In a world where technology constantly reshapes learning, this newsletter is your essential resource for staying informed and inspired.

This month, we're diving into updates about Google Meet, Curriculum Aligned Resources in Discovery Education, Tools to Support High Yield Strategies, and much more! Our goal is to empower you to seamlessly integrate technology that enhances student engagement and drives meaningful learning outcomes.

OpenAI made a major announcement before Thanksgiving, releasing ChatGPT for Teachers— launching a secure workspace designed specifically for K-12 educators. It's free for verified U.S. teachers through June 2027!

Key features of the platform:

• Education-grade privacy and security that is FERPA-compliant

• School and district leaders can bring their school staff into one account with admin controls

• Includes personalized teaching and collaboration tools, plus examples and prompts from teachers already using ChatGPT

*** Please be patient with the verification process. If it gives you an error, continue you to try - we have seen better success early in the morning. The verification website is very overloaded right now! ***

Are you in need of Digital Learning CEUs? Do you want to learn how to use tools to help integrate technology into your instruction? If so, consider registering for the optional Fall Professional Development courses to effectively sharpen your skills and integrate new practices into your classroom. There is one more opportunity coming up for our Fall PD, especially if you are seeking to earn necessary Digital Learning Credits (CEUs) for licensure renewal. Each of these sessions is worth 1 Hour of Digital Learning CEUs. Here are the fall offerings:

Wednesday, December 3 @ 3:30 pm - Canva Coding

The Britannica AI Component, often called "ASK Britannica," is a feature integrated into Britannica's educational products, primarily Britannica School: High School. This tool combines AI technology with the platform's trusted, expert-vetted content to provide students with a safe and reliable way to conduct research.

Its core function is to allow students to ask natural-language questions and receive concise, accurate answers that are exclusively sourced from Britannica’s vast knowledge base. This design is meant to deliver the speed of generative AI while avoiding the common issues of misinformation ("hallucinations"), academic misconduct (by limiting responses), and safety risks often associated with open-web chatbots. For teachers, it acts as a reliable launchpad for inquiry, as every AI-generated summary includes linked source articles and suggested follow-up questions, guiding students toward deeper exploration and reinforcing essential media literacy and research skills.

You can access Britannica via NCEdCloud.

Here are some essential digital tools to help you effectively implement High Yield Strategies in your classroom, focusing on immediate feedback and boosting student ownership:

Formative Assessment & Effective Feedback: Use these tools for instant checks for understanding (CFU) so you can adjust your instruction in real-time. This reduces the gap between what students know and what they need to learn.
- Tools: Kahoot!, Quizizz, Nearpod.
- Activity: Launch a quick poll or quiz game during the lesson
Self-Assessment & Student Ownership: Since student self-assessment is one of the most impactful strategies, these tools help students own their learning journey.
- Tools: Seesaw, Google Classroom/Canvas (utilizing digital rubrics/dashboards).
- Activity: Have students rate their understanding of the learning goal before you teach, or use digital portfolios (like Seesaw) to reflect on their mastery and set future goals.
Collaborative Learning (e.g., Jigsaw): These tools facilitate structured group work and knowledge sharing, like when students break into "expert groups" and then teach their "home groups".
- Tools: Google Docs/Slides, Google Meet/Breakout Rooms.
- Activity: Use shared documents or slides to let small groups collaboratively research a subtopic, then present their findings using the same platform.
Summarizing & Non-Linguistic Representations: Help students synthesize complex information by requiring them to visualize and organize their thoughts.
- Tool: Google Drawings (for concept mapping), Edpuzzle (to embed summary questions in videos).
- Activity: Assign a concept map activity after a lesson, pushing students to create a visual diagram that connects the key vocabulary and ideas in their own words.

Google Meet is being updated with a new feature that integrates its in-meeting chat functionality directly with Google Chat, allowing conversations to become persistent and accessible after the call ends. This means all messages, links, and files shared during a meeting will automatically be saved in a dedicated Google Chat thread for all internal attendees, solving the common problem of losing important information once a meeting concludes. This change also introduces richer messaging features to Meet, such as emoji reactions, image sharing, and the ability to collaborate in the chat space before the meeting starts. While this persistent chat is on by default, the host can disable it for any given meeting, and it's important to note that external guests can only view the chat history while they are actively in the call.

🚀 Nearpod/Pear Deck: Maximizing Tier 1 🚀

Nearpod/Pear Deck are powerful because they address two key components of a strong Tier 1: Engagement (Multiple Means of Engagement) and Real-Time Data (Formative Assessment).

Formative Assessment: Embedded Quizzes, Polls, and Drawing Tools (Live)Teachers receive immediate, real-time data on every student's comprehension. This allows for instant adjustments to the lesson or the formation of flexible, small intervention groups before the end of the class period.
Differentiation/UDL: Built-in Text-to-Speech (Read Aloud)This feature supports students with reading challenges (Tier 2/3 needs) by providing access to the core instruction, fulfilling a core tenet of UDL (Multiple Means of Representation).
Engagement: Interactive Activities (Time to Climb, Collaborate Boards)Increases student focus and participation. This proactive engagement addresses potential behavioral or attentional barriers, strengthening the overall core behavior support within Tier 1.
Explicit Instruction: Teacher-Paced or Student-Paced Mode - Teachers can use Teacher-Paced mode to deliver explicit, step-by-step direct instruction with high fidelity. Students can then revisit the lesson content later using Student-Paced mode for review or if they were absent.

The Curriculum Aligned Resources Tab in Discovery Education is your go-to feature for saving time and ensuring standards-based teaching. It bypasses generic searches by directly mapping the platform's multimedia library—including videos, interactives, and activities—to your specific grade-level curriculum, state standards, or district-adopted programs.

This tab turns the platform into an integrated instructional tool. It gives you pre-packaged, ready-to-teach lessons and activities (like SOS strategies) that are high-quality, vetted, and immediately relevant. By linking directly to core concepts, this feature makes it easy to differentiate instruction and ensures you're meeting all learning benchmarks efficiently. It boosts your efficiency and improves student results.

🤖 AI-Powered Student Creation Projects

Create Illustrated Short Stories or Historical Narratives (using AI Text & Image Generators like Gemini or Canva):
- Students use the AI text generator (e.g., Gemini) to draft a story, research paper summary, or historical event narrative (e.g., a day in ancient Rome).
- They then use the AI image generator to create unique, custom visuals (e.g., "abstract watercolor illustration of a character's feeling of dread") to illustrate the chapters or sections of their written work.
- Final Product: An engaging digital storybook, a visually-rich historical report, or a presentation that merges original writing with custom-generated visual art.
Design a Thematic Presentation or Infographic (using AI Presentation/Design Tools like Canva or Gemini in Slides):
- Students input a topic or research summary (e.g., the lifecycle of a star, the causes of the American Revolution) into the AI presentation maker (e.g., Canva Magic Design).
- The AI generates a presentation outline, draft content, and design layout, allowing students to focus on refining the quality and accuracy of the content rather than starting from a blank slide.
- Final Product: A professional-looking, visually coherent presentation or infographic that they edit for factual correctness and deliver to the class, demonstrating their ability to synthesize information and use design principles.
Develop a Personalized Study Tool or Quiz (using AI Text Generators):
- After researching a unit (e.g., cell biology, poetry terms), students use the AI text generator to craft a prompt that asks the tool to generate a quiz or set of flashcards based on their notes, a specific vocabulary list, or a document they upload.
- They use the AI-generated output as a draft, then critically review, edit, and curate the questions to ensure they are high-quality and directly align with the learning objectives.
- Final Product: A personalized study guide, a challenging quiz for a peer, or a list of review questions that demonstrate mastery of the content and the ability to effectively prompt an AI tool.