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 1 resource from my blog.

🔄 Spin the Wheel

Resource Link

It is always helpful to have options for randomization tools. Random wheel spinners can be used in class to:

Randomly select students or classroom volunteers
Choose discussion and retrieval-practice prompts
Assign classroom and group-work roles
Select writing, presentation, and debate topics
And much more!

I recently received an email from the maker of "Spin the Wheel" which is a free site with a wide range of pre-made random wheels, as well as the ability to customize the wheels for your needs.

You can access the Student Picker wheel here https://spinthewheel.net/wheel/student-picker-wheel
And all of the educational wheels here - https://spinthewheel.net/wheels/category/education

🗺️ Reading Maps

Resource Link

With "The Odyssey" in theaters this summer there may be a renewed interest in learning about this famous story. One way to do that is to visualize Odysseus' ten-year voyage home from Troy on a map. The website "Reading Maps" can help with that!

On the site you can choose from loads of books (and some movies as well) and then see important locations and journeys from that book plotted on a map.
You can click on each specific location to get a pop up window with more details on that portion of the story.

This can be a great tool to increase understanding and interest in many famous books. You can check out the map for "The Odyssey" here - https://readingmaps.com/maps/the-odyssey

🖼️ Google Slides & Docs Downloader, Extractor & Zoom

Resource Link

Have you ever wanted to save an image that is embedded in a Google Doc or a Google Slides? This has happened to me many times, and in the past I end up jumping through all sorts of hoops trying to screenshot the picture, or copy the image, paste it into something else, and save a version from there.

Recently I came across a free Chrome extension that makes this process so much easier.

It works in Google Doc, Sheets and Slides
You can download any individual image, or a selection of images, or all of the images in the file.

The extension is called "Google Slides & Docs downloader, Extractor & Zoom" and you can install it from the Chrome Web Store.

💻 Join me for the Virtual CFISD Conference

Resource Link

I am excited and honored to once again present at the 2026 CFISD Digital Learning Conference this year.

Entirely virtual with over 50 EdTech sessions
Held on July 21st and 22nd
Open to all educators
FREE!

This year I will be live-streaming these sessions this Wednesday, July 22nd:

🖐️ Active Learning with Google Tools and EduProtocols
🎨 Remixing the Arts: AI in Art and Music Education
📓 Gemini Notebook for Schools
💎 Your AI Treasure Chest: Creating & Sharing Gemini Gems

You can get all the details at the link above and on the conference website at: www.cfisd.net/dlc

🛟 TeachAid

Resource Link

95%. That's how much our partner schools save on curriculum costs.
80%. That's the planning time their teachers get back.
One. TeachAid is the world's only end-to-end, all-in-one AI curriculum solution and development platform — built for K–12 schools, districts, and education partners.

TeachAid generates complete, hyper-local units from a teacher's subject, grade, and community context: lesson plans, slides, activities, assessments, and embedded IEP supports — aligned to the standards and frameworks your system already uses. There's a built-in AI tutor for adaptive student feedback, and the platform is designed to be deployed at building, district, or program scale.

Three things school and system leaders ask about most:

Pilots. We're running free school pilots through this school year with no commitment.
Curriculum collaboration. For schools, districts, ESDs, and education foundations, we co-design programs with your educators.
Capacity and retention. Giving teachers 80% of their planning time back changes what's possible.

If you're locking PD topics, curriculum budgets, or fall priorities this month, this is a 20-minute conversation worth having.

Secure a free pilot for your school - teachaid.ca