My HICE26 Sessions

I am excited to be presenting at the 2026 HICE Conference right here in northeast Ohio on June 2nd and 3rd.

This is the conference that we put on through my work at SPARCC and the Stark County ESC. It is a free, in-person event with over 130 sessions covering all areas of education, teaching, learning, technology, and more.

I even created a Gemini Gem to help you select the best sessions to match your interests!

If you are anywhere near the area, I encourage you to join us for this amazing conference! Here are the key details:

• 💡 High Impact Conference for Educators
• 📅 June 2-3, 2026
• 🏫 Lake Middle High School
• 📍 709 Market Ave SW, Uniontown, OH 44632
• 🔗 Website - https://bit.ly/summerhice
• 🎟️ Register for free - Google Form

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at HICE26, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

EdTech Links - Week of 4-27-2026

Each week I keep an eye out for the latest edtech resources through blogs, social media, podcasts, videos, user groups, and more. I then try to reshare these resources in many ways.

One way I share these is here on the blog in these "EdTech Links of the Week" posts. See below to explore the latest batch of resources, and be sure to share with others who may benefit.

If you want to make sure you don't miss new resources, you can:

🔗 View all EdTech Links of the Week: bit.ly/caa-links

📰 Sign up for my weekly email newsletter: bit.ly/curts-news
📧 Join the "Control Alt Achieve" email discussion group: bit.ly/caa-emailgroup

🔔 Get new blog posts automatically through email - FollowIt link

And as always, please let me know of any resources that you recommend. I would love to learn from you!

12 New EduGems from April 2026

EduGems is my website where I share my favorite Gemini Gems for schools.

You can access, use, and copy any of the Gems at edugems.ai where I currently have 133 Gems!

Each month I add new Gems to the site. See below for links to the 12 new Gems I added during the month of April 2026, along with a short description for each.

Feel free to share with others and please consider submitting your own Gems to the site.

What's New in Google - April 2026

Catch up on everything new in Google Workspace for Education from April 2026, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our April 2026 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda with all the awesome resources and Google updates from the last few months. This includes lots of new Google updates and Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Workspace news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Workspace is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the April 2026 meeting:

EdTech Links - Week of 4-20-2026

Each week I keep an eye out for the latest edtech resources through blogs, social media, podcasts, videos, user groups, and more. I then try to reshare these resources in many ways.

One way I share these is here on the blog in these "EdTech Links of the Week" posts. See below to explore the latest batch of resources, and be sure to share with others who may benefit.

If you want to make sure you don't miss new resources, you can:

🔗 View all EdTech Links of the Week: bit.ly/caa-links

📰 Sign up for my weekly email newsletter: bit.ly/curts-news
📧 Join the "Control Alt Achieve" email discussion group: bit.ly/caa-emailgroup

🔔 Get new blog posts automatically through email - FollowIt link

And as always, please let me know of any resources that you recommend. I would love to learn from you!

Recorded Webinar - AI Games, Interviews & Activities for Student Learning

I recently recorded a webinar about using AI as an interactive partner for games, interviews, and activities for student learning.

These can be done with any grade level or subject, either as whole-class activities where the teacher manages the AI but the students still participate, or with students individually interacting with the AI for their own learning experiences. 

In this session we explored a wide range of AI activities including:

• 🎙️ AI Interview
• 🔠 “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories
• 🤔 "20 Questions" games
• ❌ “Two Truths and a Lie” Games
• 📓 Emoji Definition Game
• 🤐 Classroom Taboo Game
• ⚖️ AI Debate
• ✍️ AI Co-Writing

To learn all about using AI for engaging student learning activities, see below to watch my recorded 1-hour webinar and to access the resources from the session.

Podcast Spotlight - EdTech Bites

I recently had the pleasure to be a returning guest on the "EdTech Bites Podcast" hosted by Gabriel Carrillo.

The first time I was on the podcast was six years ago when I was in Austin, Texas and Gabriel and I enjoyed a meal of fatty brisket at Black's BBQ and discussed well-being (and yes, I acknowledge the irony of that). 

You can listen to that blast-from-the-past interview here - EdTech Bites Episode 57

Now six years later, I got to sit down with Gabriel again, this time at the MACUL Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

If you are not familiar with his podcast, Gabriel describes it as follows:

EdTech Bites is a Podcast about all things EdTech and Food hosted by Gabriel Carrillo. He interviews teachers, leaders, and innovators to discuss the latest trends in educational technology. Many times, while sharing a meal together. So subscribe, tell a friend or colleague, and remember that great conversations happen when we break bread with great people.

I had a wonderful time chatting all about my EduGems website, examples of Gems, my process for creating Gems, the importance of sharing Gems, and a challenge to schools to create and curate their own libraries of Gems for their staff and students.

Take a look below to listen to the episode, access the resources that I shared in the episode, and explore more about the podcast.