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.

🗯️ Making Graphic Novels with Gemini and NotebookLM

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For the last couple of weeks I have been going down a rabbit hole as I explored ideas for using AI to help create graphic novels. I ended up with a workflow that involves:

Creating a script with a specially structured template
Or using a custom Gemini Gem I created to make the script for you
Then using NotebookLM to generate the actual complete graphic novel

I put together a blog post with 25 examples and detailed directions so you or your students can create your own graphic novels. If you end up creating something, I would love to see what you make!

💎 New EduGems

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Each week I try to add new Gems to my EduGems website. Since last newsletter, the following Gems have been added to the site:

📓 ACT English Generator - Generate high-quality ACT English questions for your students based on your specific content
📓 ACT English Practice - Help students prepare for the ACT English section with practice questions, immediate feedback, and clear explanations
🔢 ACT Math Generator - Generate high-quality ACT Math questions for your students based on your specific content
📖 ACT Reading Generator - Generate high-quality ACT Reading passages & questions for your students based on your specific content
📖 ACT Reading Practice - Help students prepare for the ACT Reading section with short passages, rigorous questions, and clear explanations
💬 Alt Text - Generate accurate, context-aware, and WCAG-compliant alternative text for images
🔠 CYOA Story - Create an interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" game based on topic, learning goals & grade level
🗯️ Graphic Novel Maker - Turn any idea into a formatted script that can be used in NotebookLM to generate a completed graphic novel
⌛ Historical "What If?" - Create an engaging "Alternative History" scenario with new narrative, primary sources, critical thinking activities and more
🎭 Reader's Theater - Transform a topic, text, or concept into an engaging Reader's Theater script to build reading fluency and comprehension
🖼️ Slideshow Maker - Generate a complete Google Slides presentation based on your topic, content, audience, style and tone
🦸 Staff Superhero Image - Celebrate your school staff by transforming their photos into high-quality superhero portraits
📦 Standards Unpacker - Translate complex academic standards into skills, knowledge, concepts, expectations, targets, strategies, and more
✍️ Story Co-Writer - Have students collaboratively write a story with AI in "round robin" style on any topic
✍️ Text Rewriter - Analyze and adapt any text to adjust reading levels, length, tone, style, format, and accessibility features
🎬 Video Prompt Generator - Construct the perfect prompt for AI video generation tools for your Scene, Cinematography, Style, and Audio

Click on any of the links above to access, use, and copy the Gems.

🧞 Upcoming Webinar: Learning Genie

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I am excited to be presenting a webinar about a super-helpful AI-powered EdTech tool called Learning Genie which helps educators quickly develop a comprehensive and well-structured teaching unit.

🗓️ Wednesday, January 21, 2026
⏰ 7pm ET / 6pm CT / 5pm MT / 4pm PT
▶️ The webinar will be live-streamed and also recorded for those who can't attend live
✅ Register at bit.ly/jan21genie or in this Google Form

📰 What's New in Google?

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For an easy way to catch up on everything new in Google for Education from the last month, check out the recorded video, detailed agenda, and all the links from the GEG-Ohio December 2025 Meeting. We covered lots of new Google updates and helpful ideas and resources for schools.

🌞 My 2026 FETC Sessions

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I am excited and honored to be presenting at the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC 2026) in Orlando, Florida next week from January 11th through 14th.

You can access all the details and resources for the sessions I will be presenting at bit.ly/curts-fetc26 or the link above.
You can watch the interview that Patrick Hausammann and I did with Dr. Matthew Joseph about our sessions for FETC here - YouTube link
If you are interested in attending you can get all of those details at www.fetc.org
If you do attend, be sure to add to our sharing document here bit.ly/fetc26-share

🔎 Two Truths & AI Game

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Two Truths & AI is a new interactive digital literacy game from Common Sense Education for grades K–12. Through an engaging, 60-second challenge, students try to distinguish between real and AI-generated movie posters. Students will:

Spot AI-generated content by noticing visual clues like text errors, odd details, and using their prior knowledge.
Think critically about digital images and learn to verify what's authentic vs. altered.
Explain their reasoning through discussion, practicing both quick decisions and thoughtful analysis.

✖️ MathKit

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A high school student recently reached out to me to share a free Chrome extension he developed called MathKit which makes it super simple to create and insert math expressions into Google Slides. You don't even need an account!

Once you install the extension, you just click on the new MathKit button in Google Slides to open an intuitive visual editor where you can enter your math content. You can then insert your expression or equation as a sharp and scalable image on your slide. You can even re-edit the image as needed with the extension.

Although the extension only works in Google Slides, any math images you create with it can easily be copied from Slides and pasted elsewhere, such as in a Google Doc.

If you have any need to add math content to Google Slides, be sure to try out MathKit. Thanks to Josh for creating and sharing this!

🦅 Learn About America

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One of the earliest educational websites I remember sharing with teachers was the Mr. Nussbaum site which was (and still is) filled with so much content for different subject areas. Well the folks who created that site have now launched "Learn About America".

This new website covers American History, American Geography, and famous Americans, with a focus on grades 4 through 9. Although there is a paid version (which is a great way to help support the site) they also offer a massive amount of content for free including:

1,200+ customizable comprehension and literacy activities
1,200+ printable activities200+ geography, history, and biographical games
1,000+ articles and biographies
400+ interactive maps and printables
190+ bundles with full lesson plans
And more

🏫 Whole Teacher Department

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Educators - Do any of these feel familiar?

Feeling uninspired or isolated
Short on time but still wanting to grow
Sitting on strategies that could really help other educators

School leaders and administrators - Are you seeing these challenges?

Rising teacher turnover
Burnout across your staff
One-size-fits-all PD that misses the mark
Limited time to provide personalized support

Whole Teacher Department (WTD) was co-founded by a former teacher to support educators in a way that feels practical, personal, and timely. It is built for the realities of the school day, not another thing to add to your plate. In under 30 seconds, educators can:

Discover ready-to-use strategies from trusted PD providers and fellow educators
Ask real questions and get practical advice from educators nationwide
Share what works in their classroom and help others
Learn through action-based Experiences with no long videos or workshops
Be part of a supportive community that understands the work and the pressure

Leave the department every day with a new idea, an optimistic spark, and a true sense of belonging. Create your FREE account today at joinwtd.com We cannot wait to welcome you into the WTD Lounge.