Friday, April 26, 2019

More About Sub-image Searching

Last week I wrote a post about using the search strategy of sub-image searching to identify the meaning of the lettering on a tea set that a friend of mine had purchased at a flea market. It's a strategy that I learned many years ago from Dan Russell and was reminded about when I heard him speak at the TLA conference ten days ago. Today, on his blog Dan Russell has a detailed explanation of using that sub-image search strategy in combination with other strategies to solve a challenge called What's That Logo? Read his blog post here or watch his video for a demonstration and explanation.


Applications for Education
One of the important take-aways from What's That Logo? for students is the reminder that Google is not the only search engine. As you can read in his blog post, Dan recommended using Bing Image Search and Yandex as part of the process to solve the search challenge.

How to Remove the Default Navigation Bar on Blogger Blogs

Blogger provides anyone who has a Google account with a quick and easy way to start a blog. I have been using it for more than a decade for a variety of blogging projects and I've introduced it to many teachers over the years. The question about Blogger that I am asked more than any other is, "how do I remove that bar at the top of my blog?" It used to be fairly difficult to remove that navigation bar because it required overwriting some of the code in your Blogger template. Fortunately, today it is a lot easier than it used to be.

To remove the navigation bar from your Blogger blog follow these steps:
  • Log into your Blogger blog. 
  • Select "layout" in the lefthand menu. 
  • Click on the gadget labeled "Navbar."
  • Select "Off" in the pop-up menu. 
Watch my new video to learn how to remove the navigation bar from your Blogger blog. 

How to Create Individualized Online Spelling Games for Your Students

Last Sunday I published a written overview of how to use Flippity's Spelling Words template to create individualized online spelling games for your students. The template can be accessed from Flippity.net or through the Google Sheets add-on of the same name. I fielded a handful of questions about the template this week. To answer those questions I made the following tutorial video.



As I wrote earlier this week, Flippity Spelling Words games has three primary modes for students. The first is "list" which simply reads each spelling word aloud to students. The second mode is "practice" in which students hear a word read aloud and then have to type it. The third mode is "quiz" mode in which students again hear the words read aloud and have to type them. It is quiz scores that you can have emailed to you.

Spring and Summer Professional Development Opportunities With Me

As some of you know, the primary funding for Free Technology for Teachers comes through the sale of my Practical Ed Tech webinars and workshops. (If you're wondering, it costs about $12,000/ year to support the site without accounting for labor). This spring and summer I'm hosting a series of professional development webinars and workshops. I’d love to have you join me for one of them.

5 Video Projects for Almost Every Classroom

  • This is a one-hour webinar that I'm hosting on Tuesday, April 30th. This webinar introduces you to five video projects that you can do in almost any K-12 classroom. Learn more or register here.


Teaching History With Technology

  • This is a popular online course that I’ve offered in the past as a series of three webinars. I’ve expanded it to five weeks in order to include more fun and engaging topics including augmented reality and virtual reality lessons, the latest Google Earth features, and making mobile apps in social studies lessons. I’m offering this course in May and in June. Learn more about the May course here and learn more about the June course here.


Getting Going With G Suite

  • This webinar series sells out almost every time that I offer it. This is a five week course designed for teachers and administrators who are new to using G Suite for Education. In the course you will not only learn the nuts and bolts of using G Suite for Education, you’ll also learn how to leverage these tools to create engaging experiences for your students. This course draws on my ten years of training thousands of educators on G Suite for Education tools. This course will start in June. Learn more and register here.


Making & Teaching With Video

  • This online course is a deep dive into making videos on your own and with your students. During the course you will learn how to plan, complete, and assess a series of video projects. You’ll also learn how to responsibly share videos and how to respect copyright. The class begins on May 7th. Learn more and register here.


Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp



Professional Development Workshops at Your School

  • This summer is my tenth summer of conducting professional development workshops in schools all over North America. I would love to visit your school this summer. Booking me for professional development day or series of days is quick and easy. Just send me a note at richard (at) byrne.media or fill out the form here.