Review: Free Technology for Teachers
This week we’re working to become a part of the educational technology community by reviewing some established websites by experienced educators. The first website that I chose is Richard Byrne’s Free Technology for Teachers, a website that, as you can expect, offers up resources for teachers to integrate technology in their classroom that are also free. The name of this website caught my attention because as a teacher you’re always budgeting lots of things, whether it be time or money, so free resources for you and your students are always good.
Another notable aspect of this website is that right away you can see that it’s not just focused on Apple products; there are resources for utilizing Android technology in the classroom, Google programs, but of course also Apple products.
I chose to look specifically at a page titled 10 Great Apps for a Teacher’s New iPad because I am a (future) teacher, and I do have a new iPad. One of the apps that I tried out from this list and really liked is Skitch, an app that’s made by the same developers as Evernote, which is also an app on this list. This is a really great resource for teachers to very easily draw, write, and even grade materials in less than a minute. It’s super easy to use and comes with tons of different options to fit whatever you’re needing at a given moment. Here’s a sampling of all the options you have on Skitch, just done randomly on a picture I took when we had a group of 8th grade students visit K-State in May.
Now though this article that I read is from 2012 and at least one of the apps seemed like it wasn’t available anymore, there are new articles posted on a variety of topics basically every single day (one was even posted brand new while I was browsing the website). Richard also hosts a video series called Practical Ed Tech Live! where he answers questions about utilizing technology in your classroom. Here’s the most recent episode from just earlier this week.
Overall, Free Technology for Teachers is a great place for any educator to go when you’re looking to enhance your students’ experience without breaking the bank, and here's the social media and contact info for Richard Byrne, the creator of Free Technology for Teachers.