Latest education updates from around the world
TypeStudio is Now Streamlabs Podcast Editor
TypeStudio was one of my favorite new tools to emerge in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, this morning I learned that it has pivoted and is now focused on podcast editing instead of video editing. Part of that pivot comes with a new name, Streamlabs Podcast Editor (now owned by Logitech).
I have yet to try Streamlabs Podcast Editor. Trying it is now on my list of things to do this week. My initial impression is that Streamlabs Podcast Editor is focused on making it easy to repurpose your existing […]
Stealth-action Game ‘Arashi: Castles of Sin’ Coming to All Major VR Headsets This Fall in ‘Final Cut’
Skydance Interactive announced during UploadVR’s Summer Showcase that the award-winning stealth-action VR game Arashi: Castles of Sin (2021) is finally making its way to major VR headsets this fall.
Developer by Endeavor One, Arashi: Castles of Sin is slated to bring its visceral melee combat to Quest 2, Quest 3, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets for the first time.
Initially released exclusively on PSVR back in 2021, the studios say we can expect from the new ‘Final Cut’ version “improved visuals, updated enemy and boss behavior, revamped controls, and tons of additional quality-of-life features.”
Here’s how Endeavor One describes the action:
In Arashi: Castles […]
‘Espire 2’ Mixed Reality Missions Coming as Free Update to Quest, Trailer Here
Espire 2: Stealth Operative (2022), the stealth action game from Digital Lode, is getting a free mixed reality mode for Quest 2, Quest Pro and Quest 3 later this year.
Digital Lode revealed footage of the mixed reality update during the UploadVR Summer Showcase, promising a series of stealth missions that “grow and adapt to the player’s personal playspace.”
“Missions are deliberately focused and optimized for all environments ranging from small areas to multiple rooms,” the studio says. “Play as Tempest, an agent who must pass a series of Mixed Reality Missions to earn their stripes and be […]
‘Outta Hand’ Takes ‘Gorilla Tag’ Movement to the Next Level in VR Platforming Adventure
Capricia Productions and Beyond Frames Entertainment unveiled a new VR platformer during UploadVR’s Summer Showcase that looks to take Gorilla Tag’s knuckle-dragging locomotion scheme and crank it to eleven for some fast-paced first-person platforming action.
Called Outta Hand, the game lets you embody one of the Hand-People, which developer Capricia calls “wide-eyed, hop-happy lab experiments with the power to jump great heights, leap impossible lengths, and shake hands from… really, really far away.”
Here’s how the studio describes the setup:
Due to not being dumb enough, loveable as you are, Dr. Vendelvom has selected you for immediate termination. Not like fired gone, more like dead […]
New Event for K-12 Industry Executives
New event brings together top executives from the K-12 industry
Apple Vision Pro Will Have an ‘Avatar Webcam’, Automatically Integrating with Popular Video Chat Apps
In addition to offering immersive experiences, Apple says that Vision Pro will be able to run most iPad and iOS apps out of the box with no changes. For video chat apps like Zoom, Messenger, Discord, and others, the company says that an ‘avatar webcam’ will be supplied to apps, making them automatically able to handle video calls between the headset and other devices.
Apple says that on day one, all suitable iOS and iPad OS apps will be available on the headset’s App Store. According to the company, “most apps don’t need any changes at all,” and the […]
15 Practical End of School Year Puzzle Ideas
As educators, our mission is to create a learning environment that not only encourages knowledge acquisition but also fosters curiosity, engagement, and fun. This is where educational games and puzzles come into play.
These games provide a unique learning medium that enables students to absorb and apply what they’ve learned in an enjoyable, stress-free way. By combining play and education, we offer children a more dynamic, interactive approach to learning.
Games and puzzles have a multitude of benefits. They stimulate cognitive development, encourage problem-solving and critical thinking, boost memory, and promote […]
‘Pixel Ripped 1978’ – Amping Up Nostalgia with Official Atari Backing
Virtual reality’s favorite nostalgia-fueled game-within-a-game is back, this time throwing you into a handful of reimagined Atari 2600 titles from the early ’80s. It’s another solid entry into the series, and as its casual approach to serving up a rash of classic gaming tropes are fairly tried and true at this point. While its first-person RPG focus this time around doesn’t really feel like the sort of substantial evolution that it could be, 1978’s smorgasbord of novelty and undoubtably heartfelt love of classic games does a lot to smooth over many of its rougher spots.
Pixel Ripped 1978 Details:
22 Lessons and Posts Inspired by My Daughters
Those of you who have followed my blog over the last few years may have noticed my occasional series of posts inspired by questions from my daughters who are now five and six years old. (Some of you have followed the blog long enough to remember when getting a dog was a major lifestyle change for me).
After writing yesterday’s blog post about Fahrenheit vs. Celsius I decided to look through my archives to see how many blog posts have been directly inspired by questions that my daughters have asked me. Here they all […]
How to Install Google Earth Pro on a Mac
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A few weeks ago I shared directions for adding Google Drive videos to Google Earth tours. The demonstration that I gave was done with Google Earth Pro on my Mac. That demo prompted an email from a viewer who needed some help installing Google Earth Pro on her Mac. To answer that email I made the following short video.
Video – How to Install Google Earth Pro on a Mac
Creating a Google Earth tour is the culminating activity in Around the World With Google Earth.
What is Do2learn and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks
Do2learn is a resource hub for learners with special needs or anyone that wants to enhance social skills and more.
Socrative Review by A Teacher
As an educator an EdTech blogger, I’ve had the chance to experiment with a multitude of tools, and Socrative stands out as one of the best quizzing tools out there. It offers a comprehensive suite of powerful features that makes it an ideal platform to use in your instruction. In this post, we will explore what Socrative is all about, the features it offers, and how to get started creating your quizzes.
Online Spelling Games
About once a week I get a spammy email from someone trying to sell me domain names related to online spelling games and spelling apps. I got another one of those this morning. I took it as a sign that I should put together a new post about online spelling games and spelling apps. Here are some of the most popular ones that I’ve featured over the last fifteen+ years of running this blog.
Flippity’s Spelling Words is a free Google Sheets template that you can use to create individualized spelling games for […]
‘Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024’ Announced Amid No Mention of VR Support
The next iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) was announced over the weekend, slated to arrive sometime on Xbox consoles and PC in 2024. While it’s disheartening an announcement promising VR support wasn’t made during its unveiling, the game is under development by Asobo, the very same that developed the VR-supported version released in 2020.
The company says Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is slated to bring the “most sophisticated, immersive and awe-inspiring flight simulator of all time,” powered by what the studio calls a “significantly evolved Asobo Studio engine.”
The studio is well versed in supporting PC VR headsets, as the team added SteamVR support to […]
Fahrenheit vs. Celsius – Another Lesson Inspired by My Daughters
On the way to school this morning my older daughter pointed out that it was 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Her younger sister responded by asking, “what’s Fahrenheit?” To that her older sister said, “it’s the temperatures we use in America.”
The conversation between my daughters prompted me to point out that our Canadian friends and most of the rest of the world uses Celsius. That, of course, led to me trying to explain the difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit to my five-year-old and a six-year-old daughters. I did the best that I could. After school I’ll try to […]
New Microsoft Teams Features to Note
A couple of weeks ago Mike Tholfsen published a video highlighting new Microsoft Word features for teachers to note. This week he published a video highlighting eight new Microsoft Teams features for teachers to note.
Some of the new Teams features demonstrated in Mike’s video include new background and filter options, new zoom options, and new OneNote integration options. Those features and more are demonstrated in Mike’s video which you can watch on his YouTube channel or as embedded below.
Leaked Quest 3 Setup Videos Show ‘Smart Guardian’ Room-scanning in Action
Meta unveiled Quest 3 earlier this month, its upcoming standalone VR headset that not only promises to be thinner and more powerful than Quest 2, but also offer color passthrough for augmented reality. Now renowned dataminer ‘Samulia’ has uncovered what appears to be an early video of the headset’s ‘Smart Guardian’ feature in action.
Samulia published four videos showing off what seems to be a work-in-progress look at a new user experience (NUX) for Quest 3. The videos below seem to show how a new user might setup and use the headset’s guardian function, which is designed […]
When Bard is Better Than Google
Yesterday I was in charge of making dinner for my family. My plan was to make fish tacos. I’ve made them before so I knew that I needed a lime. But I wasn’t sure of all of the other ingredients that I needed. So I did what anyone in my position would do, I Googled it.
The trouble with Googling a recipe is that the results are all websites that are littered with pop-up ads and long descriptions about why the author likes the recipe (extraneous SEO-filler). What they don’t have is a concise list of ingredients.
After […]
Creativity Unleashed: Using An Observed Behavior Chart to Limit Disruptions
Being creative and finding your why can lead to classroom solutions such as using an observed behavior chart with disruptive students
Cloudhead Games CEO: Apple Vision Pro is an AR Headset Wearing VR Clothes
Cloudhead Games is one of the most successful and senior VR studios in the industry. In this Guest Article, studio head Denny Unger shares his thoughts on Apple’s entrance into the space.
Denny Unger is CEO and CCO at Cloudhead Games. Based in British Columbia and founded in 2012 Cloudhead’s pioneering approach to VR gave rise to broadly adopted movement standards including Snap Turns and Teleportation. Working closely with Valve, Sony, and Meta, Cloudhead is best known for their title Pistol Whip and has shipped four popular VR titles (Pistol Whip, Valve’s Aperture Hand […]
Ubisoft Reveals ‘Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR’, Coming to Quest 2 This Holiday
Ubisoft has finally officially Announced Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, the first VR game in the franchise, planned for release on Quest 2 and Quest Pro (and likely Quest 3) this holiday.
Today during Ubisoft’s online showcase, the company fully announced Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, though unfortunately the only glimpse of the game we’re getting on video for now is a “CGI announce trailer”:
The trailer does give a sense of the gameplay Ubisoft is trying to deliver, promising to give players a taste of stealth, parkour, and of course combat. The studio says players will inhabit three different well-known […]
ChatGPT Isn’t Designed to be A Tutor. Students Are Still Using it As One
More than 10 percent of K-12 and college students said they study with ChatGPT in addition to a tutor, according to a recent survey
Best Summer Learning Apps & Sites
The best summer learning apps and sites for students can help keep kids learning all year round
7 Great Video-based Activities for End of School Year
As the school year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to review the progress we’ve made and celebrate the learning journey that our students have embarked upon. With the rapid advancement of edtech tools, we now have a myriad of options to make this process even more engaging and enjoyable.
The following guide is designed to share with fellow educators and teachers a set of video-based activities for end of school year.
Having spent significant time reviewing and implementing various edtech tools, I’ve handpicked some of the best resources that can […]
20 Fun Last Day of School Activities for Students
The final school bell of the year doesn’t just signify the end of homework and tests, but also ushers in a time of reflection, transition, and most importantly, fun! If you recall, we’ve previously shared numerous educational resources to wrap up your school year with a burst of knowledge and creativity.
However, this time, we’re here with an exciting twist. We believe that the last day of school should be a jubilant salute to the past year, filled with activities that not only entertain but also reinforce the spirit of […]