Latest education updates from around the world
Magic Eraser – Quickly Clean Images in Canva
One of the many new features that Canva has released in the last week or so is a new image editing tool called Magic Eraser. This little tool makes it quick and easy to remove imperfections and other unwanted things from your photographs. For example, in my demonstration video that is embedded below I removed the logo that is embroidered on my jacket.
Video – How to Use Magic Eraser in Canva
Big and Small Contest
As I’ve shared in the past, Instructables is one of my favorite places to find inspiration for fun, hands-on STEM projects. On Instructables you’ll find directions for all kinds of neat projects including things like automatic plant watering systems, automated LED lighting systems and alarms, and more Arduino and Micro:bit projects than you can shake a stick at.
This spring Instructables is running four contests that you and your students can enter. One of those contests is called the Big and Small Contest. The contest asks […]
Best AI Presentation Makers
Microsoft Highlights Learning Accelerator Tools at BETT 2023
Microsoft Learning Accelerator Tools boost classroom progress
Microsoft Highlights Learning Accelerator Tools at BETT 2023
Microsoft Learning Accelerator Tools boost classroom progress
Weather, Explorers, and Designs – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s a cold and rainy start to the month of April. Normally, we’d be heading outside to play today. The weather is probably going to keep us in. We’re still going to have a fun day anyway because we’re having a family cupcake decorating competition! The best part is that everyone will win because we’ll get to eat cupcakes all weekend. I hope that you also do something fun this weekend.
Apps and Sites for Learning About Fresh Water
Earlier this week I was looking through a list of augmented reality apps that I’ve tried over the years when I was reminded of the World Wildlife Fund’s Free Rivers app. Playing with that app again prompted me to look for some similar resources. Here’s a few fun apps and sites that students can use to learn about the importance of fresh water in the ecosystem.
WWF Free Rivers
WWF Free Rivers is a free augmented reality iPad app produced by the World Wildlife Foundation. The app uses augmented reality to present a story about rivers. […]
Puppy and Classes – The Month in Review
Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on the month of March. The month for me can be summarized by “puppy” and “classes.” We got a new dog this month. His name is Rangeley Noodle and he has an Instagram account. This month I hosted a new professional development course on PracticalEdTech.com. Dozens of you supported my work by joining that course or one of my self-paced courses. Thank you!
These were the most popular posts in March:
1. A Round-up of Pi Day Resources
Co-op VR Shooter ‘Gambit!’ Coming to Quest 2 & SteamVR Next Week
XREAL Games, the Budapest-based studio behind Zero Caliber VR (2018), announced that its upcoming co-op shooter Gambit! is finally set to release on Quest 2 and PC VR headsets next week.
Update (March 31st, 2023): After a long wait, XREAL Games today announced that Gambit! is now set to launch on April 6th, releasing simultaneously on SteamVR headsets and Quest 2.
The cross-platform game is said to offer “hours to plunder, 4-player co-op, dozens of guns, a myriad of attachments, skins, masks, deathmatch, tournament ladders, minigames, leaderboards, climbing, graffiti, hidden rewards, the GNOP, bossfights, free updates, dedicated customer support, and […]
‘VRChat’ Now in Development for Android and iOS Devices
VRChat, the popular social VR platform, announced that flatscreen ports for both Android and iOS are currently in development.
The company says in a developer blog that while there’s still no release date on the books, the Android version has already been used by team members to attend large meetings.
Additionally, the Android version will support any world or avatar that works on Meta Quest, since the standalone also runs Android.
Here’s a quick look at an early build, which the studio stresses isn’t a final version:
VRChat on Android Mobile will only be available to VRChat Plus subscribers, the studio says, offering […]
New! Freehand Drawings in Canva
Last week Canva hosted a big event to announce a bunch of new features. One of those features is something that I’ve thought they should have added years ago, a freehand drawing tool.
LapSafe Smart Lockers Shown Off at BETT 2023
The LapSafe Smart Lockers are the future of laptop storage for students with charging built-in and more
MakeKit AS Educational Robots Revealed at BETT 2023
MakeKit AS delivers micro:bit drones, cars, rockets and more for STEM and STEAM subjects.
Best Albert Einstein Quotes
Albert Einstein was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. His brilliant thoughts and ideas have been inspiring generations for decades, and many of his quotes still resonate today. Here is a collection of some of Albert Einstein’s best quotes on life, creativity, intelligence, success and more.
1.”Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”― Albert Einstein
2.“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”― Albert Einstein
3.“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will […]
Report: Apple Mixed Reality Headset Delayed to Late 2023 Amid Decreased Confidence in Market Appeal
Ming-Chi Kuo, a respected supply chain analyst, reports that Apple is tamping down enthusiasm for its upcoming mixed reality headset, which was rumored to see its big announcement at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.
In a tweet, Kuo reports Apple is delaying release of its MR headset due to decreased optimism in recreating the “iPhone moment” the company was hoping to achieve with the device.
Kuo, an analyst at Asia-Pacific financial services group TF International Securities, is widely considered one of the most accurate voices in predicting Apple releases. Kuo has made many predictions in the […]
Jamworks Shows BETT 2023 How Its AI Will Change Education
Jamworks at BETT 2023 has given us a glimpse of what the AI powered future classroom could look like.
Best Poetry Lessons and Activities
Tech and Learning curates the best free online poetry lessons and activities
Math, Science, and Search Baseball Lessons
Today is the home opener for my beloved Boston Red Sox. Hope springs eternal for a great season. So until at least the first pitch is thrown I’ll set aside the pessimistic New Englander in me and get excited because this is the year! On that note, here are some baseball-themed lesson ideas and resources.
Just this week I finished reading Odd Man Out. It’s a great story about a Yale graduate who spent a year pitching in the minor leagues before going to medical school. It’s a book I’d recommend to any adult […]
Pacing Group Activities With Focusable
A few weeks ago I ran a workshop in which I changed up the way that I paced the session. What I’ve almost always done is give a little instruction then time to try and complete a little practice activity. Then I’ll hold a little debrief before moving onto the next activity. It’s a pretty common format that I’m sure you also learned in one of the methods courses that you took at some point.
What I did differently in my workshop a few weeks ago was to use Focusable to pace the workshop. […]
10 Amazing New Canva AI Tools
Canva has recently held its Canva Create live event in Sydney, Australia and announced the release of a collection of new interesting AI tools. I have been experimenting with these new tools and found them worth sharing here in Educators Technology.
Admittedly, when Canava first introduced its text to image tool, I did not have a good experience with it and found it ‘primitive’ compared to other AI text to image generators especially DALL-E. I thought for a while that Canva is probably losing the AI race. The recent announcements, however, proved me wrong.
What are charter schools? Parents Guide
Charter schools are publicly-funded educational institutions that operate independently from the traditional school district system. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools do not have to adhere to the same curriculum and can develop innovative methods of teaching. Charter schools also get additional funding from private institutions, businesses, or non-profit organizations.
These schools are typically granted autonomy in exchange for being held accountable for student performance on standardized tests and other measures of success. Charter schools have the flexibility to focus on specialized subjects, such as STEM, art, and can often provide a more personalized learning […]
Hands-on: Bigscreen Beyond – A Little Headset That Could be a Big Deal
It’s exceedingly rare to see a VR software startup transition to making hardware, let alone decent hardware. But that’s exactly what Bigscreen—creators of the long-running social VR theater app of the same name—has done with its upcoming Beyond headset.
Bigscreen has clearly targeted PC VR enthusiasts who are willing to pay for the best hardware they can get their hands on. And with major players like Meta and HTC focusing heavily on standalone headsets, Bigscreen Beyond could prove to be the best option they’ll […]
Have a Chat With Hundreds of Historical Figures
Hello History is a new AI app that I wrote about last week. Almost immediately after I published my blog post about Hello History I started to get questions about it. To address a bunch of those questions, I created the short video overview that is embedded below.
Video – How to Use Hello History to Chat With Historical Figures
Hello History does give a bunch of disclaimers before you use the app including a reminder to fact-check the accuracy of any claims made […]
An Interactive Simulation of Greenhouse Effect
PhET was one of the resource that I featured in this week’s Practical Ed Tech newsletter. Shortly after hitting send on that newsletter I learned about a new simulation that PhET now offers.
The latest PhET simulation is about the greenhouse effect. The simulation can be used to help students understand the effect of greenhouse gases and clouds on sunlight, infrared radiation, and surface temperature. And students can use the simulation to compare and contrast the behavior of sunlight and infrared radiation.
Like most PhET simulations, the Greenhouse Effect […]
What is GoSoapBox and How Does It Work? Best Tips and Tricks
GoSoapBox is an online space to let students have their say and for educators to get feedback.