The End of Daylight Saving Time is Near...for this year

This coming Saturday night is the end of Daylight Saving Time for this year in North America. I'm excited to turn the clocks back one hour because it means the sunrise will be earlier in the day. As someone who gets up at 5am or earlier every day and lives in a northern latitude, I welcome the change as I'll see the sun an hour earlier. And as the dad of two little kids I welcome the time change in autumn because it means there's a chance my kids will sleep in and I'll get some extra time to drink my coffee in silence on Sunday morning. 

As I do almost every time Daylight Saving Time begins or ends, I have gathered together a handful of short video explanations about why we have Daylight Saving Time. Take a look and see if there is one that can help you explain Daylight Saving Time to your students. 

National Geographic has two videos titled Daylight Saving Time 101. The first one, published in 2015, is a bit more upbeat than the second one that was published in 2019. Both versions are embedded below. 

The Telegraph has a 90 second explanation of Daylight Saving Time. The video doesn't have any narration so it can be watched without sound.



CGP Grey's video explanation of Daylight Saving Time is still a good one even if it isn't as succinct as the videos above.



Has someone told you that Daylight Saving Time was ended by Congress? If so, I'm sorry to tell you that only the Senate has moved to enact law to end Daylight Saving Time. The bill hasn't reached the House and is still a long way from becoming an enacted law. WXYZ-TV in Detroit has a good explanation of the process and of the potential impact of the end of DST in northern cities like Detroit. Watch the video here or as embedded below.



TED-Ed has two lessons that aren't specifically about Daylight Saving Time but are related to the topic. First, The History of Keeping Time explains sundials, hourglasses, and the development of timezones. Second, How Did Trains Standardize Time in the United States? explains the role of railroads in the development of the timezones used in the United States (and most of Canada) today.

A Webinar (or Workshop) and an eBook for Your School

Last December I published the first edition of 50 Tech Tuesday Tips. When I did that I made the offer of hosting a free webinar for any school or group that purchases ten or more copies. So far I've had a handful of people take me up on that offer. That offer is still good and I'd be happy to host a webinar for your school. And now I'm going to extend the offer a bit further. 

For the rest of this school year (2022 through May 31, 2023) any school, conference, or library that hires me for an in-person workshop or in-person keynote will given copies of 50 Tech Tuesday Tips for all attendees. 

About the eBook

50 Tech Tuesday Tips was curated from more than 400 editions of The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter. In 50 Tech Tuesday Tips you will find ideas for lots of helpful things that you can teach to your colleagues and to students. Throughout the eBook you'll find tutorials and handouts that you can pass along in your school. 

Some of the many things you'll find in 50 Tech Tuesday Tips include:

• What to do when a web app isn't working as you expect.
• Building your own search engine.
• How to create green screen videos.
• Improving instructional videos. 
• Streamlining email management.
• Creating educational games. 
• DIY app creation.
• Podcasting tips for teachers and students. 

Get your copy of 50 Tech Tuesday Tips right here!

Candy, Pizza, and Games - The Month in Review

Good evening from Maine where the sun has set on the month of October and my daughters have finally fallen asleep after the excitement of trick o' treating. As I do at the end of every month, I've taken a few minutes to look at the analytics for Free Technology for Teachers for the month to see what was popular with all of you. Take a look at the list and see if there is something interesting that you missed during the month. 

These were the most popular posts in October:
1. Three Alternatives to ViewPure for Distraction-free YouTube Viewing
2. Tutorials for Getting Started With the Smithsonian Learning Lab
3. GeoGeek AR - An Augmented Reality Geography Game
4. How to Catch Monsters - A Halloween Play Script
5. How to Create Green Screen Videos in Canva
6. Halloween-themed Physical Education Lesson Plans
7. C-SPAN Offers a Free Electoral College Poster
8. Five Google Workspace Tips That Can Make Your Day Better
9. A Great Alternative to Quizlet
10. The Science of Pizza, Diets, and the Esophagus

Workshops and Keynotes

If you'd like to have me speak at your school or conference, please send me an email at richardbyrne (at) freetech4teachers.com or fill out the form on this page. 

50 Tech Tuesday Tips!

50 Tech Tuesday Tips is an eBook that I created with busy tech coaches, tech integrators, and media specialists in mind. In it you'll find 50 ideas and tutorials that you can use as the basis of your own short PD sessions. Get a copy today!

Other Places to Follow Me:

• The Practical Ed Tech Newsletter comes out every Sunday evening/ Monday morning. It features my favorite tip of the week and the week's most popular posts from Free Technology for Teachers.
• My YouTube channel has more than 43,000 subscribers watching my short tutorial videos on a wide array of educational technology tools. 
• I've been Tweeting as @rmbyrne for fifteen years. 
• The Free Technology for Teachers Facebook page features new and old posts from this blog throughout the week. 
• If you're curious about my life outside of education, you can follow me on Strava.

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Featured image captured by Richard Byrne.

The Difference Between Stocks and Bonds

Last week I finished reading Liar's Poker written by Michael Lewis. The book is partly about his experience as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers in the 1980's and partly about expansion of the bond market itself during the 1980's. The parts about how the bond market evolved to compete with the stock market in the minds of traders in the 1980's were the most fascinating parts of the book for me. I was telling a neighbor about the book over the weekend and she mentioned that she didn't know what the difference between a bond and stock really is. I gave her my brief explanation then turned to YouTube for a better one. 

TD Ameritrade's YouTube channel offers a concise explanation of the difference between stocks and bonds. A much longer explanation is offered in this older Khan Academy video. 

TD Ameritrade also offers a concise explanation of how the bond market works and what bonds are used for (spoiler, they're not just for lame gifts from old uncles). 

Applications for Education

Both of these videos could be helpful primers for lessons about the basics of financial markets and lessons about personal finance. With a free EDpuzzle account you can add multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions into these videos. In this video I provide a complete overview of how to use EDpuzzle to create video lessons using videos that you find online.

Free Webinar This Tuesday - Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions

This coming Tuesday, November 1st at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT Rushton Hurley and I will be hosting the second episode of our third season of Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff. Just like the title says we take questions, answer questions, and share some cool stuff that we've found around the web. We'd love to have you join us for this fun and free half-hour webinar. You can register here to join us live. 

If you have a question for us, send it to me at richardbyrne (at) freetech4teachers.com or just join us live and drop your question into the chat. And to see what our little webinars are all about, watch the recording of the October episode of season three.