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.

🤖 The Bionic Educator - Banzai Recorded Webinar

Resource Link

A few weeks back I had the privilege of presenting my "Bionic Educator" keynote to kick off Banzai's virtual "Back-to-School Bootcamp". My keynote was "The Bionic Educator" which explores the impact of AI on education, with the key question being "Will AI take our jobs, or help us do our jobs better?" The recording of the keynote is now available! See the link above to watch it and access more resources from Banzai.

🌞 My Sun City EdTech Sessions

Resource Link

I am excited and honored to be a featured speaker at the 2025 Sun City EdTech Conference hosted by ESC19 and TCEA in El Paso, Texas on September 11th. I will be presenting:

🚦 Artificial Intelligence / Natural Misuse - Managing AI in Schools
🔑 Accessibility Tools to Support all Learners
💼 AI for Admins: Learning and Leading with AI

If you are in the El Paso area I hope to see you there! You can get all of the details, resources, registration and more at the link above.

📰 What's New in Google?

Resource Link

Feel free to join us online this Wednesday, August 27th at 1pm (ET) for our first GEG-Ohio Google User Group meeting for the new school year. We will cover all of the new features and updates from Google from the summer, as well as great ideas for using Google tools in school.

📝 You can view (and add to) the agenda here - Google Docs link
▶️ You can view the live video for the meeting at - YouTube link - (The video will be recorded and available to watch afterwards for those who cannot join us live.)
📆 You can add this event to your Google Calendar here - Calendar link

Anyone with an interest in Google tools for schools is welcome to join us. Please feel free to share this information with others who may benefit. See you soon!

🫘 Focus Friend

Resource Link

As much as I value and enjoy technology, I often need to remind myself to strive for a healthy balance with the rest of my life. In the past I have shared about this in my "Full Bleed" article and in my collection of digital wellbeing tools and resources. Well I was on YouTube the other day when I came across a Hank Green video where he was sharing about a new mobile app called "Focus Friend" that he developed to help you take a break from your phone and focus on other things.

The app works like a game where there is a bean (yes, a bean) who lives in your phone and wants to get some knitting done (as beans are want to do) but he can't do his knitting if you are using the phone. So you have to intentionally take breaks from your phone and not use it until the time you set elapses, after which you will get rewarded and can buy decorations for the bean's home in your phone.

Basically the point is to set down your phone from time to time to connect with others, read a book, go for a walk, relax, or whatever you value. If letting a bean knit helps provide a little bit of motivation, then that is a good thing. And best of all, the app is free and is available for both iOS and Android.

🕹️ Vault Learning Games Library

Resource Link

There are lots of educational games online, but they can be scattered over many different sites, with some being free and some not. To help with this we now have a curated collection from the Field Day Lab at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. At the Vault Learning Games Library you will find 75 educational online games that:

Are all free
Are all compatible with Chromebooks
Cover grades K through 12 and a wide range of subjects and topics
Come from creators such as iCivics, PhET, Learning Games Lab, and more

On the site you can easily narrow down the choices based on grade level, subject, and topic to find games that will work with your students. For each game they provide a description, related curriculum resources, and a link to play the game.

➡️ Brisk Next

Resource Link

Most people know that Brisk is one of my favorite and most recommended AI tools for educators. You can access my Brisk resources at bit.ly/curts-brisk and bit.ly/curts-boost to learn more about it.

For the start of the new school year, they have rolled out the "Brisk Next Beta" where you can test out some next features. Don't worry though, the Brisk extension is still available. These are just new features to support whatever you are teaching next:

Go to the Brisk Next website at https://app.briskteaching.com/
Type in the topic with as much detail as you want, choose a grade level, link in standards (if you want), and upload files (if you have some).
Brisk will then suggest resources in three categories: Prepare (resources and materials), Engage (exploration activities), and Assess (evaluation tools).
You can click on any resource and choose "Create" to have it generated, or you can click the "+" button to add resources into a bundle for easy organization.

🐙 Personalized Support for Every Learner: Kira's AI Tutor

Resource Link

When used with purpose, AI can help teachers reach more students without adding to their plate. Kira’s AI Tutor meets learners where they are, offering just-in-time support that keeps progress moving and builds confidence along the way.

In the last 30 days alone, over 250,000 student messages have been sent to the AI Tutor. Imagine the insights this has unlocked for teachers.

👀 Read how every student at Putnam County High School passed computer science

🎬 Watch a demo of Kira’s AI Tutor in action

📩 Connect with Kira