Global Forest Change Explorer – Trends in Deforestation
The Global Forest Change Explorer is a new Google Maps product that provides visualizations of patterns in global deforestation. The Global Forest Change Explorer was developed in conjunction with Science in the Classroom and Dr. Matt Hansen of the University of Maryland. On the Global Forest Change Explorer you can view patterns in deforestation and […]
The Month in Review – The Most Popular Posts
It’s the end of the month and as I do every month I have compiled a list of the most frequently read posts of the last 31 days. May seemed to zip along quickly. This list offers an easy way to quickly see interesting and useful posts that you might have missed. Here are the […]
The Three Most Common Searches on Free Technology for Teachers
Every month I take a look at the most popular posts of the month. At the same time I look at the search terms that visitors enter most often on Free Technology for Teachers. This month the three most frequently searched terms were “random name selector,” “kahoot,” and “photos for class.” Below I have assembled […]
How to Save Space and Time When Using Images in Your Blog
Whenever I publish a new blog post, I include an image in the post. Including an image helps draw readers in and it helps grab attention when it is shared on places like Pinterest and Facebook. Folks who blog frequently may find it tiresome to look for new images all the time. Likewise, in a […]
A Large Collection of Free eTextbooks for High School & College Students
Bookboon is a service that offers free etextbooks to high school and college students. The textbook section of Bookboon offers more than 500 digital textbooks. On Bookboon there are etextbooks available in ten core subject areas with additional subtopics with each subject area. The bulk of the etextbooks are focused on economics, engineering, and IT. You can browse […]
Rubrics for Assessing Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts, and Digital Portfolios
The University of Wisconsin, Stout has organized a nice collection of rubrics for assessing digital projects. In the collection you will find rubrics for assessing student blogging, student wikis, podcasts, and video projects. Beyond the rubrics for digital projects there are rubrics for activities that aren’t necessarily digital in nature. For example, you can find […]
A Fun Tool for Making Word Clouds in Fun Shapes
Although their popularity seems to have fallen a bit since their peak a few years ago, word cloud generators still provide students with a nice way to visualize the most frequently used words in a passage of text. Wordle is probably the best known tool for making word clouds, but there are plenty of others […]
What Connects These Things? – A Search Lesson
Dan Russell has provided the inspiration for many of the web research lessons that I have conducted with students over the years. Every week he posts an interesting search challenge for readers then provides the answers a few days later. The challenges vary in difficulty, but I always learn something from them regardless of how […]
How to Customize Background Scenes in Storyboard That Frames
Earlier this week Storyboard That introduced customizable background scenes for all users. I’ve had a few emails this week about how to change the colors and other elements in Storyboard That scenes so this morning I created the following short demonstration video. Applications for Education Watch this recent webinar recording to learn more about the […]
Summer Online PD Opportunities With Me
The Practical Ed Tech Summer Camps have sold out, but there are other ways to learn with me this summer. This summer I’m offering three online PD courses for teachers. Two of those courses include a graduate credit option. You can bookmark the menu of courses here or read on for more information. Getting Going […]
