Latest education updates from around the world
How Sound Is Created Through Brass Instruments
Music is my oldest daughter’s favorite special class at her elementary school. The other day when I picked her up from school we talked about music class and how I played the trumpet, trombone, and tuba in school. That prompted her to ask how to play those instruments which led to my impromptu explanation of how to buzz your lips into a brass mouthpiece. A better explanation of how brass instruments make sound is found in a TED-Ed lesson on the topic.
‘Propagation: Paradise Hotel’ Review – A Pretty Ok Impression of ‘Resident Evil’
Propagation: Paradise Hotel offers some patently terrifying moments of horror, but between the ever-lingering danger of zombified attacks and a few giant bosses—making for a very Resident Evil-inspired experience—there’s a bit of clunk that tarnishes what could have been a more memorable and cohesive experience. Still, it’s functionally a pretty solid zombie adventure that makes a clear departure from the franchise’s roots as a static wave shooter.
Propagation: Paradise Hotel Details:
Available On: SteamVR, Quest
Release Date: May 4th, 2023
Price: $20
Developer: WanadevStudio
Reviewed On: Quest 2 via PC Link
Gameplay
It’s the zombie apocalypse, and you’re bumming around the bowels of […]
One of VR’s Most Hardcore Apocalyptic Survival Games is Getting a Sequel
Into the Radius is a cult favorite for a reason, as it offers up some of the most hardcore gameplay in a very Stalker-inspired post-apocalyptic world, making for an absolutely unforgiving experience in the anomaly-ridden wasteland. Now developers CM Games say a sequel is in the works.
In a community update, CM Games says a second chapter to Into the Radius is currently being developed.
“We are in the pre-production phase, and will follow an Early Access development model like before when the time is right,” the studio says. “The original [Into the Radius] is a testament to how much our […]
EA’s ‘F1 23’ Racer Coming to PC VR Headsets Next Month, PSVR 2 Still Uncertain
Codemasters, the EA-owned developer behind the F1 racing franchise, announced F1 23 is coming to consoles and PC next month, again bringing its high-profile racing game to VR.
F1 23 is coming to PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC on June 16th, which is confirmed to include VR support on PC.
Codemasters hasn’t said whether it’s also coming to PSVR 2 on PS5, so we’ll just have to wait and see. As it is now, F1 22 only supports PC VR headsets, and not PSVR.
Here’s how the studio describes the upcoming installment:
A new chapter in the thrilling “Braking Point” story […]
What is GeoGuessr and How Does it Work for Teachers? Tips & Tricks
GeoGuessr gamifies geography to make map based learning extra engaging for students.
Tech & Learning Launches Best of Show at ISTELive 23
These annual awards celebrate the products, and businesses behind each one, who are transforming education in schools around the world.
6 Tools & Apps to Foster Student Creativity
Tools and apps for encouraging students to create while learning, from award-winning educator Mike Afdahl
The Top Chrome Extensions to Seamlessly Convert Webpages to PDFs
Are you tired of bookmarking countless webpages only to have a cluttered browser or forgetting where you saved them? Or maybe you’ve tried various methods to download webpages as PDFs but have been left frustrated by their limitations or complexities? Fret no more! In today’s blog post, we will introduce you to the cream of the crop when it comes to Chrome extensions that convert webpages to PDFs.
With the plethora of extensions available in the Chrome Web Store, it can be quite overwhelming to find the perfect one for your needs. That’s why we’ve done the heavy lifting […]
Six Interesting Things You Can Add to Google Sites
Last week I shared a playlist of Google Sites tutorials that I’ve made over the last few years. Some of those tutorials focus on the basics of Google Sites while others highlight advanced features like adding third-party content to your sites. On that note, here are some things you can do to enhance your Google Site with additional features.
Embed Posters Into Google Sites
Canva is my favorite tool for making all kinds of graphics including infographics and interactive posters. In the video below I demonstrate how to embed Canva posters into the pages […]
A Fun Augmented Reality App for Spelling Practice
My daughters really enjoy the PBS Kids show called Word World. In each episode of the show the characters build a new word. As I was recently watching Word World with them I was reminded of a fun augmented reality app called Catchy Words AR.
Catchy Words AR is an augmented reality app that provides a fun and active way for students to practice their spelling skills. The app is available for iPad/ iPhone and it is available in an Android version. […]
Slideshows, Maps, and Other Things – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where the sun is shining! We had exactly two hours of sunshine all week (that’s when I took the picture in this posts) so we’re all itching to get outside to play today. We’re going to ride bikes and run in the woods with our dogs. I hope that you have something equally fun planned for your weekend.
A quick reminder before jumping to this week’s list of the most popular posts, I have some availability for in-person workshops at schools this summer. If you’re interested, please email me ASAP.
These were the week’s […]
A Geography Lesson About Strange Borders
Belgian Farmer Accidentally Moves French Border is a fun little story and geography lesson in one. It’s almost exactly what the title says. A farmer moved a stone that was in his way when plowing a field. It just happened that the stone he moved is a marker for the border between two small towns in Belgium and France. The border itself is not in dispute and the border is a relatively normal one between two friendly neighbors. Still, reading the story reminded me of a couple of videos that I’ve bookmarked about irregular […]
7 Best Financial Literacy Apps for Students and Teens
In today’s fast-paced, digital world, it’s more important than ever for students and teens to develop strong financial skills and habits. With an abundance of finance learning apps available, it can be challenging to determine which ones provide the most valuable lessons and user-friendly experiences.
That’s why I’ve taken the time to research and compile a list of the best finance learning apps specifically designed for students and teens. These apps not only teach essential money management principles but also provide engaging, interactive, and practical experiences to help young users build a solid foundation in […]
Forget SAMR. This Educator’s Model is All About Creating Rather Than Consuming
Mike Afdahl would like to see SAMR evolve into a model where students are creators rather than consumers of knowledge.
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 you need to know to create and teach with your own animated explanations. In the course you’ll learn why the process of creating animated explanations is valuable to your students and to you. You’ll learn how to make everything from a […]
Fun With Augmented Reality in Search
Thanks to where I live and the amount of time that I’ve spent hiking, camping, fly fishing I have slightly more experience seeing wildlife like bears and moose than the average person. My kids often ask me to tell a story about seeing a bear, a moose, or other animal. Unfortunately, when they ask for a story about wolves, I don’t have one because I’ve never had an encounter with one in the wild. But thanks to Google’s augmented reality in search experiences we can experience wolves in our yard.
When you conduct a Google search […]
Digital Artist Behind Iconic PS5 Campaign Launches Evolving VR Art Gallery
You might not recognize the name Maxim Zhestkov, but if you paid any attention to the launch of PlayStation 5, you’ll almost certainly recognize his iconic digital art which accompanied the reveal of the console. Now Zhestkov has launched a virtual gallery that he says will feature and ever-growing collection of his digital works.
Maxim Zhestkov is the artist behind the satisfying swarm of particles that that accompanied the reveal of PS5 back in 2020.
Much of Zhestkov’s work similarly employs space, motion, shapes, and sound, which makes virtual reality the perfect medium for others to experience it.
To that […]
Best Mother’s Day Activities and Lessons
These top resources offer great Mother’s Day activities and lessons for any age
Blurring Faces and Two Dozen Other YouTube Tips for Teachers
Earlier this week I took a few hours off from work to go see a play at my daughter’s elementary school. Doing that reminded me that we’re getting to part of the school year that tends to have a lot of special events. Many of those are events that you or someone in your school will want to record and share online.
How to Customize Page Headers in Google Sites
Yesterday morning I answered an email from a reader who was looking for advice on how to make the page titles stand-out on her Google Site. What she was referring to was the list of page titles in the header of the site itself.
For years Google Sites didn’t offer many customization options that would let you make your page headers stand-out. Fortunately, that has changed in the last couple of years. In the current version of Google Sites you can use the theme editor to customize to your heart’s content.
In the short video that is embedded […]
Civic Education Simply Explained
Civic education is an essential component of a healthy democracy because it helps citizens understand the rights and responsibilities associated with being an active participant in society. Informed citizens can make informed decisions, hold public officials accountable, and take action to improve their communities and nation.
In this post, I will cover the importance of civic education, its benefits and components, and discuss some of its […]
Lightspeed Systems Offers New Module to Assess Students’ Off-Campus Internet Connectivity
Lightspeed Systems’ new ‘Digital Equity’ module provides insight into students’ internet connectivity and school-issued device health when learning outside of school
25 Gmail Tips for Teachers
If answering email takes up way more time in your day than you would like it to, take a look at my playlist of 25 Gmail tips for teachers and students. The playlist includes everything from how to sort your Gmail messages to filtering and blocking senders to email etiquette tips we all need to be reminded of from time to time. Some highlights of the playlist are embedded below.
4 Simple Steps to Design Collaborative & Interactive Online PD With and For Teachers
Leveraging online spaces to offer teachers useful and engaging professional development opportunities in which they can learn new tools, practice what they teach, and be part of the process
If You Have a YouTube Channel, Watch Out for This Email Scam
Last fall I wrote about and made a short video about a phishing scam in which the sender pretends to be from YouTube support. Yesterday, I saw a new variation on that same scam appear in my inbox.
As you can see in the screenshot above, the email subject line is Copyright Warning.pdf and the from address is YouTube Support (Google Docs). In the email there is just a link to a PDF that appears to be shared via Google Drive from YouTube. There are a few red flags in that email that instantly […]