Class Tech Tips

09/24/2026

💬 Have you ever asked students to turn and talk, only to hear a long pause?

🧠 A quick partner conversation gives every student a chance to process and share.

📋 On the blog, I share a few dozen turn and talk prompts, organized into five categories.

🤝 You'll find prompts for building classroom community, getting ready to learn something new, making connections, and reflecting.

⏱️ Plus, I've included tools for timing conversations, pairing students, and capturing what students want to share.

👉 Read the full post and pick one prompt to try this week!

Try these 40 turn and talk prompts for any lesson, plus timers, random partner pickers, and digital share-outs to boost student talk.

09/23/2026

📚 Looking for new, reusable reading response questions?

🔁 The same set of questions might just work with your next read aloud, a novel, a graphic novel, an article, or a podcast episode you share with students.

🧩 This post breaks 70 questions into before, during, and after reading, then sorts them by grade band from K-2 through 9-12.

🎨 Pair them with favorites like Padlet, Book Creator, Google Slides, Adobe Express, or Canva so students can respond with audio, video, text, or visuals.

👉 Grab all 70 here:

Grab reading response questions for any book, for before, during, and after reading, plus digital ways for students to respond.

09/22/2026

✈️ In Episode 389 of the Easy EdTech Podcast, I share ten ways to take your students around the world with a little behind-the-scenes help from AI.

🗺️ You'll hear how to create virtual field trips, tours, and videos connected to places around the globe.

📚 I also cover reading activities and creative projects you can tailor to your group of students.

💡 Plus, there are sample prompts you can try in your classroom right away.

🎧 Listen to the full episode and start planning your next global adventure!

Explore global learning with AI through virtual field trips and creative classroom projects that take students around the world.

09/18/2026

🎧 A special bonus episode of the Easy EdTech Podcast is live!

🌍 I'm chatting with Dr. Stephen Hodges, CEO of Efekta Education, about how AI can supercharge education in different parts of the world.

🏫 You'll hear how teachers in Brazil are using a flipped classroom model with the help of AI, and how personalized instruction can support students learning a new language.

🤝 I'm excited to partner with Efekta Education for this episode.

🎙️ Listen now at EasyEdTechPodcast.com or wherever you love to hear podcasts! https://classtechtips.com/2026/09/18/supercharge-education-bonus/

09/17/2026

📱 Have you ever stopped a lesson to search for a charger, a missing set of earbuds, or the one tablet that never made it back to its spot?

🗂️ When my class first received a set of tablets, I realized my systems for paper and markers had no place for devices.

🔌 On the blog, I'm sharing ideas for charging spots, a home for headphones, and caddies for everyday accessories.

🛒 You'll also find tech-friendly stations that roll from one corner of the room to another.

🤝 I'm excited to partner with Really Good Stuff for this post!

👉 Read more here:

Set up a tech-ready classroom with practical classroom organization for technology ideas, from charging stations to mobile learning stations.

09/15/2026

📝 What should you use instead of worksheets?

🎙️ In Episode 388 of the Easy EdTech Podcast, I chat with Dr. Jessica Espinoza about swapping worksheets for meaningful learning experiences.

✏️ You'll hear how sketchnoting builds reading comprehension and why thinking maps are the most natural swap for a worksheet.

🤖 We also talk about how AI can help you create listening tasks that lead to deeper thinking.

👀 These are practical routines that make student thinking the visible part of the lesson.

🎧 Tune in and pick one routine to try this school year. https://classtechtips.com/2026/09/15/instead-of-worksheets-388/

09/13/2026

📚 A go-to list of reading response questions makes read alouds, book clubs, and independent reading so much easier to plan.

✏️ I pulled together 70 questions organized by before, during, and after reading, and by grade band.

💡 They work with a graphic novel, a news article, a podcast transcript, or a traditional chapter book.

🎧 I also shared digital ways for students to respond using Book Creator from Kami, Padlet, and more.

✨ Grab one question and customize it for your students!

🔗 Read the full list on the blog: https://classtechtips.com/2026/09/13/reading-response-questions-for-any-book/

09/10/2026

🎉 Oklahoma friends, I'm coming your way this fall for the OKATE Ignite Conference!
📅 Save the dates, November 4th and 5th, 2026.
🎤 I'm speaking and leading six sessions full of ideas you can use right away.
💡 Teachers, administrators, coaches, and librarians will all find something to love.
✏️ Early bird registration is open through September 30th.
🔗 Head to www.okate.org to register

09/08/2026

📓 NotebookLM has a new name, and it is now Gemini Notebook.

✨ The name changed, but everything teachers already loved is still there, plus a few new features worth a look.

🎧 There are plenty of ways to use this tool! From a debate-style audio overview, which turns your sources into a simulated conversation...

📊 ...to customized slide decks for a lesson or an infographic to share with students.

▶️ Episode 387 of the Easy EdTech Podcast has everything you need to get started.

Learn how to use Gemini Notebook in the classroom for lesson prep, student resources, audio overviews, slides, and infographics.

09/02/2026

📓 If you opened NotebookLM this summer, you may have noticed it now says Gemini Notebook.

✨ The name is new, but everything you have loved is still there, including audio overviews, video overviews, and infographics.

🔍 On the blog today, I rounded up every strategy featuring NotebookLM (now Gemini Notebook)I have shared over the past couple of years.

💡 My favorite sometimes missed tip: hover over each Studio tool to find the small arrow that opens the customization options.

👉 Head to the blog to see all of the Gemini Notebook resources!

Gemini Notebook for teachers: NotebookLM has a new name! Learn what changed, what's the same, and how to use this AI tool in your classroom.