Latest education updates from around the world
6 Best Math Problem Solver Apps
10 Best Educational Apps for Learning Grammar
What’s New in Focusable? More Ways to Help You Focus
Focusable is the first thing listed in my Best of the Web 2022 presentation. Since the first time that I tried it back in September, I knew that Focusable was a tool that could do a lot of good for teachers and students. It does so by helping you learn to ignore distractions and focus on the things that you need to get done. Unlike browser extensions that simply block distracting websites, Focusable teaches you how to focus so that you don’t give into the temptations of distracting websites and […]
A New Google Slides Feature That Could Help Reduce Collaborator Confusion
For as long as Google Slides has existed one of the problems with it has been collaborators accidentally editing over each other’s work. In the early days of Google Slides, before I put collaboration protocols in place, I broke up a few “fights” between students who had accused each other of “wrecking” the other’s work. That type of situation could be avoided in the future with the use of a new “Follow” feature in Google Slides.
The Follow feature in Google Slides enables collaborators to follow each other as they work on slides. To […]
How to Create & Sell Your Own Digital Products in 2023
One of the ways that I’m able to keep Free Technology for Teachers going is through the support of generous people like you who purchase my digital products like 50 Tech Tuesday Tips and my Practical Ed Tech courses like Animated Explanations. None of those things on their own provide a living, but they do help me save a little bit more for my kids’ college funds. If you’d like to learn how to do the same, register for the webinar […]
Canva, Search, and Goodbye – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where it’s a cold and breezy December morning. It was a busy and sad week here at the Free Technology for Teachers world headquarters (AKA, my house). This week I hosted or co-hosted a couple of webinars including the last live episode of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. And on Wednesday morning, we said goodbye to our loyal dog, Mason.
Mason was a great dog that we adopted when he was already nine years old. He was by the side of our […]
New Base Map Options on Felt
Felt is a new digital mapping tool that I’ve featured a few times in the last month because I think it is fantastic alternative to Google’s My Maps and the web version of Google Earth for creating custom maps. In fact, I like it so much that I demonstrated it in my Best of the Web 2022 webinar. The next day Felt sent out an email announcing new base map options.
Best Online Paraphrasing Tools
I am not a big fan of those AI-enabled copywriting and content generation tools that are now mushrooming everywhere online. Several people use them to generate blog posts, articles, essay papers, you name it. This is a blatant form of cheating using robotic means! Period.
Students should definitely not be encouraged to use them and if they do, serious repercussions must be leveled out. Writing is a creative HUMAN endeavor and should remain so. Indeed, several content creators and artists have voiced their concerns over the harm AI technology is doing to creativity and how it […]
‘Megan Thee Stallion’ Experience is a Stunning Example of Live Action VR Performance—And the Closest Thing to ‘Adult’ Content on App Lab so Far
Megan Thee Stallion’s music might not be my personal cup of tea, but I know good tech when I see it—and I was floored when I hoped into the recently released Megan Thee Stallion VR Concert experience to find one of the highest quality VR live action performances I’ve ever seen.
The free Megan Thee Stallion VR Concert app includes one demo scene, with viewers given the option to purchase additional scenes in-app.
The app was developed by AmazeVR, which worked directly with Megan Thee Stallion to capture high quality 3D footage of her performances with a moving camera, making it feel like […]
Indie Publisher Raw Fury to Bring 3 VR Adaptations to Quest
Indie publisher Raw Fury says it’s bringing three VR adaptations of popular flatscreen indie titles to Quest: Call of the Sea (2020), The Signifier (2020), and Per Aspera (2020).
Revealed during UploadVR’s Winter Showcase this week, Raw Fury showed off an updated gameplay trailer for Call of the Sea VR, which was previously announced back in September. It also revealed two other titles in its upcoming publishing portfolio, The Signifier VR and Per Aspera VR.
Check out the trailers below:
Call of the Sea VR
Description: Call of the Sea is an otherworldly tale of mystery and love set in the […]
New ‘Behemoth’ Trailer Offers a Glimpse into Immersive VR Combat, Coming to All Major Headsets Late 2023
Skydance Interactive, the studio behind popular zombie shooter The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, revealed Behemoth back in October during Connect, showcasing a very brief teaser that left a lot to the imagination. Now the studio has released a longer cinematic trailer, which at least gives us a better idea of what the game will be all about.
At the Game Awards last night, Skydance Interactive dropped its first full-length trailer for Behemoth, an action RPG slated to release on all major headsets in late 2023.
Here’s how Skydance describes the new trailer:
“The cinematic trailer showcases Behemoth’s brutal yet […]
‘Noun Town’ VR Language Learning App Offers Full Immersion with a Gamified Edge
Learning a foreign language typically requires some level of full immersion, meaning you spend a significant amount of time interacting with the target language in order to make the sort of transformative gains that allow you to function effortlessly in normal, everyday situations. That’s where Noun Town comes in, a gamified VR app that offers basic immersive instruction in six major languages, letting you interact with over a dozen NPCs who speak the lingo.
Ideally, the fastest way of acquiring a new language is by mixing with native speakers on a daily basis, although that can require significant life changes […]
Best Free Online Grammar and Spell Checkers
Writing is an important form of communication. It not only helps us communicate ideas with the world outside our minds but is also a window into our inner world. The way you write and phrase your sentences speaks volumes about your personality and, in certain situations, can mean the difference between landing or missing that coveted job you always dreamt to have.
Effective communication breathes clarity and unless you are able to articulate your ideas in clear and comprehensible language, your communication will always hamper your progress. One important way to enhance the clarity of your writing is to […]
How to Create Image Revealing Effects in PowerPoint
On Wednesday I published a short video about how to create image revealing effects in Google Slides. Shortly afterwards a viewer emailed me with a question about doing something similar in PowerPoint. I was happy to help by recording this new video to demonstrate how to create image revealing effects in PowerPoint.
Creating an image revealing effect in PowerPoint is basically a matter of layering images then using the animation tools to set the sequence in which an image is removed from a slide when it is clicked. Watch the video […]
What is Snopes and How Can It Be Used to Teach? Tips & Tricks
Snopes is a fact-checking website that can help students in education to better navigate online media.
ICYMI – The Grand Finale of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions Live
On Tuesday evening Rushton Hurley and I hosted the final live presentation of Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. We’ll be back in 2023 with a similar series but not in a live format. If you missed our final live episode on Tuesday evening, you can now watch the recording right here. And all of the recordings from 2020 through today are available here on Next Vista for Learning. On that same page you’ll also find lists of the resources that we’ve shared […]
[CLONE]
Post Content
Quillbot- An Excellent Paraphrasing Tool for Students
Best Online Grammar Learning Websites
Back to Basics With Email and RSS
Over the last few weeks I’ve fielded a lot of emails from readers who are wondering if they should stay on Twitter. Most of those emails have included requests for where to go next to keep up with ed tech. My answers have basically been, “I can’t tell you if you should quit Twitter” and “email and Feedly.”
Whether or not you should stay on Twitter is a decision that you have to make for yourself. Some of my good friends have deleted or at least disabled their accounts. I don’t have plans to do […]
Best of the Web 2022 – Webinar Recording
.png){kind=link}
Yesterday afternoon I hosted a free webinar in which I shared my favorite new edtech tools of 2022 and some old favorites that had significant updates in 2022. Nearly 200 people registered for the webinar but only 25 actually joined the live session. That told me two things. First, people will sign up for anything if it’s free. Second, there are at least 175 people who are interested in the recording of the webinar.
The recording of Best of the Web 2022 is now available to view on my YouTube channel or as embedded […]
How to Create an Image Revealing Effect in Google Slides
.png){kind=link}
About a week ago a reader reached to me to ask for a suggestion on how to create an image revealing effect without the use of proprietary interactive whiteboard software. My first thought was to give TinyTap a try because that platform does include a feature called “Houdini Mode” that can be used to hide or reveal things with just one tap. A tutorial on how that works can be seen here.
After giving it more thought, I realized that you can create image revealing effects by using the transition and […]
Joy Way Reveals New High-flying VR Games ‘Red Flowers’ & ‘Stack’, Release Date for ‘Stride’ Story Mode
Joy Way, the studio behind Stride and Against, announced it has two new VR games in the works that both appear to make good use of its fast-paced locomotion systems. The studio also announced we’re very close to finally getting a story mode to Stride, called Fates, which is coming to the game this month.
The studio unveiled the games, titled Red Flowers and Stack, during the UploadVR Winter Showcase yesterday, showing off some very slick gameplay.
Both are currently available as a demo on Quest so you can get a taste of what’s to come. Check out the trailers […]
‘Drop Dead: The Cabin’ Aims to Bring ‘COD Zombies’ Style Co-op to Quest in February 2023
SoulAssembly announced it’s getting ready to release the long-awaited COD Zombies-inspired co-op shooter, called Drop Dead: The Cabin, which is now slated to release on Quest in February 2023.
The studio released a new developer update video during UploadVR’s Winter Showcase yesterday, showing off some of the game’s features, such as remixed pickups, different enemies, and how to survive ‘The Cabin’ by keeping lights and communications on by collecting fuel cells.
Check out the video below, which also includes a fresh look at gameplay:
The objective is not only to fend off waves of zombies, but also to keep the fuel flowing […]
How Districts Are Recruiting & Retaining Teachers & Staff
Three districts share how they are recruiting and retaining educators