How to Use the Photo Slideshow Add-on for Google Slides

Last week I published 5 Ways to Quickly Create Audio Slideshows for End-of-Year Events. In that post I mentioned using the Google Slides add-on called Photo Slideshow. Over the last week I've answered a handful of questions from people who ran into a little difficulty using that add-on. I made the following video to show how I use the Photo Slideshow add-on. Take a look.

Lots of New Videos Added to One of My Favorite Alternatives to YouTube

Back in January I learned about a great alternative to YouTube called BoClips. BoClips offers millions of educational videos from well-known producers. In the last five months it has quickly become one of my top five alternatives to searching on YouTube for educational videos. This week BoClips announced the addition of more great video content.

BoClips now includes videos from PBS Digital Studios, Epic History TV, Smithsonian, and Nature League. The PBS Digital Studios content includes videos from It's Okay To Be Smart and many of the other popular PBS Digital Studios YouTube channels.

Watch the following short video to learn how you can find and share videos on BoClips.

Five Ways to Collect Registration Information for Summer Events

This time of year always feels exceptionally busy as the end of the school year nears while at the same time many of us are planning for summer activities like camps and summer enrichment programs. Automating or streamlining as many things as possible can make things feel a little less hectic. If you find yourself trying to plan a summer activity and need a good way to organize registration information, try one of the following methods.

1. Eventbrite

• Eventbrite is an event ticketing service that you can use for free if you are not charging people for admission to the event. By having attendees register through Eventbrite you'll get a head count, a list of email addresses, and the attendees will be issued a ticket for the event. Eventbrite will let you set a cap on registrations too. You can embed your Eventbrite registration forms into an existing blog or website. EventBrite is the service that I am using for my Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp registrations. 

2. JotForm

• JotForm is a service that offers a lot of templates for creating event registration pages.Some of those features include the option to have personalized confirmation notices sent to registrants without the need for a third-party add-on, the option to collect signatures in forms, and the option to collect payments directly through your forms. Those features are all available in the free version of JotForms. 

3. SignUpGenius

• SignUpGenius is a freemium service for creating event registration forms. The free version allows you to collect basic registration information. The free version will display a lot of advertising on your registration page and will not let you embed the registration form into your blog or website. 

4. Google Forms

• You can use Google Forms to create an event registration page. By using the Google Forms add-on called FormLimiter you can impose a registration deadline. It is possible to issue tickets via email by using the Add-on called Certify'em with a certificate modified to be an event ticket. Watch my video here to learn how to use Certify'em.

5. Microsoft Forms

• Microsoft Forms is a solid option for creating registration pages for free events. Once you have the registration information collected, you can sort it in Excel. Take a look at this video for a tutorial on how to get started using Microsoft Forms. 

Woodrow Wilson's Mother's Day Proclamation and the History of Mother's Day

According to President Woodrow Wilson's proclamation in 1914, the second Sunday in May is Mother's Day in the United States. As the second Sunday in May is approaching, the U.S. National Archives recently featured President Wilson's proclamation in the daily documents feed. That document can be used as part of the Emergence of Modern America lessons produced by the National Archives.

Reading Woodrow Wilson's Mother's Day proclamation reminded me of a history of Mother's Day video that I shared a couple of years ago. That video is included below.



And here's a short lesson that explains why Mother's Day is written as "Mother's Day" and not "Mothers' Day."