EdTech Links - Week of 5-11-2026

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!

Join Me for the Jeffrey Powell Mobile Learning Conference

I am excited and honored to be providing a keynote session for the 17th annual Jeffrey Powell Mobile Learning Conference this summer!

This is an entirely virtual conference, so anyone and everyone can attend, with a wide range of educational technology sessions from amazing educators (and friends of mine) including Ken Shelton, Stephanie Howell, Melissa Kincaid, Steph Sukow, Katie Fielding, and many more.

For my keynote I will be presenting:

• 🍳 Your Brain on AI: Moving from Crutch to Catalyst
• Tuesday, June 9th at 10am ET
• When students use AI, are they learning or just offloading? As beneficial as AI can be, overreliance on it can hurt thinking skills, creativity, and understanding. How do we avoid this? This keynote offers the 'Wrestle, Rap, Reflect' framework, a powerful, practical solution that keeps the human in the loop by requiring learners to engage their own brains before and after the AI interaction. We will learn to move students from a passive 'crutch' mindset to an active 'catalyst' partnership, ensuring AI builds intellectual agency, not atrophy.

Here are the key details for this virtual event:

• 💡 Jeffrey Powell Mobile Learning Conference
• 📅 June 8-9, 2026
• ⏰ 10am to 5pm ET (7am to 2pm PT)
• 💲 Cost - $25 (includes access to live sessions and replays for up to 2 weeks after the conference)
• 🔗 Website - nemcc.edu/mobilelearning/
• 🎟️ Register - 2026mobilelearning.sched.com/registration
• 📋 View full schedule - 2026mobilelearning.sched.com/list/simple

I hope you can join this event. I look forward to learning with you!

My HICE26 Sessions

I am excited to be presenting at the 2026 HICE Conference right here in northeast Ohio on June 2nd and 3rd.

This is the conference that we put on through my work at SPARCC and the Stark County ESC. It is a free, in-person event with over 130 sessions covering all areas of education, teaching, learning, technology, and more.

I even created a Gemini Gem to help you select the best sessions to match your interests!

If you are anywhere near the area, I encourage you to join us for this amazing conference! Here are the key details:

• 💡 High Impact Conference for Educators
• 📅 June 2-3, 2026
• 🏫 Lake Middle High School
• 📍 709 Market Ave SW, Uniontown, OH 44632
• 🔗 Website - https://bit.ly/summerhice
• 🎟️ Register for free - Google Form

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at HICE26, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

EdTech Links - Week of 4-27-2026

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!

12 New EduGems from April 2026

EduGems is my website where I share my favorite Gemini Gems for schools.

You can access, use, and copy any of the Gems at edugems.ai where I currently have 133 Gems!

Each month I add new Gems to the site. See below for links to the 12 new Gems I added during the month of April 2026, along with a short description for each.

Feel free to share with others and please consider submitting your own Gems to the site.

What's New in Google - April 2026

Catch up on everything new in Google Workspace for Education from April 2026, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our April 2026 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda with all the awesome resources and Google updates from the last few months. This includes lots of new Google updates and Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Workspace news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Workspace is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the April 2026 meeting:

EdTech Links - Week of 4-20-2026

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!

Recorded Webinar - AI Games, Interviews & Activities for Student Learning

I recently recorded a webinar about using AI as an interactive partner for games, interviews, and activities for student learning.

These can be done with any grade level or subject, either as whole-class activities where the teacher manages the AI but the students still participate, or with students individually interacting with the AI for their own learning experiences. 

In this session we explored a wide range of AI activities including:

• 🎙️ AI Interview
• 🔠 “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories
• 🤔 "20 Questions" games
• ❌ “Two Truths and a Lie” Games
• 📓 Emoji Definition Game
• 🤐 Classroom Taboo Game
• ⚖️ AI Debate
• ✍️ AI Co-Writing

To learn all about using AI for engaging student learning activities, see below to watch my recorded 1-hour webinar and to access the resources from the session.

Podcast Spotlight - EdTech Bites

I recently had the pleasure to be a returning guest on the "EdTech Bites Podcast" hosted by Gabriel Carrillo.

The first time I was on the podcast was six years ago when I was in Austin, Texas and Gabriel and I enjoyed a meal of fatty brisket at Black's BBQ and discussed well-being (and yes, I acknowledge the irony of that). 

You can listen to that blast-from-the-past interview here - EdTech Bites Episode 57

Now six years later, I got to sit down with Gabriel again, this time at the MACUL Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

If you are not familiar with his podcast, Gabriel describes it as follows:

EdTech Bites is a Podcast about all things EdTech and Food hosted by Gabriel Carrillo. He interviews teachers, leaders, and innovators to discuss the latest trends in educational technology. Many times, while sharing a meal together. So subscribe, tell a friend or colleague, and remember that great conversations happen when we break bread with great people.

I had a wonderful time chatting all about my EduGems website, examples of Gems, my process for creating Gems, the importance of sharing Gems, and a challenge to schools to create and curate their own libraries of Gems for their staff and students.

Take a look below to listen to the episode, access the resources that I shared in the episode, and explore more about the podcast.

EdTech Links - Week of 4-13-2026

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!

My 2026 NETA Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the 2026 NETA Conference in Kearney, Nebraska on April 30th.

I always look forward to an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

You can access more NETA information and register for the conference at:

• https://netasite.org/?page_id=9458

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at NETA, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

My ISTE 2026 Sessions

I am excited and honored to once again present at the 2026 ISTE Conference in Orlando, Florida this June 28th through July 1st.

I always look forward to this opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

You can attend ISTE in person this year, or take part as a virtual attendee. To get more details and register for the conference go to:

• https://conference.iste.org/2026

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at the ISTE Conference, along with any associated resources. I will continue to update this list with any changes and additions to my schedule.

Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

EdTech Links - Week of 4-6-2026

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!

Podcast Spotlight - LinkedUp Podcast

I recently had the pleasure to be a guest on the "LinkedUp Podcast" hosted by Jerri Kemble and Jamie Saponaro.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love podcasts and am always mentioning something new I learned from one of them, so I was super excited to get to join an episode of this podcast.

The podcast is described as follows:

Tune in to LinkedUp: Breaking Boundaries in Education to hear from Jerri Kemble and Jamie Saponaro as they seek global perspectives on educational topics that matter. With so many people to hear from and so many lessons to learn - they are gaining insights from education leaders worldwide. Powered by ClassLink, they are linking up the movers and shakers who make it happen!

I had a wonderful time chatting about topics including:

• Overcoming Challenges: How high school theater helped manage my childhood stutter and build a foundation for public speaking.
• The Human Element: Why AI will never replace educators, but instead give teachers more time to connect with and inspire their students.
• Shifting AI Perspectives: Moving past initial fears of cheating to focus on getting AI into the hands of students for personalized learning.
• "Wrestle, Wrap, Reflect": A practical framework inspired by an MIT study to help students use AI as a catalyst for critical thinking rather than a cognitive crutch.
• The E-Bike Analogy: A comparison illustrating why throwing screens out of the classroom robs students of valuable learning scaffolds.
• EduGems.ai: An overview of my newly launched platform with free, ready-to-use Gemini Gems for educators.
• The Power of Sharing: The importance of releasing educational resources under Creative Commons to help the entire teaching community grow.

Take a look below to listen to the episode, access the resources that I shared in the episode, and explore more about the podcast.

Recorded Webinar - Making Graphic Novels with NotebookLM

I recently recorded a webinar about creating educational graphic novels with NotebookLM.

A while back I came up with a workflow to use Gemini and NotebookLM to generate graphic novels, which I shared on my blog. 

People have been loving this project and creating so many amazing things to help with teaching and learning in all subjects and grade levels.

To help more people try this out I did a deep-dive hands-on session where we covered the following:

• 🗯️ Graphic Novel Overview
• 📚 Loads of Pre-Made Examples
• 🛠️ How to Create a Graphic Novel
• 💡 Choose a Topic
• 🎨 Choose an Art Style
• 📄 Create the Script
• ✍️ Review and Edit the Script
• 📓 Create a Notebook
• 📖 Generate the Graphic Novel
• ✂️ Edit the Graphic Novel
• 💾 Download and Share the Graphic Novel

To learn all about creating educational graphic novels with NotebookLM, see below to watch my recorded 1.5-hour webinar and to access the resources from the session.

Upcoming Webinar: AI Games, Interviews and Activities for Student Learning

I am excited to be presenting a free webinar about using AI for educational games, interviews and activities for student learning

AI can be the perfect interactive partner for learning activities and games. These can be done with any grade level and any subject, either as whole-class activities where the teacher manages the AI but the students still participate, or with students individually interacting with the AI for their own learning experiences.

In this session we will try out these AI activities live and hands-on as we explore:

• 🎙️ AI interviews
• ⚖️ AI debates
• 🔠 "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories
• ✍️ Co-writing activities
• 🤔 Games including 20 Questions, 2 Truths and a Lie, Classroom Taboo, the Emoji Definition Game

Details for this training:

• 🎲 AI Games, Interviews and Activities for Student Learning
• 🗓️ Tuesday, April 21st, 2026
• ⏰ 3pm ET / 2pm CT / 1pm MT / Noon PT
• ▶️ The webinar will be live-streamed and also recorded for those who can't attend live
• ✅ Register at bit.ly/apr21games or in this Google Form

Feel free to share with others and I hope you will join me for this exciting webinar! Come play and learn!

12 New EduGems from March 2026

EduGems is my website where I share my favorite Gemini Gems for schools.

You can access, use, and copy any of the Gems at edugems.ai where I currently have 121 Gems!

Each month I add new Gems to the site. See below for links to the 12 new Gems I added during the month of March 2026, along with a short description for each.

Feel free to share with others and please consider submitting your own Gems to the site.

Googley Poetry Projects and Tools

April is the time of year

For kids to write a poem.
There's loads of fun activities
Here for you to show 'em.

Google tools can be used
To make the perfect rhyme,
With templates, tools, and writing prompts
To save your students time.

Draggable Drawings, random Sheets,
And Google Docs highlighting
Will give your students inspiration
For their creative writing.

So look below to find out more,
Then get your students on it,
Writing their ode, haiku, free verse,
Their ballad or their sonnet.

EdTech Links - Week of 3-16-26

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!

Recorded Webinar - NotebookLM for Schools

I recently recorded a webinar about NotebookLM for schools.

If you are not familiar with NotebookLM, it is Google's free AI-powered tool where you can load your own trusted sources and then generate engaging resources that are grounded in your vetted content.

In this deep-dive hands-on session we covered the following topics:

• 🗃️ Add sources to Notebooks including your own Google Docs, Slides, PDFs, websites, videos and more
• 💬 Explore how to "chat" with your sources to find specific answers and summarize key concepts
• 🔊 Use the powerful Studio tools to instantly generate Audio and Video Overviews, slide decks, infographics, mind maps, data tables, flashcards, quizzes, and reports
• 💡 Discover practical and creative ways to use NotebookLM for teaching and learning

To learn all about using NotebookLM in schools, see below to watch my recorded 1.5-hour webinar and to access the resources from the session.

Upcoming Webinar: Making Graphic Novels with NotebookLM

I am excited to be presenting a free webinar about creating educational graphic novels with NotebookLM.

A while back I came up with a workflow to use Gemini and NotebookLM to generate graphic novels, which I shared on my blog. 

People have been loving this project and creating so many amazing things to help with teaching and learning in all subjects and grade levels.

To help more people try this out we will be doing a deep-dive hands-on session where we will cover the following:

• 🗯️ Graphic Novel Overview
• 📚 Loads of Pre-Made Examples
• 🛠️ How to Create a Graphic Novel
• 💡 Choose a Topic
• 🎨 Choose an Art Style
• 📄 Create the Script
• ✍️ Review and Edit the Script
• 📓 Create a Notebook
• 📖 Generate the Graphic Novel
• ✂️ Edit the Graphic Novel
• 💾 Download and Share the Graphic Novel

See below for details to participate in this training:

• 🗯️ Making Graphic Novels with NotebookLM
• 🗓️ Thursday, April 2nd, 2026
• ⏰ 3pm ET / 2pm CT / 1pm MT / Noon PT
• ▶️ The webinar will be live-streamed and also recorded for those who can't attend live
• ✅ Register at bit.ly/apr2graph or in this Google Form

I hope you will join me for this exciting webinar!

Recorded Webinar - Did a Robot Write this Report? Managing AI Cheating

Generative AI is a powerful tool that can be used to support teachers and students. Unfortunately, just as AI can be used to generate lesson plans, provide helpful feedback, and serve as a personalized tutor, it can also be used to write a paper, provide answers, and do students' work.

But how can we manage this? Over the last several years I have been having this academic integrity discussion with thousands of educators around the world in the trainings I have done. Through those conversations I have had the chance to get feedback on my thoughts, as well as pick up many new amazing ideas from participants.

Recently I pulled all of these resources together and recorded my 2026 version of "Did a Robot Write this Report?" This is a 1-hour video where I do a deep dive into addressing AI cheating including:

• 🍳 The impact of AI on student brains
• 📔 Defining what it means to cheat with AI
• 🔒 Adjusting assignments to reduce the potential of cheating while increasing the positive use of AI
• 📑 Encouraging transparency and proper citation of AI use
• 🔎 Tools and techniques for monitoring AI usage
• 🧭 Resources for developing AI guidelines
• 🎓 Resources to educate students about AI
• And more!

See below to watch the recorded video and access all of the support materials. I welcome your suggestions, thoughts, questions, comments, and opinions!

EdTech Links - Week of 3-2-26

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!

Recorded Webinar - Creating and Sharing Gemini Gems

I recently recorded a webinar about creating and sharing Gemini Gems.

If you are not familiar with Gems, they are reusable, custom prompts that save your best AI workflows for instant access, and they are a game-changer for educators!

In this deep-dive hands-on session we covered the following topics:

• 🔎 Explore Google's pre-made Gems and the 100+ Gems on my EduGems site
• 🛠️ Create new Gems from scratch
• 💬 Learn tips for effective prompting, reference files, and tool selection
• 🔗 Share the Gems we create
• 🗃️ Discover how to build a high-quality Gem repository for your staff and students

To learn all about creating and sharing Gems, see below to watch my recorded 1-hour webinar and to access the resources from the session.

18 New EduGems from February 2026

EduGems is my website where I share my favorite Gemini Gems for schools.

You can access, use, and copy any of the Gems at https://www.edugems.ai/

Each month I add new Gems to the site. See below for links to the 18 new Gems I added during the month of February 2026, along with a short description for each.

Feel free to share with others and please consider submitting your own Gems to the site.

Upcoming Webinar - NotebookLM for Schools

I am excited to be presenting a free webinar about NotebookLM for schools.

If you are not familiar with NotebookLM, it is Google's free AI-powered tool where you can load your own trusted sources and then generate engaging resources that are grounded in your vetted content.

In this deep-dive hands-on session we will:

• 🗃️ Add sources to Notebooks including your own Google Docs, Slides, PDFs, websites, videos and more
• 💬 Explore how to "chat" with your sources to find specific answers and summarize key concepts
• 🔊 Use the powerful Studio tools to instantly generate Audio and Video Overviews, slide decks, infographics, mind maps, data tables, flashcards, quizzes, and reports
• 💡 Discover practical and creative ways to use NotebookLM for teaching and learning

See below for details to participate in this training:

• 📓 NotebookLM: Your Grounded AI Super Tool
• 🗓️ Tuesday, March 17th, 2026
• ⏰ 3pm ET / 2pm CT / 1pm MT / Noon PT
• ▶️ The webinar will be live-streamed and also recorded for those who can't attend live
• ✅ Register at bit.ly/mar17nblm or in this Google Form

I hope you will join me for this exciting webinar!

What's New in Google - February 2026

Catch up on everything new in Google Workspace for Education from February 2026, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our February 2026 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda with all the awesome resources and Google updates from the last few months. This includes lots of new Google updates and Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Workspace news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Workspace is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the February 2026 meeting:

EdTech Links - Week of 2-23-26

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!

Upcoming Webinar - Creating and Sharing Gemini Gems

I am excited to be presenting a free webinar about creating and sharing Gemini Gems.

If you are not familiar with Gems, they are reusable, custom prompts that save your best AI workflows for instant access, and they are a game-changer for educators!

In this deep-dive hands-on session we will:

• 🔎 Explore Google's pre-made Gems and the 100+ Gems on my EduGems site
• 🛠️ Create new Gems from scratch
• 💬 Learn tips for effective prompting, reference files, and tool selection
• 🔗 Share the Gems we create
• 🗃️ Discover how to build a high-quality Gem repository for your staff and students

See below for details to participate in this training:

• 💎 Your AI Treasure Chest: Creating & Sharing Gemini Gems
• 🗓️ Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026
• ⏰ 3pm ET / 2pm CT / 1pm MT / Noon PT
• ▶️ The webinar will be live-streamed and also recorded for those who can't attend live
• ✅ Register at bit.ly/mar3gems or in this Google Form

I hope you will join me for this exciting webinar!

EdTech Links - Week of 2-16-2026

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!

My 2026 MACE Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the 2026 MACE Conference in Manhattan, Kansas on March 5th and 6th.

I always look forward to an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

You can access more MACE information and register for the conference at:

• https://mace-ks.org/

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at MACE, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

My 2026 MACUL Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the 2026 MACUL Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 18th through 20th.

I always look forward to an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

You can access more MACUL information and register for the conference at:

• https://maculconference.org/

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at MACUL, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

100 of the Best Gemini Gems for Schools

Four months ago I launched my EduGems website as an easy way to share some of my favorite Gemini Gems for schools. In case you are not familiar with Gems, they are basically just custom prompts that can be saved and shared and used anytime you need.

When the site launched, the collection of Gems was pretty small, but I hoped it would grow over time. 

Well since then I have pretty much become obsessed with creating new Gems for educators and students. I have also been so fortunate to have amazing educators share some of their own custom Gems for me to use.

And now … drum roll please … EduGems now has 100 Gems!

These Gems cover a wide range of topics from Exit Tickets to KWL Activities to Daily Bell Ringers to Lesson Hooks to AI Debates to Learner Scaffolds to Student Reflections and so much more!

If you haven't checked out the site yet, or if it has been a while since you were there, be sure to pop back over to EduGems at https://www.edugems.ai/ and explore all the amazing Gems ready to support you and your students.

My 2026 OETC Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the 2026 Ohio Educational Technology Conference (OETC25) in Columbus, Ohio on February 10th through 12th.

I always look forward to an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

You can access more OETC26 information and register for the conference at:

• https://oetc.ohio.gov/

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at OETC26, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

EdTech Links - Week of 2-2-2026

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!

Google AI for the New Year - Recorded Webinar

Recently I had the privilege to offer a free online session for the Teacher Innovation Network "EdTech Playground" series titled "AI for the New Year" where the theme was AI updates for schools.

For my session I presented on new AI features for Gemini, NotebookLM, and Google Classroom from the last few months, and how they can be used for teaching and learning. This included:

• 3️⃣ New Gemini 3 model
• 🍌 Nano Banana 3 Pro for advanced images and infographics
• 🖼️ Slideshow creation in Gemini
• 💯 SAT Practice Tests in Gemini
• 💎 Gem sharing and the EduGems website
• 🔊 Audio lessons in Classroom
• 📊 NotebookLM infographics, slidedecks, and data tables
• 🗯️ NotebookLM for graphic novels

The Teacher Innovation Network was kind enough to make the recorded video available for people to view if they were not able to attend the live session. See below to watch the recording, as well as access the resources I shared in the session.

Feel free to share with others who may benefit, and let me know what AI updates you are most excited about.

EdTech Links - Week of 1-26-2026

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!

New EduGems from January 2026

EduGems is my website where I share my favorite Gemini Gems for schools.

You can access, use, and copy any of the Gems at https://www.edugems.ai/

Each month I add new Gems to the site. See below for links to the 13 new Gems I added during the month of January 2026, along with a short description for each.

Feel free to share with others and please consider submitting your own Gems to the site.

What's New in Google - January 2026

Catch up on everything new in Google Workspace for Education from January 2026, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our January 2026 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda with all the awesome resources and Google updates from the last few months. This includes lots of new Google updates and Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Workspace news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Workspace is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the January 2026 meeting:

Exporting Math from Gemini to Docs

I recently received an email asking for help with exporting math content from Google Gemini to Google Docs. So here's the problem…

Google Gemini does a great job creating math content including polynomial fractions, radicals, integrals, matrices, and more.

Note: You will want to use the "Pro" model of Gemini, rather than the "Fast" or "Thinking" models, since the Pro model is designed to handle complex math. Thankfully if you are using a school Google account, you get 100 free "Pro" uses a day, so you can make a lot of math for free.

For example here is some math I generated with Gemini:

The problem happens when we try to export that content to a Google Doc for use in a worksheet or quiz or test or such. Whether you copy and paste the content, or use the "Export to Docs" feature, instead of getting nice math symbols and expressions, you get odd looking code like this:

$$\sqrt[3]{27a^6 b^9 \sqrt{64a^4 b^2}}$$

Thankfully there is a simple and free solution to this problem. See below for my short 10-minute video where I show you how to easily export math content from Gemini to Google Docs, as well as links to the free resources you will need.

15 Updates to Make Google BETTer

This last week Google was in London at BETT, the world’s biggest educational technology exhibition. At the event, companies from all around the world showed off their latest and greatest innovations for educational technology.

Google used this opportunity to showcase new updates for Google Workspace for Education. These updates include new features for Gemini, Google Classroom, Chromebooks, Google Drive tools and more!

Although I have never been to BETT yet (definitely a goal for the future!) I wanted to share these new updates with you. See below for my rundown of my 15 favorite new updates that Google announced.

EdTech Links - Week of 1-19-2026

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!

Recorded Webinar - Learning Genie

I recently recorded a webinar about a super-helpful AI-powered EdTech tool called Learning Genie. (Disclosure - Learning Genie sponsored this webinar, but all opinions were my own.)

If you are not familiar with Learning Genie it is a tool which helps educators quickly develop a comprehensive and well-structured teaching unit. Here are some key features:

• 🧰 Create complete unit plans with all the needed resources (plans, slideshows, worksheets, assessments, more)
• 🏫 Works with any subject and any grade (PreK-12)
• 🎯 Aligns with state standards and uses Al to support interdisciplinary learning and connect instruction with assessment
• 📍 Localizes curriculum to engage students in meaningful and relevant learning experiences
• 💰 Robust free version

To learn all about Learning Genie, see below to watch my recorded 1-hour webinar and to access the resources from the session.

Public NotebookLM with AI Policies, Guidelines and Frameworks

Over the last few years most schools around the world have been working on developing policies and guidelines that clarify how AI can and should be used by their students and educators, as well as which uses are prohibited or limited in a school setting.

If your school does not have AI guidelines yet, you are certainly not alone. Many districts are still digging into this task with committees and pilot groups and more.

Thankfully there are many organizations, states, and schools that have been blazing a trail in this area by developing and sharing their own AI policies, guidelines, and frameworks.

I recently collected over 40 of the best examples I have come across from states, schools, and organizations, and uploaded them all into a public notebook in NotebookLM.

See below for the link to access this shared Notebook and some directions on how you can interact with it to support you work on AI guidance for your school.