Latest education updates from around the world
How to Use Microsoft Flip – Teacher and Student Views
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It’s that time of year again when many of us are thinking about ways for our students to get to know each other and us. One popular way of doing that is through short video introductions. Microsoft Flip (formerly known as Flipgrid) provides a great platform on which to do that. As a teacher you can create a safe space for students to record and share short videos.
If you’ve never used Microsoft Flip or you are a tech coach responsible for introducing it to other teachers, I have a new […]
Competitive PSVR 2 Shooter ‘Firewall Ultra’ Reveals Co-op PvE Mode, Live Service Ambitions
Firewall Ultra, the next-gen sequel to the popular PSVR-exclusive shooter, launches next week and with it, a co-op PvE mode supporting up to four players.
Set to launch next week on August 24th on PSVR 2, Firewall Ultra is just around the corner. Today developer First Contact Entertainment revealed the game will go beyond its pure PvP roots with a co-op PvE mode. While it doesn’t sound anything like full-featured campaign, the studio claims it has been planning the mode from the start.
Called Exfil (short for Exfiltration), the new mode will see up to four players battling bots […]
What is Storybird and How Does It Work?
Storybird is a poem and story creation tool that makes reading, writing, and sharing great stories simple
What is Edpuzzle and How Does It Work?
Edpuzzle helps educators use video to teach engaging lessons and interact with students using rich media.
How Wastewater Gets Recycled
This morning my YouTube subscriptions included a notification of a new TED-Ed lesson that caught my attention. That lesson is titled How the Water You Flush Becomes the Water You Drink. As the titled implies, the lesson is all about how wastewater gets cleaned and put back into the water cycle where we’ll eventually drink it once more.
The lesson introduces viewers to three types of wastewater and how wastewater is treated. The two key terms from the video are direct potable reuse and indirect potable reuse and the differences between the two. You […]
Duolingo Lesson Plan
This Duolingo lesson plan is designed to help educators implement the digital tool into their instruction
Over 30 Idiom Examples for Students
Idiom examples for students is the topic of our blog post today!
Language is more than just words and grammar; it’s a lively dance of expressions that reflects our thoughts, emotions, culture, and creativity. Idioms, those colorful and often whimsical phrases, play a crucial role in adding depth and flavor to our communication. They are the spices in the recipe of language, giving it taste and texture.
As a former classroom teacher with over 15 years of experience and now an educational researcher, I’ve always been fascinated by the power of idioms in teaching and learning. They are not merely […]
47,000 People Get Their Educational Technology Tips This Way
This morning when I checked my YouTube Studio account I noticed that my little channel had passed the 47,000 subscriber mark. Despite publishing videos on YouTube since at least 2009, I’ve never had a viral hit and probably never will. Instead of worrying about that I just try to make as many helpful videos as I can. To get a sense of the type of videos that I publish, take a look at the five most-watched videos of the last month.
Over 100 Unique Girl Dog Names
Choosing a name for your furry friend is more than just a fun task; it’s a meaningful expression of her personality, your preferences, and the special bond you share. Whether she’s a sprightly puppy with boundless energy or a wise old soul with gentle eyes, her name is a reflection of who she is and what she means to you.
From classic and elegant to quirky and whimsical, the world of dog names is as vast and diverse as our beloved pets themselves. In this post, we’ll explore a delightful array of girl dog names, each carefully curated to […]
Gibby Presents: Road Testing the Latest Location-based VR Experiences
Location-based VR has bounced back since the pandemic. So let’s get some arcade action! The fastest-growing company, Sandbox VR, has just opened their 40th location worldwide. Gibby’s Guide went out and about to road test the best that the sector has to offer.
Gibby Zobel is an English-born journalist, filmmaker and radio broadcaster. Based in Brazil for over 20 years, he produces content for the BBC World Service, BBC News and China Global Television Network (CGTN). Currently on sabbatical in the UK, he writes and publishes Gibby’s Guide, a free independent VR digital magazine, […]
All About Venice – Another Post Inspired by my Daughters
A few days ago while driving home from seeing a community theater’s musical production of The Little Mermaid one of my daughters asked me “why does Venice have canals instead of roads?” It was a question that I was happy to answer. The question also inspired me to revisit some items on the topic that I new were in my blog’s archives, somewhere. Here’s my updated list of resources for teaching and learning about Venice.
And head here for more posts inspired by the questions my daughters ask me.
Venice Backstage is […]
Five New Padlet Features to Try
Along with Google Workspace tools, Padlet is one of the educational technology tools that I’ve used the most consistently over the last fifteen years. I’ve used it for everything from hosting online brainstorming sessions to digital mapping to distraction-free YouTube viewing and a whole lot more. Padlet recently add five new features for the new school year.
The new features of Padlet are demonstrated in the two new videos that are embedded below. The new features include:
An AI drawing tool.Scheduling notes.PollingGoogle Drive integrationAutomated content moderation
ClassHook: How To Use it to Teach
ClassHook makes video-based learning fun and interactive with ease.
Meta Appears to be Readying a Quest 3 Charging Dock to Streamline Usage
A new charging dock from Meta, apparently for Quest 3, has been revealed through regulatory certification. As with Quest Pro’s dock, the goal of the new dock is certainty to streamline headset usage by encouraging users to keep it charged and always up-to-date.
Friction in VR—all of the clunk associated with putting a thing on your head, fitting it, then, going through menus to get to the software you want to use—is a tough challenge the industry has been slowly chipping away at over many years.
One major piece of that friction comes with keeping headsets charged and up-to-date. It’s […]
WEBINAR: How District Leaders Can Design a Holistic Plan for Student Safety and Wellbeing
How districts can manage student wellness proactively
WEBINAR: How to Harness Data to Maximize Student Outcomes
Use research-backed practices to develop the whole child, including their social and emotional growth.
WEBINAR: How District Leaders Can Create Equitable STEAM Programs to Engage All Students
Effective ways for getting students excited about STEAM learning.
WEBINAR: Solutions for Acceleration, Not Remediation
How to remediate schema, not isolated skills, and develop a growth mindset
Bring the Joy Back to School With Book Creator
Disclosure: Book Creator is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com
Book Creator has been one of my go-to multimedia creation tools for nearly a decade. For back-to-school season they’ve created a hub of resources arranged around the theme of bringing joy back to school. Amongst many excellent resources in that hub you’ll find registration links for a handful of free webinars.
Some of the webinars include Differentiation for Lesson Planning Using AI, Cultivating Kindness, and Creative Back-to-School Activities. If you don’t want to wait […]
Creating A District-Wide Student Wellbeing Survey
How the School District of Philadelphia uses its student wellbeing survey to support diversity, equity, and inclusion
Experiential Learning Simply Explained
Experiential learning is one of the key pedagogical concepts that informs the modern philosophy of teaching. Defined by the process of learning through doing, reflection, and active engagement, experiential learning takes learners beyond traditional classroom boundaries, immersing them in real-world scenarios. But what exactly is experiential learning? How does it manifest in practice? What are its key characteristics? These questions have driven my exploration and research into this fascinating subject.
In this comprehensive post, I dive into the heart of experiential learning, uncovering its various dimensions. Starting with a detailed definition, based on seminal works like Kolb’s (1984) experiential […]
Following Single-player Successes, Polyarc Announces First PvP Game ‘Glassbreakers – Champions of Moss’
Following a tease earlier this year, Polyarc Games has announced its first PvP game, Glassbreakers – Champions of Moss, based on its acclaimed single player adventure games Moss (2019) and Moss: Book II (2022).
Moss and Moss: Book II exemplify third-person VR adventure games, giving the player control of a mouse named Quill which travels through the fantastical world of Moss. Uniquely to third-person VR, the player isn’t just the person behind a screen, but actually exists within the game and can interact with Quill and the environment to solve puzzles and aid in combat.
Alongside great design, art, and polish, the successful execution of […]
Teaching with Holograms: The Next Level of Immersive Edtech
Hologram lessons outperformed virtual reality and web lessons on 3D printing at the Florida Institute of Technology.
Is BoomWriter Good For Teaching? Tips & Tricks
BoomWriter helps students publish their writing to encourage talent to flourish.
Ten Books That Shaped America
Just like I do with my weekly newsletter, C-SPAN Classroom sends their weekly newsletter on Sunday evenings (Eastern Time). When I read it last night I learned about a new C-SPAN series that sounds great! It’s called Books That Shaped America and it is presented by C-SPAN in conjunction with the Library of Congress.
Books That Shaped America is a ten-part weekly series that is beginning on September 18th. Each episode will feature one of ten books from American history that have shaped and impacted American society. The […]