Tag: practical ed tech

Three Self-Paced Courses for the Start of the School Year

If you’re interested in a professional development course that you can do while sitting outside before the summer ends, take a look at the courses I offer through PracticalEdTech.com.  Animated Explanations!This five-part course teaches you everything you need to know to create and teach with your own animated explanations. In the course you’ll learn why the […]

25 Search Strategies You Need to Know – A New Course Starting July 1st

One of the most popular webinars and courses that I’ve hosted over the years have been about search strategies and how to teach them to students. This summer I’m offering a new Practical Ed Tech course on that topic.  25 Search Strategies You Need to Know is a five-part course in which I’ll teach you […]

A Class for Teachers Who Want to Make More Money

My most popular Practical Ed Tech course this year is How to Create and Sell Your Digital Products in 2023. Now that summer is here (in the northern hemisphere) this is a great time to take the course if you haven’t already done so.  The format of this course is email-based. Starting with day you register, […]

Three Self-paced Courses You Can Take Now or This Summer

It has started to feel like summer is right around the corner here in Maine. Twice this week I’ve sat outside on our picnic table to do some course work. If you’re interested in a professional development course that you can do while sitting outside this spring or summer, take a look at the courses […]

Three Online Courses You Can Start Today

As the school year starts to wind-down you might find yourself looking for some new project ideas to keep your kids (perhaps yourself) interested and excited during the last month or so of the year. I have a couple of self-paced courses that provide you with exactly that.  Animated Explanations!This five-part course teaches you everything […]

Three Self-paced Courses You Can Start This Weekend

Spring in Maine means a lot of cold and wet weather. We have a bit of a reprieve today, but tomorrow we’re back to cool and rainy weather for another five days (if the forecast is correct). This pattern puts a damper on many outdoor spring activities. I’m using this time to work through an […]

Reminder: Take Out the Trash

About a month ago I got a new MacBook Air. It has been about a decade since I last used a Mac as my primary computer.  One of the things that I’m constantly reminded of while using my MacBook Air is the need to clear stuff off of the desktop. As you might guess, I take […]

Hear Me on the International Teacher Podcast

A few weeks ago Greg Lemoine invited me to be a guest on the International Teacher Podcast. I had a great time chatting with Greg and his co-host Kent about a wide range of topics including who I look to for information and inspiration, some of my favorite tools and tips, and how I got […]

Five FAQs About Five Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom

Over the weekend I got a bunch of questions about my new Practical Ed Tech course, Five Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about taking the course and were wondering about some elements of it. Here’s a short list of some of the FAQs and their answers.  1. What do you […]

New Month, New Course – Five Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom

Creating videos with students is one of my favorite things to do with students. Over the years I’ve helped students and their teachers create animated videos, green screen videos, mini documentaries, and instructional videos. In my new Practical Ed Tech course, Five Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom I will teach you how to do […]

Three Self-paced Courses You Can Start Today!

Throughout the year I host a variety of live Practical Ed Tech webinars. Many of you have joined me for them this year and in prior school years. But my timing of those webinars doesn’t work for a lot of you. That’s why I also offer some self-paced courses over on Practical Ed Tech. Here’s […]

50% Off 50 Tech Tuesday Tips

In late 2021 I published 50 Tech Tuesday Tips. A huge thank you to everyone who purchased a copy. Sales of that eBook helped me keep Free Technology for Teachers going throughout 2022.  Unfortunately, like almost all books about educational technology, 50 Tech Tuesday Tips was always going to have a relatively short shelf life. […]

AI Writing Check

AI Writing Check is a free tool created by the collaborative efforts of the non-profits Quill.org and CommonLit. AI Writing Check is a tool that was created to help teachers try to recognize writing created through the use of artificial intelligence.  To use AI Writing Check you simply have to copy a passage of text […]

The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter

Between social media and email it can be hard to keep up with everything going on in the world of ed tech throughout the week. That’s why nine years ago I started the Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. Every Sunday evening/ Monday morning I send out my favorite tip of the week and summary of my […]

New Course – How to Create & Sell Your Digital Products in 2023

Two weeks I hosted a webinar about creating and selling digital teaching materials. After the webinar a handful of people reached out to ask if I could go into more depth on the topics covered in the webinar. I certainly can, but it’s hard to do in just one webinar. Therefore, I’ve created a new […]

A New Course to Start 2023

Last week I hosted a webinar about creating and selling digital teaching materials. After the webinar a handful of people reached out to ask if I could go into more depth on the topics covered in the webinar. I certainly can, but it’s hard to do in just one webinar. Therefore, I’ve created a new […]

Webinar Today – How to Create & Sell Your Digital Products in 2023

One of the ways that I’m able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through the support of generous people like you who purchase my digital products like 50 Tech Tuesday Tips and my Practical Ed Tech courses like Animated Explanations. None of those things on their own provide a living, but they do […]

How to Create & Sell Your Own Digital Products in 2023

One of the ways that I’m able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through the support of generous people like you who purchase my digital products like 50 Tech Tuesday Tips and my Practical Ed Tech courses like Animated Explanations. None of those things on their own provide a living, but they do […]

Free Webinars Today and Tomorrow

Today at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT Rushton Hurley and I are hosting the last live episode of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. After two and a half years of hosting these live webinars we’re changing formats in 2023, but we wanted to have more live session to end 2022. I […]

One More Day

Over the last year many of you have kindly supported my work here on Free Technology for Teachers and Practical Ed Tech by purchasing a copy of my eBook, 50 Tech Tuesday Tips. If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a copy, there’s a 20% discount available until the end of the day on November 30th.  […]

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. It will begin on November 1st. In Animated Explanations you’ll learn why creating animations is a great teaching and learning activity in elementary school, middle school, and high school classrooms. […]

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 a student say that to you, you know that they think of search as a function and not a process. In a webinar this Thursday I’ll teach you how to […]

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 it done. That said, the 2022-23 version of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook is now available for free to anyone who is subscribed to The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter or who […]

Search Strategies Students Need to Know

The next webinar in my Practical Ed Tech summer series is Search Strategies Students Need to Know. This is the most popular webinar that I host every year and I’m hosting it next Wednesday at 11am ET. I’ve updated it with new activities you can do to help your students get beyond the first page […]

Webinars This Week and Next

This month I’ve hosted three webinars and I have two more scheduled before the end of July. By the end of August I’ll have hosted seven.  The next webinar in my summer series is DIY App Creation for the Rest of Us. Join this webinar to learn how you can have your students create mobile […]

Seven Summer Webinars With Me!

As I announced last week on Practical Ed Tech, starting on July 6th and running through August I’m hosting a series of webinars on a wide range of edtech topics.  All of the webinars will be held live and will also be recorded for those who register in advance. You can register for one, two, […]

50 Ideas for Short Tech Workshop Sessions

Are you a tech coach, tech integrator, or media specialist who has been asked to run a summer workshop for your staff? Or are you (gasp!) already thinking about back-to-school season workshops. If so, 50 Tech Tuesday Tips is for you!  50 Tech Tuesday Tips was curated from more than 400 editions of The Practical Ed Tech […]

Tech Coaches, Here Are 50 Ideas for Summer Workshop Sessions

Are you a tech coach, tech integrator, or media specialist who has been asked to run a summer workshop for your staff? If so, I have a resource for you! I created 50 Tech Tuesday Tips with you in mind.  50 Tech Tuesday Tips was curated from more than 400 editions of The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. […]

Teaching History With Technology – Online Course Starting in June

This summer I’m not hosting the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. I am, however, hosting a some online courses for those who are interested. The first one that I’m hosting starts in June. That course is Teaching History With Technology. Teaching History With Technology is a five-part course that will meet via Zoom at 4pm […]

Two Easy Ways to Support This Blog

The popularity of my blog has waxed and waned over the years. But for nearly fifteen years I’ve published new blog posts almost every day. New blog posts even appeared on the days my daughters were born (no, I didn’t write blog posts on those days, I just had them scheduled in advance). I’ve been […]

Blending Technology Into Outdoor Learning

On Monday we had our first truly warm and sunny spring afternoon here in western Maine. I went fly fishing for a little while on a little stream near my house. It was while I was fishing that I thought to myself, “self, you haven’t hosted your outdoor learning webinar in over a year.” So […]

Join Me Next Week for a Webinar About Creating Digital Products and More

Creating and selling digital products like webinars, on-demand courses, and eBooks is one of the ways that I’ve been able to keep this site going and keep a roof over my head for the last decade. And I’ve done it without using any of the big marketplaces like Teachers Pay Teachers that take a substantial […]

Join Me on Tuesday for Search Strategies for History Students and Teachers

This Tuesday at 4pm ET I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled Search Strategies for History Students and Teachers. If a student has ever said to you, “I can’t find anything about this,” this webinar is for you! In this one hour webinar I’ll share the strategies and techniques that I’ve used with my […]

Search Strategies for History Students and Teachers

If a student has ever said to you, “I can’t find anything about this,” the webinar that I’m hosting on February 15th is for you. On February 15th at 4pm ET I’m hosting Search Strategies for History Students and Teachers. In this one hour webinar I’ll share the strategies and techniques that I’ve used with […]

Consider This Tech Tuesday Planned! – And the Next One and the Next One…

I’m clearly not good at self-promotion otherwise I wouldn’t have released an ebook right before the winter break when most people aren’t thinking about everything but professional learning opportunities. But I did it anyway. So if you missed it in the last couple weeks of December, my new ebook is titled 50 Tech Tuesday Tips […]

A Thanksgiving Special!

As many of you know, the primary means of support for Free Technology for Teachers comes through the sales of my Practical Ed Tech courses and professional development services.  This week and through next Tuesday all of my Practical Ed Tech self-paced courses are on sale for 33% off the regular price. You can register […]

A Geography Awareness Week Special

Next week is my favorite academic week of the year. It’s Geography Awareness Week! On Sunday I’ll be publishing a big list of resources for teaching and learning about geography. In that list you’ll see me mention some uses Google Earth and Google Maps. If you want to really dive into Google Earth and Google […]

Practical Ed Tech Tips on Instagram

If you’re an Instagram user who likes to find new ideas for using technology in your classroom, I have a new Instagram account for you to follow. It’s mine! I created a new account that is simply titled Practical Ed Tech. This will be where I share some short video tips like this one containing […]

Self-Paced Professional Development

The primary means through which I am able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through consulting and speaking engagements along with the sales of my live and on-demand Practical Ed Tech courses.  The latest addition to my catalog of on-demand courses was made last month when I released Search Strategies Students Need to […]

Get Your Free Copy of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook

Subscribers to my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter received their free copies of the 2021-22 edition of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook at the start of the school year. It’s a 75 page PDF that features my favorite tools, tips, and strategies for using a wide variety of educational technology tools in your classroom. If you’re […]

Two Ways to Make Timelines Based on Books

On Sunday evening a reader of my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter replied with a question about creating timelines. She was looking for suggestions for a timeline tool that her tenth grade students can use to create a timeline based on books they’ve read. This is something that I’ve done in the past with some of […]

Webinar This Thursday – Search Strategies Students Need to Know

This Thursday at 4pm ET I’m hosting the new version of my most popular Practical Ed Tech webinar, Search Strategies Students Need to Know.  The updated version of this webinar includes new handouts for you and your students. These include templates for formulating lessons to teach search strategies and templates for students to follow when […]

Coming This Sunday Evening

Last Sunday evening the subscribers to my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter got copies of the 2021-22 version of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook before anyone else. This Sunday I have two more resources that will only be available through my newsletter. Those resources are colorful poster-style PDFs of email etiquette reminders for students.  If you’re […]

The 2021-22 Practical Ed Tech Handbook

Earlier this week subscribers to my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter received their free copies of the 2021-22 edition of The Practical Ed Tech Handbook. It’s a 75 page PDF that features my favorite tools, tips, and strategies for using a wide variety of educational technology tools in your classroom. If you’re not subscribed to my […]

What to Try When a Web App Isn’t Working

Two weeks ago in my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter I outlined six things to try when a website or web app isn’t working as you expected it to. Based on click-through, that was my most popular newsletter of the year! For those who haven’t seen it, the handout from that edition of the newsletter is […]

Summer, Icons, and Animations – The Week in Review

Good morning from Maine where we’ve just woken up from our first backyard camping adventure! Overall, it went about as well as could be hoped for with a three-year-old and a four-year-old in a tent. I think my three-year-old now wants to live in the tent with her stuffed animals and books.  Happy Father’s Day […]

Three Days Left!

The first session of the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp is just a month away. If you haven’t registered for the session of your choice, you can do so up until the day before it starts. However, there are just three days left to complete the early-bird registration.  There is a June session, a […]

Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp FAQs

Last week I announced the dates for the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp. A bunch of people have already registered. Many more people have sent me questions about registration and about the format of this virtual professional development event. In no particular order, here are the answers to the FAQs. Is there a group discount?Yes, […]

Join Me for the 2021 Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp

For many years teachers from all over the world came to Maine join me for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. While I was hoping to return to an in-person format, this summer I’m going to host the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp as a virtual event. Just like last year’s Practical Ed Tech Virtual […]

Ten Topics Covered in Teaching History With Technology

The next session of my popular Teaching History With Technology course begins tomorrow. There is still time to register right here.  There are ten big topics that will be covered in the course. All of the lessons in the course can be applied to elementary, middle, and high school settings. These are the ten big […]

Search, Meetings, and Hiccups – The Week in Review

Good morning from Maine where it is going to be another great weekend for playing in the snow. One of my dogs is doing that as I write this. He’s happiest when it’s cold and snowy. Just take a look at the picture in this post, that’s one happy dog! I hope that wherever you […]

20,000 Teachers Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

About seven years ago I noticed that “too many updates” was the most common reason for people unsubscribing from the emails from this blog. To remedy that I created the Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week Newsletter. What started out small now has more than 20,000 weekly subscribers.  The Practical Ed Tech Tip of […]

Three PD Opportunities With Me Starting Tomorrow!

Every week Rushton Hurley from Next Vista for Learning and I host a free webinar called Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. It’s a fun 30-ish minute webinar in which we have fun answering all kinds of interesting questions about educational technology and share some interesting things that we’ve found around […]

Take a Crash Course in Making & Teaching With Video This Weekend

How to make instructional videos is far and way the topic that I have received the most questions about over the last six months. That’s why I put together a self-paced Practical Ed Tech course on how to make and teach with video.  A Crash Course in Making & Teaching With Video gives you everything […]

A Self-paced Crash Course in Making & Teaching With Video

Last week I hosted a live Practical Ed Tech webinar titled A Crash Course in Making & Teaching With Video. By popular request, I’ve turned that webinar into a self-paced course that is available now. If you find yourself needing to make instructional videos, but you’re not sure how best to do it, A Crash […]

A Crash Course in Making & Teaching With Video

About a month ago I hosted a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled A Crash Course in Making and Teaching With Video. In the weeks since I hosted that webinar I’ve had a bunch of requests to host it again. So that’s what I’m going to do next Tuesday (September 29th) at 4pm ET.  This school […]

13 Big Topics in the 2020-21 Practical Ed Tech Handbook

Earlier this week subscribers to my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter received notice that the 2020-21 version of my Practical Ed Tech Handbook is now available to download for free. This year’s version of this annual publication contains 64 pages of information on a wide range of educational technology tools. The table of contents for the […]

July PD Opportunities With Me

Last week I hosted the first Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp. I realize that the middle of June isn’t the ideal time for everyone to join online professional development. That’s why I’m offering the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp two more times in July. The first July session runs July 6th-10th and the […]

Ten Topics in Teaching History With Technology

This summer I’m hosting two sections of my popular Teaching History With Technology course. The first section meets every Monday afternoon in June. The second section will be conducted on five consecutive days in July. Both sections will cover the same material. There are ten big topics that will be covered in the course. All […]

If You’re Inclined To Do So…

This little blog of mine that I started back in 2007 has seen a resurgence in traffic lately. In fact, visits are up nearly 300% over the last month. I’m also getting more help requests and answering more help requests than ever before. A few people have suggested to me after I helped them via […]

Classroom Podcasting 101

Podcasting is more popular than ever and growing every day. If you have thought about trying to make a podcast of your own, join me next Tuesday at 7pm ET for a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled Classroom Podcasting 101. Classroom Podcasting 101 will teach you how you can start a podcast in your classroom. The […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast – Episode 33 – Larry Bird

In this week’s episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast I’m back from the flu and from a short vacation. Highlights of this episode include new Google Docs tools, a new way to make videos from text, and a cute app for little kids like mine. As always, I answered a handful of questions from […]

19,000+ Teachers Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

At about this time six years ago I created the Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week newsletter as a way to provide a summary of my most popular daily posts along with a featured tip of the week. This week the 19,000th teacher signed up for the newsletter. You can do the same right […]

FAQs About Teaching History With Technology 2020

For the new year I have updated my popular Practical Ed Tech course, Teaching History With Technology. The course begins next Wednesday. I announced the course about ten days ago and I’ve answered a handful of emails about it. Here are those questions and answers. 1. Will the sessions be recorded?  Yes. Every live webinar […]

Teaching History With Technology 2020

The primary means through which I’m able to keep this site running is through revenue from speaking engagements and sales of my Practical Ed Tech professional development courses like Teaching History With Technology. For 2020 I’ve updated the course to include new things like making your own history apps, creating green screen videos, and using […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast Episode 22 – Fitness, Code, and Q&A

Last night I published the 22nd episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. In this week’s podcast I talked about how I improved my fitness in 2019, shared some resources for Hour of Code, and answered some questions from readers, listeners, and viewers like you. One of my favorite questions this week was about what […]

Thanksgiving Bundle of Practical Ed Tech Webinars

Throughout the year on Practical Ed Tech I host live professional development webinars. The sale of those webinars helps to keep this blog running. The timing of the live webinars doesn’t work for everyone so I offer replays on-demand. For the next week all of the Practical Ed Tech on-demand webinars are on sale at […]

How to Create Image Overlays in Google Earth

Google Earth is one of my favorite tools to use in history and geography lessons. Google Earth enables students to see and explore places in ways that printed maps and images never could. One of the features of Google Earth that I love to use in history lessons is the image overlay function. In the […]

Webinar Tomorrow – Five Fun Formative Assessment Methods

One of the ways that I am able to keep Free Technology for Teachers afloat is through the in-person and online training services that I offer. On that note, tomorrow afternoon I’m hosting a new webinar titled Five Fun Formative Assessment Methods. This webinar will go beyond the typical Kahoot and Gimkit type of games […]

The Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference – Call for Proposals

In December I’m hosting a free online conference called the Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference. The purpose of the conference is to give teachers an opportunity to share their creative classroom projects with other teachers. If you have an idea that you would like to present, please complete this short presentation proposal form. If you’ve […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast – Episode #16

It was a long week at school for me. I think you’ll hear that in my voice in the latest episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. In this episode I shared some news about the Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference, shared my thoughts about Facebook’s and Google’s latest initiatives to deal with “fake” news, […]

A New, Free Online Conference for Teachers

I’ve decided to try something new to end 2019. That new thing is organizing a free online conference for teachers. I’m calling it the Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference. It will be held over the course of three afternoons/ evenings in December (10-12). But I can’t do it alone. So I’m looking for people who […]

Maps, Games, and SumoBots – The Week in Review

Good morning from Maine where it’s cold outside and quiet in my house. In other words, I’m up early before anyone else. It’s a perfect time to drink coffee (black, dark roast) and write. This week some of computer science students worked on programming SumoBots to do battle. While SumoBot kits provide a lot of […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast – Episode #14

This afternoon I recorded the fourteenth episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. The episode follows the same format as all of the other non-interview episodes. I shared some news and notes from the world of ed tech including a new Google Slides add-on and a fun game for physical education. The middle of the […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast Episode #13

Earlier today I recorded the thirteenth episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. This episode, like the previous one, begins with an overview of some news and notes from the week in ed tech followed by my answers to a handful of questions from readers and listeners. The news and notes in this episode include […]

More Than 18,000 Teachers Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

Five years ago I started the Practical Ed Tech Newsletter as an alternative to the daily email digest that is automatically generated from Free Technology for Teachers. The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter is not automatically generated. It’s something that I write every weekend and send on Sunday evenings. In the newsletter I share my tip of the week […]

How to Make the Home Button Appear in Chrome

This morning I had a colleague come to me in a bit of a panic because the home icon in Google Chrome had “disappeared from her computer.” I was able to quickly relieve her panic by showing her the settings options in Chrome. If you find yourself in a position like mine or like my […]

ICYMI – Six On-Demand PD Opportunities

In August and September I hosted five live Practical Ed Tech webinars and launched one self-paced course. A lot of people expressed interest in the webinars but said that the timing didn’t work. That’s understandable as the beginning of this school year has been extremely busy for me too. That’s why I’ve made all of […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast – Episode #11 – Reflections, News & Notes, Q&A

Last night I released the eleventh episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. In this episode I shared some reflections on my first full week of teaching computer science in a full-time role, shared some news and notes from the world of education, and answered a handful of questions from readers and listeners. The complete […]

Get Your Copy of the Free Practical Ed Tech Handbook

Last Sunday I published the updated 2019-20 version of my popular Practical Ed Tech Handbook. I started publishing one every school year in the fall of 2015. Each fall since then I’ve published an updated version. All together they’ve been downloaded more than 100,000 times. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, you can download […]

5 Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom – Webinar on Thursday

Every month I host at least one Practical Ed Tech professional development webinar. This month’s webinar is an updated version of my popular 5 Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom. 5 Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom will be held this Thursday at 4pm Eastern Time. In the webinar you’ll learn how you and your […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast Episode #7

On Friday I recorded the seventh episode of the Practical Ed Tech podcast. In the episode I shared some news about a change in my career, some highlights from the week in educational technology, and answered a handful of questions from readers. I broadcast live on my YouTube channel when I record. Join me for […]

The Practical Ed Tech Podcast – Episode #5

Yesterday afternoon I hosted the latest broadcast of Practical Ed Tech Live. If you missed it, you can now watch the video or listen to it as a podcast. All episodes of the Practical Ed Tech Podcast are available on this Anchor.fm page. All episodes are also available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, Pocket […]

Practical Ed Tech Podcast Episode #4

This morning I hosted a new episode of Practical Ed Tech Live on my YouTube channel. For those who missed it, it is now available as the fourth episode of the Practical Ed Tech Podcast. The podcast can be found on Anchor.fm, on Google Podcasts, on Spotify, on RadioPublic, and on Pocket Casts. I’m working […]

Intro to Using AR & VR in Your Classroom – Webinar This Thursday

More than 100 people have participated in a Practical Ed Tech webinar this month. Thank you for your support! This Thursday I’m hosting the last Practical Ed Tech webinar of the month. This week’s webinar is Intro to Using AR & VR in Your Classroom. This an update to last year’s webinar on the same […]

ICYMI – Practical Ed Tech Podcast #3

Last weekend I announced that I’ve started a podcast that I’m simply calling the Practical Ed Tech Podcast. The podcast consists of the audio from my Practical Ed Tech Live broadcasts on YouTube. In the latest episode I highlighted some news from the world of educational technology including a neat augmented reality app and new […]

New! The Practical Ed Tech Podcast

Last spring a reader named Tiffany asked me if I would ever consider publishing my Practical Ed Tech Live episodes as podcasts instead of just on my YouTube channel. It was a good idea. Thanks to Tiffany’s suggestion I am now publishing the audio of my Practical Ed Tech live episodes as a podcast. I’m […]

ICYMI – Practical Ed Tech Live Recording

This morning I hosted a new episode of Practical Ed Tech Live on my YouTube channel. I hadn’t held one of these sessions since the last school year ended. For the new school year I’m adding a new element to the broadcast. That element is a recap of some of the bigger stories in the […]

Join Me on Friday for Practical Ed Tech Live!

This Friday at 9am ET I’m bringing back my Practical Ed Tech Live series in which I answer batches of questions that readers like you send to me throughout the week. I’ll be broadcasting this live on my YouTube channel (subscribe to my channel to be notified when I go live). You can ask me questions […]

Intro to Animation and Green Screen Videos

Every Thursday afternoon in August I’m hosting a different Practical Ed Tech professional development webinar. Last week’s was all about Google Classroom, Calendar, and Keep. This week’s webinar is about creating animated videos and green screen videos with your students. In Intro to Animation and Green Screen Videos you’ll learn how your students can make […]

Last Day to Get Practical Ed Tech On-demand Webinars

As I announced a couple of weeks ago, at the end of July all of the Practical Ed Tech on-demand webinars from the 2018-19 school year are going into the vault. They’ll be replaced in the new school year with new and updated professional development webinars. But the 2018-19 webinars still have great information in […]

Last Week to Get Six Practical Ed Tech Webinars

One of the ways that I’m able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through the sale of my in-person workshops and professional development webinars on Practical Ed Tech. I hosted webinars throughout the 2018-19 school year. The most popular of those webinars are available on-demand. I’m offering the 2018-19 school year webinars on […]

Practical Ed Tech On-Demand Webinars

One of the ways that I’m able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through the sale of my in-person workshops and professional development webinars on Practical Ed Tech. I hosted webinars throughout the 2018-19 school year. The most popular of those webinars are available on-demand. I’m offering the 2018-19 school year webinars on […]

Forms, Expeditions, and RSS – The Week in Review

Good morning from Maine where I’m looking forward to a fun day of playing outside with my daughters. Earlier this week I took a day off to take them to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. They love seeing all of the animals there so much that we have an annual pass to the […]

Spring and Summer Professional Development Opportunities With Me

As some of you know, the primary funding for Free Technology for Teachers comes through the sale of my Practical Ed Tech webinars and workshops. (If you’re wondering, it costs about $12,000/ year to support the site without accounting for labor). This spring and summer I’m hosting a series of professional development webinars and workshops. […]

Only Seven Seats Left!

The snow is almost gone here in western Maine. It won’t be long now until we’re breaking out the shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops. As the summer gets closer the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp is filling up. As of this morning there are only seven seats remaining for this hands-on learning experience. If […]

Q&A Recording

Yesterday afternoon, as I’ve done for the last five weeks, I hosted a live Q&A session in which I answer questions that readers have sent to me over the last week. I get dozens of questions emailed to me every week. During the live session I answer those that I think have a broad appeal. […]

Webinar Next Tuesday – Introduction to AR & VR in Your Classroom

Next Tuesday at 4pm ET I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar designed to introduce you to how to use some augmented reality and virtual reality tools in your classroom. The webinar, Introduction to AR & VR in Your Classroom, will show you how to use tools including Google Expeditions, VR Tour Creator, Metaverse, Merge […]

Join Me This Afternoon for a Live Q&A

Tomorrow at 4pm Eastern Time I’ll be going live on my YouTube channel to answer another round of questions from readers like you. If you have a question about educational technology that you’d like me to answer you can put in the form below or just join the live broadcast and submit your question this afternoon. Subscribe […]

5 Ways to Blend Technology Into Outdoor Lessons – Spring 2019

As the winter fades and spring begins to bloom here in New England, kids and adults are itching to get outside more often. This is a great time to take your students outside for some lessons. That’s why on Tuesday at 4pm ET I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled 5 Ways to Blend […]

Webinar Recording – Best of the Web 2019

This afternoon I hosted a free webinar in which I highlighted some of my favorite new and updated ed tech tools. During the webinar I gave brief demonstrations of Google’s VR Tour Creator, Synth for podcasting, Bouncy Balls for monitoring noise, and programming augmented reality experiences through Metaverse. The webinar also included short demonstrations of […]

5 Tuesday Webinars in April

This year there are five Tuesdays in April. I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech professional development webinar on each of those Tuesdays. You can register for them individually or register for all five at once through the special offer at the bottom of this page. Read on to learn more about each webinar and how […]

Things to Learn and Do at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp

For the last two days I have been featuring slides from my presentations at this week’s MACUL Conference in Detroit. Many of the things in those slides will be included in the hands-on learning experiences at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp that I’m hosting in July. Here’s a list of ten things that you […]

Live Q&A Recording

This afternoon I hosted a live Q&A session on my YouTube channel in which I answered questions that had been submitted over the last week. Unfortunately, due to the widespread issues with Facebook accessibility that popped up today, I was not able to broadcast on Facebook. So if you were looking for the broadcast on […]

Live Q&A Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 5pm Eastern Time I’ll be going live on my YouTube channel to answer another round of questions from readers like you. If you have a question about educational technology that you’d like me to answer you can put in the form below or just join the live broadcast and submit your question tomorrow. […]

Only Two Days Left! – Super-early Registration Discount for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp

It is bitterly cold here in Maine today. But summer will be here eventually and it will be glorious! The sun will rise early and stay up late, the warm breeze will blow, and the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp will happen. If you’re interested in joining us for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp, […]

Join Me on Wednesday for a Live Q&A

I get a lot of emails from readers who ask all kinds of questions related to educational technology. I try to answer as many of them as I can. This Wednesday, I’m going to attempt to clear out the backlog of questions by hosting a live Q&A session. The live session will be broadcast on […]

Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp FAQs Answered

Earlier this month I opened registration for the 2019 Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. The super-early registration discount ends next week. If you’ve been wondering what it’s all about and if it’s for you, take a look at the following video in which I answered some of the FAQs about the Practical Ed Tech Summer […]

Ten Things You Can Learn at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp

This year’s Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp is designed for two purposes. First and foremost, it is intended to give K-12 teachers, tech coaches, and administrators two days of hands-on learning about educational technology. The second purpose is to provide a professional development experience in a setting that isn’t a generic conference center or uncomfortable […]

Presidents Day Sale on Practical Ed Tech Webinars

One of the ways that I keep the lights on at Free Technology for Teachers is through the sale of online training webinars on my other site, Practical Ed Tech. This weekend all of the on-demand webinars are on sale at 50% off. Click here to take advantage of the offer. Practical Ed Tech webinars […]

Search, AR, VR, and Stories – The Week in Review

Good morning from cold and windy Maine. How windy? In the words of my two-year-old, “soooo windy!” Before sharing the list of the week’s most popular posts, I have an update about Free Technology for Teachers that will answer some of the questions that I’ve received lately. The reason for the lighter posting over the […]

Search Strategies, PDFs, and the Super Bowl

Good morning from Maine where I’m not doing anything particularly exciting other than brewing up a batch of chili to have during the Super Bowl tomorrow night. Between stirs of the chili I’m working on materials for a bunch of workshops and keynotes that I have coming up over the next three months. The first […]

Six On-demand PD Webinars in One Bundle

Throughout the year many of you participated in one of my Practical Ed Tech professional development webinars. Thank you so much for helping to keep FreeTech4Teachers.com running by registering for those webinars. If you missed one of the Practical Ed Tech webinars this year, you can now get the six most popular of 2018 in […]

Start 2019 With a Practical Ed Tech PD Course

As you may know, one of the ways that I keep Free Technology for Teachers running is with the revenue generated through my other site, Practical Ed Tech. On Practical Ed Tech I offer online professional development courses. In January I am hosting three professional development courses on PracticalEdTech.com. Enrollment is limited to 25 people […]

The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter – My Tip of the Week Delivered Once Per Week

As you may know, I offer professional development webinars through PracticalEdTech.com. But that’s not the only thing that I do with that site. I also use it to publish my tip of the week newsletter. That is a once-per-week mailing that contains my favorite tip of the week, usually with a video, and a list […]

Black Friday Sale on Practical Ed Tech Webinars

One of the ways that I keep Free Technology for Teachers running is through the sales of professional development webinars on my other site, Practical Ed Tech. In the last year I hosted more than three dozen professional development webinars on that site. For Black Friday and Cyber Monday I’m offering the six most popular […]

Video Projects for Every Classroom – PD Webinar

On Sunday on Practical Ed Tech I posted a reminder about the three online PD opportunities that I’m hosting in November. One of those is a three night course called Video Projects for Every Classroom. This course is designed for teachers who would like to learn how to create meaningful classroom video projects. The course […]

Join 16,000+ Who Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

Every Sunday evening I send out the Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week. I started doing that four years ago as a way to provide people who want to get their ed tech tips in weekly format instead of a daily format. In the weekly mailing I include my tip of the week (usually […]

Two Online PD Courses Starting Next Week

Throughout 2018 I have offered various one-hour professional development webinars through PracticalEdTech.com. Those have proven to be popular, but some people have been asking if I plan to go back to offering full, live PD courses like I did from 2013 through 2017. I’m happy to announce that I am offering live, online courses through […]

Join Me Tomorrow to Get Organized With Google Classroom, Calendar, and Keep

Tomorrow evening at 7pm ET I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled Get Organized With Google Classroom, Calendar, and Keep. This is the second time that I’m offering the webinar this year. I hosted it at the end of August and it was well attended. In the weeks since then many people asked if […]

Get Your Copy of the 2018-19 Practical Ed Tech Handbook

Last night subscribers to the Practical Ed Tech Newsletter were sent copies of the 2018-19 Practical Ed Tech Handbook. This annual publication is a free, 36 page PDF that highlights my favorite educational technology sites and apps. The Practical Ed Tech Handbook is organized into nine sections. Those sections are: Communication tools and strategies.  Search […]

Get Organized With Google Classroom, Calendar, & Keep

If you have been following this blog throughout the summer, you know that Google has made a bunch of updates to Classroom. If you haven’t kept up with those updates or you just need some guidance on how they will affect you, join me next Thursday at 7pm Eastern Time for a Practical Ed Tech […]

Join Me Tomorrow for 5 Ways to Blend Technology Into Outdoor Lessons

Tomorrow afternoon at 4pm Eastern Time I’m hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar titled 5 Ways to Blend Technology Into Outdoor Lessons. I hosted this webinar back in the spring to close out the school year. It was well received then so I’m offering it again. In the webinar I’ll share activities, tools, and strategies […]

Last Day to Get Five Practical Ed Tech Webinars in One Package

As many of you know, Practical Ed Tech is the site through which I offer professional development webinars. I host those webinars on a regular basis throughout the school year. For the last week I’ve offered the five most popular of those webinars in a summer sales pack. Today is the last day to get […]

5 PD Webinars in One Package

Throughout the year I offer many professional development webinars on PracticalEdTech.com. The sales of those webinars help to keep this blog running. This week I’ve been running a sale on PracticalEdTech.com webinars and many people have taken advantage of it. The sale runs for two more days. In this summer sales pack of webinars I […]

Join Me Tomorrow for an Introduction to Using AR & VR in School

Thursday at 4pm ET I am hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar all about using augmented reality and virtual reality in your classroom. In Introduction to VR & AR in Your Classroom you’ll learn the difference between AR and VR, how to find AR and VR experiences to use in your classroom, and how to […]

Join Me Tomorrow for 5 Ways to Blend Tech Into Outdoor Lessons

As the winter fades and spring begins to bloom here in New England, kids and adults are itching to get outside more often. This is a great time to take your students outside for some lessons. In a live webinar tomorrow afternoon at 4pm Eastern Time we’ll explore five ways that you can incorporate technology […]

How I Keep the Lights On

A little more than ten years ago I was where a lot of teachers find themselves at one point or another. I loved teaching but I didn’t love scraping to pay the bills. On one Wednesday afternoon in January, 2008 I had to borrow gas money from my department head to get me through to […]

Longer and Better Searches – Strategies Students Need to Know

Too often our students don’t get beyond the first few pages of search results before declaring, “Google has nothing about this!” Why? Because the average time spent on a search is just 1 minute! And the average search term only has three words!* Next week I am hosting a Practical Ed Tech webinar that will […]

ICYMI – 5 Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom

Last week over on PracticalEdTech.com I hosted a webinar titled 5 Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom. Nearly 100 teachers joined that live webinar. If you missed it, the recording of the webinar and all of the associated handouts are now available on-demand. Register to access the recording today and your access to the recording […]

FAQs About Tomorrow’s Video Projects Webinar

Tomorrow at 4pm Eastern Time I am hosting a webinar that is titled 5 Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom. As I write this, 25 people are registered and I’ve answered a bunch of questions from readers who are interested in registering. I recorded the following short video by using YouTube Live to answer those […]

Edublogs Publishes a Guide to Mobile Blogging

Edublogs, one of the two services that I recommend for classroom blogging, has published a free guide to blogging on mobile phones. Edublogs recently deprecated their free mobile apps and now recommends three other ways to post to your Edublogs blog from your phone. The three methods that Edublogs now recommends for blogging on your […]

Why I Created “From Blog to Job”

A couple of weeks ago I released an on-demand course called From Blog to Job – A Teacherpreneur Jumpstart. I’d like to tell you a little bit about why I created the course. A little over ten years ago I was where a lot of teachers find themselves. I loved my job, but I didn’t […]

Everything I’ve Learned About Making Money Through Blogging Is In This Course

Over the years Free Technology for Teachers, Practical Ed Tech, and my other websites morphed from a hobby to a full-time job. Along the way I made plenty of mistakes and I have had some great successes. But one thing that I always say when people ask me for advice about how to make money […]

Don’t Make This Blogging Mistake

I spent about six hours on Monday and Tuesday trying to fix a formatting problem on PracticalEdTech.com. It was an infuriating little problem that was driving me batty. I Googled solutions, I tinkered with the CSS, I uninstalled plug-ins that I thought were conflicting, and I was about to give up when I diagnosed the […]

Love Your Presidents Sale!

It’s Valentine’s Day today and President’s Day is coming up so I’m having a sale on three Practical Ed Tech courses. I’m calling it a “love your presidents sale.” During this sale you can save 20% on my Teaching History With Technology and G Suite for Teachers courses. You can take 20% off when you […]

The Ed Tech Starter Kit

Throughout the year I host I many professional development webinars on Practical Ed Tech. Recently, I bundled some of the most popular of those webinars into one package that I call the Ed Tech Starter Kit. The webinars selected for inclusion in this package cover topics and skills that can be applied to almost any […]

How to Add Q&A to Your Google Slides Presentations

From TodaysMeet (a perennial inclusion in Best of the Web) to FlipGrid (included in this year’s Best of the Web) to Padlet there are plenty of ways to gather questions from students in a digital format. But one of the ways that is often overlooked is to just add a Q&A component to a slide […]

Remodeling Practical Ed Tech

As you may know, I addition to this blog I maintain PracticalEdTech.com where I host professional development courses for teachers. That site had tremendous growth in 2017 so I have had to make some changes to the back end in order to make sure that it can be helpful to as many visitors as possible. […]

Simple Tips for Learning From PD Webinars

I love webinars. They’re a convenient way to learn from experts that I otherwise wouldn’t get to interact with. But not everyone enjoys them like I do. In fact, I didn’t always find them enjoyable. Then a handful of years ago I made some simple, almost “duh,” discoveries that helped me get more out of […]

The 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group Begins Tomorrow

The 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group kicks off tomorrow afternoon (4pm Eastern Time). It would be great to have you join us. This small group of teachers, librarians, and technology coaches will participate in three live meetings every month of the year. And between meetings we’ll connect through a private Slack group to talk […]

The First Six Webinars for the Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group

The first meeting of the 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group is next Tuesday. Another member joined last night and another person inquired with a question about the topics to be covered in the group. The first six webinars will be as follows: Building Digital Portfolios – January 9th AR & VR in the Classroom […]

5 Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2018

Earlier today I went on live on my YouTube channel to share five ed tech tools that I recommend trying in 2018 if you didn’t try them in 2017. Watch the video for my explanations of my recommendations then jump to the list to find tutorial videos for my recommended tools. 1. Flippity.net 2. Toontastic […]

5 Things You Need to Know About the Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group

Earlier today I went live on YouTube to answer a couple of recent questions regarding the 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group. If you missed that broadcast, you can see it here. Here are some other questions that are frequently asked about joining the Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group. 1. How many hours does it […]

Group Discounts on Practical Ed Tech Courses

Learning a new skill is often better when you do it with a friend. That’s why we recruit our friends to try yoga with us or go to that new rock climbing gym for the first time. And that’s why for the rest of the year I am offering group discounts on three of my […]

An Inexpensive Source of Earbuds and Microphones

Yesterday afternoon I went live on the Practical Ed Tech Facebook page to share a couple of tips about sourcing cheap earbuds and microphones for your classroom. You can watch the video as embedded below. If you can’t see the video, here’s the main point: Check eBay for vendors who sell earbuds in bulk. Many […]

My Favorite Resources In One Place

Last week during Practical Ed Tech Live I was asked if I had one place that people could go to see an organized collection of my favorite resources. I was happy to answer that I do have just such a collection. It’s found in my Practical Ed Tech Handbook. You can find it on my […]

FAQs About the 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group

Last weekend I announced the launch of the 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group. The first members have already registered. Many of you who have emailed me for more information about membership in the group. Yesterday afternoon I went live on my YouTube channel to answer those questions. If you missed the live broadcast, you […]

425 Ed Tech Tutorial Videos

A few years ago I started to make an effort to create more tutorial videos to include in blog posts here and to include in the Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. Yesterday’s video about making video playlists on Padlet was the 425th video added to my Practical Ed Tech playlist. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to […]

Google Sites Now Supports HTML & Javascript Embed Codes

One my biggest complaints about Google Sites has always been that it doesn’t accept third party embed codes. This means that you couldn’t embed videos from great websites like Next Vista for Learning, embed Tweets, or embed any interactive elements like a Padlet wall. That will soon change. Google has announced that beginning in January […]

Join the 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group

Throughout the year I host at least two professional development webinars every month. For 2018 I am making it easy for you to register for all of them in one fell swoop. Enroll in the the 2018 Practical Ed Tech Coaching Group and you will be registered for 24 webinars plus an additional live Q&A […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode 22 – Recording

Yesterday afternoon I hosted another episode of Practical Ed Tech Live on Facebook. If you missed it, you can now watch the recording on Facebook or as embedded below. The questions that I answered in the broadcast can be read here.

Three PD Courses Starting This Week

This week will kick-off a fun final month of 2017 for me and, I hope, for you too. This week I am starting three Practical Ed Tech courses. Tomorrow night at 7pm ET How to Teach With Video begins. This three night event is being taught by Keith Hughes, Tom Richey, and me. We’ll cover […]

Black Friday Sale on 5 Practical Ed Tech Webinars

Throughout the year I host professional development webinars and courses on Practical Ed Tech. Usually, the webinars are $20 each. But for the next five days you can get five of my most popular webinars in one bundle for just $25. Click here to take advantage of this offer. The 5 webinars in the Black […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #20

Yesterday, I hosted the twentieth episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. If you missed it, you can now watch the recording as embedded below. The questions that I answered in the video can be seen here. Information about the webinars that I mentioned in the video can be found here.

Three Things That Can Help You Teach With Video

Whether you want to make your own instructional videos or you just want to make sure that your students are learning something from the videos that you share with them, there are a few basic things that you should know. 1. Short and sweet. Two well-made videos that are each two minutes long are better […]

To Geography and Beyond With Google Maps & Earth

I loved Google Earth since the first time I used it. And I have enjoyed teaching it to many teachers over the last decade. That’s why I’m excited to offer To Geography and Beyond With Google Maps & Earth. This course will meet on three Thursday afternoons starting on November 30th. In addition to social […]

Getting Going With G Suite for Education

Last summer more than 100 people participated in my online course Getting Going With G Suite. Throughout the Fall I’ve fielded requests from folks who missed out on the summer course and would like to get into the next offering. I’m happy to announce that I have scheduled another offering of Getting Going With G […]

Join Me for Fun With Formative Assessments

Conducting formative assessments is one the ways that we can gauge our students’ understanding of the topics that we teach. Formative assessment doesn’t have to be boring for your students and it doesn’t have to be tedious for you. To help you make formative assessment fun for your students and informative for you, I am […]

Join Me Tomorrow Afternoon for Practical Ed Tech Live

Tomorrow afternoon at 3pm EST I will be hosting episode 19 of Practical Ed Tech Live. During the broadcast I will answer the questions that were sent to me during the last week. I will also answer any questions that are submitted during the live broadcast. You can join the live broadcast on either the […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #17

Yesterday afternoon I recorded a new episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. This is my (usually) weekly live stream in which I answer questions that were sent to me during the previous week. I also answer questions that are submitted on the fly. I’ll host another episode next Tuesday afternoon. Subscribe to my YouTube channel […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #16

Yesterday afternoon I hosted another episode of my weekly series called Practical Ed Tech Live. During each episode I answer a handful of questions that I have received during the week. I also answer any questions that appear in the YouTube and Facebook livestreams. The recording of yesterday’s episode is embedded below. The questions that […]

5 Things You Can Learn in Tomorrow’s Practical Ed Tech Webinar

Last week on Practical Ed Tech I hosted Google Forms & Sheets for Beginners. The webinar sold out and many people have since asked if I was going to host it again. So by popular demand I’m hosting it again tomorrow at 4pm EST. There are five main items that will be addressed during the […]

Google Forms & Sheets for Beginners – A Practical Ed Tech Webinar

Throughout the year I host many professional development webinars at PracticalEdTech.com. The next one in my Tech Tuesday series is Google Forms & Sheets for Beginners. In this webinar on August 15th you will everything you need to know to get started using Google Forms and Google Sheets to streamline your workflow in grading quizzes, emailing […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #14

This morning I recorded a new episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. As always, I streamed the episode simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube. If you missed it, you can now watch the recording as embedded below. The list of questions that I answered is available in this Google Doc.

Practical Ed Tech Live Episode #13

On Tuesday afternoon I hosted another episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. As I do in every episode, I answered some questions that I had received in advance and some that were submitted live. The questions that were submitted in advance can be seen in this document. The video of the episode is embedded below.

Teaching History With Technology – Expanded to Four Weeks

This afternoon at 3pm EST I am starting the latest version of my Practical Ed Tech online course Teaching History With Technology. I’ve hosted this course six times this year and the last two times I had to schedule additional sessions to cover all of the content and questions. So I finally decided to just […]

Join Me Tomorrow Night for a Practical Ed Tech Jumpstart

The landscape of educational technology is constantly changing and it’s easy to feel like you don’t know where to start. That’s why I created the Practical Ed Tech Jumpstart for you. This three week online course will walk you through a simple yet powerful framework for using technology in your classroom. You’ll come away from […]

A Guide to Creating Explanatory Animated GIFs

In yesterday’s episode of Practical Ed Tech Live I answered this question: Is there anything that pieces the snapshots back together in a single frame? So you see the same object in one picture at different positions? My suggestion was to create an animated GIF by following the guide that Common Craft published a couple […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode #11

This afternoon my daughter and I recorded the eleventh episode of my almost weekly series, Practical Ed Tech Live. In every episode I answer a handful of the questions that I’ve received from readers. The recording of the episode is embedded below. The list of questions and my recommended resources can be found in this […]

Five Uses of Comics In Your Classroom

On Thursday afternoon I hosted a webinar about using comics in the classroom. The recording of the webinar is only available to those who registered, but the slides that I used can be seen as embedded below.

The Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp Starts in Two Weeks

The Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp starts two weeks from tomorrow. There is still time to register and join us in Portland, Maine for two days of hands-on learning about all things Chromebook and G Suite. The time isn’t limited to just “how-to” activities. We’ll spend lots of time on making media on Chromebooks and […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Episode 9

Yesterday afternoon I hosted the ninth episode of Practical Ed Tech Live in which I answered some of the questions that I get from readers every week. I also answer any questions that are sent in live on YouTube or Facebook. Episode #9 is embedded below. The questions answered in the video can be read […]

Group Discounts for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps

The first of this year’s two Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps is just six weeks away. Group discounts are still available to school districts that are sending four or more people. A group of four can save $600 when they register together compared to the standard registration. Registration for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps […]

How to Create a Word Cloud In Google Docs

Last week during Practical Ed Tech Live I answered a request for a suggestion for a tool to create word clouds. One of the tools that I suggested was the Word Cloud Add-on for Google Docs. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to quickly create a word cloud in Google Documents.

Some Seats Still Available at the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps

For the last five years the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps have drawn educators from all over the world to Maine. This summer the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp and the BYOD Camp will be held in July. There are still some seats available in each camp. You can register by using the forms below […]

Practical Ed Tech Handbook 2017 – From the Archive

Due to an injury and some pressing personal matters requiring my attention, posts for the rest of the week will be favorites from the archive. In 2015 and 2016 I published a 30 page PDF that I called the Practical Ed Tech Handbook. Those have been accessed more than 100,000 times. Today, I revised the […]

Ten Fun Things You Can Add To Your Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp Experience

Today is the first true taste of summer that we are having here in Maine. The sun is shining, the air temperature is 85F, and everywhere you look there are pale legs wearing shorts for the first time this year. All this has me thinking about all of the fun things that you can do […]

Join Me For Practical Ed Tech Live This Thursday

Last Thursday was the most attended edition of Practical Ed Tech Live that I’ve hosted this spring. I’ll be hosting another episode this Thursday at 3:30pm EDT. You can join me on my YouTube channel or on the Practical Ed Tech Facebook page. I’ll answer your questions live as they appear. I’ll also answer questions […]

How to Grade Vizia Quizzes in Google Sheets

In this afternoon’s Practical Ed Tech Live session I answered a couple of questions about the video quiz platform, Vizia. One of those questions was about how to grade the responses in Google Sheets. I suggested using the Flubaroo Add-on for Google Sheets to grade responses to Vizia quizzes. In the video below I show […]

Practical Ed Tech Live! Episode 5

Earlier today I hosted the fifth episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. Thank you to all who submitted questions in advance to those who joined in during the live broadcast. I’ll be hosting another episode next week at 3:30pm EDT on Thursday, May 18th. If you missed today’s episode, the recording is embedded below. The […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Recording and Questions

Yesterday, I hosted a new edition of Practical Ed Tech Live. If you missed it, the recording is now available to view as embedded below. The questions that I answered during the session are copied below the video. 1. I am presenting at a workshop and thought this would be a great application, but I […]

Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp Early Bird Discounts Available for One More Day

The Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps have sold out every year that I’ve hosted them. This year promises to not be an exception to that pattern. Four registrations for the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp arrived yesterday. Those four got in at the early bird discounted rate. There is just over 24 hours left to […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Recording and Questions

This morning I recorded a new episode of Practical Ed Tech Live. This episode was a little short because I was recording with a special guest who was a little antsy. The questions that I did answer are listed below. As always, please send me your questions and I’ll answer them in the next episode. […]

Three Tips for Getting More Out of Webinars

About nine or so years ago I watched a webinar for the first time. I can’t remember exactly what the webinar was about (it was something about Second Life), but I do remember thinking that I didn’t get “it.” After that I watched bunch of free webinars about all kinds of things because that’s what […]

I Love a Good Keynote…But I’ll Take the Workshop

I love to listen to a good keynote presentation. Dan Meyer’s Math Class Needs a Makeover is still one of the best I’ve seen in terms of challenging status quo in education. Angela Maiers and Vicki Davis speak with passion that is infectious and unsurpassed. And when I am given the opportunity, I enjoy giving the keynote at […]

Practical Ed Tech Webinar FAQs

Starting in May and running through the end of August I will be hosting five different professional development webinars for teachers and school administrators. I recorded the video embedded below to answer some of the questions that are most frequently asked about my Practical Ed Tech webinars. Watch the video and you’ll get the discount code […]

Practical Ed Tech Live Recording

Yesterday afternoon I hosted another edition of Practical Ed Tech Live. The Q&A session was streamed live on the Practical Ed Tech Facebook page and on my YouTube channel. If you missed it, you can watch the recording as embedded below. The text of the questions that I answered can be seen here. As always, […]

How to Annotate Images on a Chromebook

From time to time you may find yourself needing to highlight portions of an image or point out features of a diagram for your students. Or you may want students to do the same. For example, in an photography class you may have students mark an image to illustrate use of lighting and framing. On […]

11 FAQs About the 2017 Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps

Early registration discounts for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps are available for sixteen more days. In the last couple of weeks I’ve answered a bunch of similar questions about the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp and the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp. Here are those questions and their answers which includes a guest appearance […]

How to Use Incognito Mode In Google Chrome – And Why You Might Use It

In many of my webinars I will use Google Chrome’s incognito mode to demonstrate how a page like a Formative quiz or a Padlet wall will look to students. I do this so that I don’t have to sign-out of my teacher view only to have to sign-in again a few minutes later when I […]

Q&A from Practical Ed Tech Live

Earlier today I hosted the second installment of Practical Ed Tech Live. Just like last week I answered the questions that were submitted to me during the previous week. I’m also open to answering questions submitted on the fly. Embedded below you will see the recording of the session followed by text of the questions […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – This Thursday at 4pm EDT

Last Thursday I hosted the first Practical Ed Tech Live session simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube. During the 25 minute session I answered questions that were submitted live and some questions that had been submitted in advance. I’m going to do the same thing again this Thursday at 4pm EDT. You can join Practical Ed […]

PD Webinar – Google Forms & Sheets for Beginners

Google Forms and Sheets can complete all kinds of tasks for you, if you know how to use them. Once you’ve learned the basics of Google Forms and Google Sheets you will be amazed at how these powerful tools can streamline processes for you. Those streamlined processes can free up lots of time for you […]

Practical Ed Tech Live – Recording

Yesterday afternoon I hosted FB Live and YouTube Live sessions simultaneously. During those sessions I answered questions from readers and viewers. If you missed it, the recording is now embedded below. I’m planning to do another live Q&A session next Thursday at 4pm Eastern Time. Please send your questions to me. The questions that I […]

Lighthouses and Designs for Democracy

Earlier this week the featured document from the U.S. National Archives was a drawing of the Matinicus Rock Lighthouse on the coast of Maine. The drawing is one of many in the Designs for Democracy series published by the National Archives. Designs for Democracy is an online exhibit created by the National Archives and Records Administration. The […]

Practical Ed Tech Live!

The Practical Ed Tech Facebook page reached 3,000 likes yesterday. I promised to host a Facebook Live Q&A when the page reached 3,000 likes. I’m going to host that session on Thursday at 4pm Eastern Time. It will be an open Q&A session about all things related to educational technology. Join me! If you want […]

PD Webinar – Fun With Formative Assessments

As good teachers know, gauging your students’ understanding of the topics you teach is a process that involves discussion, a bit of intuition, and some formative assessment activities. In this webinar you will learn how to use free tech tools to create and conduct fun, engaging, and informative formative assessments. Whether you teach elementary school, […]

Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp – Super Early Discounts End Soon

Every year for the last four years the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps have sold out. Compared to this time last year, there are more people registering early than ever before. The super-early discount on registration ends this Friday night. The super-early discount price is $100 less than the full price and $50 less than […]

More Than 13,000 People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

A few years ago I realized that while many people like to get ed tech news and tips every day, there are just as many people who would prefer to get to get that information at a slower pace. That’s why I created the Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. Once per week I share via email […]

How to Quickly Total a Spreadsheet Column

Google Sheets and spreadsheets in general offer a good format for organizing numerical data. If you have a lot of cells in a Google Sheets column there will be times when you want to quickly get the sum of all of the data in the column. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to […]

Winning Blog Strategies – Webinar This Thursday

Helping teachers create blogs and or re-start dormant blogs is one of my favorite things to do. In fact, last week I ran a three hour workshop for that purpose. If you don’t have three hours to invest in a workshop, join me online on Thursday at 4pm EST to learn about winning blog strategies that […]

How to Insert Google Keep Notes Into Google Docs

A couple of days ago Google announced that Google Keep is becoming a core product of G Suite. With that announcement came a new integration of Google Keep into Google Docs. You can now insert your Google Keep notes and bookmarks into your Google Documents. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to insert […]

The Week in Review – The Most Popular Posts

Good morning from Maine where I’m getting ready for my annual ice fishing trip on Moosehead Lake. Every year during the February vacation week I join 15-20 other teachers for a few days of ice fishing and relaxing at a camp that doesn’t have Internet access or reliable cell phone coverage. In other words, it’s […]

Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp FAQ

We’ve had three snowstorms in less than a week here in Maine. In other words, it is the perfect time to think about summer. This summer I’m hosting the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp in Portland, Maine. In the video below my assistant Isla and I answer one of the most frequently asked questions about […]

Practical Ed Tech Handbook – 2017 Edition

In 2015 and 2016 I published a 30 page PDF that I called the Practical Ed Tech Handbook. Those have been accessed more than 100,000 times. Today, I revised the Practical Ed Tech Handbook for 2017. Within the pages of the 30 page document you will find short reviews of my favorite tools for creating […]

How to Insert Videos Into Google Slides Without Using YouTube

Yesterday, Google finally made it possible to insert videos into Google Slides without the need to host your videos on YouTube. You can now simply upload a video to Google Drive then insert it into any of your Google Slides presentations. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to do that. Applications for Education […]

Wednesday Webinars Resume Next Week

In December and January I hosted a series of professional development webinars on Wednesday afternoons. A couple of those webinars sold out. After a week off, the series will resume next week at 4pm Eastern Time with a webinar on Mind Mapping and Collaborative Brainstorming. The following week the topic will be using Google Maps […]

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 15 are registered for the next offering of the course which begins on Monday night. Registration is still open. The three week course begins on January 9th at 7pm Eastern […]

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 disable and or remove that extension. Not only will doing that slightly improve the performance of your browser, it can lower your security risks.The fewer unused third-party extensions that you […]

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. This week I will be re-publishing the most popular posts of 2016.  The Practical Ed Tech Handbook isn’t just a list of my favorite resources. I’ve included ideas for using these […]

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 those posts is that they’re usually based on one person’s subjective criteria. This year I’d like to ask you to help me identify the best educational apps and websites of […]

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 Cattura Video, allows you to record the screen on your Chromebook as well as input from your webcam. To record a video with the webcam on your Chromebook open CaptureCast […]

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 that many teachers and students overlook. That’s why I am calling the webinar YouTube, It’s Not Just Cats & Khan Academy. In the webinar you can learn how to protect […]

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 quite a few people expressed interest in participating in the next offering of the course. Registration is now open for the January section of Teaching History With Technology. The course […]

Do You Have an Online Hub?

Social media and text messaging is great for sending quick updates about things happening in your classroom and in your school. But when you need to write a longer explanation of your announcement or reminder, a blog is your best friend. Use social media and text messaging services to direct parents and students to your […]

Wednesday Webinars – A New Professional Development Series

I teased this earlier in the month, but now I’m ready to officially announce a new series of Practical Ed Tech webinars that I’m calling Wednesday Webinars. Wednesday Webinars is a series of one-hour webinars designed to give you practical ideas that you can use in your classroom right away. Each webinar will provide you […]

A New Facebook Page for Practical Ed Tech Tips

Many readers of this blog are already familiar my Practical Ed Tech weekly newsletter in which I share my favorite tip of the week and a short list of the most popular posts from this blog. Last night I decided to create a Facebook page to complement that newsletter. The Practical Ed Tech Facebook page […]

Nearly 19,000 People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

The reason that I read more often than any other for people unsubscribing from Free Technology for Teachers is “too many updates.” That’s why over the last two years I’ve offered two other ways to find my ed tech tips and news in a less frequently updated fashion. Those options are the Practical Ed Tech […]

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 on Facebook someone asked if it was possible to make the shortened URL private. Unfortunately, Goo.gl doesn’t let you do that, but there are services that will let you do […]

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 days. Combined with the previous version The Practical Ed Tech Handbook has been downloaded more than 30,000 times. I hope that many of you who have downloaded it have also […]

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 and updating it the 2016-17 school year. The Practical Ed Tech Handbook isn’t just a list of my favorite resources. I’ve included ideas for using these resources and in many cases […]

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 frequently asked questions and my answers to them. 1. Will it be recorded? I want to participate, but I can’t make it to every webinar. Yes, all of live sessions […]

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 been around for years and almost every week people ask me questions about how to use it. During this past week I shared three video tutorials on Flubaroo features that […]

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 for years and almost every week people ask me questions about how to use it. One of the great features of Flubaroo is the option to have results automatically graded […]

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 been around for years and almost every week people ask me questions about how to use it. One of the things that I’m frequently asked about is the possibility to […]

An Easy Way to Distribute Contact Info During an Open House

At back-to-school night parents usually end up with collection of papers that they may or may not be saved for reference throughout the school year. Use QR codes to put the odds in your favor of the information in those papers being saved. I figure that if parents and or students scan and save information […]

The Week in Review – Collaborate2Create

Good evening from Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Today, I had the privilege to speak at the Collaborat2Create conference hosted by the Arizona Technology in Education Association and Glendale Elementary Schools. It was great to see so many teachers come out on a Saturday to connect and learn with each other. Next week I’ll […]

Summer Online PD Opportunities With Me

The Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps have sold out, but there are other ways to learn with me this summer. This summer I’m offering three online PD courses for teachers. Two of those courses include a graduate credit option. You can bookmark the menu of courses here or read on for more information. Getting Going […]

How to Download Your Remind Message History

This morning I received an email from Remind (formerly Remind 101) that reminded that I can download my message history. The history option lets me choose a range of dates in which messages were sent and then save those messages in PDF format. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how easy it is to […]

Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp – Only 7 Tickets Left

Leading the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp has been the highlight of my summer for the last three years. This year I am leading two versions of the event. The Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp and the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp. There are some people coming for the third year in row! The Practical […]

April’s Most Popular Posts on Free Technology for Teachers

April came and went quickly. In fact, it went so quickly that I didn’t even realize it was over until I looked at the date about an hour ago and realized we were into May. I’m a day late on my month-in-review post. Here are the most popular posts of the last month: 1. 11 […]

Teaching History With Technology – An Online Course Starting Monday

Next week I’m starting a new version of an online course that I’ve offered a few times in the past. Teaching History With Technology is an online course designed to help you learn and develop new ideas for using technology in your history, civics, or geography lessons. Some of the things that you can learn […]

Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp Discounts Available for Two More Weeks

It is a beautiful spring day here in Maine which has me thinking about summer. The highlight of my last three summers has been hosting the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp. This summer I’m hosting two of these events. Discounted early registration and discounted early group registration is available until the end of the month. […]

The Week in Review – Transitions

Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining and the forecast calls for temperatures above 60f for the first time this year. One of the great things about Maine in the spring is that I can ski, bike, garden, and walk my dogs all in the same day without having to wear a heavy […]

Ten Things You Can Learn at the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp

Chromebooks are quickly becoming the preferred choice of computer for 1:1 programs in schools. Chromebooks are reliable, inexpensive, and versatile tools. That said, teaching with Chromebooks may require you to learn some new tricks to make the experience great for you and your students. At the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp on July 18th and […]

9,500 Teachers Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

Every month I hear nice compliments from readers of FreeTech4Teachers.com and the FreeTech4Teachers Facebook page followed by, “I don’t always have time keep up with it.” To solve that problem I started the PracticalEdTech.com newsletter. More than 9,500 people now receive that newsletter in their inboxes on Sunday evening or Monday morning depending on where […]

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 July 11-12, 2016 and the Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp on July 18-19, 2016. Both events are hands-on explorations of how to use free technology tools in your classroom. These […]

How to Create a Video-based Poll

ClipChoose is a free polling tool that I featured in a blog post last month. On ClipChoose you can create a poll that is based on a comparison of two or more videos. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to create a video-based poll on ClipChoose. Applications for Education ClipChoose could be a […]

More Than 4000 People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way

Over the last 20 months I’ve made a concerted effort to consistently update my YouTube channel with at least one new tutorial video every week. This morning while uploading my video about making screenshots with Evernote I noticed that there are now more than 4,000 people subscribed to my YouTube channel. If you would like […]

Resources from #TCEA16

Over the last two days I had the privilege to give six presentations at the TCEA conference in Austin, Texas. As I always do, I put the slides and other resources from my presentations online at Practical Ed Tech. The six presentations that I gave were: Classroom Uses for Google Books Ten Common Challenges Facing […]

Two Online PD Opportunities With Me in January

Do you need professional development hours in 2016? If so, take a look at the two online PD opportunities that I am offering in January. On January 5th I’m starting a new section of Getting Going With GAFE (Google Apps for Education). Three graduate credits are available in that course. More information about that course […]