Tutorials from THE Journal

Interested in contributing?

We're ramping up our library of technology tutorials for ed tech professionals. And that means we're looking for experts who would like to contribute to the effort.

Our tutorials are goal-oriented. They should solve a problem or reveal something to the user that he or she wouldn't normally know. And they should assume the reader is an intermediate or advanced user. (That said, you can feel free to pitch primers for beginners. We'll consider pitches on a case-by-case basis.) Illustrations (screen shots) are necessary; videos are optional.

If you'd like to contribute, contact David Nagel at [email protected].


Tech request worksheet: click to download

6 Suggestions IT Teams Should Ask Teachers When Evaluating Unapproved Technology

When IT teams are evaluating technologies for the classroom, the teacher's perspective shouldn’t be discounted. Teachers have a unique — and likely the best-informed — view of which tools will engage students and which will be distracting.

AI Is an Ally: Saving Teachers Time with ChatGPT

The time is now to welcome AI into classrooms as an asset and an ally. There are so many things that AI can do to support teaching and learning, from analyzing data for schools and districts, to enabling students to research and understand information in different ways, and — arguably the most important thing — saving time and energy for teachers so that they can focus on the parts of teaching that are less tedious and most important.

illustration created by DALL-E shows a teacher in front of a blackboard wielding a sword over a futuristic robot. Text reads "expert viewpoint" with logo for THEjournal.com

Why Our Technology Nonprofit is Embracing ChatGPT and AI in Education

A technology educator shares how her nonprofit is using ChatGPT to help students participating in Technovation programs go further in their brainstorming and ideation as they aim to develop AI-based solutions to real-world problems. Here’s a concrete example from our program: Students in one group were interested in developing technology-based solutions to food wastage and conservation, encouraging more students to read, exercise, and be more inclusive.

How to Help Students Cope with Test Anxiety

Test anxiety is a real problem, affecting 25% to 40% of U.S. students. Anxiety, along with academic stress, can appear as physical symptoms (such as headaches, nausea and sleeplessness) and psycho-emotional symptoms (like difficulty concentrating or increased irritability).

Going Digital with Student Records

When it comes to records management, many K–12 school districts are still using microfiche, paper, and PDFs. For districts still managing and processing student records in a paper-based format, it might be time to look toward technology to help efficiently and securely manage student records. Check out how digital student records can make administrators' (and families') lives easier.

image shows a man sitting at several computer screens that each say RANSOMWARE and the man holds his head in his hands looking overwhelmed. Text reads Post Cyber Attack Top Do

After a Cyber Attack: Three Do's and Don'ts for K-12 Leaders and IT Teams

Charlie Sander of cybersecurity firm Managed Methods shares some tips to avoid making a cyber incident on a K-12 school even more costly, for district leaders, risk management planners, and IT practitioners: What to expect and some do’s and don’ts to move forward while minimizing an cyber attack's negative impacts and costly disruptions.

Edmodo is shuttering for good on Sept. 22, 2022

Edmodo Users: One Week Left to Save Your Data Before It’s Deleted on Sept. 23

Edmodo will permanently shutter on Sept. 22, and educators who have used the platform will no longer have access to their accounts, their instructional content, nor their student data, the company said — here's how to export all the teacher and student files and data before the platform shuts down and deletes all accounts and associated files and data.

Edmodo instructions for downloading educator and student data before the platform permanently shutters on Sept 22, 2022

How to Save Teacher Content and Data Before Edmodo Shutters and Deletes Everything on Sept. 23

Edmodo will permanently shutter on Sept. 22, and educators who have used the platform will no longer have access to their accounts, their instructional content, nor their student data, the company announced this week on its website — here's how to export all the teacher and student files and data before the platform shuts down and deletes all accounts and associated files and data.

Image shows logos of ed tech tools now available as Google Classroom add-ons

How To Start Using Google Add-Ons: Step By Step

To start using Google add-ons, district admins will need to set up add-ons and can then enable access for educators; admins need to have the Google Workspace for Education Plus edition or Teaching & Learning Upgrade assigned to each educator that they want to have access to add-ons, Google wrote on its blog announcing the launch. Here are step-by-step instructions for getting started with Google add-ons.

The Minecraft Student Ambassador Sponsor Program helps educators create a Minecraft student ambassador program and equip students who are Minecraft experts to coach and assist students and teachers who are new to the game.

Not Into Video Games? Here's How to Let Students Lead on Teaching with Minecraft: Education Edition

The Minecraft Student Ambassador Sponsor Program helps educators create a Minecraft Student Ambassador Program at their school or district, and helps prepare those young Minecraft experts to coach and assist students and teachers who are new to the game, so more classrooms can benefit from the game’s 700-plus “worlds” or lesson-based games.

Esports logo representing news and advice about K-12 esports programs

Five Steps to Creating a Winning Esports Space At Any School

An esports expert shares five key steps to creating a school esports space for an engaged esports team and to ensure your program is successful at instilling social-emotional learning, technical skills and STEM skills in participating students.

4 Steps to Evaluating ESSER Program Effectiveness

Sound data management practices are critical for complying with federal reporting rules.

How to Use a 3D Printer to Get Students into Design and Engineering

Ffrom Alief ISD in Houston, Texas, teachers Daniel O’Kilen and Carolyn Dersen, shard their enthusiasm for using 3D printing to entice students to learn STEAM concepts at a Tuesday session of the annual convention of the Texas Computer Education Association, and shared their free online guide “11 Classroom Lessons To Use With Your 3D Printer,”

4 Keys to Robotics Activities for Young Learners

4 Keys to Robotics Activities for Young Learners

Physical computing with robots for young learners offers an engaging, collaborative, creative and standards-based approach to any makerspace program.

While Schools Go Online, Here's How Teachers Can Turn Uncertainty Into Opportunity

Schools across the country have kicked off what you could call an unconventional school year, and administrators and faculty are under immense pressure to make it work. However, despite the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential academic consequences, what we really need is a change of perspective: this could be an opportunity for educators to innovate and explore within the classroom.

Resources & Tips for Remote Education During School Closures

Today the Coronavirus has left public school systems and private schools scrambling to find alternative ways to continue to educate students for an extended period of time.

computer science education

The Importance of STEM in the Classroom

According to a study from LinkedIn, the most in-demand job skills in 2017 included cloud computing, statistical analysis and app development. What do these skills have in common? They all incorporate STEM.

1. Go to Tools > AutoCorrect > AutoCorrect Options. (Documentation says to look for AutoComplete, which is not an option in recent versions.)

How to Disable AutoComplete in LibreOffice

All of the documentation on LibreOffice shows the old way of disabling word completion in LibreOffice Writer. Here’s how you actually do it in current and recent versions of the open source office suite.

Pathway to a Successful K-12 Technology Implementation

Here’s how one school district made sure that our $18 million digital classroom refresh project produced high adoption levels while supporting instruction.

Protecting Your Students' Privacy on Social Media

Social media can pose risks to students' privacy, but these risks can be managed with informed, intentional use. There's also a huge upside: Teachers can use social media to share best practices, provide an authentic audience for students' work, cultivate and model digital citizenship among their students and build more connected school communities.