Latest education updates from around the world
Valve to Host First-ever Steam ‘VR Fest’ Promotion Next Week
Leaning further into its ‘Steam Fest’ promotions, next week Valve is set to host its first ever Steam VR Fest which will highlight discounts and demos for VR games.
In recent years Valve has begun hosting seasonal Steam Next Fest promotions where the platform highlights demos of upcoming games and foists more sales on your wallet than it can possibly bare (as is tradition). VR games are often part of the mix during these promotions, but now the medium is getting its own spotlight.
Next week from July 18th–25th, Valve is set to host its first ever Steam VR Fest, […]
HBO Documentary ‘We Met in Virtual Reality’ Explores the Real People of ‘VRChat’
A new documentary that was filmed entirely in VR is coming to HBO later this month that focuses on the individuals and communities growing in social VR spaces.
Created by director Joe Hunting and premiered at 2022 Sundance Film Festival, We Met in Virtual Reality explores the lives of real VR users who met in VRChat and their experiences living on the platform.
VRChat is one of the most popular social VR platforms thanks to its ability to allow custom avatars and user-generated content such as rooms and experiences. The platform, which is available on Quest and PC VR headsets, is also free as […]
How to Lock Areas of a Google Doc
You want to restrict editing on PART of a Google Doc. This step by step guide will show you a hack for how to lock areas of a google doc.
The post How to Lock Areas of a Google Doc appeared first on Teacher Tech.
‘Red Matter 2’ Coming to Quest 2 & PC VR Next Month
Vertical Robot announced that the sequel to its critically-acclaimed VR adventure game Red Matter (2018) is landing on Quest 2 and PC VR headsets next month.
The studio announced the news in a tweet, saying that it will arrive on both platforms on August 18th.
Vertical Robot previously mentioned it was coming to Quest 2, so PC VR headset owners can also now look forward to jumping into the exciting continuation of the game’s off-world espionage adventure.
We are very excited to finally announce that Red Matter 2 will be available on @MetaQuestVR and PC on August 18. To celebrate, here is […]
Common Craft Explains Research Papers to Students
I often use Common Craft videos as an example of creating effective video lessons without having to spend a lot of money on special equipment or software. In fact, I did that in a webinar that I hosted yesterday. The video that I used as an example was Research Papers Explained by Common Craft.
Research Papers Explained by Common Craft does an excellent job of explaining to students why the research papers they write in school are good practice for life in a working environment. The video does […]
Five Google Forms Features Overlooked by New Users
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Every year at about this time I start to get emails from people who are transitioning into using Google Workspace for Education for the first time. In fact, I got one of those emails last week from a tech coach who wanted to know if I had a list of helpful “hidden” Google Forms features for new teachers. I didn’t have a readily available list so I made the following short video.
In 5 Google Forms Features Overlooked by New Users I demonstrate the following Google Forms that are helpful, but not necessarily the […]
What is Newsela and How Can it Be Used to Teach? Tips & Tricks
Newsela is a news reading platform that’s built for students to work on literacy skills.
‘Vertigo 2’ Now Playable from Beginning to End, Closed Beta Starts Soon
Zulubo Productions is heading into the final development phases of its upcoming sequel to single-player PC VR adventure Vertigo (2016). The studio today revealed that most of Vertigo 2 is now complete, and closed beta testing is now on the horizon.
In an announcement of the game’s closed beta, developer Zach Tsiakalis-Brown says Vertigo 2 is entering an “exciting time.”
“It’s an exciting time in Vertigo 2 development. Most of the game is complete and playable from beginning to end; it is currently missing only the introduction and the final level. Something that would help development at this point is a slightly larger playtesting pool, […]
This WiFi 6E Transmitter Aims to Untether Valve Index, Kickstarter Coming Soon
Valve Index users looking for a device specifically designed to cut the headset’s tether may be interested to hear that a new startup is looking to do just that with a Wi-Fi 6E transmitter.
The company claims it achieves the “lowest latency wireless video on the market,” which it says works in up to a 5m × 5m (15ft × 15ft) play area.
Taking to Reddit, Nofio additionally claims its device will be able to do “less than 5ms” of latency, which the company says it was able to achieve in larger test area of 5m × 10m (15ft […]
Tech & Learning Launches “Best for Back to School” Contest
This annual contest recognizes outstanding education products that support effective teaching and learning as teachers and students head back to school
‘Zombieland: Headshot Fever’ Studio Raises $7M to Continue Development on XR Games
XR Games, the indie VR studio behind Zombieland: Headshot Fever (2021), announced it’s secured $7 million (£5.9m), something the studio says will used to grow both its team and intellectual property as it continues to develop new XR games.
The latest funding round led by existing investors Act Media Ventures, Praetura Ventures and Maven. This puts the studio’s lifetime outside investment to £9.9 million ($11.8m).
The studio says it’s using the funds to move into a new studio in the center of Leeds, UK later this year. Additionally, XR Games say it will grow its staff beyond the its current 85-person team as […]
Best Sites and Apps for Digital Storytelling
Digital storytelling can help boost communication and presentation skills
Studying Slavery’s Legacy in Education
The Universities Studying Slavery consortium has brought together nearly 100 colleges and universities in the U.S. and internationally, along with a handful of private K-12 schools.
What is Microsoft Sway and How Can it Be Used to Teach? Tips & Tricks
Microsoft Sway is a presentation tool that works really well for teaching.
Boclips for Teachers is Shutting Down
For couple of years Boclips was one of my favorite alternatives to YouTube for teachers and students. Unfortunately, their business model seems to have shifted over the years and appears to be now focused solely on selling pricey subscriptions to schools and other institutions. I surmise that because late last week I received an email from Boclips announcing that they were discontinuing Boclips for Teachers which was the way that individual teachers could use the videos in the Boclips library.
If you’ve been using Boclips for Teachers, you probably already know […]
Reminder – Two-Factor Authentication Saves Frustration
I’ve noticed a pattern lately that whenever I don’t check my Facebook account for more than a day, I get notifications that someone is trying to access my account via password reset. Fortunately, I use two-factor authentication on all of my accounts. (In the case of Facebook I’m forced to use two-factor because of the size of my following). While it can be annoying to have to use your phone or a second computer to verify your identity when signing into an account, it’s a heck of a lot less annoying that dealing with all of […]
Bouncy Balls: A Good Tool for Managing Classroom Noise
Bouncy Balls is a free web tool that helps you manage the noise in your classroom. Bouncy Balls has an integrated noise meter that automatically detects different noise levels in surrounding…
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Best of 2022 So Far – Custom USGS Maps
Earlier this year I highlighted the galleries of free to use and re-use media that the USGS hosts. Earlier this week I was back on the USGS site looking in those galleries when I noticed something new to me. That something is the USGS National Map Viewer.
Don’t the name fool you, the USGS National Map Viewer is more than just a place to look at a […]
Best of 2022 So Far – Brush Ninja Updates
Brush Ninja is a tool that I’ve been using and recommending for a few years now. Brush Ninja makes it incredibly easy to draw a series of images and quickly turn them into animated GIFs. In the fall of 2018 I used Brush Ninja with some middle school students to create animations to illustrate their understanding of forms of energy. You can read more about that activity right here.
Brush […]
A Lesson in Bitmoji
Many teachers love using Bitmoji, it makes your digital interactions more personal. However, how do you get started? Check out this lesson in Bitmoji for a Bitmoji tutorial for teachers.
The post A Lesson in Bitmoji appeared first on Teacher Tech.
Animals and Reading – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where I’ve spent most of the week on a staycation taking my kids to the Maine Wildlife Park, visiting York’s Wild Kingdom, and relaxing while watching stages of the Tour de France (I was so hopeful that Neilson Powless would pull on the yellow jersey). This weekend we’ll be hanging out at our favorite lake. I hope that you also have something fun planned for your weekend.
In the middle of my staycation week I did host one webinar in my Practical Ed Tech summer series. Next […]
Best of 2022 So Far – Smithsonian Canvas
This week the Smithsonian Learning Lab released a new tool that could be very helpful to history and art teachers. The tool is simply called Canvas (no connection to the LMS of the same name). Smithsonian Learning Lab’s Canvas tool lets you build collections of Smithsonian digitized artifacts and arrange the display of those artifacts however you like.
The Canvas tool will work with new collections that […]
Best EdTech Resources for Teachers and Students
Below is a list featuring a wide variety of educational technology tools and websites for teachers and students to use in and out of class. During my 12 years experience of EdTech blogging, I…
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Post Malone to Hold ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’ Concert in VR Next Week
Meta is kicking off a summer-long series of VR concerts and community activities called Horizon Block Party next week. Headlining the event is nine-time Grammy-nominated artist Post Malone, who is holding a prerecorded virtual concert on July 15th.
The Post Malone concert, which will feature tracks from his latest studio album Twelve Carat Toothache, is slated to last 40 minutes and will also feature The Kid Laroi, Fleet Foxes, and Roddy Ricch during the event.
The event will be held in both Venues and Horizon Worlds, and will loop three times on July 15th starting at 6:00 pm PT (
‘RUINSMAGUS’ Review – Awesome Anime Vibes, Rinse and Repeat Dungeoning
RUINSMAGUS is a Japanese role-playing game with a heavy focus on dungeon crawling and magic-based combat. The game’s anime-adjacent visuals and storytelling style are welcome and familiar pieces, and end up delivering the sort of action you’d expect to find in VR game built around a much larger, more established universe. Combat is mostly efficacious, and it stretches you to implement everything they have at your disposal, although it’s ultimately held back by a lackluster inventory system and repetitive dungeons. This, alongside a number of flatscreen holdovers, make this first-person magic brawler feel like it adheres a little too rigidly to […]