Improving Your Critical Thinking - A New TED-Ed Lesson

This Tool Will Help You Improve Your Critical Thinking is a new TED-Ed lesson that provides viewers with an introduction to the Socratic method. The video has two main purposes. The first is to explain what the Socratic method is. The second is to explain a bit of Socrates' place in history. The video's explanation of the Socratic method is much stronger than the explanation of Socrates' place in history. Watch the lesson here or as embedded below. 

Applications for Education

Last week I used the Socratic method with one of my classes. A few of my students got a little frustrated with me because I wasn't "just giving them the answer." A few of my students understood what I was doing. I stopped to explain it, but by that point the frustrated students weren't in the best place to understand what I was doing. That class meets again tomorrow and I plan to show this video to provide the class with a different explanation and perspective. 

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Sites that steal my (Richard Byrne's) work include CloudComputin, Today Headline, and 711Web.

19 Canva Tutorials for Teachers and Students - Certificates, Comics, and More!

I've been using Canva to make all kinds of graphics and presentations almost since the day it was first available to the public. Over the years I've used to make greeting cards, videos, infographics, presentations, posters, timelines, comics, and many other graphics. And, at one point or another in the last five years, I've made videos about how to make all of those graphics. In not particular order, here's my complete list of Canva tutorials for teachers and students. 

How to Create a Timeline on Canva



How to Create Collages on Canva



How to Create a Greeting Card on Canva



How to Use Canva to Create Social Media Graphics



Host Live Q&A in Canva Presentations



How to Customize Icons in Canva



How to Create & Publish Comics in Canva



How to Record a Video Presentation in Canva



How to Use Canva for Online Brainstorming Sessions



How to Create an Audio Slideshow Video With Canva



How to Publish Canva Designs as Websites



How to Create and Publish a Multimedia Poster With Canva



How to Make an Interactive Graphic With Canva



How to Create a Video With Canva



How to Create a Great Presentation With Canva



How to Make Your Font Stand Out in Canva



How to Create a Certificate in Canva



How to Use Canva to Create Webpages



How to Collaborate in Canva

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Sites that steal my (Richard Byrne's) work include CloudComputin, Today Headline, and 711Web.

Ten Topics Covered in Teaching History With Technology

The next session of my popular Teaching History With Technology course begins tomorrow. There is still time to register right here. 

There are ten big topics that will be covered in the course. All of the lessons in the course can be applied to elementary, middle, and high school settings.

These are the ten big topics in the course:

• Search Strategies & Organization
• Video Projects & Video Lessons
• Making History Podcasts
• Google Earth & Maps
• Multimedia Timelines
• Digital Portfolios
• AR & VR in History Lessons
• Making Virtual Tours
• Making History Apps
• Tips for Remote Teaching

Register Here

Create Outdoor Bingo Games

I originally shared this video on my Ed Tech Fitness blog. The reaction there has been good so I thought that I should give it a bigger audience by posting it on Free Technology for Teachers. 

Outdoor Bingo is exactly what the name implies. Kids are given Bingo boards that have things like leaves, squirrels, worms, rocks, bugs, and flowers listed on each space. Kids then go looking for those things and cross them off their Bingo boards as they go. When they get five in a row, they win! 

My daughters were recently given some re-useable outdoor Bingo boards. Seeing those boards inspired me to make my own by using the Bingo template available on Flippity.net. Watch this video to learn how you can make your own outdoor Bingo games that include pictures and text. 

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Sites that steal my (Richard Byrne's) work include CloudComputin, Today Headline, and 711Web.

How to Quickly Record Voice and Video Messages in Gmail

Sometimes it is easier, faster, and more effective to record a video or audio reply to an email than it is to type a response. For example, when I get asked for technical help it is often faster and more effective to create a screencast video than it is to write directions.

Sending an audio message in response to an email can be useful when you need to use some voice inflection to deliver meaning that you might not be able to deliver with just text. This is particularly true when replying to students who are still developing their reading skills or when replying to parents whose first language isn't your own.

In the following videos I demonstrate how to record video and audio messages directly from your Gmail inbox.

Two Ways to Create Videos in Your Gmail Inbox


How to Record and Send Voice Notes in Gmail

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Sites that steal my (Richard Byrne's) work include CloudComputin and 711Web.