The transition from Word or Pages to Google Documents often prompts a lot of questions about formatting settings. In the video embedded below I address three formatting questions that I am frequently asked about in my email and in my workshops. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesA Quick Tip on Google Docs FormattingInsert Images Into Google Slides and Docs on Your iPad or Android TabletReady or Not...The New Google Drive UI is Coming to You 

I enjoy some of the TED-Ed lessons so much that I have an alert on my phone that goes off whenever a new TED-Ed lesson is published. How X-Rays See Through Your Skin is the latest TED-Ed lesson. I found the lesson fascinating because it not only explained how modern x-rays and CT scans work, but it also explained some of the history of x-ray development. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesThe Math of Michael Jordan's Hang Time10 Resources for Teaching and Learning About WeatherThe Physics of Soccer (Football) Banana Kicks 

If you have ever hit send too early on an email and wished that you could take it back, now you're in luck. As announced on the Google Apps Updates Blog, beginning today Gmail has setting for all users (previously only available to Gmail Labs users) that allows anyone to un-send an email up to 30 seconds after it has been sent. "Undo Send" is a setting that you can enable in your Gmail/ Google Apps mail under the general settings panel. You can find that panel by opening the gear icon in the upper-right corner of your inbox. Click image to view full size.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesVideo - Three Google Docs Formatting TipsA Quick Tip on Google Docs FormattingChanging School Districts and Want Offline Copies of Your Google Data? - Use Takeout 

Last week I received an email from Travis Towne in which he described how he is using Symbaloo arrange and share Google Drive files. I thought it was a great ideas so I asked Travis if he would be interested in writing a guest post. One of the problems I run into when trying to find documents, videos, or folders that I have saved in my Google Drive folder is trying to find them again quickly without having to dig through the myriad of my created folders. I also want the ability to quickly share with my students folders that have documents or videos without having to send them a link to each one. With these concerns in mind, I felt that combining one of the best visual web resources (Symbaloo) with one of the best storage resources (Google Drive) was the best way to go. The video below describes how documents and folders can be linked to a Symbaloo webmix, the importance of groups, how images can be used to visually enhance Symbaloo tiles, and how to share the link or embed the webmix in a Learning Management System (LMS) or in a document. Click the examples for several ways that Symbaloo has been combined with Google Drive. 1. Useful Technology Webmix 2. AH1 Unit 1 Webmix Here are a few other Symbaloo Webmixes that I have created but don’t use Google Drive. They are however examples for how the tiles can be organized and images added. 1. AH1 Unit 1 Biographies 2. Historical Places Webmix 3. ACA 122 Webmix All of these webmixes can be added to your own Symbaloo account by clicking the "Add this webmix" button. *Note: Several of these webmixes are larger than the gallery view so in order to see the full webmix with all of the tiles, you would need to add it to your Symbaloo.* I’ve listed some additional helpful hints below: 1. Think through how how want your websites to be labeled and listed. Leave space between different sections if possible or sort the tiles by color. *Note: Sometimes it is easier to see it "on paper" so there are many times that I have spent time just moving around the tiles until I’m happy with the results. It probably won’t be perfect the first time you try to organize your sites.* 2. Organize your Google Drive into easy to remember folders. This way you can link either folders or individual documents/videos. *Note: The great thing about Google Drive is that if you move documents to a different folder or change the document, it automatically updates the link.*Use the Symbaloo grouping options as much as possible to help organize documents and websites. 3. Make sure that all Google Drive links have shared permissions (either "Anyone with the link can view" or "Anyone at ‘your organization’ with the link can view"). If not, the documents will not be able to be accessed. 4. Use the Symbaloo grouping options as much as possible to help organize documents and websites. *Note: Remember that groups can hold up to 16 tiles. You can also increase or decrease the webmix size to adjust amount of tile space available.* 5. Take advantage of the unlimited amount of webmixes that can be added to your account. All webmixes can be quickly accessed in the menu bar. *Note: It is helpful to use the webmix icons and colors to help you quickly locate specific tabs. I color code my by unit and give specific icons for each type of webmix.* 6. Spend the extra time choosing images that will be recognized quickly and label the tiles with easy to read wording. *Note: It is helpful to save these images in your Google Drive so you can always access the same ones used previously.* 7. It is helpful to use the Copy/Move feature for both the entire group and individual tiles. This keeps the same image copied in a tile so that you don’t have to keep uploading an image. 8. You can link other webmixes to your original webmix. *Note: This is a great option if you have found another webmix that you like or created one that is a supplement to your original.* 9. Utilize the Symbaloo embed feature when possible (in a LMS) to help keep everything in a central access point. If embedding is not possible, create a hyperlinked title that is easily accessible. *Note: I use Moodle as my LMS and you can click here to see a folder with some example of how I have embedded a Symbaloo into my course. Other LMS options that I have used the embed features are Blackboard and Canvas. Also, I have used the embed option on my school-based website* 10. Remember that Symbaloo does not automatically send out updated changes so you must click the update button in order for others with the link to see any changes you have done. 11. Students usually have good results with using Symbaloo and I actually have several assignments that require students to create their own Symbaloo and link Google Drive documents to it. It is an easy way for them to organize their resources especially if we are dealing with a research based project. Lastly, I am primarily a History teacher so most of my focus is towards this area and I freely admit that history does lend itself to specific topic areas which can be easier to section out. I know, however that several of my peers have used Symbaloo in combination with their Google Drive in Math, English, and Science classes. It can work with any class structure and I know of several teachers that use this resource to help them organize their individual units. Hopefully, you can use these tips and tricks to enhance your classroom environment and please feel free to share any additional ways that you have used Google Drive and/or Symbaloo in your teaching. About Me: I teach American History, World Issues, and Life Skills at Johnston County Middle College in Johnston County, NC. I am a digital learning coach for Johnston County and have developed several online courses for the school system. I also teach College Transfer Success at Johnston Community College. I have a Master of Arts in Teaching from Lee University and have taught for 10 years. I also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) with the Arizona Army National Guard as an Aviation Operations Specialist. I have been married for 16 years and have 3 daughters. I can be contacted at travistowne@johnston.k12.nc.us. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesSet an "Undo Send" Grace Period in Your Gmail AccountVideo - Three Google Docs Formatting TipsKnoword - A Fun and Challenging Vocabulary Game 

Wideo is a nice tool for creating Common Craft-style videos. You can create animated videos on Wideo by dragging and dropping clipart and text in storyboard frames. You set the position and animation sequence for each element in each storyboard frame. When you have completed your storyboards Wideo generates a video for you. This week Wideo added a new feature that allows you to build interactive buttons into each frame of your video. The buttons can be hyperlinked to any webpage that you like. When people are watching your video they can click the buttons to be taken to the webpage you want them to land on. For example, clicking the buttons in the video embedded below will take you to the website of my favorite animal rescue organizations. Applications for Education Wideo can be a great tool for students to use to bring their creative short stories to life. Wideo could also be used by students to create animated explanations of historical events, to animate biographies, or to teach other short lessons. By adding interactive buttons to their videos students can direct people to websites where they can learn more about the subjects featured in their videos. The free version of Wideo limits video length to 45 seconds. 45 seconds is long enough for a lot of video projects. Discounts are given to educators who want to purchase the capability to produce longer videos. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related Stories5 Online Tools for Creating Picture Books11 Helpful Hints for Combining Google Drive With SymbalooSet an "Undo Send" Grace Period in Your Gmail Account 

Yesterday's post about the new (to some users) Gmail setting called "Undo Send" prompted a few questions to appear in my inbox. To address those questions I recorded the following video containing an overview of three helpful Gmail settings for students and teachers. The video covers using Gmail offline, setting the "undo send" grace period, and setting the "reply v. reply all" default function. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesSet an "Undo Send" Grace Period in Your Gmail AccountVideo - Three Google Docs Formatting TipsA Quick Tip on Google Docs Formatting 

Over the weekend I published about five tools for creating picture books online. Two of the tools in that post were accompanied by tutorial videos. I'm putting together tutorial videos for the other tools in that list. First up is a tutorial on Jellybean Writer. The video is embedded below. Jellybean Writer is a free tool for creating picture books. Students can import pictures from their computers then write captions for each image. All stories can be saved online or downloaded and printed. If picture books are too simple for your students, they can skip using pictures and select one of the text only templates for the pages in their books. As you will see in the video below, teacher can create and manage student accounts in Jellybean Scoop. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesJellybean Writer - An Online Tool for Creating Picture Books5 Online Tools for Creating Picture BooksMay Flowers - A Writing Lesson 

If you're looking for some new books to read this summer, take a look at the Open Library  which is a part of the Internet Archive. The Open Library is a collection of more than one million free ebook titles. The collection is cataloged by a community of volunteer online librarians. The ebooks in the Open Library can be read online, downloaded to your computer, read on Kindle and other ereader devices, and embedded into other sites. Some of the ebooks, like Treasure Island, can also be listened to through the Open Library. Applications for Education Much like Google Books, the Open Library can be a great place to find free copies of classic literature that you want to use in your classroom. The Open Library could also be a good place for students to find books that they want to read on their own. The audio option, while very electronic sounding, could be helpful if you cannot locate any other audio copies of the books you desire. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesNearly 700 Art History Books to Read Online for FreeHow to Create a Picture Book Online With Jellybean WriterThree Helpful Gmail Settings for Students and Teachers 

Six months ago I started to organize the screencast videos that I've made over the years. I called the list Practical Ed Tech Tips. Since I started that list I've made an effort to add one or two new screencasts to it every week. The Practical Ed Tech Tips playlist now contains 118 videos covering all kinds of resources. Some of the topics covered in the playlist include Gmail settings, creating backchannels, digital portfolios, blogging tips, and building educational games. In the playlist you will also find videos about tools for flipping your classroom, videos on managing workflow, social media tips, search strategies, and media production. The entire playlist is embedded below. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related Stories11 Helpful Hints for Combining Google Drive With SymbalooHow to Create a Picture Book Online With Jellybean WriterThree Helpful Gmail Settings for Students and Teachers 

Summer is here (in the northern hemisphere) and it is a great time to dive into some good books. If your students need help finding a new book to read, the following three websites will provide recommendations based on their interests. Of course, they can always ask their local librarians for recommendations too. The Book Seer is a neat book recommendation engine that I discovered few years ago through Kristen Swanson's Teachers as Technology Trailblazers blog. The Book Seer is very easy to use. To get a book recommendation just type in the title and author of a book that you've recently read and the Book Seer will spit out a list of related titles and authors that you might enjoy. I tested the Book Seer with four different titles. The more obscure titles that I searched for, Snow in the Kingdom, and A Good Life Wasted didn't yield any recommendations. When I searched for The World Is Open and Hatchet plenty of recommendations appeared. Your Next Read is a neat little site that provides you with a web of book recommendations based on the authors and books you already like. Here's how it works; type in the title of a book you like or author you like and Your Next Read will provide you with a web of books that might also enjoy. Click on any of the books appearing in the web to create another new web. Compared to the Book Seer and Your Next Read 2Titles takes a slightly different approach to making book recommendations. On 2Titles you answer a series of eight questions about your personality and interests before answering questions about books you've previously read. 2Titles will try to prompt you to create an account, but that is an optional step that you can skip if you can find the "skip" link. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesActive Reading Strategies Using the DocHub Chrome AppUse the Love Reading Map to Find Good Books118 Practical Ed Tech Tips Videos 

Projection Wizard is an interesting tool developed by Bojan Šavrič at Oregon State University. The purpose of Projection Wizard is to help cartographers select the best map projections for their projects. To use the Projection Wizard select a distortion property from a menu appearing to the left of the map. Then use the highlighting tool to select the portion of the map that your project focuses on. After you make your map and menu choices you'll be shown a list of the projections that are appropriate for your project. Applications for Education Projection Wizard is a more advanced tool than most high school geography courses would need. That said, I would use the Projection Wizard to have students discuss the flaws of  various map projections. We'd also talk about why a particular type of projection is better than another for different types of projects. H/T to Maps Mania. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesArcGIS Online - Introduce Students to GIS Beyond What Google Maps OffersKnoword - A Fun and Challenging Vocabulary GameMeasure Distances Between Places on NatGeo's Mapmaker Interactive 

Last summer I reviewed an excellent online learning environment called Otus. The first time that I saw it I was impressed by the functions that it offered. Since then Otus has steadily added more features and this week released a completely revamped web interface for teachers. In addition to a more intuitive user interface some of the features of the updated Otus platform that jumped out to me include real-time analytics updates, third party app integration, easier seating chart movements, and easier recording of information. The improved analytics menu updates and recalculates as you record information about your students. This is true whether you're recording behavior and attendance information or you're recording scores from assessments. Admittedly, it had been a while since I tried to update my student roster in Otus. When I went to update it today I found it was easier than before as I simply dragged and dropped student names into place on my seating chart. Otus now allows you to integrate select third party applications into your account. A couple third party applications of note are Khan Academy and OpenEd. OpenEd offers thousands of math and language arts practice assessments aligned to Common Core standards. If you're looking for a new online course management system to use in the next school year, give Otus a try. I think you will be impressed by the capabilities it offers. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesProjection Wizard - Which Kind of Map is Best for Your Project?Three Tools to Help Students Find Books to Read This Summer118 Practical Ed Tech Tips Videos 

The LEGO Liberty Bell in PHL terminal A.Tomorrow morning I am traveling to Philadelphia for the annual ISTE conference. I know that a lot of you would have liked to attend this year too. And while nothing can fully replace being there, I will try my best to share with you my big take-aways from the conference. I'll share on Twitter, Instagram, and here on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If there is something that you have a particular interest in learning about from the ISTE conference please complete the short survey below. I'll do my best to cover the most popular selections on the survey. If you are going to be at ISTE, I would love to meet you. On Monday afternoon I'll be speaking on a panel discussion about professional development. On Tuesday morning you can find me in the Storyboard That booth in the exhibit hall. The rest of the time I'll be popping into presentations and hanging out in the Blogger's Cafe (open to everyone). Please stop me and say hello. (I look just like I do in my pictures except I won't have my dogs with me). This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesProjection Wizard - Which Kind of Map is Best for Your Project?7 Summer Travel Tips for TeachersOtus Releases an Update Online Learning Environment 

For the fifth year in a row Sikorsky is hosting a helicopter design contest for students. The Helicopter 2050 Challenge asks students between the ages of nine through sixteen, to design unique and environmentally-friendly helicopters. To enter the challenge students should sketch/ illustrate their helicopter designs, how the helicopter will work, the environmentally-friendly aspects of their designs, and what makes their helicopters from others that currently exist. The winner of the design contest receives a scholarship from Sikorksy and a trip to Sikorsky headquarters. Sikorsky has put together a nice brainstorming page to help students develop ideas for their helicopter designs. For schools and museums Sikorsky has a digital binder of activities designed around the Helicopter 2050 contest. 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 PostsProjection Wizard - Which Kind of Map is Best for Your Project?118 Practical Ed Tech Tips Videos 

Road to Grammar is a free resource featuring quizzes, games, and lessons for English language learners. Visitors to Road to Grammar will find grammar quizzes. Most of the quizzes provide students with instant feedback. Part of the feedback that students receive on the quizzes they take includes explanations why an answer is correct or incorrect. Before taking the quizzes visitors can work through a series of practice activities. Applications for Education In addition to the resources that students can use individually, Road to Grammar offers some downloadable resources for teachers. Teachers will find the collection of eight downloads offer discussion starters for English lessons, lesson warm-up activities, and some worksheets. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesConsumer Education at the MallTeaching American History Through ArtDesign a Green Helicopter for Sikorsky's Helicopter 2050 Challenge 

Picturing America is a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association. Picturing America is an interactive gallery of artwork related to events, people, and themes in American history. You can browse the gallery chronologically or by theme. Click on any image in the gallery to learn about the artist and the artwork itself. Along with the background information for each image, Picturing America provides links to additional resources for learning about the artwork and artists. Applications for Education Picturing America's Educators Resource page contains a resource book that you can download for free. The resource book contains printable background sheets about each piece of art in the Picturing America gallery. The resource book includes questions and activity suggestions for using each piece of art in elementary school, middle school, and high school classrooms. The resource book can be downloaded as one file or you can download chapters individually. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesDozens of Online Games and Quizzes About GrammarProjection Wizard - Which Kind of Map is Best for Your Project?Using Sumo Paint and PicMonkey in Elementary Art 

This is a guest post from Kate Wilson (@katewilson13) of EdTechTeacher, an advertiser on this site. Stop Motion was one of the original video creation techniques. By stringing together a series of single images and displaying them quickly in order, film was born. Now on iPad, Stop Motion can be used as a technique for capturing learning as it happens, making drawings, models, science projects, or counting exercises come alive. Consider the power of creating a digital flipbook that could later be viewed as a video. Introduction to KomaKomaKomaKoma is a FREE Stop Motion iPad App that can compile together a series of photos taken in the app and then export them to the Camera Roll as a video. With a simple user interface consisting of only a few buttons, KomaKoma is very intuitive. The app launches the camera automatically (first time app users will have to allow the Camera access). A big red record button captures each image in sequence, and a big green play button plays the images back as a video. The only other 2 editing buttons are a blue "X" to delete the last image taken, and a yellow arrow for saving the video to the app’s Gallery. A great feature that sets this app aside from a regular video creation app like iMovie, is the Onion Skin. While you move/draw/create each image, the previous image remains on the screen but slightly transparent allowing the creator to line up the old and new images to create a fluid video. Onion Skin and other settings such as playback speed, camera orientation, and a time lapse feature can be turned on and off under the Settings in the upper right corner of the app (a little wrench). The number of images in a "FlipBook" is logged on a counter at the bottom. To preview the images in the sequence, tap the green Play button to watch your video on a continuous loop. Tapping the play button again will pause and allow for continued editing. Once you are satisfied with the video, tap the yellow up arrow to send the video to the KomaKoma app’s Gallery. If you would like to send the video the Camera Roll to use it somewhere else, or view it in another app, tap on the Gallery icon in the upper right and then select the clip. This automatically pops up an Options menu offering a variety of features including Saving to the Camera Roll. The biggest challenge for the app is coming up with a device that can hold the iPad steady enough to capture the images seamlessly. The example video using PlayDoh used the PlayDoh containers stacked up on either side of the iPad as a stand. Ideas for using KomaKoma in the classroom:Demonstrating mathematics understanding with manipulatives and/or hand writingShowing the process carried out of a science experiment step by stepBringing life to a diorama with moving Lego charactersUsing the time lapse feature to study a slow moving process (Note: iPad must be plugged in and iPad sleep settings altered to NOT turn off).Bonus Tip!: Have a Greenscreen App like DoInk’s Green Screen? Manipulate objects in front of green wrapping paper or construction paper, then bring the video into your favorite Green Screen app to place your objects anywhere! Do you have a story to tell about using iPads in the classroom? Submit a proposal to the EdTechTeacher iPad Summit in Boston, November 17-18, 2015. Proposals due August 31, 2015. Learn more at ettipad.org/cfp This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesDozens of Online Games and Quizzes About GrammarTeaching American History Through ArtDesign a Green Helicopter for Sikorsky's Helicopter 2050 Challenge 

Disclosure: SeeSaw's parent company is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com SeeSaw, a powerful and popular iPad app for creating digital portfolios, is now available as a Chrome web app and as an Android app. The new apps allow students to create and add content to digital portfolios. Through SeeSaw students can add artifacts to their portfolios by taking pictures of their work (in the case of a worksheet or other physical item), by writing about what they've learned, or by uploading a short video about things they have learned. The SeeSaw apps students can add voice comments to their pictures to clarify what their pictures document. Students can create folders withing their accounts to organize content from multiple subject areas. Applications for Education To get started with Seesaw create a free classroom account. Students join the classroom by scanning a QR code (you will have to print it or project it) or entering a classcode that grants them access to your Seesaw classroom. As the teacher you can see and sort all of your students' Seesaw submissions. SeeSaw allows parents to create accounts through which they can see the work of their children. As a teacher you can send notifications to parents when their children make a new SeeSaw submission. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesLeave Audio Comments for Students In Their Digital Portfolios on SeeSawDesign a Green Helicopter for Sikorsky's Helicopter 2050 ChallengeThe Week in Review - The Most Popular Posts 

On Monday afternoon at the ISTE conference I was one of four people on a panel discussion titled Redefining Professional Development for the Curriculum of the Future. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much time to speak as I had hoped for. Throughout the discussion I was taking notes on what the other panelists were saying. These are my big takeaways from those panelists along with two points that I tried to make. 1. Nobody wants more for kids than parents. - Rob Burggraaf was talking about organizing parent night to show parents the benefits of their children using technology. 2. Saying no to technology is saying no to advancing student learning. - Linda Cole talking about getting teachers on board with technology integration programs. 3. Technology centers (in a classroom) aren't just for Kindergarten classrooms. - Ashley Hays talking about using technology throughout the school day. 4. Plan your technology goals to be a positive influence in students' lives beyond the time they are in your school. - Me talking about designing technology integration programs. 5. Celebrate the technology innovators in your school. Encourage them to their good work to with other teachers. - Me talking about getting teachers excited about using technology. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesSeeSaw - Easily Create Digital Portfolios on iPads, Chromebooks, and Android TabletsCreate Stop Motion Animations with KomaKomaDozens of Online Games and Quizzes About Grammar 

Last summer at ISTE 2014 I learned about 81Dash. One year later 81Dash is still going strong and has launched a revamped user interface. All of the same great features of 81Dash are still there, they're just a bit easier to find and use than before. At its most basic level 81Dash provides teachers with a place to host a chat or backchannel conversation that is moderated. Teachers can create and manage multiple chatrooms within their 81Dash accounts. In addition to chat teachers can post notes and task lists that are separate from the chat. Students can see those notes and task lists by selecting "notes" or "tasks" within an 81Dash room. Students join your 81Dash room by going to the URL that is assigned to your room. When they arrive at your room for the first time they will be asked to register. There are two registration options. Registering as a "guest user" does not require students to enter email addresses. Students can also sign into 81Dash with their Google Accounts or Microsoft accounts. Applications for Education 81Dash resolves the complaint that teachers have about many backchannel tools. That complaint is not having a way to delete messages or delete a room if students write inappropriate things in the backchannel. 81Dash's notes and tasks features could be helpful to students in keeping track of assignments for your class. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Embed TodaysMeet Rooms Into Your BlogSeeSaw - Easily Create Digital Portfolios on iPads, Chromebooks, and Android TabletsDesign a Green Helicopter for Sikorsky's Helicopter 2050 Challenge 

This week Google Classroom received updates that teachers and administrators should note. A new "share to Google Classroom" button is starting to appear on popular sites and services including Quizlet, Discovery Education, PBS, and Duolingo. The share button will enable teachers to quickly send resources from sites displaying the Classroom share button to their Google Classroom streams where they can be used as announcements or assignments. Administrators and teachers will benefit from a new Google Classroom API that will allow developers to publish apps that can integrate with Google Classroom. An example of this is found in the new rosterSync for Sheets Add-on. rosterSync enables administrators to sync information from any student information system with Google Classroom. Watch the video below to learn more about rosterSync. Thanks to Frank Franz and Ken Halla for the tips about the updates.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesReady or Not...The New Google Drive UI is Coming to YouA Quick Tip on Google Docs FormattingInsert Images Into Google Slides and Docs on Your iPad or Android Tablet 

This week at the ISTE conference I recorded a few video segments with app developers. The first of those segments features Adam Bellow, the developer of eduClipper. eduClipper is coming out with some new features later this month. Adam talks about those features in the video embedded below. If you can't or didn't watch the video, here's what you need to know. 1. eduClipper will soon have a new start-up tutorial for users. I saw the wireframes for those tutorials and can tell you it will be easier than ever to save and share content on eduClipper. 2. eduClipper is going to start featuring the most popular content and content contributors on the site. 3. Subject category tags are being added to eduClipper. The tags will make it easier to organize and find shared resources. 4. You will soon be able to share content from eduClipper to Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Disclosure: I have a small advisory role with eduClipper. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesThe Month in Review - The Most Popular PostsThe Week in Review - The Most Popular PostsPearltrees - Visually Organize and Share Collections of Files and Links 

Actively Learn was one of my favorite discoveries at the ISTE conference this week. Actively Learn provides teachers with a platform through which they can create, distribute, and assess reading activities. To get started on Actively Learn first register for an account then create your first classroom within your account. Students join your Actively Learn classroom by entering a class code at activelylearn.com/signup. After creating your classroom you can begin adding reading assignments to it. To create an assignment in your Actively Learn classroom you can select from thousands of articles arranged by topic, grade level, reading level, and length. Some articles have comprehension questions built into them while others do not. You can add reading comprehension and or discussion questions to any article that you select from the Actively Learn library. You can also upload your own articles as PDFs. Once you have selected an article and added questions to it, distribute it to your students through your Actively Learn classroom. Students can read and respond to questions directly within the Actively Learn platform. You can require students to answer questions before the next section of an article is revealed to them. In addition to responding to your questions, students can flag sections of an article with "I don't understand." As the teacher you can see those flags and respond to them in your Actively Learn classroom. Actively Learn has free and paid plans. The free plan includes unlimited assignments and unlimited access to a gradebook. The paid plans provide more tools for analyzing how students work with text beyond responding to your questions. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesThe Month in Review - The Most Popular Posts81Dash Offers a Revamped Tool for Backchannels and MoreSeeSaw - Easily Create Digital Portfolios on iPads, Chromebooks, and Android Tablets 

Last fall Google renamed their Maps Engine Lite tool to My Maps. My Maps makes it easy to create simple custom maps with up to three layers on them. For example, check out this post to see how I made a biking route map in My Maps. Today, Google announced that My Maps is now fully integrated into Google Drive for Google Apps for Education users. This was previously the case for Gmail users who used My Maps. Google Apps administrators can enable or disable My Maps for their users. With My Maps enabled in Google Apps for Education students and teachers will be able to create, save, and edit maps from their Google Drive dashboards. Applications for Education As I have written in the past, there are quite a few good uses of creating maps with multiple layers. Multiple layers can be used for showing data differences on a year over year or month over month basis. You can display the same data with different base layers for comparison. Students working collaboratively on a map can be responsible for editing their own layers on the same map. If you’re using My Maps to have students create literature trips (look here for inspiration), they can create a different layer for each chapter of a book. Students mapping the history of an event like the U.S. Civil War can create a different layer for each year of the war. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesGoogle Classroom Gets a Share Button and More New FeaturesReady or Not...The New Google Drive UI is Coming to YouA Quick Tip on Google Docs Formatting