Tuesday, July 30, 2024

EdTech Links of the Week - 7-30-24

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.

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

This week I have 4 resources from around the Internet and 3 resources from my blog.

🏫 Book Creator Back-to-School Hub
Get ready for the new school year with Book Creator's hand-picked resources for teachers, admins, coaches and students. Explore templates for literacy, STEM, and icebreaker activities, as well as lesson ideas and free webinars including:
  • Discover New Features: Stay up-to-date with the latest enhancements and tools in Book Creator.
  • Enhance Student Learning Journeys: Dive deep into our new portfolio feature to effectively document and showcase student progress and achievements.
  • Innovative Video Integration: Learn creative ways to incorporate video into your Book Creator projects to engage students.
  • Support for Multilingual Learners: Access specialized resources designed to assist newcomer multilingual students in your classroom.
Visit the back to school hub for these free resources and to register for the back to school webinars. 




🧘 Do Nothing for 2 Minutes

Digital wellbeing is an important topic for all of us technology users as we try to find a healthy balance between using tech and taking care of our minds, emotions, and health. I have shared about this topic before in my blog post on "Digital Wellbeing - Tools to Balance Tech and Life" as well as in several of my posts on my "Eric the Rad" blog.

Recently I came across another tool to add to this list of resources called "Do Nothing for 2 Minutes". The aim of the site is simple … can you take a break and literally do nothing for 2 minutes? When you go to the site you are instructed to relax and listen to the waves while a 2-minute timer begins to count down. If you touch your mouse or keyboard the timer will reset.

It really can be a challenge to be on your computer but do nothing. However this short break can be a positive way to relax, be mindful, and use technology to help encourage a healthy balance in our lives.




🕹️ Playbrary

Back when I was a student, I loved "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. They can be a great way to engage readers in a story, especially those who may be a bit reluctant. Playbrary is a free AI-powered tool that uses this idea to bring new life and interest into classic literature.
  • First you choose a book from a list (Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Moby Dick, Pride and Prejudice, etc.) or type in one of thousands of public domain works.
  • Then the AI then turns it into an interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" story you can explore.
  • You can play through five rounds of choices as you dive into the characters and plot of the story, hopefully encouraging the user to pick up the actual book and see what really happens.
  • If you have a paid subscription with ChatGPT you will also get AI-generated images to go along with the story, but a paid account is not needed to simply play through the story.




⚡ Class Companion Power Up Challenge

Class Companion is another one of my favorite AI-powered educational tools, providing personalized feedback for student writing and helpful insights for teachers. You can see my earlier blog post and my short demonstration video to learn more about it.

Over the next two weeks they are running their "Power Up Your Pedagogy PD Challenge" which includes a free 4-part series of virtual PD sessions, certificates, and a chance to win prizes. The webinars include:
  • July 31st - Unleash the Power of AI Feedback and Coaching
  • August 1st - Master Formative Assessment Strategies
  • August 6th - Power Up Your Inclusivity with Universally Designed Learning
  • August 8th - Supercharge Your Back to School Preparation
If you can't make it to the live sessions, they will be offering limited-time access to replays for all the webinars. Register for free at the link above.




🤿 World Snorkl Day - Virtual PD

Snorkl is one of my favorite AI tools for schools. It lets students answer assessment questions by speaking and drawing, and then uses AI to grade those responses and give personalized feedback. You can see my earlier blog post and tutorial video for more details about it.

The great news is that Snorkl is running a free virtual PD event on July 30th with a wide range of sessions to help you learn, explore, and apply Snorkl even better. I am super excited to be part of one of the sessions, the "Snorkl Innovation Slam".

See the link above for all of the details and how to register for this free event.



▶️ 4 Recorded Webinars from CFISD

In case you missed my live sessions from last week's CFISD Digital Learning Conference, you can still watch the recordings from my sessions:
  • 🖐️ Active Learning with Google Tools and EduProtocols
  • 📊 Google Sheets for Educators: From Data Noob to Nerd
  • ✨ The "Gem in AI" - Google AI Tools for Education
  • 🖥️ Google Meet Enterprise Features
See the link above for details on these four sessions, including descriptions, resources, and links to the recordings.



🌶️ AI Salsa Slam

I am excited to be joining my EdTech friends for GoldEDU's upcoming live stream PD. Each of us are going to share some quick smack talk about one of our favorite AI tools and how we use it in the classroom or with fellow educators. To spice things up, we will also be munching on chips and salsa and sharing our salsa recipe with everyone! Watch the live session on YouTube on September 19th at 5pm ET.



Post by Eric Curts
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