Technology and teachers

Watchkin – Another Tool for Distraction-free YouTube Viewing

Over the years I’ve shared a variety of tools for watching YouTube videos without all of the “related” videos and advertisements appearing on screen. Watchkin is the latest tool in this market that I have tried. Watchkin is a service that allows you to watch and project YouTube videos without seeing the related sidebar content typically seen on YouTube.com. Watchkin can be used in a few ways. You can enter the direct URL of a video into Watchkin to have the sidebar content removed. You can search for videos through Watchkin and have family-friendly results displayed (if a video appears that is not family-friendly Watchkin has a mechanism for flagging it as inappropriate). Watchkin also offers a browser bookmarklet tool that you can click while on YouTube.com to have the related content disappear from the page. Applications for EducationThe Watchkin website and browser bookmarklet are great tools for teachers who want to show a YouTube video in their classrooms without risking displaying “related” sidebar content. To be clear, Watchkin is not a work-around if your school blocks YouTube and it is not a tool for downloading YouTube videos. (Downloading YouTube videos is a violation of the YouTube terms of service). This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

The Week In Review – Back in Maine

Good morning from Woodstock, Maine where I have finally recovered from the jet lag of my return from the Future Schools Expo in Sydney. Again, thank you to everyone who came to see me speak at that event. I’m home for the next month and during that time I’ll be conducting a lot of webinars and working on a project that I’ve put on the back burner for the last month. But before I do any of that I’m heading out to ski in a fundraiser for Maine Adaptive Sports. I hope that you too have fun things on your schedule this weekend.Here are this week’s most popular posts:1. 10 Good Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms Add-ons for Teachers 2. Five Ways Students Can Share Videos Without YouTube 3. How to Create an Audio Slideshow With Annotations in YouTube 4. How to Sign Documents That Have Been Emailed to You Without Printing Them 5. Journey to the Centre of the Earth – An Animated Infographic 6. Two New Apps That Are Great for Recording Audio Interviews 7. 5 Free Tools for Creating Whiteboard Videos This week I opened registration for the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp being held on July 13 &14. The Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp is a two day, hands-on learning experience for teachers. Click here to learn moreThis year’s event is being held in downtown Portland, Maine just a few blocks from the ocean, great dining, and iconic lighthouses. Register by April 16th to save $50 on registration.Please visit the official advertisers that help keep this blog going.Practical Ed Tech is the brand through which I offer PD webinars.BoomWriter provides a fantastic tool for creating writing lessons. Storyboard That is my go-to tool for creating storyboards and cartoon stories.Versal is a great tool for building interactive online course components.MidWest Teachers Institute offers online graduate courses for teachers.PresentationTube provides a good way to use PowerPoint to create flipped lessons.Discovery Education & Wilkes University offer online courses for earning Master’s degrees in Instructional Media.MasteryConnect provides a network for teachers to share and discover Common Core assessments.The University of Maryland Baltimore County offers graduate programs for teachers.Boise State University offers a 100% online program in educational technology.EdTechTeacher is hosting host workshops in six cities in the U.S. in the summer.SeeSaw is a great iPad app for creating digital portfolios. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

How to Post to Blogger via Email

Google’s Blogger service makes it easy for teachers to quickly create a classroom blog. If your school uses Google Apps for Education you can make Blogger one of the services available within your domain thereby making it even easier to post on Blogger. One shortcoming of Blogger is that there isn’t an obvious way for you to moderate students’ posts before they go live on a group blog. The solution is to use the “post via email” setting in Blogger. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to use this setting and explain a bit more about it.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZgipipLGbI?rel=0] Click here to find screenshots of the process outlined in the video. I’ll be covering topics like this one and many more in my upcoming Practical Ed Tech course Blogs and Social Media for Teachers and School Leaders. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

How to Follow a #Hashtag Across Multiple Social Networks

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about using Tagboard to follow a hashtag across multiple social networks. As I wrote back then, the beauty of Tagboard is that I can follow a hashtag and see all of the Tweets, Instgram, Facebook, and Google+ posts about it in one place. This enables me to quickly catch up with what people are sharing about an event or saying in a chat like #edchat. In the video embedded below I provide an overview of how to use Tagboard.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kd605MM8cQ?rel=0] This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

Two New Apps That Are Great for Recording Audio Interviews

This week I tested two new apps for recording audio interviews. Both of these apps can be used by students without creating any kind of new online accounts. Neither one is entirely perfect, but they’re both quite good. Opinion is a free iPad app for creating short audio recordings. To record simply open the app and tap the big red recording button at the top of the screen. When you’re done talking, tap the recording button again to stop the recording. You can chop your recording into smaller pieces by tapping on your recording then tapping the scissors icon to cut your recording. Opinion recordings can be shared to a variety of places on the web including SoundCloud and Evernote. Opinion limits you to ten minutes of recording before you have to either upgrade or eliminate older recordings.StoryCorps has a new app called StoryCorps.me that Larry Ferlazzo raved about earlier this week. The app is available for iPhone (it will also work on iPads, it’s just a little grainy looking) and Android devices. StoryCorps.me will try to force you to create a StoryCorps account, but you can use it without creating an account. Creating an account will allow you to publish your recordings on the StoryCorps website.StoryCorps.me is designed to help people conduct and record great interviews. The app includes a set of questions that you can use in your interview. The question sets are varied depending upon the relationship that you do or don’t have with your interviewee. While recording your interview you can swipe through the questions to help you keep the interview on track. Completed recordings can saved on your device and or shared with the StoryCorps community.Applications for EducationThe Opinion app could be a good choice if you just want students quickly create a simple recording. Students might use Opinion to record a quick reflection on what they learned during the week. If they have SoundCloud accounts Opinion makes it easy to create an on-going audio blog.StoryCorps.me will take a little more time for students to set-up than they will spend setting-up the Opinion app. That said, StoryCorps.me is the app that I would want students to use when they are recording podcasts involving two or more people. Being able to see the questions while they record should help students keep their interviews concise and on track. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

Consumer Education at the Mall

The FTC offers a lot of good resources designed to help students and adults become savvy consumers. One of the resources they provide for students is an online environment called Consumer Education at the Mall. This virtual mall features animated lessons, games, and other activities that help students understand advertising methods, product pricing, and privacy protection. The virtual mall also has a section in which students can learn about common consumer scams.The consumer education mall has four sections. In the west terrace students learn about advertising methods and truth in advertising rules. The west terrace also includes a game in which students have to match advertisements to their intended audiences. In the consumer education mall’s food court students learn about how competition between businesses can be a good thing for consumers. In the food court students students also learn how supply and demand affect prices. The mall’s security plaza is where students head when they want to learn about consumer privacy protections, what kind of personal information is safe to share and which kinds are not safe to share. In the mall’s east terrace students discover why enticing prices, give-away promotions, and flattery isn’t what it appears to be on the surface.Applications for EducationThe activities in Consumer Education at the Mall are designed for students in upper elementary grades and middle school. You could have students attempt to go through all of the activities in one sitting or you could break it up into sixteen smaller lessons for your students. The FTC provides PDF fact sheets for each activity in the consumer education mall. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

Two Online Courses Starting Next Week – Graduate Credit Available

I have two Practical Ed Tech courses starting next week. On Monday evening we will start Getting Going With GAFE. On Tuesday evening we will start Blogs and Social Media for Teachers and School Leaders. Through my partnership with the Midwest Teachers Institute you can earn three graduate credits for each course.More about Getting Going With GAFE:Is your school transitioning to Google Apps for Education? If so, this course offers everything you need to know to take advantage of the great things that GAFE offers to teachers and students. Getting Going With GAFE is a Practical Ed Tech webinar series designed for teachers and administrators who are new to using Google Apps for Education. Getting Going With GAFE is a five week course covering everything you need to know to to integrate Google Drive, Google Classroom, Google Calendar, and Google Sites into your practice.Getting Going With GAFE costs $147. Three graduate credits are available for the course through my partnership Midwest Teachers Institute and Calumet College of St. Joseph. Graduate credits require an additional fee and completion of weekly assignments.Course dates:Spring section 1: March 23, 30, April 6, 13, 20 – all classes meet at 7pm ET.More about Blogs & Social Media for Teachers & School Leaders:Blogs and Social Media for Teachers and School Leaders is designed to help teachers and school leaders develop an understanding of the many ways they can use blogs and social media (Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and more) to enhance communication between school and home. Blogs and Social Media for Teachers and School Leaders is a five week webinar series during which teachers and school administrators will learn the how to choose the best blogging platform for their situations, how to set-up a blog for classroom and school-wide use, and learn about strategies on how to manage blogs in classroom and school-wide settings. Participants will also learn how to avoid the mistakes that often lead to blogging endeavors being abandoned. After establishing blogs we’ll jump into using social networks like Twitter, Google+, and Instagram to reach out to parents, students, and other members of school communities.This course costs $147. Three graduate credits are available for the course through my partnership Midwest Teachers Institute and Calumet College of St. Joseph. Graduate credits require an additional fee and completion of weekly assignments.Course dates:Spring section: March 24, 31, April 7, 14, 21st. – all classes meet at 7pm ET. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

How to Sign Documents That Have Been Emailed to You Without Printing Them

In the course of the school year there are plenty of documents that we all have to sign for one reason or another. You could print those documents, sign them, then scan them. Or you could use HelloSign to sign them within your web browser and never have to print or scan them at all. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to use HelloSign.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EoAdRg7lUU?rel=0] In addition to the method I featured in the video above you can also use HelloSign’s Chrome app, Gmail plug-in, iPad app, or Android app. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

Solar Eclipse Explained by SciShow Kids

Tomorrow (later today depending on where you live) there will be a solar eclipse over Europe, parts of Asia, and parts of Africa. SciShow Kids has produced a video explanation of solar eclipses. The video is the fifth on the new SciShow Kids YouTube channel. The channel is an off-shoot of the popular SciShow produced by Hank Green.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7H083VuxQw?rel=0] This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

The Price of Freedom – A Visual History of American Conflicts

The Price of Freedom is a multimedia timeline of history of American wars. The timeline is hosted by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Students navigate the timeline by selecting one of the conflicts highlighted on the timeline. After making a selection students are sent to an online exhibit that features a timeline of that conflict. Within the timeline of each conflict students will find the causes and outcomes of the conflict. Short videos, images, and primary source documents are included throughout the Price of Freedom timeline.Applications for EducationThe Price of Freedom timeline is the type of resource that I like to use as the starting place for a research assignment. After reviewing the information in the timelines I would have students try to fill in the gaps by finding their own resources. A printable version of the timeline’s content is available. The printable version might make it a little easier for students to keep track of the information presented in the timeline. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.

Google Docs + Kaizena = Digital Writer’s Notebook

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Tips to Engage 21st Century Students

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Three Awesome Apps to Enhance Kids Thinking Skills (Free Today Grab Them)

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10 Excellent New Educational Web Tools for Teachers

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Another Powerful App for Teaching Kids Coding

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Three Excellent Places to Find Free Online Courses

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Two of The Best Text to Speech Tools for Teachers

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10 Must Watch Video Tutorials for Chromebook Users

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The Best 4 Google Drive Tools for Creating Mind Maps and Diagrams

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A Beautiful Timeline on The History of Education

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Two of The Best Tools to Create Spreadsheets on Chromebooks and Google Drive

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4 Important Tips from Google to Help You Stay Safe Online

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Blended Learning Visually Explained for Teachers

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Do you Know about These 7 Learning Zones in Your Class?

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Two Awesome Apps to Help You Stay Focused

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4 Great Apps to Help Pre-schoolers with Reading

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A Beautiful Visual on How Technology Is Transforming 21st Century Education

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Loose Leaf- A Great App for Doodling and Creating Picture Collages

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Two Powerful Web Tools to Create Disposable Email Addresses

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Two New Resources On Coding for Teachers

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Top 4 Places to Find Free MOOCs from Prestigious Universities

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Prodigy Math Game: Game-Based Learning for the Common Core

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4 Good iPad Apps for Finding Educational Podcasts

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8 Good YouTube Channels for Teachers

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Some Handy Google Maps Tutorials for Teachers

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