maine. In other states it is still referred to as Columbus Day. The Daily Bellringer offers a good
Three Student Video Contests
Video creation contests can be a fun way to get students thinking about academic topics and then producing videos to demonstrate their understanding of those
Everything You Need to Know About Computer Monitors
Back when I taught computer repair we got all kinds of old computers and monitors donated to our classroom. One of the seemingly never-ending challenges
Tutorials for Getting Started With the Smithsonian Learning Lab
The Smithsonian Learning Lab allows teachers to create and search for documents, images, videos, interactive animations, and lesson plans from a wide range of Smithsonian-hosted resources. It
How to Create Green Screen Videos in Canva
A couple of weeks ago Canva held an event to announce a bunch features that were going to be added over the coming months. One
Updated – Screencasting on Chromebooks – Built-in Tool vs. Third-party Tools
Back in June Google introduced a new screencasting tool for Chromebooks. Back then I wrote a comparison of the Chrome OS screencast tool and some others
Creative Storm – A Student Video Contest
Creative Storm 2022 is the title of the latest Next Vista for Learning video contest. Like previous Next Vista contests, this one is open to students and teachers.
The DMCA Scam Returns in the Form of Nationwide Legal Services
As you may recall, last spring I unravelled a scam in which someone pretending to be an attorney sent out phony DMCA takedown notices. That
Using Focusable as a Progress Journal
Disclosure: Focusable is an advertiser on my websites. About a month ago I started using Focusable to help me focus on my work even when
Webinar This Week – Search Strategies Students Need to Know
Many students will spend just a minute or two looking at search results before declaring, “Google has nothing on this.” If you have ever had
Physical Education With a Halloween Theme
Justin Cahill runs a great blog called Keeping Kids in Motion. One of the regular features of his blog is a monthly thematic challenge. Those
The Science of Pizza, Diets, and the Esophagus
Last week two of my favorite YouTube channels, TED-Ed and SciShow Kids, published new videos on the topics of food and weight loss. And those
Join Me and Rushton Hurley This Tuesday Evening for a Free Webinar
On Tuesday, October 4th at 8pm ET/ 4pm PT Rushton Hurley and I will be hosting the second episode of our third season of Two
Videos, Writing, and Pictures – The Week in Review
Good evening from Maine where it was a beautiful autumn day. My kids had soccer practice, we rode our bikes, and I mowed the lawn
An October Video Project – Halloween Safety
Halloween is thirty days away. My kids have been planning their costumes since last November or so it seems because they’re very excited about it.
September’s Most Popular Posts on Free Technology for Teachers
Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on the week and on the month of September, 2022. I don’t know about you, but
Significant Changes to Screencastify’s Free Plan Take Effect on Monday
Those of us who are using Screencastify’s free plan will have some choices to make on Monday when the changes that Screencastify announced back in
A Quick Way to Check the Safety of Links
One of the best ways to protect your computer and network from malicious software is to simply avoid opening links that appear in your email
Grading Google Forms Short Answers Without Google Classroom
Last week I got an email from a reader who was looking for advice about grading short-answer questions in Google Forms. Specifically, the person wanted
Five Time-saving Ways for Teachers to Use Technology
Making time for yourself is one of the things that I talk about in my new keynote presentation titled Using Tech to Bring Joy Into
The 2022-23 Practical Ed Tech Handbook
Every year I publish an updated version of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook. This year it took me a bit longer than usual to get
How to Find TED-Ed Lessons by Grade Level
Yesterday, I received an email from someone who saw my post about TED-Ed’s The Writer’s Workshop. She was wondering if there is a way to search
A Student Video Contest for Economic Education Month
October is Economics Education Month and the Council for Economics Education is hosting a student video contest to promote student awareness of how economics is
My Updated Big List of Tools for a Variety of Classroom Video Projects
Around this time last fall I published a big list of my go-to tools for creating videos with students. Since then some of the tools
Three More Ways Focusable Can Help You Focus
Disclosure: Focusable is an advertiser on my websites. Last week I wrote about how Focusable is helping me get things done more efficiently. That blog
The Writer’s Workshop – 29 Videos That Can Help Students Improve Their Writing
The Writer’s Workshop is a playlist of twenty-nine TED-Ed video lessons about writing. The The Writer’s Workshop contains lessons on basic topics like how to use punctuation and point of
A Database of Solutions to Common Stains
Stain Solutions is a handy website developed by Susan Taylor at the University of Illinois Extension. The site is a database of dozens of common
Social Studies, Soccer, and Search – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s going to be a beautiful autumn weekend. As I write this I’m sipping my coffee while the sun is
43,000+ People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way
This morning when I logged into my YouTube account I noticed that my little channel now has more than 43,000 subscribers for the first time.
Is a Website Down or Is It You? Here’s How to Find Out
Earlier this week a reader emailed me looking for a video that I made a couple of years ago. The video she was looking for
The Descent of the Serpent – A New Google Arts and Culture Game
This week Google Arts and Culture released a new game for students. The game is called The Descent of the Serpent and it’s available to
A Helpful Sheet of Google Search Modifiers
A few days ago I highlighted five Google search products that students often overlook. While it is important for students to know about those tools,
Three Ways Focusable is Helping Me Be More Productive
Disclosure: Focusable is currently an advertiser on my websites. In the past I’ve used browser extensions to block websites that distract me from getting work
Two Ways to Add an Image Search Tool to Your Website
In yesterday’s blog post about finding free images for school projects I mentioned that Photos for Class offers a free tool for adding their image
Expedition Insects – An Interactive Book from the Smithsonian
Expedition Insects is a neat interactive book from the Smithsonian Science Education Center. The book was written to helps students in third through fifth grade
50 Ideas for Your Next Tech Tuesday
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 Great Place to Find Free Images for School Projects
Photos for Class is one of my favorite sites for students to use to find free images to use their projects. The best feature of Photos
Free Webinar – Believe In You Student Leadership Program
Last spring I wrote about OPEN’s Believe In You Empowerment Program and its accompanying digital journals for students. Building upon the success of that program,
Five Google Search Products Students Overlook
The advanced search menu on Google.com offers some great search results refinement tools that students should know how to use. Once students have become familiar
Lessons to Answer Common Questions About Fall
Yesterday morning my youngest daughter and I were walking one of our dogs when she asked a question that her older sister asked a couple
My Top Ten Tools for Social Studies Teachers and Students
A few years ago I published a list of my favorite tools for social studies teachers and students. Since then a few things have changed,
The Physics of Soccer Kicks
My daughters have started playing soccer this fall. For the first time in my life I have a real interest in watching the game. Before
How to Create PDFs in Google Classroom
Last weekend a reader reached out to me to ask if I could create a video about the relatively new option to create PDFs in
Branchiness, Videos, and Archives – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where I am not racing my bike this weekend and instead will be enjoying a nice early fall day by helping
The WWII Rumor Project – An Activity in Learning Through Primary Sources
A handful of years ago the Library of Congress launched a crowd sourcing project called By the People. The purpose of the project is to enlist
Seven Good Resources for Teaching and Learning About the Value of Money
My daughters have recently started receiving a little weekly allowance. One of them is very interested in saving as many of her dollars as possible
Display Note Broadcast Adds Helpful Features to Improve Screen Sharing
Display Note Broadcast is a tool that I started using last spring as a means for broadcasting my screen to the screens of other people
Synth is Shutting Down to Focus on Focusable – Other Audio Recording Tools to Try
Synth is a podcasting tool that I’ve used and shared with countless teachers since 2018. Unfortunately, as the title of this post states, the owners
Three Audio Slideshow Video Projects for Students of All Ages
Tools like Adobe Express, Canva, and good ol’ Animoto make it easy for students to quickly create videos. I often use these tools when introducing video production projects to
Moose Tracks and a Lesson on Eyes vs. Cameras
A couple of days ago I was walking down a trail to one of my favorite fishing spots in all of Maine. Along the trail
5 Little Things You Can Do To Improve Your Videos
Whether for it is for education or entertainment we are all watching more videos than ever before. We have more tools to record and share
225 NASA Infographics
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website contains a large library of infographics that you can download and print for free. The library contains infographics about spacecraft,
Try Using Vocabulary Lists to Help Your Students Conduct Better Searches
This is an excerpt from this week’s Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. I’m in the process of updating my Search Strategies Students Need to Know online
Good Places to Find Constitution Day Lesson Plans
This coming Saturday is Constitution Day in the United States. If you find yourself in need of some lesson ideas for Constitution Day, C-SPAN, DocsTeach,
A Short Overview of the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine – And How I Use It
The Internet Archive can be a great place to find all kinds of old videos, audio recordings (there’s a huge collection of Grateful Dead show
Two Tips to Make Chrome Run a Little Faster
There was a time when Google Chrome was the new kid on the block and promised faster browsing and faster page load time. That hasn’t
Flashcards, Games, and Phys Ed – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it is going to be a beautiful early fall day. By the time that most of you read this I’ll
2022 Fall Foliage Prediction Map – And Why Leaves Change Color in the Fall
The 2022 Fall Foliage Prediction Map is a feature of the SmokyMountains.com website. The map displays a week-by-week prediction of when leaves in the continental United States
A New Kind of Flashcard – Flexcards!
I started this week by sharing my favorite alternative to Quizlet. To end the school week I have a new kind of flashcard to share
The Differences Between England, Great Britain, United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth Explained
Queen Elizabeth II died yesterday. The news broke after most on the east coast of the U.S. were out of school for the day. If
ICYMI – Webinar Recording – 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
C-SPAN StudentCam is Back for Its 19th School Year!
Every year C-SPAN hosts the StudentCam video contest for middle school and high school students in the United States. This year’s version of the contest was announced yesterday.
Great Resources for Family Phys Ed Week
As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I’m a big fan of OPEN Phys ED because they offer great lesson plans and other resources for
Code.org vs. Blackbird Code – Which One Should You Use?
In the last month I’ve replied to a few Tweets from people asking for my opinion about whether they should use Code.org or Blackbird to
A Free STEM Toolkit for Librarians
Last week while looking for directions for a soda pop experiment I refined my search to show just PDFs. When I did that I came
Three More Ways for Students to Create Flashcards Online
Writing yesterday’s blog post about my favorite alternative to Quizlet prompted me to look back at some other options for creating online flashcards. Should you
Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions – Free Event Tomorrow
After a summer hiatus Rushton Hurley from Next Vista for Learning and I will be resuming our Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions webinar series
A Great Alternative to Quizlet
Three times in the last week I’ve answered emails from readers who were seeking suggestions for alternatives to Quizlet. Each time my answer was to
Turn Any Quiz Into a Game With Quizalize Games
Disclosure: Quizalize is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com. Last week I published a blog post about the new games feature of Quizalize. That feature enables you
Science Lesson – The Threat of Invasive Species
When you drive into my home state of Maine two of the first signs you’ll notice are a sign to watch for moose and a
How to Include Video Feedback in Google Forms
Google Forms is a great platform for creating all kinds of simple quiz and review activities. One of the features of Google Forms that is
A Quick and Easy Way to Distribute Contact Info During an Open House
I have an open house night coming up later this week. Thinking about that reminded me of the following that I wrote six years ago
Games, Analytics, and Tutorials – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s a brisk 47F. It feels like a classic early fall morning in Northern New England. Later it’ll warm up
Fun With Soda Pop – A Nice Weekend Science Experiment
SciShow Kids recently published an updated video about a “classic” science experiment. That experiment is dropping Mentos candies into a bottle of soda pop. But
Free Webinar and 5 Posters to Help Students Learn to Read Like a Historian
Stanford History Education Group offers lots of great resources for history teachers. They’re hosting a couple of free webinars next week including one designed to
My Favorite Fall Video Project
It’s September and here in Maine the leaves on some of the maple trees are already starting to change color. This is my favorite time
Two Search Refinement Tips for Every Teacher and Student
A couple of days ago I hosted a webinar for tech coaches. In the webinar I mentioned that teaching teachers just a couple of quick
Write With Emojis in Google Docs
Earlier this week Google added a new emoji option into Google Docs. The new option enables you to type @ followed by an emotion to
Back to School – The Month in Review
The sun has set on the last day of August. Nearly every school in my area is now back in session. And those few that
Quizalize Games – Turn Any Quiz Into an Epic Game
Disclosure: Quizalize is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com. Quizalize is a great teaching tool that I’ve used and written about since 2015 when it differentiated itself
Tract Now Offers Guides for Project-based Learning
Disclosure: Tract is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com. Tract is an online platform for engaging students with fun, project-based learning activities. I’ve written about it quite
Spaces EDU Adds Easier Enrollment and Faster Sharing
Back in June Spaces announced a bunch of new features that they were working on getting ready for new school year. Those features are now
A Few Short Lessons About Labor Day
This coming weekend is Labor Day Weekend in the United States and Canada. For most of us it is a three day weekend. It is
Schoolytics – Quickly Find the Information You Need to Help Your Students Succeed
Disclosure: Schoolytics is currently an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com. Schoolytics is a service that I’ve heard a lot about over the last few months. If you’re
Webinar Tomorrow! – A Framework for Technology Integration
Are you new to the role of tech coach or tech integrator this fall? If so, I have an eBook and webinar for you! Tomorrow
Two Alternatives to Kami for Annotating PDFs
Last week a reader emailed me to ask about some alternatives to Kami for annotating PDFs. She didn’t ask because she didn’t like Kami. She
Why Do We Get Dizzy? – Another Question from My Daughters
We’re going to Storyland today for the sixth or seventh time this summer (it’s one of our favorite family activities). My daughters love to go
Reading, Searching, and Fixing – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining on what should be a nice and sunny weekend after a few days of much-needed rain.
How to Use PowerPoint Cameo
Cameo is a relatively new feature in PowerPoint that lets you insert your live camera feed into any and all of the slides in your
How to Add a Timer to Your PowerPoint Slides
One of the all-time most popular videos on my YouTube channel was about how to add a countdown timer to your PowerPoint slides. Unfortunately, the
Free PDFs for Lessons on Telling Time
A couple of days ago I shared a few resources for helping students learn to tell time. One of those resources that I mentioned, but
Webinar Recording – Get to Know Your Students With Tract
Disclosure: Tract is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com. Yesterday afternoon I hosted a webinar titled Get to Know Your Students With Tract. I was joined in
ClassroomQ – A Neat Way to Keep Track of Who Asks for Help
ClassroomQ is a neat tool that solves a problem that anyone who has ever had a classroom full of students working on individual or small group
How to Create an Around the World With Google Earth Tour
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
Worldle Daily – A Street View Game
The Wordle craze seems to have settled down a bit since its height earlier this year (or at least fewer people are sharing their scores
Learning How to Tell Time on Analog Clocks and Watches
My oldest daughter got a little analog wristwatch for her birthday a few days ago. So far she loves wearing it (she wanted to wear
Read Write Think Animal Inquiry
This morning I’m taking my daughters to a little petting zoo near our home. They love to pet the goats, sheep, ponies, horses, and bunnies.