Educator Alexander's Newsletter
OCTOBER NEWS
ISTE+ASCD Proposals Due October 6
The ASCD Annual Conference 26, June 28–July 1 in Orlando and online, is your chance to take the stage and empower educators everywhere. The Call for Participation for ISTELive 26, June 28-July 1 in Orlando, is open and online! Submit your session idea by October 6, 2025.
Submission guide:
https://conference.iste.org/2026/presenters/pdfs/ISTELive26SubmissionGuide.pdf
Conference website:
https://conference.iste.org/2026/presenters/submit_proposal.php
Sign Up Today: ISTE+ASCD Proposals Review Team Member Interest
Want to be a part of an ISTE Team who reviews ISTE proposals?
Fill out this Form by October 5 to get more information if any spots are available: https://bit.ly/desireereview
Digital Citizenship Week Resources from Common Sense Education
Digital Citizenship Week is October 20–24, 2025
Each year during the third full week of October, Common Sense Media leads Digital Citizenship Week, an annual campaign to promote a healthy, balanced, and positive approach to media and tech use among young people.
This year we've got brand-new resources to support students' digital well-being in the age of AI. See below for our calendars full of suggested activities for each grade level, K–12, as well as events, free PD courses, a fun social media challenge, and more!
Brisk Bites YouTube Playlist Released
Three Google Updates
Pilot: Learning Standard & Skills in Classroom
We're piloting a new Classroom feature that lets educators tag coursework with learning standards and skills to see analytics and insights. To participate, complete the interest form or share it with your Google Workspace for Education administrator. Open to educators using Education Plus or the Teaching & Learning add-on.
Try new Gemini in Classroom--Everyone Gets it for FREE
Explore Gemini in Classroom, a suite of AI tools accessed from a new tab in Classroom to help educators go from idea to instruction faster. Available free of charge to all Google Workspace for Education educators.
New Google Educator Certification
Ready to confidently integrate Google AI tools into your classroom? We’re excited to announce that the Gemini Certification for Educators is now live! Showcase your expertise in practical strategies and advocate for responsible AI use. After you pass, be sure to share your accomplishment on LinkedIn! Exam Guide: https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/geminieducatorexamguide.pdf
Windows 10 Will End in October 2025
Dell has created an online tool for you to check any PC brand for Windows 11 compatibility. By clicking this link, you’ll be directed to a Dell Support page to review your device’s status and next steps.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in Your Classroom!
Why Do We Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month?
In the United States, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month each year from September 15 to October 15. But do your students know why we honor this important month or how we recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities? Introduce your class to the ways that Hispanic American Heritage Month is celebrated across the country, the origin of the holiday, and a few notable Hispanic American figures using this quick video.
Note: This video is also available in Spanish.
Bring Hispanic & Latino Stories Into Your Classroom
What are the stories of U.S. Latinos, and how do they inform the broader American narrative? From exploring the United States’ involvement in the Spanish-American War to diving into personal narratives of famed individuals such as author and poet Julia Alvarez, this engaging collection of lesson plans, videos, and classroom resources will invite your students to explore how real-life Latino experiences illuminate our country's history, as well as its struggle to live up to its ideals.
Learn About the Migrant Workers Movement
Show your class the conditions that led to the need for the Migrant Workers Movement, headed by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. This engaging media gallery dives into the working conditions of migrant workers, the use of child labor, the movement’s commitment to nonviolence, and the rights gained as a result of the movement.
Meet the Chef Who Brought Mexican Food to the American Masses
Introduce your students to the life of Elena Zelayeta, a chef who transformed the culinary landscape of San Francisco through her innovative cooking techniques and passion for Mexican cuisine. Despite losing her sight in her thirties, Zelayeta became the first Latina to host a televised cooking show and was the only blind cooking teacher in the United States at the time. Find out more about her incredible life using this classroom-friendly audio piece from the Rebel Girls collection!
Explore More PBS LearningMedia Resources
- Explore Culture and Storytelling Through Folklórico Dance (3-8)
- Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution (6-12)
- Why Do We Say Latino? (6-12)
- Lesson Plan: The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo (9-12)
- Go on a Coquí Quest | Alma's Way (PreK-2)
- A Dish From Puerto Rico: Fricasé De Pollo (3-12)
- Learn About Latino Contributions to the National Parks (6-12)
- Who Was Simon Bolivar? (6-12)
- Take a Virtual Field Trip to Mexico City, Mexico | Let's Go Luna! (K-2)
First Year Teachers Get Diffit For Free (and Others Get 90 Days Free Using My Link)
Diffit for First Year Teachers: Start here to get free premium access to Diffit through June 30th, 2026. You can also learn about Diffit in this quick video.
Not a first year teacher? You can still get a free 90 day premium trial or extend your free trial by 90 days by using my link!
Jump Start Your School Year by Becoming a Common Sense Educator TODAY!
The Common Sense Recognition Program provides a road map for creating a positive culture of digital learning. This free program includes professional learning, teaching lessons, tips and resources for engaging families around learning with media and tech, and opportunities for educators to reflect on their own classroom technology practices. Plus you get a certification and a badge that shows how awesome you are and how hard you've worked and get an invitation to become a Common Sense Ambassador!
All applications for the 2025-2026 school year are due May 8, 2026 (BUT DO IT NOW BEFORE YOU FORGET...🤷🏾♀️💯🫨).
*Don't forget about becoming a Common Sense School and a Common Sense District too!
Educator Alexander Consulting Provides FREE Google Training for Your District Through Google's EPSO
You may be wondering what districts are eligible and how to redeem this offer?
To learn more about the offer, check out this one-pager or this site. Still undecided? Review the quantifiable benefits and cost savings enabled by Education Plus here.
Eligibility Requirements:
Customers purchasing Education Plus for the first time
Customers upgrading to Education Plus who did not own Education Plus licenses as of Jan 1, 2024
Transition renewals moving from legacy G Suite Enterprise for Education on a price lock (purchased in 2020) to Education Plus
How it works
Purchase Education Plus licenses for your full domain
500 license minimum
Choose your services by filling out this form
Select PD and/or IT services. Learn more about each here: goo.gle/education-plus-offer
Within 30 days of receiving email approval from Google, connect with Educator Alexander Consulting to schedule your services.
Services do not have to be redeemed within 30 days, just scheduled / on the calendar
EDUCATOR ALEXANDER CONSULTING is an approved provider for these services! Choose us and we can provide your FREE training!
TCEA TECH BLOG GOODIES
Collective Resume Activity for Teachers and Students
Start with a Spark: The SPIKE Prime Light Show Challenge for Beginners
Stop Teaching, Start Thinking: Build a Classroom that Prioritizes Deep Thinking, Part One
Stop Teaching, Start Thinking: Build a Classroom that Prioritizes Deep Thinking, Part Two
Safeguarding Student Data in K–12 Education: A Practical Guide to FERPA and Beyond
Demystify AI: Your Back-to-School Teaching Toolkit from the News Literacy Project
Educators Can Get Office 365 for FREE
A Couple More Google Updates
Education Plus Services Offer: Maximize your investment with complimentary services
This year, when you purchase Education Plus, receive free Professional Development and/or IT support to help you maximize the value of your investment. EDUCATOR ALEXANDER CAN PROVIDE THE PD!!!!
New AI-powered tools can help address many daily challenges in the classroom. Of course, the ability to use these new tools to effectively support learning outcomes requires training. That’s why, alongside our research-backed AI learning features, we’re continuing to invest in AI literacy programs and resources. In this month’s Google for Education newsletter, discover a range of resources that build AI literacy – all conveniently housed in the new AI literacy hub. Explore AI Quests, a game-based learning experience for middle school students, and check out AI Playbook for Parents, our new video series on YouTube. Read on for more.
Three Things to Know
Discover our new AI literacy hub, where you'll find resources and trainings that empower students, educators, and families to use AI effectively, safely, and responsibly. Jennie Magiera shares the latest Google AI literacy resources on our blog.
Check out a new AI literacy guide from Be Internet Awesome, Understanding AI, a supplementary resource to the Be Internet Awesome curriculum, designed to provide educators with lessons to teach the fundamentals of AI literacy.
This game-based, code-free AI learning experience created by Google Research and the Stanford Accelerator for Learning allows middle school students to step into the shoes of researchers and experience the AI lifecycle first-hand. AI Quests will be embedded into Experience AI and CRAFT by Stanford and is available to any AI literacy provider, teacher or student.
Dr. Desiree Alexander, Educator Alexander Consulting
Dr. Desiree Alexander is an award-winning, multi-degreed educator, speaker, and author who has been in the educational field since 2002. She is the Founder CEO of Educator Alexander Consulting, LLC and the Deputy Director for the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana. She consults with members of several schools/businesses and presents at conferences globally.
Dr. Alexander is lifetime certified in Louisiana in Secondary English Education, as a Reading Specialist, as a School Librarian, as an Educational Technology Facilitator, as an Educational Technology Leader and in Educational Leadership 1. She is certified in Texas as a Principal, in English Language Arts and Reading for grades 4-8 and grades 8-12, as a Reading Specialist for grades EC-12, and as a School Librarian. She holds multiple technology certifications, including, but not limited to, IC3 certification, Google Certified Trainer, Innovator and Partner, Apple Teacher, and Microsoft Office Specialists.
She holds a Bachelor, a Master + 30, and an Education Specialist Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University, a Master of Library Science from Texas Woman’s University and a Master of Educational Leadership with a concentration in Educational Technology Leadership from Nicholls State University. She also holds a Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership from Lamar University.
She is the author of Ready to Be an Educational Leader: Your Guide for Passing the SLLA 6990, the 2024 Common Sense Education Ambassador of the Year, a 2024 Common Sense Ambassador of the Year, a 2024 Illinois Digital Educators Alliance Conference (IDEAcon) Thought Leader, 2023 Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators (LACUE) Conference Featured Speaker, 2022 & 2021 Texas Computer Education Association Conference (TCEA) Featured Thought Leader, 2020 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Featured Voice, 2020 Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) Featured Presenter, 2019 Customer Commitment Award Honoree from Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Torch Awards for Ethics, a 2019 Shreveport National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Mover and Shaker, a 2017 Young Professional Initiative 40 Under 40 Awards Honoree, 2017 Center for Digital Education Top 30 Technologists, Transformers & Trailblazers, 2017 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Learning Media Digital Innovator for Louisiana, 2016 Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana Member of the Year, 2015 Librarian of the Year for Louisiana Librarian Association, 2015 Campus Teacher of the Year in the Zachary Community School District and 2014 Leader of the Year for Region 2 Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators.
Email: educatoralexander@gmail.com or desiree@educatoralexander.com
Website: https://www.educatoralexander.com
Phone: 318-759-7591
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