Latest education updates from around the world
HTC Reveals First Image of Its Upcoming MR Headset for Consumers & It’s Aiming to Compete with Meta
HTC today unveiled the first official image of the headset it’s been teasing over the past few months. The company is also apparently looking to re-enter the consumer XR space with the unnamed device, which it’s set to further detail at CES on January 5th.
As reported in an exclusive by The Verge, HTC is getting ready to stretch outside the enterprise and business sector once again and offer what HTC global head of product Shen Ye calls a “small, light all-in-one headset that promises full-featured virtual and augmented reality.”
Ye calls it an effort to create something “meaningful and […]
‘Resident Evil Village’ VR Mode Coming to PSVR 2 on Launch Day as Free DLC
Resident Evil Village (2021) is getting its hotly anticipated VR mode on PS5 to coincide with the launch of PlayStation VR2, coming as a free DLC for anyone with the game.
Like PSVR 2, Resident Evil Village’s release is slated for launch on February 22nd, 2023, which includes the entirety of its main story in VR.
Here’s what CAPCOM producer Kanda Tsuyoshi has to say about it in a recent PS blogpost:
“Making full use of the PlayStation VR2, you’ll be wholly immersed when playing Resident Evil Village with this DLC. Visually, the vivid graphics of the 4K HDR display (2000×2040 […]
Take a Look at Padlet’s New Notification Options
Padlet is a tool that I’ve been using for over a decade in a wide variety of classroom settings. In fact, I’ve been using for so long that I’ve seen it evolve from a simple tool called Wall Wisher in 2009 to the multimedia sharing, brainstorming, and mapping tool that it is today. The latest step in the development of Padlet is a new notification system that many teachers should find helpful.
The new notification system in Padlet adds new layers of […]
Some Thoughts About AI in Education
On Tuesday I published a short overview of ChatGPT which is a free artificial intelligence writing tool. I followed that up with a post on Wednesday morning about Canva’s new artificial intelligence writing tool called Magic Write. In both instances I mentioned that I think there are some good things that could come from these kinds of AI tools and there are some bad things that could come from these kinds of tools. Let’s take a look at some of each.
The potential good things about AI writing tools:
Earlier […]
How to Clip Sections of Your YouTube Videos
A few weeks ago I published an overview of some YouTube Studio settings that you should know how to use. This week while helping someone with one of their videos uploaded to YouTube, I realized that my previous post about YouTube Studio should have included how to clip sections of your videos. To remedy that, I recorded this short tutorial on how to clip sections out of your YouTube videos.
Video – How to Clip Sections of Your YouTube Videos
Create Animations from Audio in Adobe Express
I like to end the week with something fun. If you do too, head over to Animate from Audio hosted by Adobe Express. Animate from Audio is a fun little tool that matches your spoken words to an animated character of your choosing. The finished product is a fun little video that you can download as an MP4 and or share on your favorite websites.
To create a video with Animate from Audio simply head to the site then select the character that you want to animate. Then […]
Free Word Cloud Generators for Teachers
Best Wordle Tools to Make Word Clouds
‘Blaston’ Goes Free-to-Play Today, Previous Players to Receive Free Exclusive Skins & In-game Currency
Blaston is going free-to-play starting today, a revelation dropped during Resolution Games’ first-ever Nintendo Direct-style showcase. If you’ve already bought the game, the studio says it’s throwing a $50+ value in skins and in-game currency, ostensibly to smooth things over.
The popular 1v1 dueling game is now available for free on the Quest Store and SteamVR, bringing along with it additions and upgrades such as new weapon attachments and skins, a revamped in-game store, improved Passthrough on Quest 2, and all-new full-color Passthrough on Meta Quest Pro.
If you bought the game before today, December 15th, the studio is throwing in what […]
Meta Will Pay You up to $45,000 to Hack Its VR Headsets
In an effort to harden the security of its hardware products, Meta today announced new guidelines for its Bug Bounty program, specifying the inclusion of both the Quest Pro headset and Touch Pro controllers, and what the company will pay out for specific bugs uncovered by security researchers.
Like some other tech companies, Meta runs a Bug Bounty program which encourages hackers security researchers to probe its products for vulnerabilities in exchange for a payout.
Meta has been running this program for some time across various products, but today the company added new payout guidelines specific to its VR […]
‘Ultimechs’ Season 2 Arrives with Fast-paced Arcade Mode, UltiPass & 75 New Unlockable Items
Ultimechs (2022), the rocket-fist-powered VR sport from Resolution Games, just released its second season, bringing a bunch of new features including a new UltiPass with more unlockable items, and an Arcade Mode that’s certain to speed up the fast-paced game in some new ways, and also remove some the strings of having to compete.
Ultimechs is a free-to-play sports game inspired by Rocket League where you either go head-to-head with another player or team up in 2v2 co-op as you guide a massive ball into your opponent’s goal.
Having launched back in September on Meta Quest, Pico, and
Out Now: New ‘Demeo’ Chapter Adds Levels, Enemies, & Playable Character—Price Increase Coming Next Month
Popular VR-optional dungeon board game Demeo has released its fifth & final chapter as a free update. Called ‘Reign of Madness’, the new chapter brings new levels, enemies, a playable character, & more. With several meaty free updates under the game’s belt since release, the studio plans to increase the game’s price from $30 to $40 next month.
If you’ve been waiting for more adventures in Demeo, today is your lucky day. The ‘Reign of Madness’ chapter is available now as a free update to all versions of the game.
Along with new levels, enemies, and ability cards, ‘Reign of Madness’ adds Uhrak […]
Hands-on: ‘Spatial Ops’ is an Arcade-size VR Shooter for At-Home Play, Open Beta Now Live
Spatial Ops is a new multiplayer mixed reality shooter from Resolution Games, the studio behind Blaston, Demeo, and Ultimechs. It’s out now on SideQuest and you can play in the open beta for free starting today, however we got an advanced look during a trip to the developer’s Stockholm-based studio, which thankfully had a big enough area to host all-out 4v4 matches.
In short: Spatial Ops is bringing an arcade-level VR team shooter experience to consumers in sort of the same way Space Pirate Arena did, albeit with way more players and a greater ability to […]
‘Racket Club’ Looks Like a VR Cross Between Pickleball and Squash, Trailer Here
Resolution Games, the studio behind hit VR titles Demeo and Blaston, released a torrent of news at their first-annual Games Showcase today, including the revelation that it’s developing a new VR sports game called Racket Club.
Racket Club is still being kept behind closed doors, although Resolution threw out its announce trailer today during its big showcase, showing off the studio’s upcoming multiplayer title.
“Racket Club reinvents the idea of pickup sports by connecting players from all over the world to have fun together in an all-new sport designed from the ground-up for VR play,” the studio says in a press statement.
We saw a […]
One of VR’s Longest-running Fishing Games Finally Gets a Multiplayer Mode Today
Bait! (2016) is a single-player fishing game that, although only having received its last real update in 2016, is still around and kicking on Quest in all its 6DoF glory. Now developers at Resolution Games are releasing a major content drop today in the new Fishin’ Buddies multiplayer update.
The update, which is now available on the Quest Store, brings multiplayer to the core Bait! game, letting you sit back and reel’em in with up to four players for either tournament fishing or just some casual fun.
Four players can fish together at the frozen Penguin Point fishing area, while up […]
VR-optional Dungeon Board Game ‘Demeo’ to Get PVP Mode in 2023
Popular VR-optional tabletop dungeon board game Demeo lets four players dungeon dive together. But, come 2023, players will be able to duke it out amongst one another when the Demeo PVP mode arrives.
Demeo developer Resolution Games announced today that the game’s PVP is slated for 2023. The studio is calling it ‘Demeo Battles’.
Demeo lets up to four VR or non-VR players dungeon crawl through a tabletop board game where they face off against a range of deadly enemies.
After popular demand, the game will soon allow players to fight amongst each other. It appears that up to four players (on teams […]
What is Flippity and How Does It Work?
Flippity gets you flash cards, quizzes, and more, using your Google Sheets setup.
What is Screencast-O-Matic and How Does it Work?
Screencast-O-Matic makes teachings using video far easier and can be used well in education.
What is Measured Learning Measuring?
If we’re going to improve education, we need to first improve how we measure learning
Can I Use That Picture? – A Short Guide to Using Pictures from the Web
A couple of weeks ago in my Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week newsletter I included a PDF guide to use in determining whether or not you can use a picture you’ve found on the Internet. To accompany that guide and provide some clarifications I then recorded a short video presentation in Canva.
In this short video I provide a high-level overview of determining whether or not you can re-use a particular picture that you’ve found on the Internet. For a list of good, classroom-friendly places to find pictures for […]
25,000+ People Get Their Ed Tech Tips This Way
Last week I wrote about going back to basics with email and RSS. The main point of that article being that email and RSS are good ways to follow your favorite websites without having to rely on the vagaries of social media algorithms. Since that post went live I’ve had a few folks reach out to ask about the RSS feed for this blog and the email options for following it.
There is a daily email that is generated from Free Technology for Teachers. You can subscribe to […]
Bookmarking With the Updated Google Keep Chrome Extension
A little over a month ago I was worried that my days of using the Google Keep Chrome extension to bookmark websites were coming to an end. Based on the number of views of that blog post and the emails that I got in response to it, I wasn’t the only one who had that worry. Fortunately, we were all worried for nothing. The Google Keep Chrome extension was updated last week and it can still be used to bookmark websites. The difference is that the steps for bookmarking with […]
Symbolab Calculator and Math Solver- Full Review
Here Are 7 of The Best Online Scientific Calculators
There is definitely no shortage of calculators around. Most devices are currently equipped with some sort of a built-in calculator. These types of calculators are basic and simple. To perform advanced and complex math calculations, your basic or traditional calculators are of no avail. Instead, what you need is a scientific calculator.
In this post I feature some of the best online scientific calculators to help you perform all forms of math calculations. Most of these scientific calculators have mobile apps enabling you to perform your calculations anywhere anytime.
Learn about the Importance of scientific calculators in math
What is a scientific calculator?
Different types of calculators are available for solving math’s problems. Some companies also offer calculators which can be used for general purposes along with the study of mathematics and science.
