Other similar options are out there, such as Quizlet and Kahoot!, but these are quiz-only systems that may be too limited for some teachers. Wayground takes the best of those and adds in the gamification, meme editing, and music picks to make this a more immersive experience for students.

Thanks to the new rebranding launch there are now also lots of AI tools and resources to help teach.

Wayground is already used by more than half the schools in the U.S. and in over 150 countries worldwide. This is thanks to a very intuitive system that looks great, in a minimalist way, and just makes learning more fun.

So is Wayground the ultimate quiz tool for your classroom?

What is Wayground?

Wayground is primarily an online-based quiz and teaching tool that operates like a gameshow. That means a question-and-answer platform that works across browsers and Chrome as well as iPhone and Android devices, with dedicated apps for both.

From a student's perspective, this makes learning more fun with game-based interactions and an ability to work through a quiz using their own devices. For teachers, there is a host of pre-built quizzes to pick from as well as the option to edit and create their own from scratch. Plus, with the added AI focus, the ability to personalize is now easier than ever.

Since students only need an access code, they don't need to sign-up for an account, making it super simple to access for everyone. In addition, their privacy and personal details can be kept be protected.

For teachers, this platform offers a large database of quiz options, and AI tools, so it's a simple-to-use tool that doesn't require a lot of time and effort. But since these can be edited, this can also provide a more in-depth and personalized offering for students and classes.

What's new in Wayground?

Since the rebrand, several updates have arrived including curriculum alignment to map resources to standards.

Lesson bundles are a helpful addition ideal for lesson planning.

AI can be used to work off a single file to makes multiple interactive formats.

Language support is wider now across all media.

VoyageMath is also new, offer middle school programs for individualized instruction.

How does Wayground work?

For teachers, a sign-up is required to start using Wayground. Basic details are required, and can be done using a school-based email address as well as a Google or Microsoft account. The particularly useful thing with this tool is that it offers some great integration across the likes of Edmodo, Google Classroom, and Remind.

Once an account is ready, teachers can access the database of quiz options, reporting choices and instructional resources can be searched and organized to make finding the ideal option a quick and easy process. You may discover that an already-created tool can serve your purpose just fine. Or you may want to edit and make a few changes to perfect the final version.

Creating a new resource is also an option, with single and multi-select multiple choice answer options. Teachers can input questions and answers manually if that's the easiest way to work, but there are rich media options, too. Add images to questions, or as answer options, and also customize feedback for students.

For example, you can incorporate a popular meme that students see based on the answer they give. While there are plenty to pick from, these can also be made by the teachers if desired.

Crucially, you can make adjustments using AI so there are more than 25 modifications that can accommodate each student's unique needs.

What are the best Wayground features?

The ability to take a quiz privately or as a class is a useful option. This allows teachers to assign individual quizzes suited to each student, or to work as a class, getting feedback on how the class is managing with a single subject across the group. The advantage of working in class is that everyone can see how their peers are doing. Equally, working solo can be ideal for those who prefer to be left alone, or for homework task setting.

Wayground offers a leaderboard, but this is something that teachers can choose to turn off if the competitive nature of that doesn't serve the students. The same can be said for question timers, which may help motivate some students but could be seen as unnecessary pressure for others – so being able to turn this on and off is a nice touch.

Also editable are the meme feedback and music options. With these on, the quiz can feel like a lot of fun and be very lively, or you can turn these off for a more studious experience.

One option allows students to see their results after they take the quiz, which is a helpful way to make sure they learn from any mistakes they may have made. They can also retake the quiz as a way to gamify it, seeing how many they can get right the second time around.

Teachers can email parents through the app with a detailed report that shows how the student is performing. These results are also helpful for teachers to see how students are struggling so as to decide what to work on next.

How much does Wayground cost?

Wayground is free to get started but keeps its pricing structure quite hidden on its homepage, except in the case of work-based options.

While you can use the free option, there is a $10 per month plan that is billed annually at $96. This gets you access to the Wayground Super library of quizzes and the ability to create unlimited quizzes and lessons. There is ad-free use with game themes, answer explanations, interactive videos, and more.

Wayground best tips and tricks

Spend time on search
It's important to spend time searching the database as more time here can result in a near-finished quiz, rather than the much longer process of making your own. Also the more you search, the better you become at using the platform. AI can help here as a jump-off point to find more.

Assess early
Start a class, or even a term, using a quiz that will assess how students are grasping a task or subject area. This can help tune how you teach the subject both on a class and teacher-to-student level.

Use parents
Send the results emails to parents and make sure students know that happens, perhaps monthly, so they can have another set of eyes on their efforts.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

In my years in the classroom, it never occurred to me to question a request from my boss. “Sure, no problem…” was my refrain.

Teachers work in silos and we don’t often get to see the behaviors of our most challenging colleagues; we only hear their narrative as they share how terribly they were treated. I tried to stay away from this group in the corner of the faculty lounge because I didn’t receive the same harsh treatment they were describing, and I feared being called out as a favorite. It never occurred to me that they were the problem, exasperating and complaining at every turn.

My first weeks as a school leader were the end of my innocence–I couldn’t believe the things some teachers did! One teacher left her classroom unsupervised for 20 minutes to make a personal phone call. When I highlighted the legal duty of care and negligence, she stared me down and said, “I’ve been teaching longer than you’ve been alive….”

The masters of victim mindset are difficult to manage. You know who they are. They sit in the loser support group in the lounge recruiting others. As toxic as they are, their real danger is how they skillfully flip blame back on you, leaving you wondering how their problem became yours.

I can think of countless stories of victim mindset. I’ll highlight one, since they all exhibit the patterns of behavior. Then I’ll share how to manage these, which may not be the way you think….

Years ago, a teacher marched a student over to the classroom phone to call her parents to let them know she forgot her homework. The parent called me, irate that the teacher had done this in front of the entire class. As difficult as this parent was, it was indefensible. I notified the teacher of this parent’s displeasure and she agreed to call the parent on her way home that afternoon.

The next morning, the parent called me again, even more angry because the teacher never called. I notified the teacher in lieu of her duty for the next period, to call. She ignored my directive and immediately called from the classroom. Contemptuous in her tone, the parent pushed back with profanities.

Later I was in a meeting with a colleague and was summoned to the hall where this teacher was being transported by ambulance, having experienced a panic attack. I felt terrible, and told her, “You’re in good hands, they’ll take care of you.”

I’ll never forget her reply: “You did this to me.”

Fortunately, there were faculty in the building who had come to know me. They remember the human in you and how you treat others. They look at someone like the victim and say something just doesn’t sit right.

‘You Can’t Negotiate With Crazy’

Todd Whitaker wrote an entire book about not getting sucked in by perpetual victims. Shifting the Monkey cleverly illustrates how to navigate the difficult person, the negative Nelly, and most importantly, the victim mindset. It seems sensible to lean back against a victim's strong stance as if to repel their insanity. Remember: You can’t negotiate with crazy.

Also, everyone is watching the leader. If you get sucked in, the monkey is on your back, just where the victim wants it. They point and exclaim, ‘See!’

So how do you approach the victim? Go against your instinct to fight…

Stay Objective

Many people will say to you, “I wouldn’t let them leave early in an emergency, or give them the same allowances as others.”

Don’t listen. That’s emotion. You feel that way, and that’s okay, but don’t act on it. Be even-handed, fair, and balanced. When they try to trounce you at Human Resources or to the superintendent (and believe me, they will try), everyone will note your objectivity and patience, and see them for the problem they are.

In another instance, I was tasked with addressing attendance concerns for those staff with too many days absent. I received an antagonistic response from one staff member who submitted a detailed and notably challenging email. Rather than approaching the concerns collaboratively, their tone was defensive and questioned administrative intent, raising concerns about her professional responsiveness.

This all sounds so strange to effective educators who are driven by a conscience. And that’s the tricky part–victims have so cleverly shifted blame in their own minds that it’s easy to dismiss legitimate concerns as being picked on or some other absurd claim. They have hijacked perception to suit their narrative, fictional as it is. Don’t feed into the negativity!

Never Argue

Arguing with these kinds of folks is like mud wrestling a pig in that you both get dirty but only the pig enjoys it. A victim has so much more practice at arguing, their goal is to pull you into their conflict. Your objectivity keeps you from letting them win. The moment you argue, the victim is victorious.

As leaders, we are tasked with giving directives. Always remember that this is entirely different than being lulled into an argument. Your directives are fair, balanced, even-handed. Stay the course, stay objective, and you will always be able to take the higher ground when a union representative shows up or your boss calls. Don’t get dirty, and you can sustain your goals with the rest of your staff.

Kill Them With Kindness

Victims are experts at breaking down other people, so we turn on our own instincts. That level of deception is uncanny. You have to give them credit.

Yet, understanding this psychology is pivotal in redirecting with sincere goodwill. Difficult people are so good at shifting the gears of others into exasperated frustration and reaction that they have no idea how to handle the tenderness that comes from persistent kindness.

What makes this more significant is that you are modeling your expectation of their behavior, and can safely provide a benchmark with authority. That’s power shifting!

Ultimately, this approach can help ensure that students will not be overpowered by negative, victim mindsets, and instead will be encouraged by your fair and balanced–and positive–approach.

• A Tale of Two Struggles: Instilling Resilience In At-Risk Students
• Rebuilding Trust In School Leadership In An Untrusting World

Yet, amid this excitement, many institutions overlook a critical issue: ensuring that existing technologies are being used to full potential before investing in new ones. Equally important is the ability to strategically phase out tools that no longer serve the institution’s mission.

Without these actions, schools and colleges risk financial waste, user confusion, and missed opportunities for impact. Within our current environment, where most schools are struggling with both budget issues and the ability to attract qualified staff, increasing the productivity of those who are currently engaged is important.

For instance, do the office staff know how to fully use the organization’s productivity software? In working with a variety of staff over the years, I have seen executive assistants manually striking out words and underlining new ones in revising policy documents. Showing them how to use the track changes function in Word saved them hours per month in tedious formatting. Another example was when an assistant was taking days to manually email a long list of prospective students instead of using Mail Merge to complete the task in under 30 minutes.

Both of these examples come from basic word processing software. Think of how much additional time can be saved within educational institutions if this basic tool was fully understood. Providing training on more advanced systems could then potentially enhance productivity even more.

The Risks of Unnecessary or Premature Expansion

When new tools are adopted without first evaluating the performance and use of current technologies, the consequences can be significant. Financially, institutions may find themselves paying for overlapping platforms or unused licenses. Instructionally, faculty and staff may experience platform fatigue, juggling multiple systems with redundant features, inconsistent interfaces, and varying levels of support. Students, too, suffer when digital learning environments become fragmented and confusing.

Consider a district that implements a new learning management system (LMS) while still supporting legacy systems from previous initiatives. Teachers may be unsure which tool to use, parents may receive communications from multiple platforms, and students may encounter varying expectations across courses. The result can be frustration, underuse, and often, a return to analog workarounds. Poorly implemented technologies can have a negative impact on morale as well.

Technology decisions should not be driven by vendor pitches or novelty but by data, user feedback, and strategic alignment with educational goals.

Assessing Current Technology Use

Before expanding an organization’s technology footprint, educational leaders must conduct a thorough audit of what is already in place and how it is being used. This includes gathering data to understand usage patterns and stakeholder experiences.

Quantitative data might include:

• Login frequency of key systems
• User engagement with specific features particularly inside an organization’s LMS and more broadly, the Digital Learning Environment (DLE)
• Percentage of staff or students actively using the tools of the DLE
• Participation and satisfaction with technology professional development

Qualitative data should come from:

• Faculty and staff surveys or focus groups. It is recommended to conduct an annual technology survey to gather feedback
• Student feedback mechanisms including end of course surveys
• IT support logs or help desk trends. Help desk tickets should always be followed up with a systematic survey to make sure users are satisfied with IT support.

These data points help determine whether tools are being used effectively or merely tolerated.

Leaders must ask: Is this technology helping us achieve our goals? For example, if a platform is intended to promote individualized learning, is it doing so? Linkedin Learning is provided in many institutions, but how well do the people within the organization use it and do faculty know how to leverage it within their courses to support student success? These kinds of questions need to be answered first.

Maximizing What You Have

Once leaders have assessed current usage, the next step is to invest in maximizing the potential of those tools already in place. This may involve improving training, setting clearer expectations, and ensuring that staff and students understand the value of the tools at their disposal.

Professional development should go beyond single-shot training. Ongoing, job-embedded learning opportunities, such as peer coaching, tech mentors, and collaborative professional learning communities, are far more effective in cultivating meaningful use. A variety of formats should be provided for training. Some will prefer face-to-face training, others might be fine with virtual training, while others might be willing to use a self-paced online training platform. Providing choice is an important way to engage participants.

Leaders should establish clear guidelines for what effective technology use looks like. For example, “All teachers will use the LMS to post weekly assignments and communicate with families” is a more actionable expectation than a pronouncement to “Use the LMS.” Leadership should additionally provide resources for users to refresh their training.

Sharing stories of how technology has improved teaching, learning, or operations reinforces its value and encourages wider adoption. A teacher who shares how a formative assessment app helped identify struggling students, or a student who benefited from assistive technology, can be more persuasive than any vendor demo.

Conclusion

When institutions prioritize thoughtful use over constant acquisition, they not only save resources but build a stronger culture of purpose-driven innovation. Strategic leadership in technology is never about the tools, it’s about using the tools to advance the organization’s mission and goals.

• 3 Key Concepts Education Leaders Need To Understand About Technology
• 4 Ways to Leverage AI to Bridge Cultural Gaps in K-12 Classrooms

Over the last few months, I’ve used ChatGPT’s deep research feature, and while I don’t agree with those who claim it’s as good at research or writing as most graduate students, it's certainly a useful tool for me. I believe many educators would find it helpful when looking for research on various educational strategies or for the latest findings in their field of study.

Like many, I’ve increasingly begun to use AI as an alternative to a traditional search engine. Deep Research works as a beefed-up version of that. It can be quicker and more efficient than searching a site such as Google Scholar, and can help you find different results than you might find searching more traditional academic archives.

Here’s a closer look at how OpenAI’s Deep Research works, and how it performed on various academic prompts with which I tested it.

How ChatGPT’s Deep Research Works

Deep research is designed to work independently by finding, analyzing, and summarizing hundreds of online searches. The tool is powered by OpenAI’s o3 model and uses reasoning—meaning it can break down problems into smaller components, make predictions, infer information, and apply logic.

Those who use the free version of ChatGPT, get five free deep research prompts per month. Plus, Team, Enterprise, and Edu users get 25 per month, while Pro subscribers get 250 prompts.

To access Deep Research, you need to click on the tools icon at the bottom of the chatbot used to chat with ChatGPT. Then select “run deep research.”

After you put in a prompt, the tool will ask several clarifying questions about the type of research you want. Once you’ve answered these, it will take a few minutes to generate a response.

Here are some of the prompts I used and what I thought about the results Deep Research generated.

Flipped Learning Prompt

The Prompt: Can you write a summary of the research on flipped learning? Pay particular attention to randomized control trials looking at the educational strategy in college and k-12 settings.

The Result: ChatGPT quickly responded with a detailed summary of the research into flipped learning with effects divided between college and K-12 research. The summary concluded the intervention had a moderate but fairly consistent effect observed in most studies. ChatGPT provided links to pertinent research with which I was already familiar, but which had taken me quite a while to track down. Additionally, ChatGPT provided several interesting studies I hadn’t come across.

Impressively, the overview also described some of the limitations around flipped learning, addressing how it can increase the workload outside of class and how teachers who attempt to implement it can find significant pushback from students. ChatGPT also cited a 2019 paper describing a randomized control trial looking at flipped learning conducted at West Point that found short-term gains in Math and no effect in Economics. The study also suggested that the intervention could widen the achievement gap: as positive effects were driven by white male, and higher-achieving students.

The study is an outlier, so it's hard to say what its significance is, but it was interesting to see and an important part of the flipped learning conversation.

Learning Styles Prompt

The Prompt: Is there any evidence that learning styles are real that you can find in academic journals?

The Result: ChatGPT did a nice job pointing out the problems with this approach to education, writing: “Major meta-analyses and reviews – especially in the last 15 years – largely refute the learning styles hypothesis, or at best find only weak effects. The current consensus in the academic community is that educators should be skeptical of the learning styles approach.”

The overview it generated also included many studies that supported this conclusion. Because of the way my prompt was phrased, I think it encouraged ChatGPT to look for evidence in support of this theory. It found some older studies that suggested a link, but was quick to point out the problems with this earlier research.

I was impressed with ChatGPT’s response. I’ve written about the persistent myth of learning styles before, and worried ChatGPT’s research mode would be confused by all the online chatter from educators in support of this debunked theory. It wasn’t.

Writing and Cognition Prompt

The Prompt: Can you research the potential positive link between writing and thinking/cognition?

The Result: This is a topic I’m curious about as a writer and writing professor, but I’ve only come across a few studies and haven’t yet done a deep research dive myself. ChatGPT may have saved me the effort.

The response here provided a wide-ranging and well-cited overview of different ways in which writing can help our thinking processes, from increasing memory to reducing stress and improving critical thinking and metacognition.

One example of the type of research included in the summary is a fascinating study that found college freshmen who wrote about the stress of starting college saw larger working memory improvements than their classmates who did not have this writing assignment.

Conclusion

Deep Research is one of the more helpful AI tools I’ve come across for academics, and I believe it can be helpful to educators in various fields and levels. By essentially generating high-quality Wikipedia articles on demand, it’s a great search tool that can help make research more efficient. I’ve found it helpful in the examples above and in other uses.

However, much like Wikipedia itself, it’s a good place to start your research and a bad place to end it. Deep Research can help you get a fast overview of a topic and suggest research to review, but actually assessing that research and deciding what implications it has is still best performed by a human.

• DeepSeek: Everything Educators Need to Know About The New AI Model
• AI In Education: 4 Ways To Avoid Falling Behind The Curve

The current version of Kira offers AI tools that are built to support teachers and students across educational scenarios and subjects. The company says this gives teachers more time to focus on students and classroom impact.

Built by a team of educators, engineers, designers, and operators, Kira is a multi-faceted system that offers a finished and complete AI solution for teachers' needs, and is free for educators and students.

The company claims, "Kira is the first AI platform that delivers personalized education at scale."

This guide lays out all you need to know about Kira in your class.

What is Kira Learning?

Kira Learning is an AI platform that works to make the job of teachers more simple while also supporting students in their learning.

This is actually described by its creators as an AI toolkit consisting of more than 20 different AI tools, so it can cover a wide variety of teacher and student needs.

This can be used to prepare, with lesson plans and rubrics; to assess with quiz design and differentiated instructions; and to grade with feedback generation, progress tracking, and more.

A course library for teaching computer science is also available -- listed below -- since this does still offer the original Kira content, only now with a way more AI-focused approach.

How does Kira Learning work?

Kira Learning offers a rich course catalog that you can get into for computer science teaching. But now there is all that AI power as well, it's possible to use it in a way that is focused on more general teaching.

Sign up with a Google or school account initially and as a teacher you can begin using the services. You build activities using AI, create a course using instructional sequences, use interactive video to teach, or align content to educational standards as needed.

The point is this is very broad in its offerings, so how you use it as a teacher is up to you. You may wish to dive into the AI Tutor, which allows you to offer students real-time feedback on multimodal learning. Teachers can program this in a way that allows them to save time on individual support, while students still get that level of assistance while learning.

What are the best Kira Learning features?

Kira Learning is a powerful and rich offering so it can deliver an AI tool to work with most needs for teachers. For example, that means saving on time while still offering students personalized guidance and feedback, that can be monitored and analyzed by teachers to track progress.

Usefully, the Kira AI can adapt to student needs, so it will suggest targeted practice, offer useful insights to educators, and adapt explanations to help students as required.

This being education-specific, you can enjoy all the benefits of AI without any of the worries since this is compliant with COPPA and FERPA, uses AWS servers in the U.S., and is Common Sense privacy-verified.

The adaptive nature of Kira is really helpful. If a student keeps making the same or a similar mistake, for example, Kira will spot that and then adjust guidance accordingly. This should allow a new approach through which students find a way to understand and progress.

How much does Kira Learning cost?

Kira Learning is free for teachers and students, however, districts are charged at a bespoke rate for analytics.

Kira Learning best tips and tricks

Discuss first
Initially explain how this AI works so students are aware of its limitations and abilities -- and that they can ask you directly if needed.

Check in
The more you use AI, the more you can and should check-in to make sure it's working effectively and helping students as expected.

Teach CS
This is built from a computer science teaching platform so using it for that specifically is a great way to maximize what you're getting out of Kira.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

The company behind the platform says that developing a stronger connection between teacher and student can have a positive impact on student academic growth, well-being, and social development.

This offers a digital way to forge that connection with lots of support for teachers that can make this an easy way to engage. Crucially, this is also about making students feel comfortable so they too want to engage and share.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about Along for your class.

What is Along?

Along is a digital communications platform designed to help strengthen the relationship between teachers and students.

Using a mixture of text messaging, images, and videos, this offers a rich way for teachers to make contact with students and for them to respond and start a digital dialogue -- which can also spill over into physical conversations.

Unlike many other platforms, this one is purely focused on conversations that encourage deeper thinking and reflection for students and teachers. So while you can bring in academic topics, that's not the main focus here, with this being a more SEL-focused platform.

The idea is for teachers to better understand their students so that they can help meet their needs in the classroom far better and more effortlessly.

How does Along work?

Along works digitally, allowing teachers and students to connect across their own devices. Initially, teachers can sign-up using a Google or Microsoft account for quick access.

A range of resources are available immediately, including tutorials and teacher resources to help support reflective thinking. The idea of reflection itself is covered with tips on how to find time to do this, ways to reflect, research on how this works, and more.

A useful Google Slides presentation is available for teachers to share with students as a way to explain the idea behind this process so they can choose to get onboard, as informed and willing.

Teachers can email students the sign-up link so they are then able to using their own accounts to get started.

What are the best Along features?

Along helpfully offers plenty of pre-built resources for teachers to use. This includes guidance and explanations with research. But, perhaps most crucially, there are also pre-written questions.

Thanks to a mix of research-informed and partner co-created content, teachers can access a mix of open and scaffolded questions to get conversations started with students.

Once the response comes in, the teacher can reflect on it and analyze what was said -- individually as well as for class-wide trends. Support is provided from Along that helps during this part of the process too, which includes insights and recommendations.

Research-informed questions include ones such as, "What's one way you like to be recognized when you've worked hard?" with a selection of optional responses from which to pick. This is a more obvious and direct one, in terms of actionable outcome for teachers, but just shows how helpful this kind of space for dialogue can be.

How much does Along cost?

Along offers a range of options, all of which are free packages.

The Free option is for individuals and gets you on-demand setup and usage as well as troubleshooting technical support.

The School package, also free, gets you clever secure sync, live support for setup, dedicated onboarding, admin dashboard, school-wide sentiment survey, custom insights, and dedicated implementation planning for strategy and execution.

The District package, also free, gets you the above only applied to multiple schools at once.

Along best tips and tricks

Teach yourself first
Use the resources on offer to become accustomed to how the platform works before you start offering it to students.

Go IRL too
Determine if follow-up chats in real life are helpful to your student, and don't be afraid to use that should things get more complex.

Use others
This platform can open up more discussion points so be prepared to use other teachers, parents, and school counselors as needed.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

All these services integrate the science of reading best practices. Amira can also adhere to each district’s chosen reading curriculum.

Here’s a quick look at everything you need to know about Amira Learning.

What Is Amira Learning?

Amira Learning’s system is built upon research led by Jack Mostow, a professor at Carnegie Mellon who helped pioneer AI literacy education. Amira uses Claude AI to power its AI features, but these features are different than many other AI tools on the market. Instead of focusing on chat and generative response, Amira’s key feature is its advanced speech recognition and natural language processing capabilities, which allow the app to “hear” when a student is struggling and tailor suggestions to that student’s particular mistakes.

Though it’s not meant to replace a teacher, Amira provides real-time feedback and also helps teachers pinpoint where a student is struggling. For these reasons, Amira Learning is a favorite of education scientists and advocates for science of reading-based literacy instruction. The tool currently is used by more than 4 million students worldwide and across the U.S.

What Does The Research Say About Amira?

In one study by Columbia University, Amira's reading tutor demonstrated the ability to match human tutoring outcomes after just 30 sessions. Carnegie Mellon University researchers found that Amira’s read-out-loud tutoring approach significantly improved vocabulary in students.

These are just a few of many studies touting the benefits of the Amira app. The company notes that other studies have shown Amira outperforming human students at scale.

Amira is also constantly improving as AI continues to evolve. Amira is working with Digital Promise on a nearly $10 million grant-funded study to boost AI’s ability to recognize children’s speech overall, particularly children who speak English as a second language

How Much Does Amira Cost?

Amira is available through district-wide licensing, with flexible options specific to meet the scale and needs of each implementation.

Amira Learning Tips and Tricks

Check With Other Districts That Have Used Amira

Amira is used by schools in all 50 states, so if the tool is new to you, reach out to a district that has used it nearby and to their results. Utah has published a report on Amira’s efficacy in schools in the state, and in 2023 and 2014, the published data demonstrates that students who use Amira made significant gains.

Share Data With Students and Parents

A tool such as Amira is only effective if students use it. Reminding students and their parents that students who read with Amira outperform those who don’t can help encourage them to take advantage of the benefits Amira offers.

Read Aloud With Amira

One of the aspects that makes Amira unique is its ability to listen to students as they read. This feature is one of the best examples of AI edtech around, say some researchers.

Let Amira Help You As a Teacher

Using Amira as an AI assistant that can help coach students and identify areas they need to improve on can help make a literacy class more effective.

• AI Reading Tutors Are Already in Schools. Digital Promise Wants To Make Them Better
• The Science of Reading: What Teachers Need to Know

The company behind this appears excited to say that this represents a "new paradigm for education." A bold claim, but one that appears to be backed up by some very well thought out, designed, and built VR experiences.

The end result is a way to teach STEM subjects through physical experiences, rather than simply having to conceive what numbers and concepts might represent.

The platform was founded by Anurupa Ganguly, an MIT engineer turned educator. After working with districts for over a decade she decided we needed a new way to teach, and Prisms was born.

This guide aims to help you assess if Prisms could be a useful tool for your class.

What is Prisms?

Prisms is a digital learning platform that uses VR and AR to help teach math and science concepts in a more physical way.

The idea is to allow students to kinesthetically manipulate numbers around them in space to see how that can change and affect them -- before applying that to pen-and-paper work.

If a student can learn a STEM concept physically -- their way -- so that they can better grasp it at the outset, the idea is that they can then use that in future, and build on that more easily as they progress.

Using VR experiences, students can manipulate mathematical concepts while keeping focused on a real-world task, combining the two naturally so they can learn how it works through actual use.

How does Prisms work?

Prisms uses VR so you will need to have students wearing a headset and using the motion controls to interact with the augmented reality experience.

Currently, Prisms offers a service that not only delivers the software but also the hardware, which includes providing Pico and Meta Quest VR kits to schools. It is also working on Apple Vision Pro integration at time of publishing.

Educators are given guidance and training on both the use of the VR kits as well as working with the software. This includes ways to transition from the virtual learning environment to paper and pen work.

In one example, students are asked to put trash in a waste can before being taken to a virtual dump site to see that waste building. They are then in a virtual x-y space where they can manipulate the amount of trash coming in versus the capacity to deal with that, in order to see how too much can be a problem. At the same time they're learning how to formalize concepts of residuals in math.

What are the best Prisms features?

Prisms focuses on specific areas so teachers are able to work on a specific scale with students, based on the curriculum and their individual needs. While that covers wider areas such as Algebra 1, Geometry, Advanced Algebra, and both High School Chemistry and Biology, there's more.

Within grades 7 and 8 there are specific math concepts, including fractions, surface area, probability, ratios, volume, angles, functions, inequalities, and plenty more.

Prisms modules are created to fit into a teacher's calendar with pacing to suit. The idea being to teach bottle-neck topics, not just to review these.

A full day of professional development is available for teachers to understand how the Prisms idea works, to play with the hardware, learn the lesson cycle, get supporting curriculum materials, discover the Teacher Dashboard, and more.

Support is then ongoing with round-the-clock access to coaches and tech support for teachers.

All modules are available in six languages as well as English: Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Russian.

How much does Prisms cost?

Prisms offers hardware, software, and support all as part of a package for classrooms and schools.

The basic setup gets you 35 VR headsets and chargers, at $20,000 per classroom. The software is then charged on use at $12-$14 per student, depending on scale.

Prisms best tips and tricks

Use the support
Go to the training and use continuing support to get the most out of all this platform has to offer both students and teachers.

Lead with this
Use these VR experiences as a way to teach new STEM concepts in which students can physically play and discover themselves.

Monitor with the Dashboard
Use the Teacher Dashboard to see exactly what students are seeing in order to help them along when needed and monitor understanding.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

The idea, according to CEO and former English and math teacher Josh Poskin, is to use intelligent video recordings to monitor and improve teaching in class.

Crucially, this works via an app that be used on smartphones and laptops, so it should be easily accessible for many schools. And it's something teachers can setup and have running themselves as part of monitoring performance. Since the app works right there, feedback is available immediately, making this a powerful tool.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know so you can decide if TeachFX is a good fit for your class.

What is TeachFX?

TeachFX is an app that works on smartphones and laptops, using recording hardware, to analyze teachers -- as they work -- and provide feedback.

It's worth mentioning that this is about helping teachers improve, not enabling monitoring. As such, all the data is owned by the teachers, and reports cannot be accessed by other teachers or administrators. Although aggregated data across a school is helpfully available.

Talking about just this, Poskin says: "Let’s say a school is focused on getting more open-ended questions asked in their classrooms. We’ll show that as an aggregated thing, but never on an individual teacher level because we just philosophically believe it’s so important for anybody’s learning and growth that you feel safe doing it."

The app has been around since 2016, and after a brief scare during COVID times, it's now making $2.5 million per year and just secured $10 million in Series A funding.

How does TeachFX work?

TeachFX can be downloaded and installed on devices so teachers can login themselves. Once they do so, they are then able to set to record before beginning a lesson.

Various data entry points are available before and after, to supplement everything that is picked up by the app's ability to monitor the lesson.

After a lesson, teachers can then go through the data to see how they taught and to be given insights into ways they may considering improving.

The app will be able, for example, to tell a teacher a percentage split of how much time they spent talking versus how much time was given to the class to take part. A simple metric, but a powerful way to find the right balance that best suits the lesson and the students.

As mentioned, the over-arching numbers can then be seen across the school as a good way to address any focus that may be needed for affective change.

What are the best TeachFX features?

TeachFX is super easy to setup and use, with the app doing a lot of the work both recording data points and offering potential actions to help improvements.

This is a goal-orientated platform through which teachers can set goals, track progress as they work toward that, and ultimately, see how they achieve that goal and what affect it has. All that should equate to an empowering experience for teachers that also helps students.

Inquiry-based personal learning workshops are also available to help build on instructional capacity as well as strengthen collective teacher efficacy.

From a school or district level, this allows for wider improvements as you can share your situation with the company, go to customized workshops, and then begin with specific goals or for all teachers based on all the learning.

The company says this only requires five hours of time invested, versus 49 in other evidence-based systems, yet you get a 25% impact on student achievement versus 21% in other cases.

How much does TeachFX cost?

TeachFX does not openly advertise its costs since it works on a bespoke basis and at varying scales.

However, a small school will typically pay about $10,000 for a subscription, with a medium school paying $20,000, and the top-end larger schools getting charged $30,000.

TeachFX best tips and tricks

Start smaller
Go for a demo or trial to see if you like how this works before committing to the full service.

Check with teachers
As a school or district, be sure to check if teachers want to take part in this before purchasing.

Keep track
Spot trends and data changes to learn what works and what doesn't to improve even faster year after year.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

This is a huge resource of journals, books, images, primary sources, and more. Crucially, it's all available mostly for free and uses dynamic search functionality to help you find what's needed.

The idea here is to offer teachers and students a greater depth to research and projects thanks to the primary sources available. This represents a fantastic way for students to learn how to discover their own path and cite for work, all of which should lead to more original end results.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about JSTOR for your class.

What is JSTOR?

JSTOR is a website that houses an expanse of primary sources for use in projects, essays, papers, and beyond.

This repository houses all these useful documents and images in a well-arranged fashion, much like a library. This allows for deep dive searching to find just what's needed, and with all the proper references for citation, too.

While this can be a useful place to visit in search of a specific paper or essay, it's also possible to browse using categories like collections in order to discover new avenues of potential learning.

Nearly all the journals featured are peer-reviewed. Although there are items that are far older than today's standard of peer reviews, which is worth keeping in mind.

How does JSTOR work?

JSTOR offers access to older archived materials, and as such, is well-arranged for easy search access. You can login and have features such as saving items, or you can dive right into the search bar to hunt down what you're after, without being a member.

Use the basic search or access the advanced version to search with more specifics in mind. These include narrowing to certain article types, languages, publication dates, ISBN number, and more.

You can also use a journal filter to narrow down the search for specific areas, such as Art & Art History, for example -- where the number of titles in that section are shown in brackets.

What are the best JSTOR features?

JSTOR uses advanced and simple search options to make everything highly accessible to everyone. While the advanced version can be helpful for students and teachers seeking specific journals, the simpler version is a great way for younger students to start using the service.

The platform also offers a section aimed at educators with resources to help enhance teaching. These include a resource library, webinars on specific areas, real-world teaching tools, reports about faculty, lesson plans, video recordings, and more.

It also has a community that educators can join to share and learn with others, all aimed at helping boost student engagement.

At time of publishing there are more than 100,000 ebooks, 2,800 top scholarly journals, over 50,000 open research reports, 2+ million images, and more than 2 million primary sources.

The service also offers DfR, Data for Research, which is a text-mining program for text analysis and digital humanities research.

How much does JSTOR cost?

JSTOR is a not-for-profit that offers content totally free up to 100 articles per month with no adverts. You don't need to sign up with any personal details to get accessing everything right away, however, if you plan on using it extensively, you need to create a personal account, which is limited to 100 articles per month. More information is available here.

JSTOR best tips and tricks

Group up
Have students work in groups to seek specific papers and quotes you have directed them toward, so they understand how to use the search.

Use the resources
Take the lesson plans, images, real-world teaching materials, and more, and integrate it all into your teaching plans for richer lessons.

Keep up
Join the community and see the developments and new ways to engage students as and when they develop, with you as a part of it all.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

In practice, Arc works like a beefed-up, more accurate, and more user-friendly version of Google’s AI summaries. Search for a person’s name, and Arc will quickly create an engaging dossier of results, drawing from their LinkedIn profiles and many other sites to give you an instant, and in my experience, accurate snapshot.

You can also type in academic queries such as “How to write a research paper” or “How to solve for x,” and Arc will summarize the main advice on these topics and provide links. If you’re using the Arc app, you can pinch on specific links, including video links, and get an instant summary of their content.

I started using Arc over the last couple of weeks and have quickly become addicted. It has a fast and visually appealing interface that helps me find what I’m looking for more quickly, though it does have some minor drawbacks. Its summaries sometimes emphasize the wrong points, and I worry about what this type of technology will do to the content creators whose work Arc and other similar tools are mining.

Overall, however, in terms of user experience alone, Arc is a winner, and there are many educational applications for its use.

What is Arc?

At its heart, Arc is an AI-powered search engine. It summarizes and offers customizable features to let users reconfigure what browsing the web looks and feels like. That seems like a bold goal, but one that in my mind Arc has largely accomplished.

I became aware of the app recently when a person I was interviewed alongside shared that they had used it to look me up before agreeing to the interview. Curious, I searched my name and found that it quickly pulled from my existing bios on this and other websites, as well as sources such as my LinkedIn profile, to create a quick snapshot of who I am as an educator and writer.

I was impressed with the accuracy and extent of the overview. You could easily get all the information provided without this tool, but you’d have to click two or three times instead of just once. You might also be drawn to a specific area of my work and be given a less holistic view.

What Does Arc Do Well?

Arc excels at providing a quick and general overview of whatever you search.

For example, many of the undergraduate students I am working with are struggling with proper APA formatting, particularly citations. I searched “advice for APA citations” on Arc and quickly got an overview that I will share with my students, as well as links to resources I can share with them as well. The way Arc laid out this info was clearer, quicker, and more user-friendly than resources I’ve found using Google in the past.

Similar results occurred with other topics I searched. I’m finding Arc is a good tool for helping me find resources to direct my students to right now, and could potentially be a helpful tool for students themselves to use in the future if it was approved for student use at the institutions at which I teach.

From a design perspective, Arc just functions really well and smoothly. Some of the best and most powerful AI tools, including those from OpenAI and Google, still suffer from an often slow and almost always clunky interface that can detract from the time-saving goal of turning to AI in the first place. That doesn’t happen here.

How Could Arc Improve?

A good way to test Arc’s accuracy is to search your own name. When I did this, I was impressed overall but thought it emphasized some strange things. The first university it mentioned me teaching at is one I have not taught at for half a decade. It also identified me as living in Danbury, Connecticut. I don’t live there, and never have, though I live nearby.

These kind of little mistakes could leave you or your students with some pretty bad conceptions depending on a topic, so as with all AI, it’s not a source that should be trusted without verification.

Beyond the app’s functionality, I worry about what this type of technology will do to content creation. I’m not a huge fan of the click economy and believe that chasing views has been the original sin of the journalism industry in my lifetime.

I’m also a realist, however, and know that many jobs, including many traditional journalism jobs, are paid for by ad revenue generated by clicks. This type of technology, and Google’s similar efforts to update searches, have the potential to obliterate the modern internet economy. This might have more repercussions than is apparent at first glance. The APA citation advice Arc provided, which I praised previously in this story, drew from websites and YouTube videos made by content creators, who often rely on views for their income. But I didn’t view their work before using the advice. Eventually, this could disincentivize many forms of online content creation, from writing to videos to even podcasting.

Even if you don’t care about the content creators themselves, you need to remember that they are the source of the AI’s knowledge. As a recent Atlantic article put it: Google’s New Search Tool Could Eat The Internet Alive.

How Much Does Arc Cost?

Arc’s browser and app are free, and the company says they will always offer free versions, though they may have some paid features in the future.

Bottom Line: Is Arc Worth it For Educators?

If you’re looking to explore different AI use cases and/or just want a quicker and potentially more efficient way to surf the web, I recommend exploring Arc. Despite some misgivings about the long-term impact of this type of technology, I find it helpful and love its smooth interface. Even the AI-powered versions of search offered by Google and Microsoft feel old-fashioned in comparison.

• Recognizing When Not To Use AI
• Optimizing Teacher PD with AI

“During the swap-outs, it was clear how excited students were to get their hands on the new technology,” DeMedeiros said. “Many of them shared how much they were looking forward to using faster, more reliable devices for learning. It may seem like a simple equipment upgrade, but you could see the impact immediately—students were more engaged, more motivated, and genuinely energized by having modern tools to support their education.”

Innovation doesn’t have to mean over-the-top wizardry in the classroom to make a serious difference in the daily lives of students.

“Technology is not a magic solution, but when it’s aligned with purpose, equity, and support, it becomes a powerful catalyst for progress,” DeMedeiros says. “The work we do behind the scenes matters because it enables everything else in the school system to function better.”

DeMedeiros was recently recognized for his work with an Innovative Leader Award for Innovative Senior Technology Manager at the Tech & Learning New England Regional Leadership Summit.

DeMedeiros shares three ways technology managers can help the lives of busy educators and administrators, plus offers tips for those making edtech purchasing decisions.

Inspiring Tech-Supported Initiatives at Work

An ambitious five-part innovation initiative — including a network infrastructure overhaul, security enhancements, student device management, teacher-students classroom management, and parent-community engagement — was a blend of both long-overdue innovation and real-time necessity, says DeMedeiros.

“On one hand, the district was due for a systemic tech upgrade to meet the evolving demands of education,” he says. “The pace of change in digital learning, data systems, and infrastructure made it clear that staying status quo was no longer an option.”

In many school districts, technology departments traditionally operate in a constant state of triage, reacting to outages, fixing devices, and putting out daily fires.

“It often felt like working in an emergency room—high-pressure, reactive, and focused only on the next crisis,” DeMedeiros says. “While that kept us running in the short term, it wasn’t sustainable, and it kept us from becoming a truly strategic asset to the district.”

With the support and vision of edtech influencer and Assistant Superintendent of Technology and Learning, Dr. Matthew X. Joseph (above left, with DeMedeiros), DeMedeiros began shifting toward what he calls an “operating room” approach—in which preparation, precision, and proactive planning are the standard.

“In this model, every tool has its place, every team member understands their role, and the focus is on long-term outcomes rather than simply surviving the next issue,” he says. “This change in mindset has been the real driver behind our tech-supported transformation.”

Part of this effort included improving outreach and inclusion within the local area. Engaged parents and communities create stronger, more supportive learning ecosystems. Tech can help smooth this path of connectivity.

“If communication systems are clunky or inconsistent, families feel disconnected and uninformed—especially in emergencies, school closures, or when interventions are needed,” DeMedeiros says. “A refined system ensures transparency, improves trust, and can directly impact student attendance, behavior, and performance by bringing families more meaningfully into the fold.”

3 Ways Tech Managers Can Improve Busy Lives of Staff

DeMedeiros offers this advice for tech managers who want to better empower their team.

1. Streamline Tools and Training – Too many platforms can overwhelm staff. Consolidating tools into integrated systems (such as using Google Workspace, ClassLink, or ParentSquare) helps reduce friction and makes day-to-day tasks simpler.
2. Provide Responsive Support – Whether it’s fast troubleshooting or proactive professional development, timely tech support keeps educators focused on teaching, not tech glitches.
3. Use Automation for Admin Tasks – Automating repetitive processes such as attendance reporting, communication alerts, or device check-ins, gives time back to staff for more impactful work.

Dollars and Sense

In an uncertain financial environment, balancing need versus want is a challenge when schools have tight budgets. Offering objective, factual analysis can help stakeholders see those funds responsibly put to work.

“Data analysis has been instrumental in helping us prioritize spending,” says DeMedeiros. “We use data to demonstrate ROI — whether in terms of improved attendance from communication platforms or reduced tech downtime due to preventative maintenance. It’s not just about cost, but value. We also take advantage of E-Rate, grants, and public-private partnerships to extend our budget as far as possible.”

Putting off enhancements in a perceived attempt to be fiscally frugal has downsides. Delaying infrastructure upgrades increases risk—both in terms of cybersecurity and operational inefficiency, warns DeMedeiros.

“Outdated systems can lead to data breaches, frequent downtime problems, or even safety issues if communication tools fail,” he says. “More than that, it sends a message to staff and students that we’re not investing in their success. Tech is foundational now, not optional.”

3 Considerations for Decision Makers when Choosing New Edtech

When it comes to making buying decisions, DeMedeiros says school leaders need to consider:

1. Scalability and Compatibility – Tech must scale across schools and integrate with existing infrastructure. Avoid silos; choose platforms that play well with others.
2. User Experience and Training Requirements – Even the most powerful tool is ineffective if it’s not user-friendly. Factor in the learning curve and the availability of training and vendor support.
3. Long-Term Sustainability – Always evaluate total cost of ownership. Consider licensing models, maintenance, and the vendor's roadmap for updates and support.

Tools They Use

• Cisco
• Verkada
• Chromebooks
• GoogleWorkspace
• ClassLink
• ParentSquare

The company says its free resources are used by 5 million students every month. It offers a wealth of information, including slides for teachers and how-to guides for students.

This covers a range of services from proofreading and editing to plagiarism checks and citation generation. The idea being that students should be able to get to a top-grade paper by enhancing their efforts using this service.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about Scribbr in your class.

What is Scribbr?

Scribbr is a paper-writing aid, backed by real people as well as AI resources, that aims to help students write the best possible papers they can manage. It also represents a helpful resources for teachers to use when grading, and to help students write their papers.

The service is built to cover a few main services, which include: proofreading and editing, plagiarism and AI content checking, citation generation, paraphrasing, and more.

It offers more than 300 helpful articles, at time of publishing, that touch on topics that can assist students, including academic writing, plagiarism, citing sources, and more.

The system works with a variety of papers, from essays and theses to PhD dissertations and research proposals. The idea being that this should help get it perfect before handing in to be read and assessed.

How does Scribbr work?

Scribbr comprises several different tools with the human-powered ones in the more premium offering as well as some more AI-powered services in the free tools. If you opt for the paid submission, then your paper can receive the human checks, which generally get turned around in a 24-hour period, although it can take as long as a week, depending on how long your paper is.

While the human checks are well-suited to proofreading, editing, spelling, grammar, and citations, the AI tools can work well for these, too. Although its the citation generator that works very well. This allows you to have your essay formatted with citations in a few clicks, and even lets you select the output style, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and others.

The plagiarism detector is a useful tool for teachers as it uses advanced dynamic databases to work out any attempts at plagiarism as well as AI detection being possible.

What are the best Scribbr features?

Scribbr uses a plaigarism checker that's powered by Turnitin as a way to offer excellent accuracy. Thanks to this being used in multiple libraries and databases, it has wide-reaching access to materials so the results are generally very accurate and reliable.

The use of AI tools also allows for use by those who aren't able to pay for the human touches, or are limited on time. These can also be a useful second line of defense, perhaps running a paper through these first before sending in for a human edit to ensure total perfection -- or as close as you can get in real life.

The multilingual offerings of this service are also worth noting as this might be primarily aimed at English writers and speakers but goes beyond. You can take a look at the many editors working with Scribbr to see the varied language speakers available.

Customer support is also excellent, which can be seen from the Trustpilot page alone, where all concerns are addressed and all issues are mended by the attentive team.

The Summarizer tool is really helpful when researching as it can make ingestion of large and complex bodies of information far quicker and more easy.

How much does Scribbr cost?

Scribbr offers a selection of free resources as well as its paid-for premium services that are charged for depending on the paper.

The rates for papers are $19.95 for a small document up to 7,500 words, $29.95 for a medium document up to 50,000 words, and $39.95 for a large document of more than 50,000 words.

Scribbr best tips and tricks

Start with AI
Use the free tools first including AI and then submit if you want a two-layer approach to catch any possible mistakes.

Mark with AI checks
Use the AI checker to ensure students aren't cheating and show them how it works so they realize AI can't be used as a shortcut.

Use the Summarizer
Have the Summarizer tool condense papers when researching to cover more ground if working through lots of learning material.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

I recently tried using Scite as an AI-powered research assistant for the work I do both as an educator and journalist.

Overall, I’m impressed with Scite’s ability to quickly find and summarize research papers from a diverse range of academic disciplines. It does this quicker than other AI research tools I’ve used, and has an easy-to-use interface. The only downside is that it requires a $12 per month subscription, and like all AI tools, won’t immediately find all the best sources on a given topic.

Therefore, whether you’re a student or academic using this, you’ll likely still have to do additional digging and searching for sources the old-fashioned way. This isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, one of the things I love about Scite is it encourages you through the research process by eliminating some of the barriers or difficulties around getting started. In other words, it is the type of AI tool that me and many other educators are always talking about wanting: one that facilitates rather than replaces thinking.

Here’s a closer look at everything Scite does well and where there is room for improvement.

What Is Scite and How Does It Work?

Scite works like a beefed-up AI-powered academic search engine.

I asked it “Can you summarize research on the use of AI chatbots as tutors in education?” With a minute or two, it provided an accurate overview of the current research into this topic with citations linking to the latest studies.

The summary noted that “AI chatbots are increasingly recognized for their ability to engage students in a personalized manner,” and shared the researchers making this claim and their evidence for it. Then it summarized some of the concerns researchers have.

Scite noted that “Despite the promising advantages, there is also critical discourse surrounding the implementation of AI chatbots in education," and that some researchers "caution about the hype surrounding AI chatbots, suggesting that while they exhibit considerable potential, their actual effectiveness in replacing traditional pedagogical methods requires comprehensive evaluation.”

Scite also shows you how often a paper has been cited, and lets you quickly view this citation, so you can tell if it was cited in a positive or negative way.

What Does Scite Do Well?

The Scite features described in the previous section are a really welcome resource for someone conducting a deep dive into any academic topic. This quick snapshot of the overall consensus around a topic is a wonderful place to start research. I would definitely recommend it for this purpose to students and fellow instructors.

The ability to quickly assess how often the paper has been cited, and in what context, gives you an almost instant sense of how the paper is viewed by other experts in the same field, which is so important given how one paper can sometimes find results that are seemingly amazing but can be so out of whack with other findings on the topic that it strains credibility.

Of course, there are some caveats. Scite does not have access to every academic paper, so students, in particular, need to be reminded not to begin and end their research with Scite.

Scite is not the only helpful AI research tool available, but it provides a quicker and more concise overview of research than others I’ve used, including STORM and OpenAI’s deep research tools. Both STORM and OpenAI’s research tend to provide longer and more in-depth overviews about any topic and write something based upon that topic for you. This might be preferable in some settings, but for me, the shorter overviews Scite provides are more useful and do what I want: help me find relevant research while leaving the actual writing to me or my students.

What Are Scite’s Limitations

Scite is a great tool, but it should not be your only research tool.

On some topics I investigated, I found several important studies that Scite missed or deemphasized. The tool also has a tendency to move toward centrist views on every issue. This is probably for the best overall, but doing that potentially risks overlooking some important minority viewpoints. And all summaries, even human-written ones, by their nature can gloss over nuance, particularly in discussions of complex topics, which most academic inquiries tend to examine.

So if I were to get approval from my university’s security and IT team to recommend this tool, I’d definitely remind students of these concerns. I'd also stress that while Scite can be helpful to use, it doesn’t replace conducting additional research on their own.

How Much Does Scite Cost?

Scite costs $12 per month for individual users. Additionally, it offers institutional subscriptions for companies and universities, but those are custom and based upon the number of licenses needed and other factors.

Bottom Line: Is Scite a Good Tool For Teaching?

Overall, Scite is a helpful and engaging research tool that can likely benefit educators, academics, and students. It requires a monthly submission but seems worth it to those who regularly conduct research.

Ultimately, I found Scite to be one of the best AI research assistant tools around.

• Recognizing When Not To Use AI
• 10 Free AI Trainings and Certifications for Educators

“Agricultural education really was STEM before STEM was an ubiquitous icon for all things science, technology, engineering, and math,” Stump says. “FFA was formed in 1928, and all of it has been about really building the science, business, and technology skills within the next generation of those who are going to be producers, either in the form of a farmer or rancher, that are going to be the veterinarians, the chemists, and the food safety experts that are ensuring that this country can continue to provide the world's most abundant, safest, and most economical food supply across the globe.”

Stump, a former classroom agricultural educator, is passionate about how integrating farming education into existing STEM and CTE curricula can help build engaging lessons that not only help students understand the importance of STEM concepts and the real-world applications but also expose them to important career opportunities in the agricultural industry.

Farming-Related STEM and CTE Resources

FFA is a school-based leadership organization with chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization works with educators throughout the country, looking to incorporate farming and agricultural lessons, and provides additional tools for teachers via its website.

“We have a whole educator resources section,” Stump says. “If teachers want to take biology and really make it practical for students, if they want to take chemistry and make it practical, we have a wide variety of quick resources to kind of integrate AG as the application.”

He adds, “Over the past two years we released a full suite of resources on sustainability in agriculture that walks through all of the practices that farmers and ranchers and everybody across the food value chain are taking and implementing to ensure that we have the smallest carbon footprint that we can have and actually be a part of the solution.”

One example of this is how large-scale farming can sometimes create carbon sinks, a system in which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere, Stump says. “The Midwest, with all the corn growing in the summer, actually pulls in a lot of carbon out of the atmosphere. How do we do that better?”

Answering this question, “Is one of the solutions we're continuing to work forward and connect students to,” he says.

Farming Education and Career Opportunities

Stump says some schools have large outdoor farms that act as living labs for students in various science classes. Even schools that don’t have those resources can still get students outside and working with plants.

Back when he was working as a teacher, Stump says he would take his students outside to the school farm with the biology teacher. “We would actually section off a certain area, and our job was to specify all of the life forms that were in that space, both plant and insect, and really try and identify what the healthiness of that ecosystem is,” he says. These types of activities truly become a way of bringing that learning to life in a way that sparks innovation, he adds.

Many students who move from these farming-centered classes go into providing innovation in the industry. For example, one recent FFA alum is developing a company that has designed an early warning system for blight by using a plant’s natural ability to change color when it becomes distressed, Stump explains.

The FFA maintains a resource of more than 300 career opportunities related to agriculture. These include science and biology roles as well as production roles and engineering and design roles related to equipment that supports the industry.

AI and Agriculture

Beyond chemistry and biology, data science and AI are also playing an increasing role in agriculture and agricultural education. The FFA is working with many schools to integrate precision farming into the curricula, which uses smart sensors, data science, and AI.

Recently, the organization partnered with Microsoft to bring FarmBeats, a precision agricultural program, to more than 185 middle and high schools. The program provides schools with a curriculum and kits that include a ready-to-use agricultural sensor system.

“Schools get basically a small motherboard that connects to sensor systems,” Stump says. These monitor plant environments for temperature, moisture, sunlight, and more. The info is then stored on the cloud, and AI is used to interpret that data and suggest ways to facilitate better growing environments.

“It's exciting to introduce students to that kind of technology, because we know that as they continue moving forward, most jobs are going to have an AI component to it,” Stump says. "The earlier we can start equipping them and getting them to be AI aware and AI competent, it will equip them to be better in the marketplace as future employees, inventors, and/or entrepreneurs."

Stump adds, “We've got to get more students thinking about how to solve these big problems in the world by using tech and AI, and leaning into the STEM components, because that's where a lot of solutions are going to come from.”

• Design Principles for Outdoor Teaching
• Using the U.S. National Parks to Support STEM Learning
• Best Free Earth Day Lessons and Activities

I’ve heard many similar stories from friends and colleagues in various roles within education. Because we tend to have less work in the summer, we think we will accomplish more, but it almost never seems to work out that way.

After seeing this pattern play out in both myself and others for a few years, I came to the realization that summer is fundamentally a terrible time to be productive for many of us. A lot of reasons are to blame for this: if you live in a climate with cold weather, it’s one of the few times of year when it’s nice to be outside; if we have kids, they are often off from school; our friends are more likely to want to do things; and we're more likely to plan vacations in the summer.

In addition, in contrast to our expectations, sometimes the structure of the semester and school year actually helps us stay focused on goals rather than hindering us.

This realization, that summer is not a good time to work, has helped me to be more forgiving of myself come late August when it’s time to take stock of what I “achieved” over the summer. Counterintuitively, this has allowed me to be more productive over the past few summers because I’ve been "less ambitious."

Here is a look at some of my small and attainable goals for this summer and the thinking involved. These are all based on the idea that by setting small, achievable goals, I can accomplish more with less stress and that summer is inherently about having fun not work.

Also, on a personal level, I have a busy summer planned with my family, so I am keeping my goals short and sweet.

1. Read A Book That Helps Me As a Writing Instructor

One of the things I love about teaching at Western Connecticut State University’s MFA program is the opportunity I have to mentor students in a variety of writing genres. From my specialties in journalism and creative nonfiction to poetry, screenwriting, and science fiction and fantasy, I pride myself in having a genuine interest and decent knowledge.

Currently, however, I feel like my understanding of the current memoir marketplace could use an update. So, this summer, my goal is to read one recent memoir. This is a good goal because it helps me as a professor, is specific, doable, and perhaps most important, is fun. Plus, I like reading in the summer, and this is an excuse to dig into something new.

Obviously, for you, this can translate as tackling one book that you believe will help build your specific teaching skills.

2. Write a Chapter in New Book

I am working on a new nonfiction book that I’m really excited about. I’d like to think that this summer I’m going to complete a quarter of the book, but past experience has taught me better. So I’m keeping my goals much more limited, and planning on completing one chapter.

This is not as insignificant as it sounds, as in my experience, the first chapter is the hardest, and just getting the ball rolling can sometimes get momentum going. In a perfect world, I’d be able to devote every hour I spent teaching this semester to work on my book this summer, but that’s not how reality works.

Ultimately, if on September 1, I have a strong first chapter of which I am proud, I will be happy. Of course, that first chapter could inspire a second chapter, but I’m not holding myself to anything beyond the first one. I believe this is a good goal because it's specific and doable.

For you, this might entail simply completing the first step of a long-term project, be that coming up with an outline, developing a mission statement, setting a schedule, etc.

3. Participate in One In-Person Professional Development Event

I like to spend at least one summer day engaged in some form of professional development. The WCSU MFA program I teach in hosts a week-long summer residency at the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center in Pennsylvania.

Spending time around other writers, be they fellow faculty or students, and sitting on various workshops and readings, always leaves me really inspired and with new nuggets of writing wisdom to employ myself and share with my students. I won’t be able to attend for multiple nights this year, but it’s only a two-hour drive for me, so I’m hoping to make a day trip of it.

In the past, I’ve taken an all-or-nothing approach to this type of activity. If I can’t go for a few days, I’ll skip it, but that’s not the plan this year.

If for some reason, I can’t make this event, I’m going to look for another day-long conference to attend and help recharge my writing and educational battery. This is an important goal because it will let me devote a little more time to thinking about teaching while having a great time connecting with other writers.

For you, this could be a one-day PD event, either in-person or online. Or maybe it's as simple as getting together with a few teaching colleagues to brainstorm, collaborate, or even just commiserate. Bonding is building, right?

4. Prioritize Fun and Relaxation

It might be cliché, but there’s an old truism that people rarely look back on their life and wish they spent more time working. This summer I’m reminding myself of that and making sure to not stress about being productive and prioritizing doing things away from teaching and writing while the weather is nice.

Okay, I know this goal could use some more specifics, and I thought about adding something such as spending two hours outside a day when it's nice, or swimming twice per week. But, for me at least, those types of activities come very naturally when work isn't getting in the way. So thinking of this as making an effort not to let work overtake summer is all I need.

The other goals stated previously would be nice to accomplish, but are not 100 percent required. On the other hand, this goal is a must. There will be plenty of time to handle those work projects, teaching improvement goals, etc., when the semester kicks off again in the fall, but there won't be any summer left to enjoy.

So I'm making sure to soak as much of summer in as I can. You should, too!

• Best Summer Learning Apps & Sites
• 4 Learning Tips From A Cognitive Scientist Turned TikTok Star

While you can easily hop onto a search engine to begin hunting down what you want to read, this tool uses AI to make that search more relevant. It is able to learn from your searches and reading to better make recommendations and refine searches to suit what you might want to read.

This is primarily aimed at academics working in a certain field or students studying something very specialized. But it can be used by anyone who takes an interest in a specific subject, including teachers looking for research the latest developments in a field.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about ResearchRabbit and how it could help you.

What is ResearchRabbit?

ResearchRabbit is described as the Spotify of papers. That means this is adaptive and will learn from how you search to better make recommendations and offer bespoke search result in future.

This is more than just a search engine in that it uses AI to learn from the papers you pick as relevant before serving up more in that area that may be of interest.

One reason this is a powerful new way to research is that it can be very up to date in making recommendations. So you may discover literature that you didn't even know existed, or find something for which you were even looking. The end result should be an expanded knowledge in your field that comes naturally and easily.

How does ResearchRabbit work?

ResearchRabbit initially has you add some papers to your project, finding a few that are relevant to that particular effort.

You are then presented with a network of papers that link to your starting point. These are presented using a helpful graphic visualization that makes everything very clear. Papers are linked via lines, and you can see which area might be more relevant before diving deeper into that pool of options, essentially.

Add any relevant papers to your project based on with what you are presented. This should then offer more results that are relevant to your new selection in your project folder.

If you save your project, once you're finished compiling papers, you can be contacted in future by ResearchRabbit with any new papers it may find that are relevant to your interests, keeping you up to date as research is released.

What are the best ResearchRabbit features?

ResearchRabbit offers its unique Network View, which shows papers in a connected mass, with publication dates along the side. This allows you to drag and move relevant research so you can see which papers move with it. For example, you might want one side of an argument on one side of the page with papers for the opposition on the other side. This will then pull other related papers in the relevant direction, leaving you with the balanced options in the middle. And that's just one of many ways to use this.

This also works with authors, allowing you to view that network or dive deeper into their other works -- or to step across into linked work from other authors involved in that paper.

Usefully, you can share your project collections. This can make for a great way for teachers to share a selection of materials with a class, or for co-workers to share with one another easily.

The fact you get sent updates when relevant papers are released is a powerful part of this tool's appeal. It's like having a research assistant that leaves new literature in your inbox ready for you as and when it becomes available, all to review at your leisure.

It offers a community element through which you can comment on papers and collaborate on projects to research together. This adds another layer to how discovery can happen to better help your chances of finding relevant literature that you might otherwise have missed.

How much does ResearchRabbit cost?

ResearchRabbit is a free to use AI service. Its makers are clear to say that this costs nothing now and will remain that way as it plans to offer this to researchers for free in the future also.

ResearchRabbit best tips and tricks

Collaborate
Work as a class on a project to find the most relevant papers.

Teach in bulk
Collate papers in one place and share that with students for them to read, along with updates for them to use as needed.

Use alerts to teach
Take new updates as a place to dive into fresh research and topics in a timely and up-to-date way.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

“Strategic communication isn't just about broadcasting—it's about building trust and driving engagement across all stakeholders,” Runey says. “These efforts foster pride, transparency, and collaboration—ensuring that our programs not only serve students but also reflect and uplift the values of the greater DR community.”

For his work within his district, Runey was recently recognized with an Innovative Leader Award for Innovative Superintendent at the Tech & Learning New England Regional Leadership Summit.

“Every interaction is a chance to listen, connect, and advocate for what’s best for students,” Runey says. “I can gather real-time insights from staff and observe how students engage with tech to choose tools and infrastructure which will truly support learning. Strong leadership is rooted in authentic relationships, and I strive to model that daily.”

Runey shares how he helped transform his district with passion and innovation, offering five tips for superintendents to use tech to serve their district

They Have Spirit, Yes They Do!

Unlike the stereotypical tucked-away superintendent, Runey shows up for his students, even if hidden beneath a falcon mascot costume. The prize for a recent district-wide contest to see which school could show the most “Green & Gold” pride was to host an assembly to paint Runey’s hair green and gold.

“Leadership also means being approachable, having a sense of humor, and celebrating what makes school memorable for kids,” says Runey. “Being deeply embedded in the community isn’t just a job requirement—it’s a key part of how I lead. Whether dressed as our falcon mascot, attending the Fireworks Festival, school concerts, or chatting with families at the local craft fair, I see these interactions as opportunities to gather feedback and understand the pulse of the district.”

This presence raises the spirits of students and staff, and also keeps Runey in touch with how best to serve his community using tech.

“Recent initiatives like our alumni data outreach via Google Forms and the digitization of yearbooks have not only helped us reconnect with graduates but also celebrate our shared history while reinforcing a sense of belonging,” he says. “We’re also using innovative tools—like our Apptegy-powered project website for the potential Dighton Elementary School project—to keep residents informed and engaged in shaping the future of our district alongside the MSBA.”

Runey believes bringing more voices to the table can perpetuate a positive narrative about the district to build long-term support for their mission.

For example: “One of the goals of our new adult continuing education program through the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department is to bring alumni and community members back into our schools to see firsthand the powerful, modern learning experiences happening across our buildings,” he says.

Visitors are impressed by grant-driven, cutting-edge technology additions to the CTE program.

“Our students are getting that relevant experience that will put them in a position to be more marketable to college and post-secondary programs,” Runey says. “But it also makes them very well-prepared to just go directly into the workforce if that's what they choose.”

Dighton-Rehoboth also embeds PD time into the district calendar, and offers DREAM Seminars to ensure it is not a top-down mandate but features events designed to empower staff by offering voice and choice in learning, opportunities to lead sessions, and to dive deep into topics. Administrators are equipped with a dashboard for real-time data analysis and OPTIC to strengthen instructional calibration.

Safety First

Establishing a strong sense of security for the school community allows space for the good work of learning to flourish.

“When I began as superintendent, 80% of our schools had no security camera coverage. Today, every one of our buildings is equipped with modern surveillance systems—an essential step in ensuring the safety of our students and staff,” Runey says. “This transformation not only deters potential threats but also gives families peace of mind, knowing that we are proactively safeguarding our learning environments.”

The district also uses a real-time communication platform that connects staff, school leaders, and first responders.

“Safety isn't just a checkbox for us—it’s a foundational promise,” Runey says. “CrisisGo allows us to coordinate emergency responses more effectively, whether it’s a drill or a real incident, and ensures that all stakeholders have access to accurate, timely information. This level of responsiveness builds trust with families and reinforces our commitment to student well-being.”

Another arm of that concept is making sure every student feels valued and heard.

“Equity must be intentional,” Runey says. “Access for students in special education though the use of tech is one of my top priorities. Through our DRiving Toward 2030 strategic plan, we empower learners by integrating tools such as Lexia, ST Math, and Wonders—platforms that offer adaptive features tailored to individual needs.”

The district also implemented speech-to-text software and interactive digital platforms that help students with disabilities engage more fully in the curriculum.

“I view technology as a powerful tool for equity—one that removes barriers, ignites engagement and confidence, and ensures all students have the resources they need to succeed, regardless of ability,” Runey says. “Backed by targeted grants and evidence-based practices, we are shaping a more inclusive future where technology isn’t just a resource, but a lifeline that empowers every student to thrive.”

5 Tips For Superintendents To Use Tech To Serve Your District

Runey shares advice that any superintendent can follow to get the most out of education technology.

1. Lead with Purpose - Avoid tech for tech’s sake, from infrastructure upgrades to instructional tools. Tech should support your district’s goals to empower educators, facilitate learning, and shape a future-ready community.
2. Cultivate a Culture of Empowered Learning - Invest in PD that not only trains staff on tools, but cultivates innovation and leadership. Runey’s district offers DREAM Seminars or embedded PD days to explore, share, and implement tech-enhanced instructional practices that foster engagement and success.
3. Advance Equity Through Strategic Investment - Prioritize adaptive and assistive technologies (such as ST Math, Lexia, or Wonders) that support differentiated learning. Use grants and strategic funding to close gaps in access, especially for special education students and underrepresented groups.
4. Leverage Data to Empower Smarter Decisions - Use technology to gather, visualize, and act on meaningful data—from attendance and engagement metrics to learning progress and fiscal dashboards. Encourage district and school leaders to analyze trends and ignite improvement efforts through responsive interventions, resource allocation, and transparent reporting.
5. Use Tech to Strengthen Transparent, Two-Way Communication - From mass notification tools to community apps and interactive websites, technology can empower families to engage with schools in real-time. Leverage platforms such as Apptegy or social media to tell your story, highlight student achievement, and provide clarity during times of uncertainty.

Tools They Use

• Apptegy
• TouchViews
• iPad and Apple TV Combinations
• z-Space VR laptops
• OPTIC
• Lexia
• ST Math
• Wonders
• CNC Machine
• CrisisGo

• Innovative Leader Award

In addition, modifying lessons to include new technological advancement provides the chance to review our lessons, and incorporate different ways that students can approach gaining content knowledge, experience learning concepts through active and experiential learning activities, and gain mastery in varied subject areas.

In this article, we revisit four popular Tech & Learning lesson plans and provide guidance on how to modify aspects of the teaching and learning activities to take advantage of AI.

Revisiting Canva Lesson Plan

AI functionalities within Canva’s Magic Studio can be used in the Canva Lesson Plan under Guided Instruction where the teacher creates the lesson video walking students through the different types of biodiversity.

For example, instead of searching for images that represent ecosystem diversity, genetic diversity, and species diversity, the AI-powered text-to-video or text-to-image tool can be used. As the teacher planning the lesson, you can type in what you are looking for, and then a video or image will be produced using the AI functionalities within Canva’s Magic Studio.

You can also use the AI-powered magic resize and background generator to ensure that the visuals match the learning content.

Revisiting Blooket Lesson Plan

In the Blooket Lesson Plan under the Guided Practice section of this lesson, you may want students to engage with specific content on Blooket.

By taking advantage of the collaboration between Khanmingo and Blooket, you can use the AI-powered question creator to align questions to specific content of the lesson, as opposed to using the existing pre-made question sets within Blooket. This would also provide the chance to differentiate instruction, and have different gamified question sets available to students depending on where they are with the content and support they may need.

The Khanmingo and Blooket AI functionalities have two access pathways; from the dashboard in Khanmingo and from the Question Set Creator tool in Blooket.

Revisiting IXL Lesson Plan

For the IXL Lesson Plan, consider trying out the IXL’s new Spark Studio.

In the lesson under Individual Skill Development, you can create specific materials in the Spark Studio using the AI-powered teacher workspace. In this way, you can provide more specificity and targeted activities that can help your students develop specific skills.

In addition, you can click one button and your lessons, learning activities, and other created content can be translated into a foreign language. This could be helpful for students and their parents whose first language is not English. And with the AI functionality, it can all be done with a click of a button.

Revisiting Powtoon Lesson

In the first part of the Powtoon Lesson Plan under Content Instruction, you can use the new AI Avatars features to deliver the lesson. You would still personalize the content that the Avatar shares and can use the templates provided and customize the text and concepts you would like included. The AI will create a video based on what you provide that can serve as the instruction for your students.

For students, as they create their characters, they could use the Imagine Script-AI tool. They will still need to have their own ideas to put into the AI, which would take their initial idea and help them flesh it out and further develop.

I hope the ideas shared can help you get started with revisiting your lesson plans to take advantage of new and added AI functionalities to the edtech tools you and your students have enjoyed using for teaching and learning. Remember, AI is not always perfect and it is important to check the outputs to ensure accuracy and that the content you share with students is representative of the learning goals.

As you prepare, here are other related articles that may be useful:

• Explaining AI Use in the Classroom to Families
• AI Lesson Plan Tips
• ChatGPT Lesson Plan
• Developing AI Pedagogical Practices
• 10 Free AI Trainings and Certifications for Educators

Too often, library media specialists are underutilized and underappreciated. A misconception they are merely babysitters or simply play a role in the entertainment side of literacy leaves a lot of quality tech expertise and opportunity for student success on the table.

“We are trained to work with teachers across subject areas and grade levels, full classes or individual students. If you have a big project that involves research, we want to jump in. I want administrators to support the work we are doing. Whether you're a principal or a tech coach or department head, involve your library media specialist in your department meetings and curriculum planning, because they have a wealth of knowledge about not only research, but technology and how to best integrate it.”

Collins was recently recognized for her work with an Innovative Leader Award for Library Media Specialist Award at the Tech & Learning New England Regional Leadership Summit.

Collins shares how tech plays a role for Library Media Specialists, offering tips for administrators and educators to make the most of the role’s expertise to benefit their students.

Truth is the Treasure

The current climate and flood of misinformation on social and in media makes becoming a good digital citizen more important than ever.

“I cover cybersecurity, online safety, and being a responsible user of technology integrating ISTE’s digital citizenship lessons, but take it a step beyond,” says Collins. “Right now, my students are creating a digital footprint map—a mind map of their most visited websites, favorite apps, and social media use. This helps them become more aware of their activity online.”

Once students have a handle on how they are interacting with media, Collins shifts to the quality of that media.

“I teach news and media literacy, using the News Literacy Project’s checkology Curriculum,” she says. “We cover things like free speech, the seven standards of journalism, and how to be smart in evaluating information. I teach them about algorithms and to be aware of things like filter bubbles and information pollution, as well as the importance of digital verification when doing research online.”

With political sensitivity on high alert, some of these areas can pose a tricky tightrope to walk for educators.

“It’s a bipartisan topic, it crosses political lines,” Collins says. “One of the lessons I do is all about understanding bias. We all carry biases. It’s simply about determining whether a piece of information that they’re looking at online is factual. Who’s the author? How do we determine how credible this is? What’s their experience level? Your Uncle Charlie might be your favorite uncle and he might know all there is to know about fishing. However, if he doesn’t know anything about physics and your question has to do with physics, then even though you love him, you need to go beyond Uncle Charlie.”

Collin’s debut book, Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI: A Cross Curricular Approach, will be published by ISTE in August. Aimed at educators and library media specialists, the cross-disciplinary approach offers resources to help students navigate today’s news and media landscape as expert chroniclers, curators, and content creators.

“Be a Sherlock Holmes or an Enola Holmes, be a Spock,” she says. “It’s black and white, take your own biases and emotions out of it and just look at the facts. It’s vitally important. Truth is the treasure. I tell them they are the treasure hunters and their critical thinking skills are their treasure map.”

Project-Based Pizazz

“I'm a firm believer in project-based learning,” Collins says. “We do a lot of cross-curricular projects that involve research, creativity, and the use of technology in the creation process and the expression piece as well.”

Collins’ special projects include coding with poetry from Hour of Code and creating an ideal future sustainable home using 3D-design software through Ludenso Create. She also focuses on popular projects aimed at English language learners, such as a digital music creation with Soundation and drawing projects using Brush Ninja to create a meme, which allows students to communicate in a comfortable non-written form.

“They are still doing research, technology just allows them to get creative about how they're expressing their ideas, which is wonderful,” she says. “My annual session on how to use Sora to gain access to multiple different languages to read and hear their books in their own language as they're developing their English skills draws a full house.”

With much of the news and current events seeming dire and full of doom and gloom, Collins injects a dose of humor to ensure lessons resonate.

“I’ll have a little quiz on AI–there's hilarious things out there,” she says. “We look at images and I teach them the strategies of how to find the source and whether it's reliable or not. I’ll show a photo of the Pope in a puffer jacket, that's not real. So we learn things like reverse image searching to backtrack and find the original source of a photo. The Wayback Machine helps you check down a website where something came from originally. I remember when it was just a newspaper that was thrown on your porch. Now it's a lot harder with the internet, social media and speed with which the misinformation travels. So I let them play with the technology that the bad actors are using.”

AI offers the potential for an enormous effect on today’s world, yet Collins reminds students that it is just a tool, and one that can be used for good or bad.

“I will have students locate a historical photo and use Canva,” she says. “Students upload a historical photo. alter it and then we have a guessing game. What is different in this picture, which is real, which is not? It shows not tells, just how easy it is to use certain tools. Letting them use the tech is the best way I can think of to teach an awareness of what's going on right now in the world of AI.”

5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Library Media Specialist

Collins shares what you can do to ensure your media specialists are contributing all they can to your school.

1. Prioritize Collaboration and Communication. Schedule regular meetings to discuss school needs. Involve librarians in curriculum planning and showcase the library's resources, services and tech to students.
2. Advocate for the Librarian's Role. Promote the librarian’s role in curriculum and tech integration, share access to professional resources such as relevant professional organizations and conferences, and promote teacher-librarian partnerships.
3. Allocate Resources and Support. Ensure adequate funding for materials, tech, collaboration time, and PD. Publicly acknowledge librarians’ contributions.
4. Professional Development and Growth. Provide opportunities for librarians to enhance skills and knowledge, support research and innovative practices, and offer librarian-to-librarian mentorship and coaching from pros.
5. Data-Driven Decision-Making. Use library data to inform resource allocation and measure the positive impact of library programs and services on student outcomes.

The Tools They Use

• diffit.me
• Canva
• Brisk
• MagicSchool AI
• StretchAI
• Safari Montage
• Breakout EDU
• Adobe Express
• Brush Ninja
• Soundation
• Ludenso Create
• Hour of Code
• Checkology curriculum (News Literacy Project)
• ISTE Digital Citizenship curriculum
• Sora
• National Geographic
• Noodletools
• Code.org

Suddenly, edtech was thrust into the teaching spotlight. Teachers felt the urgency and stepped into it. I offered targeted learning opportunities on the fly that provided timely support, something I call “pop up PD.” Teachers learned because they had to.

Even now, PD continues to be evasive. Commonly, the teachers seeking it need it less than those avoiding it. Yet, there is a new approach that could encourage many, even the most resistant, to embrace opportunities to leverage PD to refine their craft.

Introducing AI tools to support educators offers spectacular access to resources and engagement not previously realized. With so many platforms available, it can be overwhelming. Drilling down to manageable learning opportunities and tools is a worthy pursuit through which all school leaders should guide teachers.

Getting Stared With AI PD

So where to begin? Consider that among the vast range of AI tools and resources to help teachers, the best are not necessarily the well-branded or cost-heavy options. Some schools have adopted AI tools such as Diffit or MagicSchool, both paid resources.

I do not contest AI investments. Rather, if there is a parallel source that is free or low-cost, teachers should be provided support to use these, especially in districts with fewer resources.

Khanmigo is an example of a decent free AI tool. It has many features that MagicSchool and Diffit offer, and the company is respected, so I suggest it as one educators and schools might explore. Gemini is another powerful AI, with Google Classroom and Drive integration, plus NotebookLM. The pioneer of AI, ChatGPT, continues to stay relevant, as does Meta from Facebook, and there are other freemium models, such as Perplexity and Claude.

I could write an article on every one of these AI tools; how and why each is beneficial. Teachers don’t have time to dissect the many AI tools, however, so our focus will be on Google’s NotebookLM because it has profound use for PD, and offers a wide array of teaching and learning benefits.

Opening Up NotebookLM

Someone tapping into NotebookLM can go in many directions. I thought describing how I used it to create a PD for a colleague would provide a seeable way.

To begin with, my colleague, an educational attorney, asked me to gather resources relevant to AI ethics and law in education, and then generate PD around these topics. Factors included bias, hallucinations, deep fakes, confidentiality, grading bias, underage access, and even the ethical implications of AI companionship.

I gathered numerous materials to upload to NotebookLM, which is as simple as attaching files and inserting links. Next, NotebookLM coordinated all of these references, and provided a relevant title: Artificial Intelligence, Schools and the Law.

The buzz everyone talks about with NotebookLM is the podcast feature, which allows you to create an audio file summarizing the sources into a cohesive format.

You start by selecting “Click to load the conversation” on the right:

The result is incredible and what’s even more fabulous is the ability to interact with the podcasters, who sound like real people, riffing with one another. You can ask them a question that’s deep in your sources and it will locate content, and use it to respond, often with intuitive appeal. This alone has many already excited about the PD potential.

It’s understandable this would create buzz for teaching, learning and PD. Yet there’s so much more to NotebookLM that can aid PD! For instance, there is a chatbox right in the center where it says, Start typing. Think of this just like any AI chatbot, yet it's searching deliberate information from your sources, indexed on the left.

And There's More…

In NotebookLM there are a series of options below the audio feature on the right that allow a user to generate a study guide, briefing doc, FAQ, and even a timeline. Once generated, these are robust and deliberately linked to the source documents. A spot is available to add your own notes manually. If you are starting from scratch, click the Discover tool on the upper left and ask what to find.

Still wondering if this is a worthwhile PD tool? How about the Mind Map below the Start typing prompt?

A linear illustration with clickable maps that delve into each subtopic is unveiled. You can scroll out or in to focus on various subtopics. Select the topic of interest, which feeds into the chatbot section, where you can engage the content directly and interactively.

Here is a great NotebookLM teacher-friendly instructional.

And even more good news: Since this article was prepared, Google has rolled out NotebookLM for iPhone and android. In initial testing, this new mobile version demonstrates the same robust options described here!

NotebookLM is not the only AI tool that will upgrade your PD. The reason I like it is because in my experience teaching AI to educators, it has been THE game-changer. Every teacher who discovers its usefulness is ecstatic. Why? Because it’s one robust tool, wrapped neatly together and works under the umbrella of Google.

Other AI PD Options

For now, I’m using NotebookLM for teaching, learning, and PD, but here are other platforms to consider.

• Khanmigo is a free teaching assistant from Khan Academy that helps teachers with tasks such as lesson planning, generating activities, creating rubrics, and differentiating instruction, ultimately aiming to save time and enhance teaching effectiveness.
• Brisk is a Chrome extension that acts as an AI-powered teaching assistant, helping educators streamline tasks such as generating lesson plans, providing feedback, differentiating content, and creating resources directly within their existing workflows to save time and enhance teaching effectiveness.
• SchoolAI offers tools such as personalized learning experiences for students and AI assistants for teachers to streamline tasks including lesson planning and feedback, aiming to enhance teaching and learning.
• Canva Magic Studio empowers teachers to generate designs, rewrite text, edit images, and create engaging content such as presentations and videos, streamlining creative tasks, and enhancing visual learning materials.
• Eduaide is a workspace created by teachers for teachers, designed to simplify tasks such as lesson planning, resource creation, and feedback, ultimately aiming to free up educators' time to focus on student growth.

Dozens more tools are available, and my goal was to give you a starting point. Feel free to contribute your own ideas, right here on my Bluesky feed!

• 9 Ways School Leaders Can Use AI
• AI Resources for District Leaders

AI makes it presence subtly felt in many other ways throughout my workday: from the AI summaries of the transcription software I use for interviews conducted as a journalist and various AI tools offering to rewrite my emails to how I seem to detect its influence in both positive and negative ways in students and others I communicate with online.

Much of this AI use is great and promises to do wonderful things such as offer personalized learning to more students and increase accessibility. Yet, as AI becomes more subtly and not-so subtly integrated into my daily work as a writer and educator, I recently found myself thinking about establishing boundaries with my AI use and better honing when using it is or is not an efficient use of time. I also spoke with two experts on this topic for their perspectives.

AI Shouldn’t Be Used to Replace Tasks That Force Us To Think

It’s easy to say we should never offload our thinking to AI but what that looks like in principle changes.

For example, I recently delivered a talk for the Bethel Connecticut Historical Society on how vodka distilling in the U.S. started in the town. It’s a subject I have written about in-depth and a story I shared with the History Channel show Food That Built America in 2023, but I’ve never presented on it in this manner. I’ve written before about how I hate putting together slideshows and struggle with these in general. The talk also came at a particularly busy time in the semester for me.

I thought AI would be the solution to this problem. However, several attempts at creating a helpful slideshow with various free AI tools failed. These created weak outlines, full of hallucinations, that were visually unappealing.

So reluctantly, I sat down and created my own slideshow, albeit with the help of a few AI-generated images that served the role normally occupied by stock photography. Two-and-a-half hours later, I was glad I did this, not because my presentation was particularly visually appealing -- it’s not -- but because creating it forced me to sit down and think about what I was going to talk about. It reminded me of details about this piece of history I had forgotten.

In other words, I learned when I was creating the slideshow. Had my initial prompts to AI been successful, I’m convinced I would not have given as effective a lecture. Now I’m more on guard for other instances in which AI might be the easy solution but not the best.

AI Shouldn't Replace Human Interaction

It may sound obvious that AI shouldn’t take the place of relationship building in education, but as the efficacy of personalized tutors increases, more of us will need to remind ourselves of this.

“Every child needs caring adults who are central to their life,” says Jeremy Roschelle, co-executive director of Learning Sciences Research at Digital Promise. “Don't use AI to replace the role of a caring adult. Having caring adults in your life is an important part of growing up.”

Educators should also remind students of the importance of peer relationships rather than interactions with AI characters, which are becoming increasingly common, particularly among young people.

“Another really important part of growing up is socialization with other people,” Roschelle says. “And AI-based things can be so nice to be with. They never have a grouchy moment or a down day. They never snap back at you. But as kids, as learners, you need to learn how to deal with people who aren't always so nice.”

Navigating What Productive AI Use Looks Like For Each of Us

As with many other areas of education, there are few one-size-fits-all solutions to when not to use AI. Adeel Khan, founder and CEO of MagicSchool AI, a tech tool that helps teachers support students, believes it is important that we all learn when AI is helpful and not.

“Sometimes I find myself using it, and I'm like, ‘I offloaded too much of my thinking to AI,’ and this isn't really what I think, but it was good enough for me to accept because I had to get something done,” Khan says. “Then I look back at it, and I'm like, 'I wish I didn’t do that, and I'm not going to do that again.'”

Khan adds that through trial and error, he found a sweet spot for when to use AI and when not to for himself, but others need to find the answer to when AI is productive or not on their own.

“Everyone's answer to that question is going to be a little different based on who they are, the task at hand, their purpose, and their own skills,” he says. “It's really important that people practice using it and make mistakes so they can calibrate how they can use AI really productively, and also understand how they should limit their usage of it.”

As educators, we should be asking these questions about our own AI use and encouraging our students to ask these types of questions as well.

• 9 Ways School Leaders Can Use AI
• Using Technology To Teach CTE To Incarcerated Students

The company says that the way math -- and algebra specifically -- is taught today is based on a concept developed by Leonardo of Pisa in 1202 as a way to help traders. This, it says, is now redundant thanks to all the digital tools that use spreadsheets to do that part of mathematical working.

This is where What If Math comes in, as a way to teach math using spreadsheets so students gain real-world math skills to eventually help them in the workplace. In the more short term, it provides them with the tools to explore questions that can help expand their knowledge of math, logic, science, and more.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about What If Math to see how it could work in your class.

What is What If Math?

What If Math is website that uses spreadsheet-based teaching to help students learn math in a functional way that can be directly implemented with current digital tools.

This platform works with K-12 curriculum to help students learn math on a functional foundation using spreadsheets. These, the company says, are what it thinks of as laboratories. Within this space students can explore, try, and be challenged using the powerful tools that are already available.

Since this works with spreadsheets as the base, it's possible to do this kind of teaching using free options such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel to play with tablets, graphs, formulas, and visualizations.

The system works with various layer to help guide students into learning more.

How does What If Math work?

What If Math offers what it calls Labs. These are spreadsheet-based lessons with single experiment concepts that allow students to explore that question of what if?

Usefully, lessons are designed with timing in mind and are made to last the duration of a class period. That said, since these offer open-ended questions, there is the option for students to explore further and in more depth as they please.

Another area is Explorations. These are projects that set a problem task that students have to work through as collaborative groups. These involve real-world activities and can involve using spreadsheets, functional thinking, computer science, and data science.

In both instances, the lessons are designed for teachers to be taught to a class and shared with students to access as they need.

What are the best What If Math features?

What If Math offers a way for teachers to pick and chose what parts to use and offer as experiential learning for students. That can be the more individual-focused Lab materials or the more active and group-focused Explorations.

In both cases, since these are built to be taught in class, there are excellent timings to work through in a lesson, as well as to set further explorations outside of class.

Since the Labs are designed for use with real spreadsheets, these teach students valuable skills that can be used in science, business, math, and more.

Since this use of spreadsheets is a form of programming, this sets students up for coding in a way comes from a place of understanding and experience.

Select a link and you're immediately taken to the Google Sheets lesson plan with guidance on how to work through that task.

How much does What If Math cost?

What If Math is totally free to access and use with all the Labs and Explorations available online for teachers and students to access.

What If Math best tips and tricks

Teach yourself
Work through a Lab yourself as a way to understand how this works and is taught before taking that to the class.

Use the Introduction
A helpful introduction part of the site teaches how this works and is a great way to ease students into understanding.

Share openly
Compile the lessons on your shared drive so students can have access to the materials as and when they need, allowing them to explore freely.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

One promising solution to this challenge is the use of generative AI to transform educational practices and create more inclusive learning environments.

Understanding Cultural Gaps in Education

Cultural gaps in education refer to the differences in cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that can affect how students learn and interact with their peers and teachers. These gaps can manifest in various ways, including language barriers, differing educational values, and varying levels of familiarity with certain cultural norms.

Addressing these gaps is crucial for fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment where all students can thrive. Some may prefer to refer to these gaps as opportunity gaps instead of cultural gaps. In some way, that is a better term, as gaps are often tied to socio-economic status as well as cultural foundations.

In the context of education, generative AI can be harnessed to bridge cultural gaps by providing personalized learning experiences, enhancing communication, and fostering cultural awareness.

1. Personalize Learning Experiences

One of the key advantages of generative AI is its ability to tailor educational content to the unique needs and backgrounds of individual students. By analyzing data on students' learning styles, preferences, and cultural backgrounds, AI algorithms can generate customized lesson plans, activities, and assessments that cater to diverse learning needs.

This personalization can help ensure that all students, regardless of their cultural backgrounds, receive an education that is both relevant and engaging. Providing links to foundational materials from a student’s background can be helpful in sharing new content.

2. Provide Language Support

Language barriers are a common challenge in culturally diverse classrooms. Generative AI can assist in overcoming these barriers by providing real-time translation and language support. AI-powered translation tools can help students understand instructions, participate in discussions, and access educational materials in their native languages.

Additionally, generative AI can create language-learning resources that are tailored to the specific needs of students, facilitating language acquisition and improving communication within the classroom. Look at the ability of productivity suites to be able to provide real time translation for students as well.

3. Enhance Communication and Collaboration

Effective communication and collaboration are essential for fostering an inclusive learning environment. Generative AI can play a pivotal role in enhancing these aspects by facilitating cross-cultural interactions and providing tools for collaborative learning.

AI-driven communication platforms can help bridge cultural gaps by enabling students and teachers to interact seamlessly, regardless of language or cultural differences. These platforms can include features such as automated translation, sentiment analysis, and personalized communication strategies, ensuring that messages are conveyed accurately and respectfully. By improving communication, generative AI can help create a more cohesive and inclusive classroom environment.

Collaborative learning is an effective way to promote cultural understanding and inclusivity. Generative AI can support collaborative learning by developing interactive and culturally relevant learning activities that encourage students to work together and share their perspectives. AI-powered tools can facilitate group projects, discussions, and peer-to-peer learning, helping students build meaningful connections and learn from each other's experiences. AI tools can also be instrumental in fostering cultural awareness and appreciation among students. By exposing students to diverse cultural content and perspectives, AI can help create a more inclusive and empathetic learning environment.

4. Create Culturally Relevant Content

Generative AI can generate culturally relevant educational content that reflects the diverse backgrounds of students. This content can include stories, examples, and activities that highlight different cultural traditions, values, and experiences. By incorporating diverse perspectives into the curriculum, educators can help students develop a deeper understanding of and respect for different cultures.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, powered by generative AI, can provide immersive cultural experiences that bring learning to life. Students can explore virtual environments that simulate different cultural settings, participate in interactive cultural activities, and engage with virtual characters from diverse backgrounds. These experiences can help students develop cultural empathy and broaden their horizons, making them more open-minded and aware.

Challenges and Considerations

While the potential of generative AI for bridging cultural gaps in K12 classrooms is immense, it is important to address some potential challenges associated with its implementation.

The use of AI in education raises ethical and privacy concerns, particularly regarding the collection and use of student data. It is crucial to ensure that AI tools are designed and implemented in a way that protects students' privacy and complies with relevant data protection regulations.

Educators and policymakers must work together to develop guidelines and best practices for the ethical use of AI in education. Make sure your school’s data security policies align with the use of generative AI tools.

To maximize the benefits of generative AI, it is also important to ensure that all students have access to the necessary technology and resources. This includes addressing disparities in access to devices, internet connectivity, and digital literacy. Efforts must be made to provide equal access to every student so they can benefit from personalized and culturally inclusive learning experiences.

Generative AI holds great promise to bridge cultural or opportunity gaps within K-12 classrooms. By providing personalized learning experiences, enhancing communication and collaboration, and fostering cultural awareness, AI can help create more inclusive and supportive learning environments, transforming education.

• 9 Ways School Leaders Can Use AI
• AI Resources for District Leaders

Enter Maker Spaces Go Mobile.

“When we housed individual machines in schools, they operated in very much of a silo mentality due to the size of our district,” says Susie Simmons, Instructional Technology Coach at Bonny Eagle Schools in Maine. “Our vision with the mobile makerspace was to cut back on isolating components and increase our collaboration across the district. It empowered us to bring a larger number of pieces of equipment into a building at any given time when they need it, which helps make any projects move faster than if they were trying to accomplish it on one stationary machine.”

With the help of collaborator/partner and fellow instructional technology coach Stephen Avery, the program was thoroughly considered before launching.

“We really wanted to have kids interact with the technology and use it, rather than putting in the gatekeeper of an adult who is really the one using the tech and undermining the educational experience,” says Avery. “We worked it into not just CTE-style STEM courses, but for all students.”

Simmons was recently recognized with an Innovative Leader Award for Most Innovative Learning Spaces Award at the Tech & Learning New England Regional Leadership Summit.

Simmons and Avery discuss their impressive Maker Spaces Go Mobile project, offering six tips for districts wanting to connect such spaces with curriculum on a deeper level.

The Making of a Mobile Makerspace

As mentioned, the main focus of the project was to provide students with hands-on, creative opportunities.

“3D printing was still a big piece of the goal,” says Avery. “It was known technology and something we’d been doing for a while. Three years ago, we were also fortunate to add a set of GlowForges, one in each of our middle and high school buildings. GlowForge, a laser cutter and engraver, is very quick technology by comparison to 3D printing. It has great applications for design thinking, prototyping, and problem solving.”

Being able to spread need across the use of multiple machines also has clear benefits.

“Back in the day, a project could take several weeks and a few overnight hours of 3D printing,” says Simmons. “With our new system, the same project can be done within the course of a school day. It’s been really gratifying to work with teachers used to the old methods and now we just show up with a mass supply of pieces of equipment to get things done.”

The “mobile” element of a mobile maker lab space proved interesting.

“We actually moved a laser around a couple of times,” says Avery. “That particular machine was quite heavy and very prone to damage. In search of a more mobile solution, we selected two different types of lasers from a company called xTool. One is a bed-style diode laser called the S1.”

The team also purchased a small, portable engraving unit called the F1, ideal for speedy, small projects with students.

“While we were shooting for the moon, we added a Cricut Venture system,” says Avery. “This large-scale, industrial-sized and output-ready Cricut machine is capable of doing vinyl and other thin substrate work, to be able to cut and design for staff and student use.”

The bonus was should one elementary school need a project completed, without a hands-on piece of tech physically in the room, they could send files and jobs to be printed and delivered as a type of a processing center.

Cutting Class is Encouraged

One makerspace project featured students making physical currency in a social studies class to understand setting up their own little countries and the economy that goes with it. Other efforts have been more practical.

“One of my favorite projects was helping a student in special education with a physical limitation in art class,” says Avery. “The tech made a carving project to make linoleum stamps accessible, despite the student’s lack of physical control needed to manipulate the tools. We created digital designs and used the laser for the physical carving so that the student was able to fully participate. We continue to look for ways that we can support through meaningful opportunities to remove obstacles.”

The program has “earned its keep” further, making gifts for celebrations and staff presents, stencils for the facilities department, even manipulatives for a math class. It helps when it comes time for budget decision to justify expenses.

“We’ve been doing laser work during reading challenges or family engagement nights,” says Simmons. “Students design their own keychain or bookmark. Because of the speed at which we're able to produce those items, the kids walk away with their creation in their hand, which is awesome.”

Simmons notes that there’s even a plan for a major waste issue districts struggle with—recycling 3D printer scraps.

“We ended up buying a wood chipper off Amazon of all things,” says Avery. “We used it to break down our failed models, our scrap, and then melt it into sheets that we can actually cut with the laser to make new products.”

Money Matters

Like many districts, Bonny Eagle benefited from regional partnerships and grants.

“After receiving a grant from the Perloff Family Foundation in Maine, Bonny Eagle Schools expanded the existing 3D printing system across the district,” says Simmons, “The technology in those buildings was beginning to show its age. It no longer worked at the quality or speed we needed to support our programs.”

Located in Maine, the DoE Learning Through Technology Team at the state level offered a Teach with Tech grant. The duo decided to apply with the goal of supporting makerspace youth across K-12.

“We hoped to replace the aging 3D printing technology across the district and provide other methods of creation,” says Simmons. “Our larger vision was for the two of us currently on paper supporting grade 6 to 12 to support K to 12 instead.”

“We were very fortunate in our district to be able to have professionals support embedded professional development,” says Avery. “It's essentially a peer who can support-teach with the teachers. We created a train-the-trainer model and are actively brainstorming projects to avoid introducing technology as a toy. We want to identify it fits as part of the teaching strategy and instructional style to help further and deepen student learning. Those abilities are great for kids moving on into an engineering program, design thinking . . . but the creative problem-solving is really just a great overall life skill.”

6 Steps to Mobile Makerspace Success

Simmons and Avery share their tips for creating mobile makerspaces.

1. Make sure that you have people on staff invested in making it work. Find people on staff who can take the vision and make it happen, and support them doing so. It’s crucial.
2. Be the learner in the process. Without somebody to bounce ideas off and partner with, it’s a heavier lift and becomes really challenging.
3. FInd opportunities just to play, even if you don't have the technology yet. A lot of tools have free software with which you can experiment. The tech is often in libraries and community maker spaces. Be a student again and get some hands-on time to stretch your imagination.
4. Consider the infrastructure involved from a physical standpoint. If you are planning to do something such as this in a mobile setting, how are you going to transport it between schools? Bonny Eagle Schools has a district van and all of the equipment is on carts. Lean on your facilities department to move it safely.
5. Know that it's going to take some time. The duo is still working on building capacity within this district, so this program hasn’t been an overnight success. So be willing to be patient and don't expect it to show the fruits of your labor in year one. Trust the vision and support your staff in making it happen.
6. Don’t undersell the importance of collaboration. The coaches were begging for an opportunity to talk with colleagues and put their heads together in a room. Time is precious, but even an hour of time together to sit down and talk through ideas can be really invigorating and productive.

The Tools They Use

• Heavy duty utility carts for moving the equipment
• Bambu Lab A1 and A1 Mini 3D Printers
• 4-Color AMS Lite
• Cricut Venture Makerspace Educators School Bundle
• xTool F1 Portable Diode/Infrared Laser
• xTool S1 Enclosed Diode Laser Cutter
• TinkerCAD, AutoCAD
• Physical materials such as air handling, storage totes, replacement parts, and consumable materials such as filament, vinyl, and wood.

• Innovative Leader Award

Bans have been enacted nationwide at the classroom, school, district, and state level. At the start of this school year, The National Education Association reported that 15 states have passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict cell phone usage. Several additional states are now considering similar laws to limit cell phone use in school.

However, implementing a cell phone ban is not always a simple process, as school leaders must address concerns from students and their parents, and then decide what a cell phone ban actually looks like in their education settings.

​​Alana Winnick, an author and Educational Technology Director at the Pocantico Hills Central School District in New York, and Mary Jane Warden, Chief Technology Officer at the Community Consolidated School District 15 in Illinois, share lessons they learned from their experience with implementing cell phone bans.

What Does Your Cell Phone Ban Actually Include

The ways in which a school implements a cell phone ban can vary significantly.

“Some districts are buying these [phone] pouches for students to keep their cell phones in,” Winnick says. She adds that some districts are getting special cell phone lockers in each classroom where teachers collect and store phones at the beginning of each class. Other schools are having students simply keep their phones in their traditional lockers or instruct students not to have their phones out during the school day.

Winnick and her colleagues decided a simpler approach would be most effective for their students.

“As with anything else, children find a way to get around these things,” Winnick says. “If you're telling them to put their cell phone in a pouch, or if you're collecting them at the door and putting them in a locker, then guess what, they probably have another cell phone in their desk. They're probably giving you their old phone.”

She adds, "We just have a policy that says, 'Keep your cell phone in your locker,' and our students have been pretty respectful of that. If we catch them with their cell phone, then they know there are protocols in place for that.”

Even so, there have been some unforeseen reactions.

“Students didn't understand that this applies to smartwatches," Winnick says. "They were also all wearing smartwatches and were literally texting and calling their parents."

Because of this, students needed to be reminded that the cell phone ban also extended to smartwatches.

Communication With Students

Warden’s district met with student advisory groups to discuss their ban. She says other school leaders should explore this, as it helps explain school policies to students and lets district leaders learn what students think about all this. In her district, for example, Warden says students understood that using cell phones can be fun and helpful but also can have a negative effect.

“They fully recognize that there’s this push and pull around what cell phones and social media do to their brains,” Warden says. “They also recognize that they are a distraction. We had several groups even say, ‘We understand that it is a distraction. We've been distracted in class. So we see the need, but we don't want you to take them away.’”

As the conversations progressed, the students also agreed that the downsides of social media use were more extensive than just being a distraction. “They also reported that, you know, there have been misuses, that there are risks of cyberbullying, and there's a lot of social media drama to navigate around in this day and age,” Warden says.

Engaging in these conversations with students in an honest and open manner can help explain the impetus behind a cell phone ban and get more buy-in from your school community.

Communicating With Parents

Some of the biggest critics any school instituting a cell phone will encounter are parents.

“Parents have this perceived need to be able to communicate with students throughout the day,” Warden says. “Because the technology is so available and so prevalent now, parents don't want to just call the school to reach their students.”

Still, districts can remind parents that, in fact, calling the school works just fine, and that the school has procedures in place to notify parents in emergencies.

Some schools have also explored giving students access to phones at certain times during the day.

As with other aspects of technology management, the right approach is often dependent on the setting, and each school or district needs to find what works for them. Whatever policy a district chooses, inviting parents to be partners in fostering healthy digital habits in children is important, as discussions around appropriate cell phone usage should not begin and end with the school day.

Winnick’s district has been partnering with its PTO to encourage better cell phone use overall. They’ll begin each session with an expert sharing insights, then they’ll open up to discussion so parents can share what is working and not working with their family’s use of technology.

“They're all sharing things like, ‘This is what we do at my house: we make a tech stack of all the technology when we're eating dinner so we can all be engaged,’ or 'We make sure that laptops are only used in common areas, such as the living room or the dining room.’”

Winnick adds that these conversations help educators and caregivers join forces in trying to make student phone and technology more appropriate. “We're all creating this community where we're sharing what's working and what's not working,” she says.

• Exploring The Use of Phone Pouches in Schools
• Managing Screen Time Without Banning Technology

“The STEM standards for elementary, middle, and high school lend itself to any type of agriculture initiative,” says Trina Reaves, Director of STEM and Innovation at Clayton County Public Schools in Georgia. “We started organically. A lot of the schools had gotten aeroponics towers and aquaponics systems, really trying to show children how they could grow in alternate spaces other than traditional farming. We were having students look at real-world problems, such as Clayton County being in a food desert, and how they could solve them.”

Reaves was recently recognized for the Best Overall Implementation of Technology Award at the Southeast Regional Leadership Summit as part of the Tech & Learning’s Innovative Leader Awards.

Reaves discusses her impressive agricultural technology initiative and shares three tips to plant a similar program in your district.

Growing Solutions With STEM

“As I moved to start the program, I went to Forest Park High School to see their gardens which had been growing for 10 years,” says Reaves. “They were having a salad bar for the teachers. They had a student who was cooking meals the teachers could buy! The day I visited, he was making pan-seared herb-encrusted salmon with a citrus sauce and asparagus. Wow, all of this was going on and nobody really talked about it.”

Forest Park High School had a FarmBot, or tech helper that, once coded, guides planting of seeds, watering intervals, and other key tasks for a successful crop.

“I went to an aeroponics farm in North Georgia,” says Reaves. “They showed us their farm and how this could work for our plans. They suggested a seed business. I had one school which already had a FarmBot with the space and the capability to sell seeds, so we decided to start an initiative at Forest Park High School in which they would produce seedlings to sell to the rest of the district. We call it Agritech Solutions.”

An Organic Way of Connecting the Dots

Reaves pulled in the greater community to serve as mentors, and then let students shine in all the ways that are helpful for a growing business.

“Our aquaponics labs were supported by the science department in collaboration with the Georgia Aquarium,” she says. “One of the teachers at Forest Park helped them build a system to grow tilapia throughout the year to harvest at the end. At Drew High School, they have a culinary CTE pathway with a teacher who uses several aeroponic towers for ingredients in her class.”

The program went beyond simply farming.

“We didn't want this just to be about agriculture, we wanted it to also touch other CTE pathways,” Reaves says. “We have a minority business who's helping us with logistics and distribution. We're training a group of students at the school who are going to run the business. Besides the ag element, we have marketing students creating campaigns to raise awareness. The computer science students are creating the platform so schools can take and fulfill their orders.”

By welcoming in students with a variety of talents, Reaves has built an ecosystem for industry knowledge to thrive.

“The goal is for this to simulate a real-world business,” she says. “Students get practical experience through promoting and securing sales. We want this to sustain the program, so the business students are creating a business plan. The goal was to use this one initiative to support many different pathways while we're also working on a real world problem that's a part of our community.”

Planting The Seeds and Watching Them Grow

With one successful first launch, Reaves looked for ways to include additional schools. Each school designed a unique program–some instituted rain barrels, pollinator gardens, compost bins, beekeeping, and worm farms to support projects that include traditional farming, hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, and even a fruit orchard.

“We have an elementary school that just launched their program with the help of Georgia Tech,” Reaves says. “The university’s engineers came and helped us set up Oliver Elementary School's FarmBot.”

A FarmBot can do as little or as much as it is coded to accomplish.

“Some people will just use them to simply grow produce,” Reaves says. “You can program it to plant the seeds in the system. You can tell it when to water. It takes away some of the manual labor. But we're going to use it to start seedlings and sell them to schools in the district. They plant, they water, the kids then move the seedlings out to sell and just start a new system. We have to keep that rhythm going. If Brown Elementary School wants 20 plants, you’ve got to have a system that's just continually moving. The FarmBot makes that work easier.”

Reaves’ ultimate goal is to raise production to the point at which seedlings can be sold to parents and the community, as an agri-bake sale concept. Of 37 schools, 22 have FarmBot systems.

“The seedlings can be used in traditional planting or in aquaponics or aeroponic towers,” she says. “When we went to the Northern Georgia farm, they shared that a certain number of towers break even when it comes to labor and costs. Seeds are what really grew their business. We're going to start selling to schools, but we are talking about having community farmers markets. That would be a first-touch point for parents to know they can buy seedlings, plants, or fully harvested crops from the students. However, we can also buy seeds if we're growing ourselves in the home.”

Besides offering students the full entrepreneurial experience, creating an opportunity to grow backyard produce addresses the county’s food desert issue.

“We're having a September Farm to Fork event in which we will have all the schools bring their first crop of the season, with a farmer's market for schools to show off their success and sell their yield while talking about the project with customers,” Reaves says. “It's going to be an informational event with vendors and classes about healthy living. The event’s location at Drew High School is right next to Southern Region Medical Center. The hospital staff will come talk about exercise, eating healthy, diabetes, and those issues permeating our community.

“I'm really excited about the opportunity here — it’s not just all about growing,” says Reaves. “You've got finance, you've got marketing, computer science and tech, there’s a whole business side of agriculture. Every time I turn around, there's an opportunity. I joined the National Women in Agriculture association in the Georgia chapter. So many are willing to come and support the schools. It’s really good to see more women and minorities, it’s very important for our kids to see underrepresented groups and to be exposed to as much as possible.”

3 Tips to Build A Sustainable Agritech Program

Reaves offers advice to anyone interested in growing a similar program.

1. For any STEM initiative, you have to have buy-in at the school level. “I started with surveys and forums to make sure everybody saw the vision and was onboard. One of the things I've learned a long time ago as an administrator is I support you wherever you are. I can't force you to do something because when I force you, it doesn't play as well as when you let it build organically.”
2. You need support from outside. Reaves recommends building relationships in the industry to show that you’re trying to feed their workforce in the long term. “Whatever they can pour into the students while in K-12 matters. We’ve partnered with colleges with scholarship and internship opportunities we want to provide our students around the Southeast.
3. Grant writing and donation appeals are imperative. Schools budgets are not large, Reave acknowledges, so supporting programs also requires skills such as grant writing. “Create sustainability for the project,” she says. “I don’t want this to go away if I retire. Make sure relationships and supports are in place for the long term to ensure the project lives on beyond a specific district director or principal in charge.”

Tools they Use

• Google Education Suite
• Adobe Express
• Canva
• Prisms (VR)
• Wonderworks
• Lego Robotics
• Tinkercad
• 3D Printers
• Mimio Boards
• Drones
• Boxlight Labdisc
• Aviation Simulators
• Vex Robotics
• Book Creator
• Canvas LMS
• Tower Gardens
• Produce'd Hydroponics Growbox
• FarmBot

• Innovative Leader Award

“The purpose of certification is to provide guidelines and support for the Library Learning Commons transition, as well as honor schools for their commitment to providing students with an education rich in print and digital literacy,” says Frilot, who was recently recognized for Most Innovative Learning Spaces at Tech & Learning’s Southeast Regional Leadership Summit as part of our Innovative Leader Awards.

Frilot shares her motivation to create the certification as well as magical Library Learning Commons from existing media centers, and offers three tips for districts interested in transforming their own innovative learning spaces.

Creating Cool Learning Spaces Through Literal Sweat Equity

Frilot has spearheaded the transformation of more than 50 media centers into library learning commons, with 50 more in the works. These vibrant student-focused hubs of technology, literacy, creativity, and innovation include podcast booths, video studios, makerspace labs, and lots of access to power and wifi.

“I became a high school library media specialist when the school community was just starting to discuss transforming libraries,” Frilot says. “I was reading David Loerschter’s work and became intrigued by the student-focused participatory approach to school library programs. I loved working with teenagers and wanted to really engage them in our space.”

Frilot had a beautiful area with floor-to-ceiling windows in her existing media center that was a perfect place to experiment with this approach.

“I saved up some funds, got input from students, and went to IKEA to buy some student-friendly furniture,” she says. “I spent a very hot couple of days in the summer putting furniture together and the student response was awesome when they came back in the fall. It was a simple start, and of course IKEA furniture couldn’t hold up to 3,000+ students, but that was the start, and I’ve never looked back!”

Learn and Earn—These Spaces Are Certified Fresh!

Collaborative teaching and learning is at the heart of Frilot’s certification initiative, and informs the design of both the program and the space.

“Library media specialists take the lead on this transformative work, often spending years building a collaborative instructional program, positive reading culture, and a student-friendly space,” Frilot says. “The LLC Certification is awarded to the school, since it requires school-wide engagement to achieve the levels of instructional collaboration and positive reading culture required.”

In addition to the physical space redesign, Frilot worked cross-divisionally to support the CCSD Future-Ready Framework, a scope and sequence of digital literacy and future-ready skills. This framework supports the teaching and learning needed to enable student mastery of digital literacy skills as they grow into collaborators, producers, and innovators.

More Hands, More Wallets, More Impact

In an era of financial uncertainty and tightening budgets, some districts might be hesitant to embark on new programs. Engaging stakeholders with a concrete, clear plan in hand can pave the way for funding.

“Dream big and start small! Creating the vision helps stakeholders see what you’re trying to accomplish,” Frilot says. “When you get funding, get tables on wheels. It sounds simple, but it really helps move in the direction of a flexible space. Create student-friendly low-cost programming, lots of books displays, dynamic shelving, and have fun. Promote the joy of reading. Look at your media centers and make small changes that appeal to students.”

Consider local community businesses as potential partners in achieving a dream future-ready learning space.

”Business partners are opportunities for collaboration, idea generation, and real-world application,” she says. “These collaborations can also bring in funding, resources and innovation, while strengthening community ties and helping students see the world beyond school. Additionally, reach out to your public library and partner with them when possible.”

Equity matters. Offering a fun, exciting, vibrant space can make a serious difference for struggling students.

“I fundamentally believe that if students feel like they belong at school, they keep coming,” Frilot says. “For some kids that’s sports or theater, and for some it’s the library. The transformation of school libraries into student-focused collaborative hubs sends the message that all students belong. You can be a reader or not; you still belong here. We want you here. We’re designing this space, not only as a place for books and tech, but for you. If we keep students coming to school and engaging with other students and teachers, they’ll keep learning and growing.”

3 Tips to Create Your Own Library Learning Commons

Frilot shares three actionable tips to transform your media center, which also happen to describe the important work accomplished within the space.

1. Collaborate: “Library learning commons are all about creating a space for everyone, especially students, so it’s important to collaborate with stakeholders to define what the library learning commons should be for your district,” Frilot says. “Student input is often most overlooked! Teachers, leaders, students, and colleagues from districts experienced in this work should all be involved in these discussions.”

2. Learn: Learning can be a challenge for adults sometimes. “Slow down, listen, and ask good questions of students and colleagues who have gone before you in this work,” Frilot says. “See other library learning commons spaces either in-person or via virtual visits. Look with an eye not only for the way the library has been redesigned, but also the flow, the climate, and the way the library program shifts into a learning hub.”

3. Create: “I always recommend that planning teams, after collaborating and learning, dream big together,” Frilot says. “Create the comprehensive plan in both design and instructional shifts. Engage with a company that designs educational spaces. When the big plan is created first, even if funding or resources aren’t available yet, it facilitates a cohesive vision that engages stakeholders.”

Tools They Use

• Future-Ready Librarians
• MackinVia
• Library PASS
• Follett Software Project Connect 
• Nintendo 
• Nearpod
• Microsoft Office 365

• Innovative Leader Award

The idea here is to have students explain their working process on a particular problem, which can result in a better understanding.

Crucially, this is an example of an AI tool that actually makes it tougher for students to use Google or AI as a way to find an answer. They have to explain how they arrived at it aloud themselves, challenging their understanding on a deep and meaningful level.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about Snorkl for education.

What is Snorkl?

Snorkl is an app-based digital tool that uses generative AI as a way to grade student work with direct feedback.

This offers a space for teachers to set tasks for students, who are able to respond in that space for both to see. Crucially, this requires verbal explanations that allow students to speak as they work on a problem.

The AI is able to give direct feedback as it can be prompted by the teachers when setting out the task. That means it can be given guidance on how to respond, allowing for an instant response for students, as the teacher would do only when the student is working outside of class.

How does Snorkl work?

Snorkl features a web-based platform that can be accessed from most devices. Students who have access are able to carry out tasks on a variety of subjects.

Teachers create a question, problem, or prompt, and then students are able to respond. They do this by solving the problem, perhaps using a keyboard and mouse, while also speaking into the microphone as they talk through what they're doing.

The AI is then able to mark the actual answer, but more importantly, it responds to the explanation of how it was resolved. It can then help to explain what's been done well along the way, but also what could be improved and why that is, based on the thinking process of the student.

In this way, a student may get the answer wrong, but understand the basics of what is being asked of them -- so they can still get some positive responses even when getting it wrong, helping them confidently progress.

What are the best Snorkl features?

Snorkl uses AI in a way that is well-balanced so the teacher can tap a button to auto-generate an AI response to the question they've created. This then completes the way it will respond and teachers can then adjust that, if needed, for the perfect response that students will see.

The fact that Snorkl responds to a student's working process, rather than simply to output, is crucial here. A student who gets the answer right but shows no process clearly will still get lower marks as this is all about understanding and mastery, not just getting to the answer.

In the feedback section teachers are able to see all student responses from one place. Usefully, this also offers an Insight tab that uses AI to spot trends in the responses, ideal for identifying areas of weakness that need to be addressed in class.

Teachers can try a question with their own response as a way to test the AI and see how it responds -- ideal for perfecting and tweaking to attune this to specific teaching goals as needed.

Sharing these tasks is also easy, with a single click to share with a class group. Or copy and paste the link and share that via any platform you already use as a way to have students taken straight to the assessment in the device they're using.

How much does Snorkl cost?

Snorkl offers two tiers with the first aimed at teachers and the second for school- and district-wide use in which extra features are enabled.

The Teacher plan is free to sign-up for and gets you full access to your own class room with instant AI feedback for students on tasks you set.

The School and District plan is charged at a bespoke rate and adds unlimited access, a Snorkl coach, an admin dashboard, and more.

Snorkl best tips and tricks

Use the AI
Let the AI suggest answer responses, and edit if needed, as a faster way to build out your assessments.

Work with the class
Carry out a task in class to show students how the process being spoken while typing on screen works before setting tasks.

Go face to face
Students who get the right answer but are not using the correct process may need face-to-face time to see what they're not getting, helping them reach mastery.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

While the Tappity website features downloadable courses, this is primarily designed as an app that can be downloaded for use by kids from the age of four and up.

A few app versions are available, with both K-1 and K-5 titled options you can pick from to suit the age of your little one. These are designed to tackle learning in a more interactive approach than simply videos, so students can explore and learn in a way that's engaging and that sticks.

This guide lays out all you need to know about Tappity for education.

What is Tappity?

Tappity is an app-based learning platform that teaches science of varying types through the use of interactive videos, quizzes, games, and stories. Primarily this uses videos, with responses required, so students feel like they're interacting with a real teacher.

The idea is to offer an app that is immersive and guided enough to help children, even of young ages, explore and learn around a STEM subject area. It is designed to work with the curriculum of the specific child's age so they're learning appropriate content to compliment school education.

This elementary school-aged app is aligned to Next Generation Science Standards for K-5.

How does Tappity work?

Tappity is an iOS app that offers an array of areas covered under the science remit. These include life, earth, physical, space, and more.

The website also has specific courses that can be downloaded to teach a subject area, such as STEM courses for math and science, and coding courses for making games.

The app is comprised of more than 100 topics aimed at helping children aged four to ten. While a lot of the interactivity happens right there in the app, this also offers workbooks and materials for hands-on experiences, both with parents and for teachers to use in class.

Crucially, there are live science teachers who work with students using the app. Kids can ask a question and receive an answer from a real person -- making this a powerful learning tool for at home as well as in class.

What are the best Tappity features?

Tappity is fun and that is a key point here as kids can learn by play, making it effortless and enjoyable so they want to come back for more.

Since this app is entirely narrated, even younger children, and those not yet reading fully, are able to interact and learn without barriers. The fact they can interact with a real person, as if their own personal science teacher, is a real bonus, too.

Usefully, lessons invite kids to ask their parents to come and see what they've learned. This is a nice way to create interactive moments, time away from the screen, and a chance for kids to cement their learning through saying it aloud.

Students fill in a science journal as they learn, and can access lots of short videos with interactive questions and discussion points to explore a subject. This variation is superb, with kids working through lessons, stories, experiments, and participatory videos as part of covering the material being taught.

The Tappity Live weekly science shows are another nice touch that gives kids something fresh and special to look forward to and enjoy each week.

How much does Tappity cost?

Tappity is free to download and does give you a few free options to try before investing in the full offering.

For free you can get access to the first Tappity story in each world and access to the Tappity Weekly Game Show -- without the need to create an account. A 14-day free trial is available for you to try before committing to the full package.

Tappity can be paid for monthly at $14.99, or annually at $74.99. Or go for a three-month plan at $24.99.

A Tappity lifetime membership that covers everything, forever, is available for $149.99.

Tappity best tips and tricks

Start together
Teacher or parent, it's a good idea to start the app together with kids so they can feel confident going ahead alone as they settle.

Expand out
Use the subject area covered to dive deeper, teaching ways to research further and expand knowledge outside of the app itself.

Meet weekly
Use the weekly game show as a way to group up and enjoy together, linking socializing and learning in a fun and friendly way.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

However, technology can help, say Michelle Beasley, coordinator of curriculum, instruction, and programs, and Amy Lloyd, assistant principal, at the Placer School for Adults in California, which offers education for inmates.

CTE and Digital Curriculum Access

Over the years, the digital offerings the Placer School can provide incarcerated students have increased.

“There used to be just a few random desktops that we would put in a cabinet when we weren't using them. Now we use Chromebooks in the classroom daily,” Beasley says.

Once a class ends, incarcerated students can’t use their Chromebooks, but they have access to an online curriculum through a Nucleos tablet, which provides access to approved education sites but not the internet at large. The sites incarcerated students are able to access include iCEV’s CTE curriculum, trainings, and certificate resources.

Lloyd and Beasley say this increased digital access allows students to continue practicing what they learned in class during the week.

“It’s really removing an access barrier for continuous progress and keeping momentum going, and keeping a student engaged. Because if you don't see you are progressing, then you tend to give up,” Lloyd says.

Support For Hands-On CTE Training

Students learning a skill such as welding still need practice actually welding, and the Placer School provides opportunities for that while using digital tools to help students maximize hands-on sessions.

“Even in welding, there's a ton of classroom time,” Beasley says. “In woodworking, there is classroom time.” Having the ability to study these various skills ahead of time gives students a head start on class.

Another area technology helps with is the soft skills. Many incarcerated students struggle with digital literacy overall. Increased access to digital platforms can help them learn how to craft professional resumes and cover letters.

Beyond just learning, the certificates earned give incarcerated students a better chance of achieving employment when they are released.

“There's already a bias against hiring someone who has had a conviction,” Lloyd says. “[This] legitimately improves their resume to give them a better chance to be able to find employment.” This is important, Lloyd adds, because helping newly released individuals find employment can reduce recidivism.

A Unique Teaching Opportunity

Beyond CTE education in particular, both Lloyd and Beasley say teaching incarcerated students is a wonderful opportunity for educators.

“Inmate education is one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had,” Beasley says. “We are non-compulsory. So people come because they want to come, and there are people inside who genuinely want to change and are tired of the way that they’ve been living. It's very satisfying when you are able to give someone the tools and the resources that they need, and the self-confidence that they can be successful when they get out.”

Lloyd has worked in a variety of settings in K-12, including teaching middle school and high school and working as a high school administrator, but says she’s never enjoyed teaching as much as working with this population of students.

“This is one of the purest forms of education I've been able to experience because, again, it’s noncompulsory,” she says. “Students vote with their feet. They do not have to get out of their bed and come see you if they don't want to. If they don't feel that there’s any relevancy or that there’s a ‘why,’ they'll be like, ‘I'm out.’ There's a magic in that.’”

• What Model CTE Looks Like in The Age of AI
• The Disruption of AI in CTE Is Real

“As we began collaborating last summer for the Cyber Champions, we expected a group of 25 or so,” says Worthey, Manager of Security Awareness and Engagement for Georgia’s DeKalb County School District, which serves 92,066 students across 137 schools. “Instead, we had about 100 students immediately apply to be a part of this initiative to virtually meet monthly to talk about different topics such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and being a good digital citizen.”

For her efforts, Worthey was recently recognized as Innovative Educational Technology Specialist at the Southeast Regional Leadership Summit as part of the Tech & Learning’s Innovative Leader Awards.

Worthey discusses her impressive Cyber Champions program and shares five tips to launch a similar digital citizenship program in your district.

A Winning Gameplan for Cyber Champions

Worthey launched Cyber Champions with Eric Logan, Director of Information Security, but its immediate success made the duo realize they would need reinforcements to achieve their goal.

”The numbers were definitely overwhelming,” Worthey says, adding she was thrilled when a dozen teachers volunteered their time to help. “We recruited teachers to help us facilitate virtual meetings and run small breakout rooms to dive deep into the lesson shared in the monthly meeting. We’re hoping to pay them in a future cohort, but we're not there yet. So at the moment we are relying on their enthusiasm and willingness to participate in such an initiative.”

With such a wide age range, one common digital topic was presented each time with breakout rooms providing space to scale participation by grade level.

“When I first started out, I was tweaking plans from Microsoft and Common Sense Media about AI and cybersecurity,” Worthey says. “I created a template for the teachers to align to the grade level of their group of four to six students. I wanted to celebrate, not micromanage our volunteers, so I gave them the autonomy to use their expertise in their respective fields to help students understand.”

Building Leaders—The Domino Effect

Empowering and growing leaders extended beyond the volunteer teachers. Student participants not only put in the time to learn the technology-based lessons, they actively teach others in their school community what they learn.

“They're definitely our ambassadors,” says Worthey. “They're our champions for cybersecurity and AI. They act as a liaison between us and the other students. After the monthly meeting, students are required to create their own presentation based on the information they learned with us and share it with their classmates. That’s why we call them our Cyber Champions.”

Strength in numbers proves true at DeKalb. Worthey’s team reaches out not only to peers and classmates, but shares lessons with parents, teachers, the local community and beyond.

“Some of the students may get selected to present at the PTA or during their school’s morning announcements. Some participate in monthly tech cafes for the community, where they get to present to parents and visitors,” says Worthey. “Many Cyber Champions compete in our tech fair competition, placing in their respective categories. They are highlighted outside of the school community—one was even a participant in the student panel for Tech & Learning.”

Keeping the monthly message relatable and easy to digest helps kids pass the information on to others, a proven technique for ensuring lessons land and are remembered.

“We talk about topics like privacy and reading privacy statements,” says Worthey. “We talk about using artificial intelligence—who's behind those chatbots? Ask teachers if now is an appropriate time to use AI and use it as a brainstorming partner, not for answers. We theme it to what is happening for the kids to make it relevant, so over the holidays we discussed how to shop safely online.”

Worthey promotes the continuation and expansion of the program by using the champions’ own words.

“As part of our closeout ceremony, I asked our students to create a 30-60 second video to help recruit other students,” she says. “I'm definitely enjoying watching their videos, to learn their feedback and what their thoughts are on the program.”

5 Tips to Launching Cyber Champions in your District

Worthey and Logan share tips on developing a successful Cyber Champions program to boost digital citizenship and understanding.

1. Offer Opportunities to Hone Soft Skills

Soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and presenting in front of an audience creates opportunities for students to shine and really be leaders in the field. By working on those soft skills, students will be more comfortable when looking for jobs, interviewing for college, presenting at competitions, and giving classroom reports.

2. Build Model Students

Breaking information into smaller, digestible pieces helps students easily share lessons with peers in the classroom. “When we discuss using AI in an ethical and responsible way, students can model proper behavior when using the tech and show others how to be a good digital citizen,” says Worthey.

3. Bring in Subject Matter Experts

Worthey has reached out to the local FBI office and shared with them about the Cyber Champions program, explaining that they were looking for ways to partner with the FBI to bring strategies for online security awareness to the table to share with the students.

4. Create Career Pathway Awareness

“A lot of our vendors, such as Microsoft, Google, Fortnite, and others have a lot of opportunities for training students interested in careers in cyber security and IT,” says Worthey. “It's a level of experience and knowledge that they have access to through Cyber Champions, so once they go to college or into the workforce, they are already a step ahead.”

5. Offer Volunteers a Choice of Recognition

“I created a form asking teacher-volunteers how they’d like to be rewarded for their time,” says Worthey. “Some like personal recognition — a mention at year-end celebration, some wanted items boasting the Cyber Champions logo, some preferred a district-wide news flash, while others would like a gift card.”

The Tools They Use

• Microsoft Teams
• Canva
• Common Sense Media
• Fortnight
• Google

• Innovative Leader Award

“We just wrapped up our 13th Annual Technology and Innovation Competition, formerly known as Tech Fair,” says Dr. Natasha Rachell, who was recently recognized with the Innovative Director of Instructional Technology Award at the Southeast Regional Leadership Summit, part of the Tech & Learning’s Innovative Leader Awards. “This allows our students, Grade 3-12, to showcase the amazing technology and innovation projects that they've been working on throughout the year.”

Rachell shares her other impressive programs, tech partnerships, and four key pieces of advice for educators trying to juggle tech and learning in style.

Let Students Shine

Knowing that APS esports at the high school level was already up and running through the Georgia High School Association, Rachell created her own Pathway Program Initiative to prepare students to enter that arena feeling strong, confident, and experienced.

“It's viewed just like football or basketball,” she says. “We saw the need to make sure that our students were prepared for that level, so we established an elementary and middle school pathway program. We've been able to partner with Elite Gaming Live to bring this to life for them. We've seen great success including drops in discipline and increases in attendance.”

Creative minds also find a home for exploring their gifts through tech at APS, as the district prepares to roll out their Second Annual Student Film Festival in May.

“Students are able to use tech to create film projects that are in the process of being judged as we speak,” says Rachell. “We’ll have a red carpet-style event to announce the winners. It was so popular we have actually doubled our numbers from last year.”

There’s No “I” in Tech

Partnerships with tech companies not only provide necessary hardware and software, but invaluable resources crucial during these times of financial uncertainty and budget constraints.

“We have partnered with Verizon to bring Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) labs to almost all of our middle schools,” says Rachell. “That VILS partnership built amazing STEM labs where students can work, collaborate, create, innovate together. Sphero Balls, 3D printers, Glowforge machines, Oculus headsets—anything and everything you could imagine are in these labs, including a lab mentor. Those labs are $450,000 each and 100% grant funded.”

Other exciting partnerships include Canva, Magic School, Grow with Google Career Certificates for highschoolers considering entrepreneurship, ClassLink, My Backpack, Minecraft Level UP program, and Brisk, among others.

“We're a charter district, so we believe in flexibility and autonomy,” says Rachell. “Our principals and teachers have access to whatever they want. Data drives tough budget decisions, but also helps tell a compelling story for grants. We’ve seen a lot of success building partnerships and relationships with vendors and our ed tech friends to bring awesomeness to our students. My mom always said ‘if you don't ask, you don't get.’ We always ask and then we hope. At the end of the day, everything we do is for students and their futures.”

4 Tips to Find Balance with Ambitious Tech Programs

• 1. Tie everything to an instructional outcome. “Nothing we do is just for the sake of doing it,” says Rachell. “When people hear ‘esports,’ they think kids are just gaming all day or playing Minecraft. Our esports Pathway Program students are engaging in STEM career exploration. Before they even lay hands on a controller, they are going through a curriculum of content exploration to learn about game design, video production, game production—behind the scenes opportunities for their future. Our mission at Atlanta Public Schools is preparing our students for college, career and life.”
• 2. Create a “Principal 360 Report.” The Department of Instructional Technology, the Atlanta Virtual Academy, and the media services department all contribute to a monthly report for principals to see at a glance the support that the division has provided to their teachers, media specialists, administrators, and students or administrators in their school. These impact reports are used for programs lacking hard data to show what Rachell’s team hopes to accomplish.
• 3. Empower and delegate. “I am always delegating and empowering my team to come up with great ideas, to implement the concept, to devise plans for the rollout,” says Rachell. “It's definitely a team effort. This helps to build their capacity and helps make them experts, too. Everyone owns a piece— we're all invested because we all want to see it work and don't want to see it fail.”
• 4. Capture data to tell the story. Rachell’s team has been extremely diligent in capturing data, whether it's quantitative or qualitative to tell the story of their work. “Our edtech specialists operate on a request and feedback system,” she says. “Teachers are able to request their services, they're able to offer feedback which tells the story of what is happening in the schools. If a principal ever says, ‘What is such and such doing in my school?’ We have that data to lean on to measure the impact.”

The Tools They Use:

• Classlink
• Canva
• Formative
• Securly
• Grow with Google Career Certificates
• Google for Education
• Microsoft for Education
• Minecraft for Education
• Apple Education
• Verizon Innovative Learning Schools
• zSpace
• Book Creator
• Common Sense Media
• MagicSchool AI
• Ciena Solutions Challenge
• Kick Up
• Paper
• Adobe
• Brisk
• Remind

• Innovative Leader Award

“It was me, myself, and I,” Dale says. “So I looked around and thought, 'Well, who am I going to trust to help me with this project?' And the only people I really trust, as far as their opinions go, are the people using the technology for themselves. So that's how we came up with the TIP Squad.”

The TIP (Technology Innovations for Peers) Squad provides young adults with disabilities the chance to learn technology skills and build adaptive solutions to barriers they and their peers face.

These days Dale and the students she works with are quickly and cheaply building adaptive tools with the help of 3D printers. It’s been a very successful program at Ability Beyond, a nonprofit with locations in Bethel, Connecticut, and Chappaqua, N.Y., that educates and assists people with disabilities. The organization recently received $32,000 in grants from Verizon for the TIP Squad.

Dale says that educators looking to start similar accessibility programs with the help of 3D printing should remember it’s easier than it looks and that students benefit in many ways.

3D Printing and Accessibility: Listening To What Those With Disabilities Need

3D printers are amazing devices, and designing accessibility tools can sound high-tech, but the process itself is straightforward.

“We just make what's needed,” Dale says. “Somebody has a need. And they say, ‘What about this?’ Or ‘How could we help this person with that?’ And we just make it from there.”

The types of tools they make with 3D printers include a device that makes it easier for someone to hold a pen or crayon, and another tool that can steady a key so someone who might not otherwise be able to open a lock now can. Another tool is a device that rolls dice, which can allow for more accessible gaming.

Sometimes Dale and her team design their own tools, while in other instances they find existing designs at Makers Making Change, a nonprofit that provides open-source 3D printing designs for assistive tech tools.

Starting a 3D Printing Program and Jobs Training

If you’re an educator thinking of starting a 3D printing program with students, Dale’s advice is: Go for it!

“It's easier than you think, and you just have to do it," she says. "The only way to really understand it is when you start printing it, and you go. 'Well, why did it do that?' And then you can figure out why it did that.”

Her program has been designed as a job-training program as well.

“The TIP Squad has always been about getting an honest opinion from someone with a disability and using the technology and working toward soft skills for employment,” she says. “The TIP Squad members have to come on time. They have to wear specific clothes. They have to be neat. They have to work together as a team, all those beginning steps that make for successful employment.”

AI and The Future of 3D Printing

Dale says that while many new tech advances are not designed with accessibility in mind, “the byproduct is, people with disabilities can be more independent.”

That’s very true of AI technology, which will help bolster assistive technology in many ways and could make 3D printing easier for everyone.

“Within a year or two, you're going to be able to say, ‘I need a hand brace.’ Just say it, and it will print it,” Dale says, which isn’t as far out as it may sound since 3D designs are already available on the internet. AI might also be able to help guide students through the 3D printing process.

“A large part of the difficulties TIP Squad members face is communication,” Dale says. “Reading, understanding certain things, understanding how people are talking to them. AI can really help change that.”

• Best 3D Printers For Schools
• Teaching Robotics And STEM With The Help Of 3D Printers

In December 2024 Google announced its quantum computer chip Willow performed a computation in a few minutes that would have taken a classical computer more years than the age of the universe. Microsoft claims it invented a new state of matter for its quantum computers, and IBM has started offering quantum cloud computing services.

Lance Key, educator and support specialist at the Putnam County School System in Cookeville, Tennessee, says that teachers and the education field as a whole will likely see a significant impact from the new technology.

Here’s what educators should know about quantum computers and how these may soon influence a classroom near you.

1. Quantum Computers Use Qubits Instead of Bits

A classic computer uses bits: tiny switches that can be positioned “off” or “on” and signal the 0 and 1 of binary code.

Quantum computers use qubits, which are made from electrons, photons, or other particles. These tiny particles take advantage of the strange rules governing the quantum world, including a particle’s ability to exist in multiple places at once before it is observed. Because of this, qubits are often described as having the capability of being both 1 and 0 at the same time. Furthermore, these can take advantage of other strange rules of the quantum world, including quantum entanglement to operate in unison.

To visualize this, Key recommends imagining interconnected spheres. “If you think about connecting two circles, you really tangibly can only touch those two circles at one spot. But now, when we talk about touching a sphere with two entanglements, you can touch those many different ways really quick. So something that would have taken 8 bits, or maybe 24 bits in the past to run, it's now going to be like two qubits.”

2. Qubit Are More Powerful Than You Can Possibly Imagine

The exponential growth of this process can be hard to fathom. With a few hundred entangled qubits, we’d have more computing power than there are atoms in the observable universe.

While today the most powerful quantum computers being developed by tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM do have hundreds of qubits, these still have accuracy issues and regularly generate errors, so it's a struggle to outperform classical computers except on specialized tasks.

Once accuracy and stability is improved, many predict quantum computers will be able to perform tasks such as accurately model new drugs and the potential side effects without human trials. These will also, of course, have significant impacts on the field of education.

3. Quantum Computing Will Jumpstart AI Development

“We are not far from having quantum computing take off,” Key says. “And when quantum computing takes off, we're going to be able to train our AI models so much faster than we were able to in the past.”

If you ask any AI model a question now, you’ll often notice a lag as it “thinks” about how to respond to you, Lance says. Quantum computers could speed that process up by providing enhanced training for AI models.

While teachers and students won’t necessarily be accessing quantum computers, the AI models they use will be trained with the help of quantum computers operated by large tech companies.

“When quantum computing gets here, we're going to be 1,024 times faster than any computer that we have right now,” Key says. “AI on the front end is probably going to look the same, but AI is going to get a lot smarter.”

In that vein, more efficient quantum computing will help to stem the high energy needs and rapidly growing carbon footprint of current AI systems.

4. Quantum Computing Can Help Teachers Differentiate

Key believes quantum computers will help teachers to better assess the support students need by improving existing tech tools. These computers will do a better job looking at student data and recognizing the differentiation strategies each individual student might need, Key says. These can also vastly improve existing AI tutors.

“It is hard for me to replicate myself in the classroom to get around and answer every single question that comes out,” Key says. “But I think in the near future — I know there are people already working on it now — every student will have the ability to have an AI tutor.”

5. Quantum Computing Might Influence Your Classroom Sooner Than You Think

Quantum Computing, according to many people, is currently in a similar place to where the generative AI field was prior to the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI at the end of 2022. Large language models were getting better and better, and eventually made a major leap forward, but people didn't realize that until the general public got access to ChatGPT.

Key thinks quantum computing’s ChatGPT moment will come over the next few years. “Your Amazons, your Googles, your Microsofts, all of those companies are investing money because they see the future,” Key says. “They see what's fixing to come. I think in education, sometimes we're so ingrained in our work, we don't have time to see what's coming three to five years down the road.”

• Teaching Quantum Mechanics in K12
• 12 AI Tools Beyond ChatGPT That Can Save Teachers Time

The idea here is to integrate teaching coding and working with arts and literacy, for true integrated STEAM learning. The goal is to use the coding to create stories, games, and the like, in order to learn code without actively having to focus on that part alone.

The company that created this is eager to also push forward the point that this helps with problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. And that it covers a wide range of ages from first grade to teens.

This guide aims to explain Elementari so you can decide if it could help your class.

What is Elementari?

Elementari is a coding platform that uses the arts to teach the science of coding. This works by offering a space to create stories and more with guidance that should mean anyone, even those with zero experience, can begin coding right away.

The system works with standards-aligned tasks so teachers can set STEAM-friendly projects that align with students' progression needs. Thanks to the level of guidance, and inclusivity features such as Read To Me, this can potentially support student-led solo learning in class.

The huge library of projects makes it possible to use those already created for editing as a way to create without having to go from scratch.

Everything is designed with a Google Slides influence, so anyone who has used that should find this easy to pick up right away.

How does Elementari work?

Elementari is about creating artistic projects but it works in a two-level way: the front end for media and the back end for coding actions.

Students can begin by either starting from scratch, editing the project of another creator, or by following dedicated lesson plans. This latter choice is a good place to begin as it offers guidance on how to progress and build a story.

Students can access a host of media including images, text, music, illustrations, and voice-overs to use as needed. They are then also able to work with the block-based coding for elements such as events, functions, variables and objects. Students work between these two levels to create the final story that can be read by others, similar to clicking through a slides-based project.

Once published, projects can be shared with the wider Elementari community worldwide.

What are the best Elementari features?

Elementari uses the two layers of that Layout Design tool to work with the media and an Event Graph tool to work with the code-based actions. This is a really helpful way for students to build across those two levels to get creative and make something that's interactive as well as informative.

The community is a helpful resource as there are lots of other published stories that can be remixed. Students also have access to a wide array of originally created images, sounds, and more that make for a broad resource when creating stories. It also allows students to create and upload their own media, to feel part of that sharing community, but also to see -- through automated tagging -- how their creations are being used by others in their stories.

Teachers can create classroom groups, which makes sharing and monitoring outputs simple. The auto-tagging and notifications of content used by others is really helpful for teaching the importance of copyright, as students get to experience it live in the community.

Crucially, this is a platform that makes coding a fun tool even for those students who might otherwise not be interested.

How much does Elementari cost?

Elementari offers some free options as well as paid for tiers to get access for students and teachers.

The Free tier works for up to 35 students and offers a single classroom space, limited interactive lessons, and limited assets library access.

The Educator tier, at $8/month billed annually, gets you the above as well as unlimited interactive lessons and assets, plus image uploads, student feedback, and tracking of student analytics.

Go for the Educator Plus option, at $25/month billed annually, and you get the above plus 150 students access, unlimited classrooms, premium training, and professional development.

The School/District tier, at custom pricing from $2 per student per year, gets you the above plus more than 150 students, teacher accounts, and 24/7 priority support.

Elementari best tips and tricks

Start a class project
Follow a guided story creation as a class to get the basics of how this works together.

Hand in
Have students submit work created in this system to showcase their learning on a subject while presenting creatively.

Group up
Ask students to create resources as a group, someone making images, another recording voice-overs, another writing, and so on.

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This website uses Google machine learning smarts to allow people to play with the tech in a simple way that makes it highly accessible.

This can be used as a teaching tool to help educators get across how AI works. Students are able to actively explore the AI learning algorithms in a way that's fun but also illuminating.

Since this is a tool designed to be creatively used, it represents a vast array of options for teachers to work with to help students better understand AI.

This guide aims to explain what you need to know so you can see how Teachable Machine could be helpful to your class.

What is Teachable Machine?

Teachable Machine is a website-based tool that allows anyone to play with an advanced AI that can be trained and used.

The idea here is to take the algorithmic smarts of a learning AI and put that in the hands of anybody. As such, this platform is able to learn from images, sounds, and movements, and then respond to these in future as needed.

Teachable Machine is a way for students to see how AI learns and then responds. It can be played with creatively for fun, but also to be used as a discussion point around how AI works and, indeed, how it is all around us in the digital world in the form of algorithms.

While this is a helpful introduction to AI, it can also be used in more complex ways that allow more experienced students to work with this tool as part of creating more advanced digital projects.

How does Teachable Machine work?

Teachable Machine can be accessed directly from a web browser without the need to sign up or share any personal information. Educators and students can start using this, on most devices, right away.

The simplicity is apparent immediately with a "New Project" icon that can be tapped to get started. You are then able to record using either images, audio, or movements.

Select one option, for example Images, and you are then asked to record yourself, or whatever you are using, for the first category. You can then do the same for a second or more. Next you select the Learn icon and the AI will go to work processing what it sees. Finally, you can choose to download to work with the output locally or upload to use it online.

In either case you can see, live, the AI working as you change out image one and two, and see it recognizing the differences live on screen.

What are the best Teachable Machine features?

Teachable Machine is very simple to use and clearly shows how the AI has learned the differences between the inputs with which you trained it.

While that is fun in and of itself, the ability to take that output and use it -- perhaps in a coding project or app -- is a really powerful tool. That applies both as useful in adding AI to a project but also as a way to show students how this works.

In addition, there are some dedicated teaching resources created by MIT that can be downloaded and used to further the learning possible on this site. The AI + Ethics link takes you to a selection of resources in Google Docs that can be used to teach and explore AI.

One example here is a lesson that involves teaching algorithms as opinions in which students write an algorithm to detect the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They can then explore what made the AI pick one over another, and dive into exploring data sets and how opinions can affect outcomes.

The Dancing with AI tool is for playing with the visual movement detection and having it affect outcomes in fun and creative ways.

How much does Teachable Machine cost?

Teachable Machine is totally free to use and does not require you to sign in or give any personal details at all to get working with the tool.

While Google says the training is kept locally on your device, it's worth considering this may still not be enough for privacy rules at all schools.

Teachable Machine best tips and tricks

Start simple
Use the tool, as a class, to detect a simple difference so students get the idea of how this works, then let them play with it.

Get ethical
Use the exercises to explore the ethics of AI and the wider internet -- using YouTube as a great example of how algorithms work to filter our perspectives.

Export
For more advanced students, have them use the output as a way to create in their coding projects using advanced recognition techniques.

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As I continued my job search, I began to wonder if there was something wrong with my application materials. Did my cover letter violate the basic rules of grammar in a way I’d missed? Did my CV reference interviews with a celebrity who had done something horrible? I had some friends who work in academia look at my materials, and they said it all was professional and an accurate depiction of my skills and background.

At first, I thought that was all I could ask for: application materials that accurately and professionally shared my experience. But over time, I realized that isn’t enough.

While not AI-generated, my application materials may as well have been for all the humanity they displayed. I realized that I was missing an opportunity to share not just where I had worked but actually tell my story through my application materials to reveal what kind of writer and educator I am. This was a subtle mindset shift that led to major changes in my approach that has really increased my success rate.

Here’s a closer look at what I did.

Telling My Story As A Writer

The concept of doing a better job telling my story would ultimately influence the way I talked about my teaching qualifications, but I started doing it for writing first.

I used to include in my cover letter that I had written for outlets such as Tech & Learning, The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, and Washington Post. This tells editors--and those of you reading this article--that I’m well published, but it doesn’t make anyone interested in my work or say anything about the kind of writer I am.

So I started rewriting that as: "I’ve written about how AI is helping recover long-lost lines from the Epic of Gilgamesh for The New York Times, about my obsessive quest to track down the sideshow magician who inspired Ray Bradbury’s writing career, and about how learning styles are a myth that refuses to be debunked for Tech & learning."

That level of detail and specificity helped get editors more interested in the kind of work I can do.

Telling My Story As An Educator

After seeing better results by making that shift when describing my qualifications as a freelance writer, I realized I could also translate it to education.

Once again, my cover letter initially just listed my teaching credentials without telling my story as an educator. Initially, I would write something such as: "I have taught undergraduate courses at Mercy University, Quinnipiac University, and Post University, and I have taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Western Connecticut State University."

Now I better tailor how I describe my credentials based on the job for which I am applying. If it’s an online teaching opportunity, for instance, I’ll write something such as: "Since 2019, I have taught an online multi-genre writing workshop, working directly with writers in genres including journalism, screenwriting, fiction, poetry, and more."

Or something along the lines of: "One reason I love asynchronous online teaching is that it allows me to focus on providing individualized feedback, which is my favorite part of teaching writing."

Again, this level of detail distinguishes me from other applicants and help prospective employers get a better sense of my skills and experience.

Recognizing How To Tell Your Story

When I share this advice with graduate students who will soon get their degrees and enter the job market, I find that many of them struggle with this in one of two ways: Either they don’t like to talk about themselves at all, or they get slightly thrown by the “telling their story” advice, and give detailed genealogies and artist statements about their hopes and dreams.

For what it's worth, there’s nothing wrong with tracing your lineage or having big aspirations for your career, but that, in my experience, is not what employers want to see. The trick is finding how your unique experience qualifies you in specific and direct ways for this teaching opportunity.

Questions You Can Ask?

If the job is seeking online teaching experience, think about your experiences with online learning not just as a teacher but as a student. What were instances that worked really well? Where would you improve things?

Or maybe the job requires you to work with students who are expected to struggle in the subject matter you teach. What struggles did you have with this subject? How did you overcome these? If you have teaching experience, how did you successfully reach a student who needed extra help?

These questions don’t always result in answers that are helpful for application materials, but the process of finding new ways to talk about your qualifications is one I think is worth it.

A Final Benefit of Telling Your Story

I used to worry that by revealing too much about myself as a writer or teacher, I’d end up offending someone. What if I railed against traditional lecture to a department chair that did nothing but traditional lecture? Or would highlighting my preference for teaching practical writing over a more traditional scholarly approach cause someone to ignore my email seeking opportunities or applications?

In reality, I’ve found the opposite to be true: the less generic I am, the better, which sounds obvious but wasn’t to me for a long time.

Sometimes, as educators, it’s easy to forget the advice we frequently give to students: be original, be specific, and never be afraid to be 100% you.

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This was created by the MIT Media Lab, specifically the Kindergarten group. If you recognize that, it's likely because this is the same group made famous for the creation of the coding platform Scratch.

The idea here, as with Scratch, is to keep things simple and fun in order to give children a taste for coding that they will enjoy, helping to encourage them to learn more.

This guide aims to help you understand all you need to know about OctoStudio and how it can work for your class.

What is OctoStudio?

OctoStudio is an app for iOS and Android that can be downloaded and installed for use on mobile devices. This is designed to use that device's camera, microphone, touchscreen, and processing power to create interactive coding adventures for children.

The idea is to make the coding experience a more physically active one in which kids can get out and use their devices with the physical world. The app offers freedom to create with the code, using real-world captured images and sounds.

This uses simple block-style coding to allow students to play with system that helps them get creative while also learning the basics of coding.

How does OctoStudio work?

OctoStudio can be downloaded and installed on Apple or Android smartphones and tablets. Once set, a child can follow the learning program that feels like playing, to get creative with block coding and real-world media.

Students can use the device's camera to capture images and videos or the microphone to record audio, for use in the coding creations. The code itself can affect the device, by turning on lights or making a vibration, for example. Shake the phone to play a sound, is one example of many possibilities.

Since these projects can be shared, it's easy for students to share with teachers. It's also available in more than 20 languages, making it widely accessible internationally.

OctoStudio also works offline, so if students aren't sharing, they can simply work with the device wherever they are.

What are the best OctoStudio features?

OctoStudio offers a really broad creative space in which to play. This essentially gives students all the features of the device in a way that lets them be creative and decide how they will interact.

While this is great for on-device fun, such as shaking to turn on the flashlight, it works well between devices, too. Students can use Bluetooth to beam blocks between multiple devices, so a student can tilt one device and it makes a sound on others, for example. This represents a lot of in class fun potential.

The ability to export as videos, GIFs or OctoStudio files, directly to Google Drive, offers an easy way to share work progress with the class or directly with teachers.

A helpful screen reader option is available when VoiceOver is activated on iOS or TalkBack in the case of Android devices.

Teachers have access to printable reference guides to help that can also be shared with students if they feel it will help offer more structure to the learning.

The OctoStudio YouTube channel and Facebook page are helpful resources for teachers and students to get ideas for projects. Helpful short tutorials are also available that can be useful for getting started or learning more complex code.

How much does OctoStudio cost?

OctoStudio is created as a totally free resource for students and teachers. It is also ad-free and does not require students to create accounts, so there is privacy as a given here, too.

OctoStudio best tips and tricks

Start together
Watch the guidance video together and work on a simple first project together so everyone gets the basics.

Chain up
Link devices using the beam feature for a fun way to have the class interact using their programming choices.

Homework
Have students submit a project using this tool, with text, images, video and audio as needed to get the point across.

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For many students, knowing when to review which lectures or when to complete specific project components takes time, usually an hour or two to build a concrete plan of attack. However, that planning can be cut down significantly and optimized by using AI tools such as ChatGPT.

Currently, I’m preparing for my first board exam in medical school, a nine-hour test with 352 multiple-choice questions covering every foundational area of osteopathic medicine. To organize my six-week dedicated study period, I asked ChatGPT to help create a study schedule. I’ll outline here how I used it so educators and students alike can replicate or adapt the process for lessons, standardized test prep, or large-scale projects.

Planning matters, and procrastination kills progress. The method I describe here can help you quickly create more precise, robust, and realistic schedules.

AI Prompting: Start with the End in Mind

A tool is only as good as the person using it. The same goes for AI, and it all starts with effective prompting.

When I begin a new request, I first state my end goal and then ask ChatGPT what it needs from me to achieve that result. Here was my initial prompt:

“I need to make a study schedule for my 6-week dedicated study period starting on May 12th and ending on June 16th (the day of my COMLEX Level 1 exam). I want to include a lot of details. What would you need from me to help?”

ChatGPT responded by listing all the inputs it would need, effectively giving me a "worksheet" to complete before it could generate a proper schedule.

Completing the Worksheet

You’ll usually get a set of open-ended questions designed to clarify and customize your project. Here’s what ChatGPT asked me:

1. Daily Time Availability

• How many hours per day can you study during the week and on weekends?
• Do you have any mandatory obligations (appointments, research, etc.)?

2. Resources You Want to Use

• e.g., Pathoma, Sketchy, Boards & Beyond, Bootcamp, UWorld, COMBANK, TrueLearn, AnKing deck, First Aid, Savarese

3. Topics/Systems You're Weak In

• What do you want to prioritize?
• Any topics you’ve mastered and only need to review lightly?

4. Practice Exams

• Are you taking NBME, COMSAE, or COMLEX practice tests?
• What dates?

5. Study Preferences

• Prefer focused subject days or mixed reviews?
• Do you want built-in review or flex days?

6. Flashcards (Anki)

• How many new/review cards per day?
• Should Anki be scheduled into the plan?

7. Catch-up or Rest Days

• Do you want scheduled buffer days or a regular day off?

This step ensures the AI understands the nuances of your needs before generating anything.

Refine: Feedback Makes It Better

Once ChatGPT delivers a draft, usually a sample week/day when making a schedule, you’ll likely need to refine it. Even though these large language models are great at organization, the nuance that humans bring to personal planning can be missing.

For example, I disliked the date formatting ("2025-05-12") and requested a more readable style ("May 12"). I also noticed the AI scheduled three days for cardiovascular review when I only wanted two. This back-and-forth is crucial, just like giving feedback to a colleague. The more specific you are, the better the final product.

Finalize: Export and Customize

After refining a schedule, you can export it into a format that works best for you. ChatGPT can generate:

• A .csv file for Excel or Google Sheets
• A .pdf for printing
• An .ics file for syncing with your Google Calendar (my personal favorite)

These outputs turn your AI-generated plan into an actionable calendar you can further tweak.

Just remember: the AI provides a fantastic draft—you still need to tailor it. Add granularity where you need it, remove excess, and make it your own.

Conclusion

AI tools such as ChatGPT can be powerful assistants when it comes to scheduling individual projects and academic goals. Used properly, these can save hours of prep time and provide a strong framework to build on.

Whether you're creating lesson plans, study schedules, or managing larger projects, the process remains the same: Prompt, Provide, Refine, Finalize. After reading this article, I hope you feel more confident using ChatGPT not just as a Q&A tool but as a time-saving planning partner.

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The name may already ring a bell as this is based on the UK novel series of the same title. And yes, that's where a lot of the characters you see in the images originate. Although there is no need to have read the books to begin getting involved with what's on offer here.

This platform allows children to use the characters from the book series to create their own that have their own adventures. This allows them to work on spelling, grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills -- all while having fun.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about Night Zoo Keeper for education.

What is Night Zoo Keeper?

Night Zoo Keeper is an online platform that is designed to help children explore creative writing as a way to work on improving basic literacy skills.

While there is a version for parents, there is also one that for teaching and grading specifically. In either case, students are met with the Night Zoo Keeper characters of Will, Sam the Spying Giraffe, and Riya, to defeat the evil Lord of Nulth from destroying creativity.

Aimed at children age 6 to 12, this offers feedback to kids so they can be challenged and grow creatively while reading and writing.

Since the platform is online, it can be accessed easily through a browser, both for the children working on projects and for parents or teachers viewing progress.

How does Night Zoo Keeper work?

Night Zoo Keeper features a selection of word-focused games that help children play through a story while working on their vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing.

Students are able to write their own creative stories, within a helpful guidance framework. They are then given feedback by real-world human tutors, assigned to each student to help guide their progress and improvement.

In the app, students see dialogue boxes as if talking to the characters, which guide them on what to do next. A simple text creation space allows them to create their own writing pieces for submission.

What are the best Night Zoo Keeper features?

Night Zoo Keeper offers teachers a really helpful dashboard that provides feedback on student progress. This makes it simple to get an overview of progress on an individual or class level.

The tutoring team is a really powerful part of this service as it features real human feedback. That's support for the students, but also for the teachers as it shares the work load. Students are given feedback directly, which teachers can also see, allowing them to progress at a rate that works for them.

This is an age-based leveling system so it's important that students are treated as individuals. Since ability levels can vary across ages, this feedback is important as some students may struggle on one section while another progresses with ease.

A wide selection of reading and writing worksheets can be printed for use in class, or to share for students to take home to complete. These are helpfully broken down into sections, including reading, spelling, punctuation, and grammar, writing activities and prompts, writing styles, and lots of sub-sections for each of these.

How much does Night Zoo Keeper cost?

Night Zoo Keeper offers a free seven day trial but ultimately this is a paid for service that is charged.

A few ways to pay are available, including a monthly fee, at £9.99 ($13.24), or if paid quarterly £9.33 ($12.36) totaling £119.88 ($158.85) for the former, or for the latter it's £111.96 ($148.35).

Another way is to pay annually, which works out to £8.33 ($11.04) per month or a total or £99.99 ($132.49) for the year.

Night Zoo Keeper best tips and tricks

Keep track
This is gamified learning fun so keep track of progress in class so students can see how they're doing as a group.

Set a task
Go offline and have students create stories, based on the material, outside of the app for real world creative experiences.

Use the ideas
Take the story writing ideas prompt sheet and work with it in class to build tales and expand into written pieces.

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Unlike other platforms that use Google Maps and Google Earth as a way to create explorations, this is a proprietary software. It was developed not only to take students around the world, but to visit ancient historical sites as they would have looked then.

Developed by Flyover Zones, a company that specializes in virtual tours, it has put its skills to use for travelling through time as well as space.

This guide lays out all you need to know about using Yorescape in your class.

What is Yorescape?

Yorescape is the app frontage that is home to the many Flyover Zone virtual tours. This not only offers those physical locations but also what the company calls time warps.

It is these time warps that can offer a virtual historical trip for students, allowing them to visit a site as it once would have looked.

Students and teachers are able to visit a site and explore it using virtual joysticks to move about, as if really there. This freedom to roam around gives it a feel of really travelling through time back to when this site existed.

From ancient Rome or Greece to Egypt and South America, there are lots of locations and famous sites to visit. At time of publishing there are 15 virtual tours of iconic sites.

How does Yorescape work?

Yorescape is very easy to use via the web or the dedicated apps for iOS and Android. These can be accessed across most devices with an internet connection.

The app can be installed and immediately provides access to the many virtual tours and locations. Students can pick a spot to visit, perhaps to see ruins in Egypt, Greece, Italy, or Mexico.

They are then also able to go through time, bringing those ruins back to life, with a virtual exploration of how it once was, possible.

Students can explore freely or be led by a digital tour guide who talks them through the tour.

What are the best Yorescape features?

Yorescape offers lots of virtual tours, built bespoke and specifically targeted at education.

Some options include visiting the Giza Plateau in Egypt, the Acropolis and the Agora in ancient Athens, or the entire city of ancient Rome, all seen from the air.

This is an ongoing project and the website features future tours that are in the works. At the time of publishing, one of the treats to look forward includes a rebuild of ancient Athens with multiple virtual tours in the city site. The main adviser on this is Professor Jenifer Neils, the Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

The voiceover tours are really impressive as these are by leading historians and archaeologists, so you can hear the passion in their voices -- which can be wonderfully infectious for the students.

Usefully, there is a tour time guide given so teachers can assess how long they can give in any time window. These range from as little as a few minutes to several hours -- with plenty of free roaming options to suit.

Helpfully, there are lots of resources for teachers to support this, including lesson plans, vocabulary lists, discussion questions, and more, all in easily accessible Google Docs format.

How much does Yorescape cost?

Yorescape does offer a free taster tour but the vast majority of this requires a subscription to access.

The free tour lets you visit the Temple at Baalbek, then you'll need to pay for anything more.

Teachers can pay an individual subscription at $49.99 for full access.

Schools are able to pay for an institution wide subscription with tiered pricing based on your school size.

Yorescape best tips and tricks

Start simple
Use the free tour to see how the class takes to this platform before deciding if it's worth paying for.

Go free
Be sure to allow students time to explore freely, as this can be a great way to generate questions and discussion points in class.

Tour together
Take the virtual guided tours as a class, pausing to discuss as you explore.

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As with any AI trend of this magnitude, OpenAI’s new ChatGPT-linked image generator is bound to make its way into the classroom whether teachers want it to or not, so I recently began exploring some of its features in general, and its potential for teaching, overall.

My verdict is that it's the most impressive AI image-generating tool I’ve worked with and has a good deal of teaching potential, particularly when it comes to classroom prep. However, its knowledge of biology left something to be desired, and it brings with it a hornet's nest of ethical questions and concerns.

What OpenAI’S New Art Generating Tool Does Well

The new art-generating capabilities from OpenAI’s GPT-4o model create better-looking and more natural and realistic-feeling images than other AI generators I've tried, even when it’s creating fantasy scenes. For instance, the image below of a dragon flying over New York, though not spectacular, is better than images I’ve created with other AI art generators.

My prompt: Can you create an image of a dragon flying over New York City for me? The dragon should look like a classic fantasy dragon but the city should be realistic looking.

I also was able to use the tool to generate some potential writing class materials for teaching students to create thesis statements. Though getting what I actually wanted probably took more time, if less mental effort, than creating an illustration on my own would have.

My prompt: You are a college professor teaching an introductory course in English composition to freshman students. Can you create a diagram that visually illustrates how to write a thesis statement in the Ghibli Studio style?

My follow-up prompt: Please create a new image that gives examples of an arguable thesis and one that does not. This example should argue for or against the benefits of AI in education.

This is a good overview, but I thought the example of an arguable thesis could be strengthened by providing more reasons, and that the whole illustration could use a visual upgrade. Getting the AI to do this took a few tries.

Finally, the AI produced this:

Where OpenAI's New Art Generator Fell Short With Teaching

Even though I was ultimately pleased with the example generated above, it took me a while to get there. As mentioned, it would have been quicker for me to just type out a few examples on my own and paste these against a generic slideshow backdrop.

When I first started teaching and would constantly second-guess myself, a tool such as this probably would have saved time. But I do wonder if the process of creating examples on my own helped me clarify my thoughts on the topics I teach and develop as a teacher, which might've been lost by using AI.

More troubling was my attempt to have the AI create a diagram of an animal cell.

My prompt: Can you create an annotated illustration of an animal cell for a middle school biology class?

As Sam Cooke put it, "I don't know much biology," but I'm pretty sure most cells have one nucleus, and it's, like, located closer to the center, maybe?

Teachers, however, can guard against these types of mistakes. The worst thing about OpenAI's new art-generating capabilities is it continues the trend of large tech companies profiting off of art they did not create originally without compensating artists. Artists at Studio Ghibli, for instance, deserve compensation for all the images being created in the style of their distinctive and iconic work.

Bottom Line

OpenAI's new art generator is one of the best around, and even though it's not particularly helpful for my teaching purposes, I'm sure other teachers who are more creative than me will develop innovative ways to use to inspire students. But with these new abilities come new ethical questions. Right now, those ethical implications are too murky for me to use it to create class materials.

That said, it is more fun than any AI tool I've used recently. Like, addictively fun!

Here's it taking my headshot and giving it the Studio Ghibli treatment.

And here's what happens when I asked it to give me a sword and send me on a quest. My misgivings about this technology notwithstanding, I will admit my Studio Ghibli avatar is looking sharp and appreciate that he seems to spend more time at the gym than I do.

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The full name is now actually Science Journal for Kids and Teens, so this now expands beyond the basics to more challenging scientific materials.

The site founder, Tanya Dimitrova, was an elementary science teacher and environmental science reporter before developing this STEM resource project. Now the team has grown and the offering is expansive.

The result is an online science magazine for kids with peer-reviewed research, written in age-appropriate language.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know to see if Science Journal for Kids and Teens could work for your class.

What is Science Journal for Kids?

Science Journal for Kids is an online science magazine for kids and their teachers. It features peer-reviewed research papers that can be downloaded and read for free.

Crucially, this is offered in a writing style that is tailored specifically to suit students of a younger age. The idea is to give them access to the ever-evolving world of science in language that is accessible and, hopefully, more enjoyable for them.

The papers come with more resources so that teachers can work with students to dive into STEM material in more detail. Having Kickstarted back in 2015, this has grown and developed to offer a great resource from a not-for-profit organization that has a goal is to help young scientists learn.

How does Science Journal for Kids work?

Science Journal for Kids is a magazine, albeit a digital one. It gets released on a regular schedule and is updated constantly with resources, so it's always growing online. It offers downloadable content that has been written, edited, and refined before being released, so quality can be expected.

Since this has been building over years, there are plenty of resources right there on the website to dive into right away. The date of publication is on there, so time-sensitive teaching can be taken into account.

If you simply want to teach a certain subject, or specific topic, you can search that way and likely find a paper and complimentary materials all there waiting for you to access and teach.

Once in an article, teachers and students can download the paper itself as well as the supporting resources. Then there are videos available that can be used to supplement the teaching experience.

What are the best Science Journal for Kids features?

Science Journal for Kids is a rich resource and the fact everything is so well organized makes it easy to use. Teachers can download papers and lesson materials so everything can be taught offline if needed.

Since it all is stored with helpful keywords attached, it makes searching a viable option to find specific STEM topics and subject areas.

Teachers have access to a host of "Lesson Plan Ideas" on each topic with the original academic paper there as well as lesson plans, resources on the topic, and even government documents to provide more information.

The helpful "Related SJK Articles" section allows teachers and students to explore further a subject while staying within related topics.

The related videos are easily accessible as all are hosted on YouTube. While some come from third-parties, as vetted by the SJK, there are also bespoke creations from the site itself. Although these generally just go through the papers with a voice-over.

How much does Science Journal for Kids cost?

Science Journal for Kids is a not-for-profit company that aims to offer its resources for free to students and teachers.

It does not appear that there is any tracking or advertising on the site, which requires no personal details to get using right away.

Science Journal for Kids best tips and tricks

Go to the scientist
Use the Ask A Scientist section to hear podcasts, see video interviews, or read blogs written by the researchers themselves.

Watch at home
Have students watch of listen to the complimentary videos before class so they come with an understanding of the paper up for discussion.

Follow the class
Have students find a paper, within an area you suggest, to pick for the next lesson discussion and break-out work.

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Unlike other AI services out there, this is designed specifically for education and -- even more targeted -- to help educators and kids in certain areas of need.

So, essentially, this is a chatbot being called an education assistant. But what gives this so much weight is that it's been in development since 2021. That's meant interviewing and surveying more than 500 teachers before co-designing, again with teachers onboard throughout the process. For math assistance, math teachers were used specifically, for example. All this the company calls its human-centered AI partnership model.

This guide lays out all you need to know about Colleague AI to see if this could help in your class.

What is Colleague AI?

Colleague AI is a chatbot, broken down into task-specific chatbots, designed and built to support education. This works with teachers, students, admin staff, and parents, all as an assistant.

The chatbots are designed and vetted by teachers, federal agencies, educational scholars, and AI experts to be FERPA and COPPA compliant, and get an end result that's as safe and useful as possible.

This spans from assisting teachers with planning lessons to working on professional development. It also works with students to help with homework, track learning progress, personalize learning, and more.

For school leaders, this can provide data-driven insights and teacher support systems as well as automating administrative tasks and helping with stakeholder communications.

Finally, parents are also supported with a chatbot that can help create learning tools for outside of school, and even allows parents to grade and connect with other kids to see progress.

How does Colleague AI work?

Colleague AI can be used as a native software via browsers or as a Chrome extension. In either case, teachers are able to work with the AI characters of Charlie or Claire, to lesson plan, mark work, and more.

Usefully, this allows you to go back and forth in a conversational way. So a teacher might pick a lesson from material that's already available, then prompt the AI to change that to teach a certain area, in a certain timeframe, targeting specific students. It will then offer an adjusted output and, again, you can ask for more changes until it's just right.

While it can be open-ended with written statements to get results, there are also helpful drop-downs along the way that provide options to vary certain areas as needed. This can be helpful to get an idea of what is possible or to get quick variations on what you're working on at the moment.

What are the best Colleague AI features?

Colleague AI is a great way to help with lesson planning as it allows teachers to pull-in premade free-to-use lesson plans, which can then be augmented. It is also possible to start from scratch or upload materials to manipulate.

This is really helpful at reading handwriting, so students can upload photos of their work and you will be able to have the AI pull out the text and mark it automatically. This is graded in sub-sections for helpful breakdowns, and allows you to adjust aspects such as rubrics or outputs, as needed.

You can adjust by selecting subject, grade, and even state standards to get the overall output you want. Then, in a chatty way, go back and forth with the AI until it's just what you need.

A great thing about how easy this is to output and mark is that it can offer really learner-centered lessons and feedback, all without taking up more teacher time. In fact, the makers say this can save teachers up to 50% of their time.

The Chrome extension is a useful option as it takes the AI with you into the browser, allowing you to adjust, edit, and draw any information you want -- a great way to integrate Google Drive marking, for example.

How much does Colleague AI cost?

Colleague AI doesn't appear to mention anything about pricing on its website so it seems everything, at time of publishing at least, is free to use.

This is often the case with AI tools, as the company can improve output based on data collected from human use. So whether this stays the same longer term is not clear at this stage.

Colleague AI best tips and tricks

Start simple
Use the lessons already available and edit these using suggestions only to get a feel for what's possible with the AI.

Mark written digitally
Use the Chrome extension to mark handwritten homework that's submitted via pictures and a digital drive, automatically.

Stay organized
Use the online storage space to keep lesson plans and rubrics you've created for future use, or to edit for personalized learning variants.

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I was glad I went to that session on how to mail merge two decades ago. I learned how I could economize time by simply making a message that was more personalized and sharing it uniquely with various recipients. This was helpful with a full class, grade, club, or even schoolwide notification. The personalization of mail merge helped me uniquely identify recipients by their name and specifics related to them, such as their child, the relevant grade, perhaps a specific award, and other identifying features.

I have used the Google extension Autocrat to merge letters and found it useful, even if at times it can be glitchy and cumbersome.

The potential to give up on mail merge and just write each individually might frustrate those attempting to economize on a busy educator’s schedule. The problem is volume (if you have to send dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of messages) and an increase in errors.

Errors happen when you start rewriting the same general message over and over again, looking for those keywords to change, such as name, department or grade, and any other uniquely identifiable features, and your eyes start to glaze over. This is why mail merge can be more effective, content can be better coded and delineated in a spreadsheet that spools to a nice, clean mail merge.

Not to downplay, mail merge is still a great tool for those mass unique needs such as important recognitions or notices, and Autocrat has gotten me out of a lot of the heavy lifting of volume work, just as Microsoft has for others.

But what if there was an even quicker way to mail merge?

Enter AI.

Putting ‘AI’ In mAIl Merge

The other night I was at parent-teacher conferences and was scheduled to be out the next day, during which a letter had to be distributed to a specialized group of Career Day professionals. (Full disclosure, I had delayed preparing these and was in a hurry, and that’s when errors typically increase!) This group was listed in the school counselor’s spreadsheet who shared it with me, and contained the following basic information:

You might think: Okay, that’s not a lot of information. Big deal, you can just craft each letter.

Yet here’s where I went beyond mail merge, and added value to the letter. I attached the spreadsheet, in PDF format (simply take the Google sheet or spreadsheet, and select file, then save as PDF).

For this, I used Gemini. Other AIs of preference should work as sufficiently well.

Here was the initial prompt:

Use this text to mail merge the following volunteers to identify them by name and their profession, thanking them personally: March 14, 2024

What this spewed out was fine, but hard to track from one to the next, so I refined my prompt:

Put these into steps with numbering.

Now I could easily see the clear delineation from one letter to the next in the series and not be confused by free flowing text blending it all together. But it gets better! For each name, the AI identified a gender (“Dear Mrs. Zion…”). These were 100% accurate upon checking and assigned a title. For instance, one individual was a professor at Rutgers. The greeting was, “Dear Professor….”

Additionally, the AI cohesively entered the profession when appropriate.

Then I pasted each of the responses into a letter (works with email too). Having experience with mail merge previously, this finished my chore before conferences had ended that night!

I can safely say that this process of engaging the AI took less than half the time mail merge would because you don’t have to set any parameters linking the spreadsheet and document. The AI does that for you, and everything was grammatically correct, the appropriate information was identified, and it all made for a cohesive sequence of letters.

The Benefits of Using Mail Merge with AI

Ironically, I find myself using mail merge more frequently again, feeling the safety that the errors I accidentally entered bleary-eyed by not using mail merge are avoided. Also, AI can correctly identify individuals and other key information. And with more complex spreadsheets, I just tell it which columns to pull from, and AI does the work.

Time saved, clean, and personalized–well worth the nostalgia of mail merge, adding AI’s skills!

• ChatGPT Talks Now. What Does That Mean For Teaching?
• Gemini: Teaching With Google’s AI Chatbot

This tool uses AI as a way to make quiz creation as straightforward as possible for educators. It also works to offer both group-based quiz options as well as individually tailored learning formats.

Since there is plenty of feedback for teachers, this can become a valuable tool for assessing progress. And since there is plenty of content already made and ready to go, this can be a powerful resource for teaching and learning.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about Quizalize for your class.

What is Quizalize?

Quizalize is a quiz creation and execution tool. It uses AI and Google Forms integrations to make for a simple way to create quizzes. Crucially, it also gamifies the experience to make it as enthralling and engaging as possible for students.

Used by more than six million teachers and students, the company behind this says that it can offer a 25% increase in exam-pass rates as well as a 12% reduction in attainment gaps.

Since educators can use pre-built quiz options, and edit any as needed, it can make for a very simple way to build personalized learning and assessment materials for students.

Online games mean up to 100 players can compete together online, allowing this to be used beyond the class, too.

Since quiz integrations range to Google Classroom to Quizlet to ChatGPT, there are lots of ways to pull in current quiz options as well as making and sharing new ones.

How does Quizalize work?

Quizalize allows teachers to share quizzes using a code, right within Google Classroom if that's easiest. This then connects to a class set, so multiple quiz options are there for students to take.

Teachers have the options to give hints and tips on the quiz so students can get help as they progress, to foster working independently. Once completed, they are able to see their score and the correct answers, with a prompt to retake the quiz should they have missed any questions.

Feedback for teachers is helpful here as there is a lot of data displayed on their dashboard, which offers color-coded clarity on how students are doing on an individual level (although this is a feature reserved for the premium version of the system only).

What are the best Quizalize features?

Quizalize is primarily an assessment tool, testing students and getting an idea of their understanding. But it can also help to continue the learning journey with bespoke feedback – guiding a student with less than 50% to a review video, or one with 80% to a new quiz that addresses their weaker areas.

Gamification is a big part of the draw here, with lots of original games that can be played live and online for an immersive experience. These have 3D gaming world tasks that are interspersed with quiz questions that allow students to progress if they answer correctly. These can be played individually or by the whole class at once.

Thankfully, this platform is open so you can import quizzes already built from other places such as Google Forms or Quizlet. Only now you can gamify these to be even more appealing to students.

The AI smart quiz is a great feature. This uses the smarts of ChatGPT and generates questions built around grade levels, topics, learning standards, and more. Teachers can edit these, adding images, videos, and other elements, to enrich the learning experience.

How much does Quizalize cost?

There are several pricing options for Quizalize, including a free basic version of the offering.

The Basic plan, which is free, gets you three AI-generated quizzes per month, 10 saved puzzles, one class, up to 50 students can play live, 30 pieces of AI-generated feedback per month, and results analysis for the most recent quiz.

Go for the Lite plan, at $4.49/mo or $29.88/year (works out to $2.49/mo), and you get all the above plus four live classes, five activities and full reporting, access to all games, plus dedicated customer support.

The Premium tier, at $7.99/mo or $59.88/year (works out to $4.99/mo), gets you the above plus unlimited AI-generated quizzes, unlimited access to user-generated quizzes, unlimited saved quizzes, unlimited classes, and unlimited pieces of AI-generated feedback.

Quizalize best tips and tricks

Bulk learning
Move beyond assessment by adding images, videos, and links to enrich the learning experience of students further.

Enhance forms
Pull in your current Google Forms assessments and use the AI tool to enhance them more, in the program.

Game rewards
Use the mini games as a reward system to help keep students engaged and progressing with the testing side.

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Fennelly-Atkinson is the Senior Director of Strategy and Innovation of the Center for Learner Pathways, while Luna is the founder and Chief Learner Engagement Officer of the Center for Learner Pathways. The Center for Learner Pathways, is a new program within Digital Promise that supports competency-based learning and helps schools and districts provide microcredentials and badges to staff.

Digital Promise and the center recently released Exponential Change Brings Exponential Choice: Navigating Life, Learning, and Career, a report that highlights the importance of this type of learning.

Luna and Fennelly-Atkinson share tips for incorporating skills-based learning and microcredentialling into districts and classrooms, and offer advice for accessing resources related to both.

The Importance of Competency-Based Learning

A skills- or competency-based approach to learning can not only be more equitable, it can also better connect with real-world employment demands.

“We think it is important to better align the experiences that students have in their K-12 years to the realities of the world of work that they will enter,” Luna says. “As the work world becomes increasingly more skills-based in terms of hiring and advancement, giving learners opportunities to earn recognition for their skills and know what they are great at and what their interests are, and being able to demonstrate their learning in ways that others can understand, is really important.”

She adds, “The connection to competency-based learning is that the more we have opportunities to show what we know and can do and demonstrate competencies, the better prepared we are for a skills-based future.”

Why Competency-Based Learning Is Linked to Microcredentialing and Teacher Education

For teachers themselves, microcredentials pair naturally with skills-based learning opportunities because it provides a way of allowing educators to earn recognition for new skills and are focused on direct classroom activities.

“What we have found is that competency-based microcredentials are really a shift from what is the norm in educator preparation and professional development,” Fennelly-Atkinson says. “Educators really value the competency-based experience, because part of that process involves them getting feedback and really having to implement a strategy that they're learning about.”

She adds, “We speak with educators all the time, and they tell us things like they completed a microcredential years ago, and they're still implementing that strategy in their classroom.”

Ways To Implement A Competency-Based Approach In The Classroom

When it comes to working with students, there are many ways to implement this competency-based approach.

“A lot of teachers might already be doing it and not realize that it's called competency-based learning,” Luna says. For example, teachers are doing this if they’re engaging in project-based learning or portfolio assessments or other activities requiring demonstrations of learning, as opposed to knowledge recall.

However, effectively implementing these strategies means being very specific, Luna adds. “With competency-based learning, you are really explicit about what the skills and competencies are that need to be demonstrated in order to have achieved or met the criteria for recognition in that competency area.”

'Rigorous, But Also Encouraging'

The Center for Learner Pathways works with hundreds of schools, and over the years Digital Promise has helped provide more than 20,000 microcredentials to educators.

“For the districts that we work with, we have a microcredential platform where we host all of the microcredentials, and an educator can either go and find a microcredential that aligns with their needs, or sometimes their district gives them a menu of microcredentials that they can choose from,” Fennelly-Atkinson says.

After choosing a microcredential, educators learn what evidence of a skill they need to submit to meet the requirements of the rubric.

“Once they’ve submitted, a person who is an expert in that field gives them really high-quality feedback, and if they did a really great job and met all the criteria, they are awarded a digital badge,” Fennelly-Atkinson says. “If for any reason they are denied the microcredential, they still receive a lot of feedback about how to improve their submission, and are encouraged to resubmit.”

The process is designed to be rigorous, but also encouraging, rather than daunting.

“We have had many, many teachers who have actually expressed that even if they were denied, it was a very positive experience for them because it's all based on a growth mindset, and the rich feedback that they received was really actionable and specific,” Fennelly-Atkinson says.

She adds that most of these teachers end up resubmitting and ultimately successfully obtain a microcredential.

• Facilitating Microcredentials For K-12 Students
• 5 Tips for Teaching With AI & Digital Technology, From The CEO of Digital Promise

Usefully, this does take AI smarts in order to save teachers on admin time. But crucially, it does this with standards alignment, so it can be very specifically targeted to learning goals and outcomes.

At time of publishing, this platform is being used by more than 5,000 schools worldwide. Helpfully, it integrates with a whole host of digital tools, platforms, and LMS options for the most simple implementation into a teacher's current setup.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about Almanack to see how it could work for your class.

What is Almanack?

Almanack is an AI assistant, of sorts, designed for educators. Consequently, this is tailored to very specific tasks and works to help teachers, just by being prompted.

This can create resources such as slide decks, worksheets, lesson plans, or report cards, and plenty more. Since this works across subjects, it can be used by teachers throughout the school to suit their needs.

The tools are designed for teachers, so students will only see the output content, if at all. The AI output doesn't go directly to them but rather works to help teachers have the resources they need when they want.

And since this is all created using written commands, it's simple to pick up and start using, for anyone.

How does Almanack work?

Almanack can be signed up to for free with many of the basic tools available. This immediately allows teachers to start lesson planning, differentiating instruction, and personalizing learning with the resources.

Integration is a big part of this with support to pull in and output using Google Forms, Kahoot!, Gimkit, Blooket, Quizizz, Quizlet, Google Slides, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Word, PDFs, and more.

Slide deck creation is a good place to start as that is one of the tool's most powerful offerings. Using written prompts, teachers can create anything they need to suit a task. That can mean a deck about a historical event, one about the year's plan ahead, a presentation on a new topic in science -- anything you can think of, really.

Occasionally, there can be odd output issues that need fixing, but even that works as a far faster option than traditional methods. For example, you can create multiple versions of a deck, with each one tailored to certain student groups, in as much time as it would have taken to make one for the whole class using traditional methods.

What are the best Almanack features?

Almanack is an AI, so like most tools right now, it's a starting point. A simple output might need some adjusting to get perfect before use in class. But, crucially, that's as much the human prompt issue as the AI.

Over time, as you improve in knowing how to prompt specifically for what you want, so too will the output improve. Ultimately, you will save more and more time as you get proficient at using the tool.

The ability to translate most outputs is also really helpful for multiple language versions and working with ELL and ELA students. You can have one for everyone in the class, using their native tongue, without it costing you much on time. And, perhaps most importantly, it's very accurate for a natural output that will be understood clearly.

The fact these tools are built for teachers means it's all standards-aligned, private and safe when it comes to data, and tailored to be viewed by children, so the content is going to be appropriate.

Everything still needs a human check first -- AI isn't perfect yet -- but it's a big step in quality and a huge potential saving on time for teachers.

How much does Almanack cost?

Almanack has a free version as well as several tiers of premium versions that add more features and tools.

The Free version gets you state standards/curriculum Integration, curriculum design and long range planner, lesson and unit planner, eduslides/presentations, worksheets/student activities, quizzes and tests, games, and custom video recommendations.

Go for the Pro tier, at $7.50/mo when paid annually at $89.99, and you get all the above plus Import to enhance with AI or build from scratch, a variety of ready to use worksheets and activities, differentiation based on DOK, exports, custom report card writer, integrations, and a limited number of collaborators.

Or for Small Teams, at $6/mo paid annually at $71.99, you get the Pro features plus an unlimited number of collaborators and team collaboration features.

Almanack best tips and tricks

Plan the year
Use the slide deck creator to plan your lessons for the year and output it so students can see what's ahead, as needed.

Tailor everything
Use the AI to help differentiate outputs so you have versions for ability levels to suit the entire class.

Translate
Use this for all your translation needs, natively, so outputs are always suited to everyone.

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The idea here is to offer a follow-along guide on how to tell stories, as guided by those who do exactly that.

By storytellers, this means professional animators, writers, and artists who create movies and other content. From the creators of Pixar movies, this platform offers some firsthand experience in how to make a storyboard and more.

This guide aims to show how this could work in your class.

What is Story Xperiential?

Story Xperiential is a teaching platform that allows students to learn how to create a story. Specifically, this teaches storytelling by showing the process used at Pixar -- guided along by some of its best animators and creators.

This might start with Pixar, however, it also features animators from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Marvel, Lucasfilm, DreamWorks Animations Studios, and more.

Everything can be accessed easily online so this is something that can be accessed at school and at home using personal devices.

How does Story Xperiential work?

Story Xperiential is a self-paced storytelling program. It offers a guiding hand as you progress.

Sure, there are live feedback options from other users as well as regular livestreams from the pros. But for your project, it progresses at the pace you want.

This works by firstly brainstorming, outlining, and storyboarding to develop a storyreel. This is done by uploading in chunks as you progress.

In total this is a roughly 40-hour course that is designed to be carried out over a nine-week grading period. But, as mentioned, it can be done at the student or teacher pace as needed.

Thanks to feedback along the way, from peers, this is a dynamic learning process. Students can also offer others feedback, helping them develop critical thinking as well as being able to receive it.

Finally, students can enter their finished storyreels into competitions in which winners are awarded by the body behind the platform.

What are the best Story Xperiential features?

Story Xperiential is super simple to use and works on a team-building basis. Since students are required to give feedback, as well as receive it, this allows them to think critically and adapt.

The regular video guidance sessions, held as livestreams, are a great resource for students to attend and from which to learn. These are presented from professionals who have done the journey students may want to explore in the future, and they're offering sage advise and guidance.

The 'What If' lessons help to spark ideas and can be used in education as jump-off points for more creative exploration. These apply to history, science, math, English, media, and technology.

For education specifically, there are curriculum-mapping standards that can help make this a more tailored teaching tool.

Helpful links to tools guide students in actually editing video and drawing digitally. Unfortunately, these are not built in so will require a bit more skill.

How much does Story Xperiential cost?

Story Xperiential's entire course is paid for on a monthly basis or all up front, and gives you access for one year. This includes a seven-day free trial during which you can cancel if you change your mind.

The one-year course is charged at $24.99 per month or for an annual fee up front of $150. This gets you access to the entire course and all the platform has to offer.

Story Xperiential best tips and tricks

Feedback together
Practice feedback as a group, learning how to constructively spot and offer opinions that can be helpful.

Webinar in class
Every two weeks are live webinars you can build classes around and have discussions to follow up afterward.

Use teams
Some students will work better in teams with this process so perhaps use groups and a mix for individuals too.

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