Latest education updates from around the world
How to Clean-up Image Backgrounds in Canva Designs
Last week someone reached out to me after watching my original video about using Canva’s image background removal tool. She was having a little trouble because the automatic background remover was leaving a few patches of the original image intact. To help, I recorded a new video that demonstrates how to clean-up the parts of the image that Canva doesn’t automatically remove.
Video – How to Clean-up Image Backgrounds in Canva
Applications for Education
One of my favorite ways to use Canva’s background remover is to remove the background from an […]
AI Writing Check
AI Writing Check is a free tool created by the collaborative efforts of the non-profits Quill.org and CommonLit. AI Writing Check is a tool that was created to help teachers try to recognize writing created through the use of artificial intelligence.
To use AI Writing Check you simply have to copy a passage of text of 100 or more words and paste it into AI Writing Check. The tool will then tell you the likelihood that the writing has or has not been created by artificial intelligence. That’s all there is […]
‘Among Us VR’ Sells 1 Million Units Across Quest 2 & PC VR Headsets
The team behind the VR adaptation of popular party game Among Us announced it’s officially gone platinum, selling over 1 million copies across all platforms.
Recreating viral flatscreen titles in VR seems to be a potent recipe for success, as Among Us VR follows in the footsteps of other meme-able games like Friday Night at Freddy’s and SUPERHOT, both of which boast high-performing VR adaptations.
Developed by Innersloth, Schell Games, and Robot Teddy, Among Us VR replicates the original’s team-based game of betrayal. Complete tasks aboard a starship, but keep an eye out for the ship’s singular impostor, who is always looking to get away with […]
A Minecraft Server for Grieving Kids
Two nonprofits and UC Irvine have joined forces to create a Minecraft server that connects and supports students who have experienced loss.
School Porn- Helpful Tips to Deal with It
School porn is a growing problem. It refers to any type of pornography that is easily accessible to students on school grounds. This can include everything from magazines and videos to websites and social media.
10 Best Science Games for Kids
Are you looking for a fun and exciting way to get your kids interested in science? Or do you have kids at home who need an educational yet entertaining activity? Look no further! In this blog post, I cover some of the best resources where you can access a wide variety of entertaining and educational science games.
Kids can play the games and learn complex science topics in an accessible and enjoyable manner. From interactive online platforms to tabletop experiments, there are plenty of activities that can teach kids about biology, physics, chemistry, and more! Let’s dive into […]
‘The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners 2’ Coming to PSVR 2 & PC VR in March, Original Gets Free PSVR 2 Upgrade
Skydance Interactive announced the sequel to The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Chapter 2: Retribution, is leaving timed Quest exclusivity soon. You can also now add the original game to the list of PSVR titles getting a free PSVR 2 upgrade.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners 2 is simultaneously launching on SteamVR and PSVR 2 on March 21st, priced at $40. You can now wishlist it on Steam and pre-order for PSVR 2.
Although not a launch day title (see the full list here), the studio says players across Quest, PC […]
NBA Deepens Multiyear Partnership with Meta, Bringing More Ways to Watch Live Games on Quest
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Meta announced they’re extending a multiyear partnership which is set to bring a few new ways for basketball fans to enjoy NBA League Pass games on Quest.
First signed in 2020, the deal essentially made Meta (ex-Facebook) an official marketing and VR headset partner of the NBA, Women’s NBA (WNBA) and NBA G League.
Now, with the extension, the companies are set to bring a new space to Meta’s Horizon Worlds platform called the ‘NBA Arena’, which will play host to live NBA League Pass games in VR throughout the season.
The […]
The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter
Between social media and email it can be hard to keep up with everything going on in the world of ed tech throughout the week. That’s why nine years ago I started the Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. Every Sunday evening/ Monday morning I send out my favorite tip of the week and summary of my most popular posts of the previous week.
Weekly Newsletter
In my Practical Ed Tech Newsletter I also usually include a personal note like the fun I had in my 171 year old attic or I make fun […]
45 Digital Mapping Tutorials
This month I’ve been spending some time organizing the tutorial videos on my YouTube channel. To that end I’m creating playlists that are organized thematically. The latest playlist that I’ve created is titled Digital Mapping. The playlist currently contains 45 tutorial videos covering more than just Google Maps. In the playlist you’ll find tutorials on things like NatGeo Mapmaker, Felt Maps, USGS map tools, making animated maps, and much more. Some highlights from the playlist are embedded below.
What is Formative and How Can it Be Used to Teach? Tips & Tricks
Formative is a real-time assessment tool designed specifically for teachers using digital learning platforms.
Addressing Learning Gaps by Centralizing Assessments and Student Data
Better assessments can lead to deeper learning and quicker adjustments to meet the needs of students.
Best Science Websites for Kids
Web technologies have tremendously facilitated science learning. There are now a plethora of science websites that help kids learn about space, the solar system, the body, the various phases of matter and even quantum physics. There are also tons of educational science resources for teachers to use with their students in classroom.
Whether you are an elementary school teacher wanting to find new ways to introduce your students to the world of scientific exploration or a parent looking for engaging activities to boost your kids science knowledge, below is a collection of some of the best science […]
A Failed XR Startup is Back With Compact Optics That Switch Instantly Between AR & VR
AntVR, an early VR startup which struggled with several XR headset projects that ultimately didn’t find traction, has reemerged with novel optics which can instantly transition between AR and VR modes.
Founded in 2014, AntVR is the China-based VR startup originally behind an early crowdfunding campaign for a PC VR headset (which didn’t ultimately catch on) and a more recent crowdfunding campaign for an AR headset which wound up tanking the company after failing to raise enough money to get the headset out the door. The company claims it has since drastically shrunk its staff and picked […]
‘Thrill of the Fight 2’ Now in Co-development by ‘Fruit Ninja’ Team Halfbrick Studios
Halfbrick Studios announced it’s partnering on development of Thrill of the Fight 2, the upcoming sequel to the popular VR boxing title.
Created by Ian Fitz and his studio Sealost Interactive in 2016, Thrill of the Fight focuses on realistic boxing mechanics, eschewing arcadey things like stamina bars and unrealistic knockout blows.
Thrill of the Fight 2, which is now in co-development by Halfbrick Studios, is bringing the much-requested feature of multiplayer mode. In a development update video (below), Halfbrick CEO Shainiel Deo reveals a few more features coming to the sequel: improved audio and visual feedback, changes to how combinations are scored, […]
Microsoft Axes Social VR Platform & XR Interface Framework Amid Wide-reaching Layoffs
Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees, and with it the company is axing social VR platform AltspaceVR and its XR interface framework, Mixed Reality Toolkit.
We’ve written about the death of AltspaceVR once before. In the summer of 2017, the company announced it was shuttering the social VR platform due to lack of funds. In a Hail Mary that few expected, Microsoft turned around and snapped up the ailing platform only two months after the planned shut-down date. It seemed, at least for then, that AltspaceVR would live on to compete in the rapidly diversifying social VR landscape, existing alongside […]
Issuu is Making Big Changes to Free Plans
Thirteen years ago I used Issuu to publish The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators. It was an eBook written in collaboration with some great folks including Larry Ferlazzo, Adam Bellow, Kelly Tenkely, Beth Still, George Couros, Steven Anderson, Lee Kolbert, Patrick Larkin, Cory Plough, and Sylvia Rosenthal Tolisano. I had kind of forgotten about it until last night when Issuu sent me an email notifying me that my file was soon to be too large for their free plan.
Issuu is a service for hosting PDFs and displaying them […]
Best Lessons and Activities for Teaching Black History Month
Black history is American history
A Classic Search Lesson from My Archives
I’m currently in London, England for the BETT Show and TeachMeet BETT 2014. As is the case with most flights going to Europe from the east coast of the U.S. […]
3 Tips to Advocate for Teachers
Here are simple ways to support your teachers when they feel attacked by the small percentage of critics who carry the loudest megaphones.
What is Edulastic and How Can it Be Used to Teach? Tips & Tricks
Edulastic is a student progress tracking tool that packs in Google support and lots of features.
Using Google Slides to Organize Research
Like many of you, when I was in middle school and high school I was taught to create index cards to organize our research. After creating the cards we sorted them into an order to support writing our research papers. That same concept can be applied to organizing research with Google Slides. In the video below I demonstrate how this is done.
Physical Phonics Games
I have been a fan of the online learning game called Teach Your Monster to Read for many years. The game is designed to help students improve the speed and accuracy with which they recognize letters and sounds. The game gets its name from the friendly monster avatars that students use in the game. Teach Your Monster to Read also offers three fun phonics games to be played offline.
The Teach Your Monster to Read physical phonics games are designed to help students increase […]
A Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection Activity
For the last couple of weeks my oldest daughter has been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to dissect owl pellets at school. She was supposed to do that today. But we have a snow day today. None-the-less, her excitement this week has reminded me of a couple of helpful owl-themed resources from my archive.
A Webinar and an eBook for Your School
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When I published the first edition of 50 Tech Tuesday Tips I made the offer of hosting a free webinar for any school or group that purchases ten or more copies. I’ve had more than a handful of people take me up on that offer. That offer is still good and I’d be happy to host a webinar for your school. And I’ve extended the offer a bit further for the rest of this school year.