The EdTech Curator's Digest

November 2026

The EdTech Curator's Digest: A Newsletter for Teaching, Learning, & Leading is a monthly communication created by CCRESA's Instructional Technology Specialist, Allison Remington.

The newsletter is meant to provide helpful resources, tutorials, edtech tips, and professional development opportunities to support educators and leaders in their unique educational environments.

(Before using any of these resources with students, ensure what and how you use these resources matches the content, privacy, and accessibility guidelines required by your individual district.)

Past EdTech Newsletters

Featured Professional Development

Level Up Learning: The Tabletop Strategy

Join 517 EdTech as we explore Table Top games you can use in your classroom today! This session provides educators with resources aligned with several board games that can be used with students to foster critical thinking, collaboration and engagement in the classroom. For each game, REMC has created a "game card" that includes which 21st-century skills will be learned/reinforced, number of players, recommended age and how much time should be allotted.

Integrating tabletop games into the classroom helps educators provide diverse methodologies to create high-quality, engaging learning environments for Michigan's preK-12 students. The game strategies help to build critical thinking and collaboration skills which are essential to college and career readiness. Most importantly, your students will be having fun while learning!

When: Wednesday, December 2nd, 2026 from 9:15-3:00

Where: The Great Lakes Room at Consumers Credit Union - 6935 S Cedar St, Lansing, MI 48911

Cost: Free for REMC 13 educators

What else: Lunch and SCECH's will be provided.

Registration is open!

517 EdTech 2026-2027 Year at a Glance

Check out the 517 EdTech professional development lineup, network groups, and scholarship opportunities that are coming up in the 2026-2027 school year.

Network Groups

517 Ed Tech School Library Network

The 517 Ed Tech School Library Network will be assembled to connect librarians/media specialists/edtechs/educators who lead and work within the school library. The overall mission is to reclaim the school library space and find ways to maximize its value.

The fall session will be held on November 12th at Okemos High School. The fall meeting will be an initial collaboration of folks working in library spaces and they will talk about what kinds of structure, ideas, projects they are going to take on and make progress this year. The fall meeting will set the tone and goal for the year since this is a brand new group and will be further developed by its participants within the REMC 13 region.

Please contact Allison Remington or Andrew Shauver (ashauver@inghamisd.org) if you have any interest in joining this network group.

517 EdTech Innovator's Network

The 517 EdTech Leadership Team is in year two of the 517 EdTech Innovators Network, a dedicated group of K-12 teachers and coaches committed to advancing educational practices through meaningful collaboration. This network meets three times per year and consist of a small group of educators across Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties.

Our network aims to:

Cultivate innovative teaching strategies
Share emerging educational technologies
Create a supportive professional learning community
Connect educators across our three-county region
Provide a collaborative forum for members to engage in problem-solving and support, addressing real-time challenges in educational settings and instructional practices.

Our winter session will be held on January 28, 2027 at the Ingham Early Childhood Center. If you have any questions or have interest in joining, please contact Allison Remington for details.

Helpful EdTech Resources & Tools

Gemini Skills

Google is rolling out Skills as the primary customization tool for education users, replacing legacy Gems by mid 2027. Unlike Gems, which were locked into separate chat windows, Skills act as reusable instruction sets that you can activate directly within any Gemini conversation by typing / or @. They allow teachers to quickly trigger specific AI capabilities, like applying custom grading rubrics, adapting lessons for differentiated learning, or matching a specific brand or tone. Additionally, Skills can be combined together in a single prompt to complete complex multi step tasks without leaving your workflow.

As of October 13th, Skills are live and available to education users. June 2027 will mark the end of creation and editing Gems and any remaining Gems will automatically convert to draft Skills.

Export interactive Gemini apps directly to Google Sites

Google now allows users to export interactive apps built inside the Gemini app directly to Google Sites with a single click. This seamless update creates a private site draft where you can instantly publish and share your custom apps with Google Sites. You no longer need to copy and embed the code.

25 practical ways teachers are using Gemini Notebook

Check out these 25 practical ways teachers are using Gemini Notebook blog post from Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook. This post breaks down 25 practical ways educators can anchor Gemini Notebook to their own curriculum materials to save time and streamline classroom prep. Highlights include generating instant catch-up overviews for absent students directly from your lesson slides and turning dense unit notes into student-friendly study guides..

Vertical Tabs in Chrome

Check out a recent topic from my Tech Tip Tuesday YouTube Channel that covers how to use Vertical Tabs in Chrome.

You can view my full playlist of Tech Tip Tuesday videos here.

Additional Professional Learning Opportunities

REMC’s Inclusive Tech Together 3-Part Series

The REMC’s Inclusive Tech Together 3-Part Series is a FREE experience is structured as a year-long coaching-style journey:

Part 1 on November 12, 2026: Define & Discover (VIRTUAL SESSION) attend EITHER the 9:00 - 11:00 AM OR 4:00 - 6:00 PM session
Part 2 on February 8, 2027: Learning Day from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM at a regional location with keynote speaker Beth Poss from Inclusive Learning 365 and interactive workshops tailored to attendees’ chosen goals
Part 3 on April 20, 2027: Reflect & Reinforce (VIRTUAL SESSION) attend EITHER the 9:00 - 11:00 AM OR 4:00 - 6:00 PM session

2026 AT&T/MACUL Student Technology Showcase

Showcase your students' innovative, purposeful uses of classroom technology directly to Michigan legislators and state leaders at the Michigan State Capitol. Participating school teams of four students and one adult will receive a $1,000 stipend to help offset travel costs while giving students a powerful platform to elevate their voices and leadership skills. Check out the registration form here.

Practical Digital ADA Webinars for Administrative Staff

REMC is hosting a series of free, 30-minute interactive webinars designed to help school staff make websites and slide decks accessible in accordance with upcoming ADA guidelines. Running from September through October, these sessions offer practical strategies and step-by-step guidance, with both morning and afternoon time slots available for each topic.

Critical Thinking Tabletop Games Support Webinars

REMC is offering two new virtual webinars to help Michigan K-12 educators integrate board games into their classrooms to promote critical thinking, collaboration, and real-world skills. Registered participants will receive a free board game to use during the training sessions, with options available on October 26, 2026, and February 23, 2027.

REMC Offerings & Resources

Check out the free upcoming REMC Virtual Courses that provide an easy, convenient way for teachers to connect and collaborate while reducing time and cost.

No registration or SCECH fee
10 SCECH's offered
Open to all Michigan school personnel

Each course is open for three weeks and consists of two one-hour “live” webinars that are recorded and available for viewing later and eight hours of resource review, assessment developments, and written reflection.

#517 EdTech Professional Learning Community

#517 EdTech ListServ

#517EdTech is powered by REMC13 and is led by Allison Rogers, Andrew Shauver, and Christy Lobdell. We have an email list that we use to share tips and tricks, professional learning opportunities, contests, and opportunities that you may not hear about in other places.

If you are a REMC 13 educator (Clinton, Ingham, Eaton) and would like to be added to our email list to stay in the loop, please fill out the #517 EdTech ListServ Form.