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:

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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.

🧭 Gemini's Guided Learning

Resource Link

Google recently released their new "Guided Learning" tool for Gemini. If you haven't seen it yet, Guided Learning is a great feature for students because instead of just giving the student a quick answer, Gemini will explain some of the basic information, but will then ask the student questions to bring them into a discussion and encourage them to think critically. This can be a great way for students to get help but still do the work themselves when doing homework, essays, reviewing, or learning new content.

I recorded a short demonstration video and wrote up some directions which you can see in my blog post linked above.

🛠️ Career Tech AI Prompts

Resource Link

I recently presented a day of sessions for a Career Tech conference in Alabama. In preparation for that training I put together a couple of new documents to support the attendees:

AI Prompts for Career Tech Educators - Over 300 prompts broken down by different Career Tech subject areas, designed to help support educators with planning, differentiating, assessment, content creation, career exploration, and more.
AI Prompts for Career Tech Interactive Simulations - About 100 prompts that can be used to create engaging interactive simulations for career tech students. These allow the students to interact with AI for simulated interviews, problem-solving scenarios, work-based simulations, and more.

You can access all the details and prompts at the link above.

🧒 Learn your New Students with Google Slides

Resource Link

With the start of a new school year, one of the first things every teacher wants to do is memorize their students faces and names. To help out with this I updated a Google Slides template I made several years ago. With this template your students can add their picture, name, and details about themselves. You can then practice learning them by using the animations in the slideshow to first reveal their pictures and then their names and details. You can get all the directions and your own copy of the template at the link above.

🈴 Microsoft Translator

Resource Link

A surprisingly common question that I get asked is "How can students see a live translation of what their teacher is saying in class?" There are certainly many tools that can do this sort of thing, but many of them cost money and have some level of difficulty to use. Then I heard about Microsoft Translator and … wow … this is really awesome! In short here is how it works:

The teacher downloads the free Microsoft Translator app for their phone (iOS or Android).
Then they click the "Converse" button in the top right and then click "Start" at the bottom to begin the live session.
The teacher will see a five letter code at the top, which they need to give to their students (there is also a QR code they can display for convenience).
Students open either the app on their phone or go to the website translator.microsoft.com
The students type in the code you gave them, as well as their name and language of choice.
Finally the teacher taps the "Presenter Mode" icon at the bottom of the app which turns on their microphone and starts transmitting everything they say to the students' devices.
On the students' phones or laptops they will see everything the teacher says in both the teacher's language and in the language the student has chosen.

Of course there are lots of other settings and options you can play with, but for a quick and easy (and free!) live translation of anything a teacher is saying, this is hands-down one of the best tools.

💡 BBC Learning Hub

Resource Link

I have always been a fan of the BBC because of my love for the "Doctor Who" TV show, but the BBC Learning Hub is another great reason. This is a totally free education platform designed for PreK-12 teachers, students, and families around the globe.

Resource types include videos, lesson plans, student articles (at three different reading levels), blog posts, printable, news clips, and more.
Content areas addressed include science, ELA, math, social studies, and SEL.
Browse through the categories or use the search tool to explore all of the resources.

🐲 TeachQuest

Resource Link

Since ClassCraft went away, teachers have been looking for a replacement for this role-playing gamification platform for education. It looks like there are several possible products being developed (including one I shared last year called ClassMana). Recently I came across another option called TeachQuest. Some of the current features include:

RPG Experience: Students become characters with stats, abilities, and progression systems
Unlimited Customization: Teachers can create custom spells, potions, awards, and encounters
Team-Based Learning: Students work together in teams, fostering collaboration
Comprehensive Features: From noise tracking to epic boss battles
Privacy-First: They don't collect student email addresses
Free: And best yet, at the moment TeachQuest is currently free!

If you are looking for a replacement for ClassCraft, or want to start using gamification in your classroom, TeachQuest might be a good option to explore.

✍️ Class Companion by Panorama Education

Resource Link

Class Companion is one of my favorite AI tools for student writing and educator insights. You can see my earlier blog post and tutorial video about it. Class Companion provides:

Instant feedback & scoring - Give students instant, customizable Al-powered feedback
Al tutoring - When enabled, the Al tutor gives students guidance on their work
Content - Use your own content or browse the content library
Insights - See your students' strengths, areas for growth, and engagement
Accommodations - Reading level, translation, text-to-speech, and more
Response integrity - Identify and investigate potential academic dishonesty

And best of all, you can use it for free! Sign up today to motivate your students, improve scores, give 1:1 support, and gain insights.