Eighteen months after acquiring the popular Knowmia Teach platform, TechSmith has announced that they are shutting it down this summer. It was a great iPad app and online platform for creating and sharing flipped video lessons. Knowmia isn't the only product that TechSmith is shuttering. They are also ending support for Snagit for Chrome and removing ScreenChomp from the App store this store. Snagit for Chrome provided a nice way to create screen capture images and videos on a Chromebook. ScreenChomp was a nice, free iPad app for creating screencast videos. TechSmith says they're ending these popular services so that they can focus on Snagit for desktop and Camtasia which both cost a minimum of $23.66 even with an educational discount. I'll be sharing a list of alternatives to TechSmith's products soon. Update: I just heard from TechSmith that they are going to continue support for Screencast.com and Coach's Eye, and Jing. So they're closing half of their free products.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Blend Images in Google SlidesAdd Voice Notes to Pictures in Google KeepLitCharts Offers Guides to Popular & Classic Literature 

This morning TechSmith announced that they are closing down Knowmia, ScreenChomp, and Snagit for Chrome. In other words, half of their free products that teachers loved. Here are some alternatives to those tools. Three Alternatives to Snagit for Chrome: Nimbus Screenshot is a free extension that allows you to capture screen images and create screencast videos. Screencasts recorded with Nimbus Screenshot can be saved to your local drive or to an online Nimbus account. I chose to save to my local drive then upload to my YouTube channel. You could also save to your local drive then share to Google Drive or another online storage service. Evernote's Chrome extension now includes a screenshot tool. Images are saved directly to your Evernote account where you can then annotate them with drawings and text. CaptureCast is a great tool for creating screencasts on a Chromebook. CaptureCast is rather easy to install. Your recording length is unlimited. You can record your webcam while recording your screen which you cannot do with the Nimbus tool or Snagit. Set-up of CaptureCast is easy too. For folks who don't want to use YouTube to share recordings, CaptureCast lets you share directly to a Vimeo account. Three Alternatives to Knowmia and ScreenChomp: 30hands is a freemium iPad app that makes it very easy to create a narrated slideshow and or whiteboard video. To create a basic narrated slideshow on 30hands all you need to do is import images from your iPad’s camera roll then press the record button below each image to record your narration. If you don’t have any pictures on your iPad you can take pictures using the 30hands app. 30hands also allows you to draw images instead of importing pictures. You can combine imported pictures with drawn images in your presentations. And you can draw on top of imported images. When your project is complete you can save it on your iPad or share it with the 30hands community. Educreations is a free iPad app that turns your iPad into a whiteboard. You can use the app to illustrate concepts and narrate what you’re doing on the screen. You can draw images from scratch on the Educreations iPad app or you can upload images and draw on them. Your completed lesson can be shared directly to others or made public on the Educreations website. ShowMe was the first whiteboard app that I ever tried and it is still good. ShowMe is an app for creating and sharing whiteboard-style lessons on your iPad. To support teachers, the Show Me website is building a gallery of lessons developed and shared by teachers. Each day there is a "Show Me of the Day" that is added to the gallery of lessons. Click here to download the app from iTunes. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesTechSmith is Ending Support for All of Their Free ProductsHow to Create Screencasts of Your iPadAZ Screen Recorder - Create Screencasts on Your Android Device 

Earlier today people who are subscribed to my YouTube channel may have received a notification of a new video posted. If you watched it (all 12 seconds of it) you might have wondered, "what the heck is Richard doing?" I posted it during a presentation this morning. The presentation was about making videos with students. That particular video was a demonstration of how to post a video made on Stupeflix to a YouTube channel. Then I demonstrated how to add annotations to the video. Adding annotations to videos allows you to create an interactive series of videos. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to create an interactive series through the use of YouTube annotations. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Blend Images in Google SlidesAdd Voice Notes to Pictures in Google KeepLearn How to Create CK-12 FlexBooks In a Free Summer Course 

In my post yesterday evening I mentioned that at the PSLA conference in Pennsylvania I demonstrated how to create an audio slideshow video with Stupeflix. For folks who came to my presentation and anyone else who is curious about the tool, I offer the following tutorial video. Applications for Education Some of the highlights of Stupeflix for teachers are that it doesn't require email addresses, there is not a recording length limitation, and there is a library of free music that students can use in their videos. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Create Screencasts of Your iPadHow to Create an Interactive Series of VideosHow to Blend Images in Google Slides 

One of my favorite things to do professionally is speak at conferences because I get to meet so many passionate educators. This week I had the privilege to give the opening keynote at the PSLA 2016 conference on Thursday evening. On Friday morning I gave another presentation. The slides from both of my presentations are embedded below. Visit my work with me page to learn how to bring me to your school or conference. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Create Audio Slideshow Videos on Stupeflix (No sign-in required)How to Create an Interactive Series of VideosHow to Blend Images in Google Slides 

Good evening from Maine where I am home after a couple of days in Pennsylvania for PSLA 2016. It was an honor to give the keynote at the conference full of enthusiastic teacher-librarians. On Thursday evening I gave the opening keynote. Before I took the stage there was a short ceremony to install the new PSLA officers. My laptop was accidentally bumped during that ceremony and my slides advanced until they were stuck on a picture of my dogs. For a few moments it looked like they were overseeing the ceremony. Of course, I had to snap a picture of it and post it on Instagram. Here are this week's most popular posts: 1. 7 Tools for Creating Flowcharts, Mind Maps, and Diagrams 2. How to Blend Images in Google Slides 3. ReadWorks Publishes Summer Reading Packs for K-12 4. Six Alternatives to TechSmith's Snagit, Knowmia, and ScreenChomp 5. How to Create Recordings of Your iPad's Screen 6. How to Use Facebook to Bookmark Links 7. LitCharts Offers Guides to Popular & Classic Literature Spring and Summer PD Opportunities With MeOnly three tickets remain for the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp in July. Take a look at the online workshops I'm hosting throughout the spring and summer. The Practical Ed Tech Chromebook Camp is sold out! Email me to get on the waiting list. Would you like to have me speak at your school or conference?Click here to learn about my professional development services.  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. FreshGrade is a great online digital portfolio tool. Storyboard That is my go-to tool for creating storyboards and cartoon stories.Discovery Education & Wilkes University offer online courses for earning Master's degrees in Instructional Media.PrepFactory offers a great place for students to prepare for SAT and ACT tests.FrontRow offers adaptive online ELA and Math practice activities.  Teach n Go is a comprehensive platform for teaching online courses.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.Buncee offers a great tool for creating visual stories.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesThe Week in Review - The Most Popular PostsAdd Voice Notes to Pictures in Google KeepLearn How to Create CK-12 FlexBooks In a Free Summer Course 

Hopscotch is a free iOS app that introduces students to programming logic. The app originally launched as an iPad-only app. Last week the developers released an iPhone-friendly version of the free app. In Hopscotch students put command boxes into order to make cartoon avatars move and draw lines. Students can program one or all of the cartoon avatars to move and follow commands based on touch or on the movement of their iPads. Applications for Education Hopscotch was developed by the same people who developed Daisy the Dinosaur. Daisy the Dinosaur teaches kids younger than nine years old some basic programming logic. Using Hopscotch is a logical next step after completing the challenges in Daisy the Dinosaur. H/T to Lifehacker. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHaiku Deck Releases a New iPhone App for Creating PresentationsThe Week in Review - The OverseersAdd Voice Notes to Pictures in Google Keep 

This morning I was reading through an email from Next Vista for Learning when I found a new student-produced video titled How to Be Inspired When Writing. The short video has some nice tips for students including a closing note to give credit to the sources of inspiration. The video is embedded below. Take a look at these seven resources for additional ways to inspire creative writing. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesScribeasy Offers Great Visual Prompts for Creating Short StoriesPoetry Vocabulary Sheets Containing ExamplesLitCharts Offers Guides to Popular & Classic Literature 

On Saturday morning I rode in a charity bike ride in my community. That ride was well mapped and planned thanks in part to Google Maps. If you want to create a biking route map or walking route map, follow the steps that I outline in the video embedded below. Applications for Education Warm weather is finally here (in the Northern Hemisphere) and it's a good time to encourage students and their parents to enjoy some healthy outdoor activities. Creating some maps of safe biking routes and walking routes then posting them on a school website could be a good way to encourage participating in outdoor activities. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Blend Images in Google SlidesAdd Voice Notes to Pictures in Google KeepThe Week in Review - The Overseers 

A couple of weeks ago the folks at Otus approached me about sponsoring the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp. I wasn't looking for direct sponsorship of the event so I proposed that they instead sponsor a few people to attend. They agreed and I'm happy to announce that Otus will sponsor three people to attend the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp on July 10th and 11th in Portland, Maine. Otus will sponsor the registration for three people to attend the Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp. If you are interested in attending, you will need to complete a short application on Otus' website. Otus will choose and notify the winners. The Practical Ed Tech BYOD Camp is a hands-on exploration of how to use free technology tools in your classroom. This two day workshop is based on my framework for using technology to help students discover new information, discuss their ideas, and demonstrate their knowledge. This is for people who work in schools that have BYOD programs and 1:1 laptop programs (Mac or Windows), iPads, Android tablets, Windows tablets, or who have shared computers in a classroom or lab setting. You can learn more about the camp, read FAQs, and find complete registration information on the camp landing page. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesPractical Ed Tech BYOD Camp - Only 7 Tickets Left5 Questions to Consider in BYOD SchoolsWhat is BYOD? And Why Do Schools Opt for It?