Latest education updates from around the world
What is Quizizz and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks
Quizizz makes quiz based learning fun by adding gamification, making this a useful teaching tool.
‘Propagation VR’ Sequel Coming to Quest & SteamVR Next Week, Gameplay Trailer Here
Propagation VR (2020), the VR survival horror game for PC VR headsets, is getting a sequel called Propagation: Paradise Hotel, and it’s coming next week.
Update (April 27th, 2023): WanadevStudio announced Propagation: Paradise Hotel is coming on May 4th to Quest 2 and SteamVR headsets. You can now wishlist it on the Quest Store and Steam.
In Propagation: Paradise Hotel you are a solo adventurer taking on the role of Emily Diaz, who must explore the Paradise Hotel’s dark surroundings to find her lost twin sister Ashley. Use items, weapons, and tools as you progress through the […]
High End Camera Maker Takes Its First Step into Consumer VR Software
First unveiled at CES 2022 early last year, Canon has now taken its first step into consumer VR software with Kokomo, its fledgling social VR platform. Compared to more full-featured collaboration apps, Kokomo isn’t there yet, but it’s a start in a new direction for Canon, which up until now has been mostly focused on XR hardware aimed at enterprise.
The Japanese optics and imaging giant announced that early access to its Kokomo social collaboration software for Quest 2 is now available in beta in the US and Canada.
If you didn’t hear about it at CES 2023 back in […]
What is Mentimeter and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks
Mentimeter makes presentations ideal for teaching with quizzes, polls, and word clouds.
Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions Again
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Yesterday, Rushton Hurley and I recorded the latest installment of our Two EdTech Guys Take Questions series. In the episode we answered questions about introductions to computer science, timing quizzes in Google Forms, and more. We also shared a few cool resources you might want to share with your students.
You can watch the latest episode of Two EdTech Guys Questions right here. On that same page you’ll find links to the resources we mentioned in the episode as well as previous episodes.
More “Color Our Collections” Collections
Back in December I shared the Smithsonian Learning Lab’s Color Our Collections collection. That’s a collection of coloring pages based on portraits in the National Portrait Gallery. You can download those coloring pages for free.
This morning through an Open Culture post I learned there are nearly 100 more museums and libraries that have similar Color Our Collections pages. All of those pages can be found through this page on New York Academy of Medicine’s website.
GE Teach – Make Side-by-Side Map Comparisons in One Browser Tab
GE Teach is a great map tool that is developed and maintained by a high school teacher in Texas named Josh Williams.
GE Teach has gone through a bunch of iterations over the years and the latest version is better than ever. On GE Teach students can compare two maps side-by-side. Students can select from gallery of map layers to compare side-by-side in GE Teach. In addition to comparing maps students can use drawing and measuring tools that you would typically find in Google’s My Maps and Earth tools.
This ‘Skyrim VR’ Mod Shows How AI Can Take VR Immersion to the Next Level
ChatGPT isn’t perfect, but the popular AI chatbot’s access to large language models (LLM) means it can do a lot of things you might not expect, like give all of Tamriel’s NPC inhabitants the ability to hold natural conversations and answer questions about the iconic fantasy world. Uncanny, yes. But it’s a prescient look at how games might one day use AI to reach new heights in immersion.
YouTuber ‘Art from the Machine’ released a video showing off how they modded the much beloved VR version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The mod, which isn’t available yet, […]
Best Google Docs Add-ons for Teachers
Get the best Google Docs Add-ons to help make teaching easier and more effective.
First-person VR Platformer ‘No More Rainbows’ Coming Soon to Quest 2 & PC VR
Squido Studio announced its first-person platformer No More Rainbows is coming to Quest 2 and SteamVR headsets soon, offering up a VR take on classic platforming action.
No More Rainbows has been available in open beta on Quest’s App Lab for a year now, and it’s almost time for it to graduate to the main Quest Store and Steam too. Exactly when, we don’t know, but Squido and its partner Robot Teddy say it’s coming “very soon.”
Here’s the studio’s description of the first-person VR platformer:
In No More Rainbows, you are The Beast, who must spring forth into a […]
A Round-up of 15 AI Resources Created Without Using AI
Four the last four months anything that I’ve published about AI (artificial intelligence) has vaulted to the top of the list of the most popular posts of the week, month, and year. I’m beginning to think that I if I just wrote AI AI AI AI AI for 500 lines that it would be the most popular thing I’ve ever published. All that to say, I’ve manually assembled the following collection of AI tools for teachers and related AI resources.
What is ChatGPT
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence tool that will create documents for you based on some […]
The 5 Stages of Reading Development
Reading is a complex, multifaceted skill that unfolds over time. It is an advanced thinking process that requires the integration of many skills, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Reading development is composed of several stages . Each stage builds upon the previous one and leads to the next level of reading ability. Understanding the stages of reading development is crucial for fostering a love of reading and ensuring academic success.
In this blog post, I will discuss the various stages of […]
Magic Leap 2 Now Supports OpenXR, Strengthening Industry Against Potential Apple Upheaval
Though delayed from its commitment last year, Magic Leap today announced that ML2 now fully supports OpenXR. The timing might have something to do with Apple’s looming entrance into the XR space.
Magic Leap had planned to deliver OpenXR support for its ML2 headset last year, but it was seemingly delayed until now. Today the company announced that Magic Leap 2 is conformant with OpenXR.
OpenXR is an open standard that aims to standardize the development of VR and AR applications, making hardware and software more interoperable. The standard has been in development since 2017 and is backed by virtually every […]
Whether Hit or Flop, Apple’s Entrance Will Be a Pivotal Moment for XR
If the avalanche of recent reports can indicate anything at all, it seems Apple is entering the VR/AR headset market fairly soon, bringing along with it the most inflated expectations the industry has ever seen. It’s probably going to be expensive, but whether it flops or becomes a big hit, the mere existence of Apple in the space is set to change a lot about how things are done.
The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone. That award goes to an obscure PDA device called the IBM Simon, released in limited numbers in 1994. The Apple Watch wasn’t the first smartwatch […]
How to Re-Energize Disconnected Classroom Participants
In today’s modern environment, educators have their work cut out for them, from staying on top of adaptive learning technologies to navigating new student requirements. But one of the most crucial concerns for today’s educators is student engagement.
While most educators recognize that student engagement is core to their mission, there are many indications that this is becoming harder to achieve. This article briefly describes the changing picture of student engagement and offers some tips to address it.
Image Source: Pixabay
A growing disconnect
Numerous surveys indicate the increased fragility of student engagement in recent years.
It was already softening before the […]
‘Vertigo 2’ Dev Still Hopes to Port PC VR Hit to PSVR 2
Vertigo 2 is arguably one of the best games of 2023, but it’s only available on PC VR headsets. Developer Zach Tsiakalis-Brown said earlier this year that he thought a PSVR 2 port would definitely be a good possibility, and now that Half-Life-style sci-fi shooter is in the wild, PSVR 2 support is apparently still in the cards for the solo dev.
Reacting to Twitter user Timo Schmidt, Tsiakalis-Brown confirmed that PSVR 2 support is still on the horizon, as he recalls an earlier tweet from January saying he “would love to port to psvr in the […]
May the 4th Be With You: Best Free Star Wars Teaching Ideas
Star Wars Day, May 4th, is a great time to turn the magical allure of the Star Wars movie franchise into fun and fascinating lessons
Five Good Collections of Historic Maps for Classroom Use
Last week I wrote a blog post featuring the newly published historic map collection hosted by the Internet Archive. That collection, the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, is the latest of the historic map collections that I’ve featured on this blog over the last fifteen years. Here are some others that I’ve featured and used in my own classrooms over the years.
Old Maps Online is an online map that you can browse and search to find historical maps to view online, to download, and to print. You can search the […]
Tech & Learning Offers New Superintendent Scholarship in Partnership with the National Association of School Superintendents
Tech & Learning has partnered with the NASS to promote the work of its members and offer membership scholarships to select superintendents
Search Strategies Webinar Next Tuesday
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Do you teach middle school or high school social studies classes? Have you ever had a student say to you, “Google has nothing on this” or “I can’t find any information about this?”
If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, you’ll want to join me for next Tuesday’s webinar all about teaching search strategies to history students.
You’ll automatically be registered for the webinar when you purchase a copy of my new e-book, Teaching Search Strategies to History Students by May 1st.
The live webinar will be at 7pm ET on May 2nd. You can […]
7 Awesome AI YouTube Video Summarizers for Teachers and Students
The spell of generative AI is just getting bigger and bigger with new amazing AI powered applications and services introduced everyday. I am indeed overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of possibilities that generative AI brings to the table. While the concerns of misuse are always there, but I am very much optimistic that this technology will positively transform education in unprecedented ways.
In today’s post, I am sharing with you this collection of handy AI Chrome extensions that will help you generate YouTube video summaries and scripts within few seconds. These AI […]
Best Practices for Implementing STEM Resources
What to consider when implementing a variety of STEM programs and products into a classroom
Seven Google Scholar Features You Should Know How to Use
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In this week’s Practical Ed Tech newsletter I made the case for using Google Scholar as part of your research process. In the newsletter I included a short video overview of Google Scholar features you should know how to use. That video is embedded below.
Video – Google Scholar Features You Should Know How to Use
The features demonstrated in the video are:
Ten Google Earth and Maps Activities for Math Lessons
Last week I shared directions for measuring perimeter and area in Google Earth. Doing that is one of many ways to incorporate Google Earth into mathematics lessons. Making that video prompted me to make a list of ways to use Google Earth and Maps (which has similar measuring tools) in mathematics lessons.
Here’s my list of ideas for using Google Earth and Maps in mathematics lessons. The list is in no particular order other than how the ideas came into my mind.
Measuring perimeter of square, rectangular, and triangular pieces of land or buildings.Measuring and […]
10 AI Tools Beyond ChatGPT That Can Save Teachers Time
AI tools that educators can use to save time, from award-winning educator Lance Key