Control Alt Achieve: EdTech Links

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!

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

🤯 Chromebooks Can Do That?! Essential Features for Teachers and Students

Resource Link

SI recently recorded a 1-hour webinar on Chromebook features and tips to help schools get the most out of these devices. Topics included:

🔑 Accessibility tools for all learners
📝 PDF annotation & editing tools
📷 Using the camera for pictures, videos, GIFs and more
🎞️ Built-in screen capture, recording & screencasting
🗂️ Multiple desks for organization and efficiency
📶 Offline access to work without Wi-Fi
🤖 Using Android apps on a Chromebook
☝️ Helpful touchpad gestures
⌨️ Favorite keyboard shortcuts
✨ AI tools to assist with your tasks

You can access the recorded video and all the session resources at the link above. Be sure to let me know your favorite Chromebook tips and features.

🏀 Flippity "March Madness" Bracket Template

Resource Link

Just in time for "March Madness" here is an educational twist:

Free template to create an interactive bracket activity for students
Great for critical thinking & content knowledge
Can be used to compare a wide range of educational topics such as:
History & Social Studies - Presidents, Historical Figures, Wars and Battles, Civilizations, Countries of the World, National Parks, Rivers or Mountains
Science & Math - Periodic Table Elements, Inventions, Animal Species, Renewable Energy Sources, Technological Advances
Literature & Arts - Authors, Literary Characters, Art Movements, Musical Genres, Famous Paintings

🥧 Google Sheets Pi Day Projects

Resource Link

Pi Day is March 14th each year (since the date is 3/14 and Pi starts out with 3.14). As a previous middle school math teacher, this is always a fun day to be a math nerd, do Pi-themed educational activities, and of course eat some real pie!

Over the years I have shared several technology activities for celebrating Pi Day including:

📈 Discovering Pi with Google Sheets
✍️ Create "Pi Poems" with Google Sheets
🏙️ Graph a Pi-Line Skyline with Google Sheets

You can get templates and directions for all of these activities at the link above.

🗒️ Padlet Teacher Assistant

Resource Link

Padlet has recently launched a free collection of AI tools to help support educators.
The site doesn't require you to log in to use the tools, but you can log in with your Padlet account if you would like to access a history of your conversations.
At the moment you will find AI tools to generate lesson plans, presentations, multiple choice assessments, worksheets, class activity ideas, AI images, re-leveled text, smart groups, and rubrics.
You can type in the details that each tool needs, or you can provide content for the tools to pull from including website links, YouTube videos, Google Drive files, uploaded files, and more.
When done you can copy the generated content, or have it directly exported into a Google Doc, Slideshow, Form, PDF, and more.
They are starting off with this smaller collection of tools, but plan to add many more over time.

🔗 Edusharing Link Shortener

Resource Link

There are a wide range of URL shorteners, but some of them may insert advertisements when people follow the link or sell information to advertisers.
That is exactly what teacher Brent Warner aimed to solve with his new free URL shortening service called Edushare.ing
Brent promises that all of your short-links made with his tool will never be redirected or removed or contain advertisements.
Simple paste in your full web link, then let Edushare.ing make a short version.
Or click the "Customize Link" option to type in your own back-half of the link to make it more personalized and memorable.

📚 Diffit for Novels and Chapter Books

Resource Link

Diffit is a popular AI tool for schools that I have shared about many times in the past.
In short it creates leveled content and resources for a wide range of materials including website articles, YouTube videos, PDFs, and more.
Well now Diffit has added a new feature to create leveled resources based on novels and chapter books.
Simply click on the "Books" tab and search for a book out of the hundreds available.
If you want to focus on specific chapters in the book, you can select the "Start Chapter" and "End Chapter".
As usual you can also select standards, reading level, and language.
Finally click "Generate Resources" to get a long-form summary, bullet-point summary, key vocabulary words, multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and open-ended prompts.

🤔 Curipod

Resource Link

AI-powered student engagement tools added to your Google Slides in seconds! Curipod brings your classroom-paced lessons to life by integrating open-ended questions and AI feedback that gets your class buzzing with curiosity, discussion, and 100% participation.

Students write, draw, and vote with short-answer questions, whiteboard activities, polls, and word clouds.
Students receive real-time AI feedback on their answers so they can reflect and revise.
Opportunities for peer review and upvoting spark classroom conversations and build confidence.

To get started, sign up for a free Curipod account, then:

Upload Google Slides and choose your grade level
Add instructions for the AI as needed (Add specific questions, customize with topics students love, etc.)
Align to standards (optional)
Click "Get Lesson"
Prepare to be amazed with your student-ready "Curified" slides!