Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 190 called Stump the Edtech Guru. In this episode, we’ll try and stump each other with some of the toughest edtech challenges we could think of. Each guru will have to come up with a solution on the spot. This is another episode you don’t want to miss, check it out.

• We compete with everything

Nick’s Scenarios:

• Scenario 1:
• The AI Essay Epidemic. Ms. Rivera teaches 10th grade English and has just assigned a personal narrative essay. As she begins grading, she notices several essays that seem... off. They're grammatically perfect, lack any personal voice, and a few students even use similar turns of phrase. The students cited AI use, and even included a link to a specific conversation in a tool called Perplexity. When examining the link however, it only shows the student asking questions about the topic. In other words, there is no evidence of having the AI do the writing, at least not in this particular chat. The student denies any AI use other than what was cited. What should she do?
• Perplexity
• Google Docs
• Ai Works Cited
• Scenario 2:
• The Silent Discussion Board. Mr. Chen is running a blended learning environment for his 8th grade social studies class. He’s trying to build engagement with online discussion boards through Google Classroom and Flip. He posts thoughtful prompts, but most students either don’t respond, copy each other, or leave low-effort replies like ‘I agree.’ He knows these kids have opinions—they just don’t seem to bring them into the digital space. Mr. Chen is wondering: is it the prompt? The platform? The digital culture? Or is this just a lost cause?
• Padlet Sandbox
• MEAL Plan
• CER
• CANVA
• 
  
• Scenario 3:
• Mrs. Daughtry is a veteran science teacher who’s always been open to new ideas. But lately, her school has adopted a slew of new edtech platforms: a new LMS, AI feedback tools, quiz generators, and now a parent communication app—all with different logins, layouts, and learning curves. She claims to receive “multiple emails per week” from various admins and coaches touting EVEN MORE options for...

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 189 called AI in Education: Friend of Foe. In this episode, we’ll give you our annual State of Education address as we explore the hot topics in edtech right now. We’ll also debate the pros and cons of AI in education today, this is another episode you dont’ want to miss, Check it out.

Top 9 Trends in Educational Technology to Watch in 2025 by Dirox

• AI and Personalized learning
• Let’s think outside the box… How can we push the envelope?
• Students automating content, running a business, etc
• Extended Reality (XR) and Immersive Learning
• Virtual field trips to iconic locations
• Google Expeditions
• Interactive VR labs
• Labster
• Training tools
• Interplay Learning, which teach practical skills such as HVAC repair and solar panel installation.
• MicroLearning and nanolearning
• Short attentions spans need bite-sized modules
• Mobile-first learning
• Duolingo
• Edutainment
• Gamification
• Minecraft
• Roblox Education
• Blockchain and digital credentials
• Academic records are stored

Example tools: Khanmigo, Scribe, ChatGPT as a study helper

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 188 called 10 Tips for Using AI in Your Classroom. Nick and I have each selected 5 of our top tips for using AI to increase student learning and to help you manage your classroom, and sometimes your life. Nick presented his 5 tips last episode and today I will do the same! Listen in to learn about what they are, why we like them, and how they might advance your classroom! This is another episode you don’t want to miss. Check it out.

NJECC conference presentation 2

Get a copy of the presentation HERE: http://bit.ly/ettsignup

Nick’s Tips Part 1

• Acceptable Use Poster
• Google WorkFlow
• Animated Drawings
• Battle AI Over Reliance
• Prompt Collection

Guise’s Tips Part 2

• AI Works Cited
• Khan Academy Writing Coach
• Teacher Server
• Prompts for Google Sheets
• AI Lesson Creation WorkFlow

Edtech Throwdown:

Vote on twitter @edtechthrowdown and under the pinned post on the profile.

Do us a few favors:

1. Subscribe to the Edtech Throwdown Podcast
2. Apple Podcasts
3. Spotify
4. Amazon Podcasts
5. Stitcher

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 187 called 10 Tips for Using AI in Your Classroom. Guise and I have each selected 5 of our top tips for using AI to increase student learning and to help you manage your classroom, and sometimes your life. Listen in to learn about what they are, why we like them, and how they might advance your classroom! This is another episode you don’t want to miss. Check it out.

NJECC conference presentation 2

Get a copy of the presentation HERE: http://bit.ly/ettsignup

Nick’s Tips Part 1

• Acceptable Use Poster
• Google WorkFlow
• Animated Drawings
• Battle AI Over Reliance
• Prompt Collection

Guise’s Tips Part 2

• AI Works Cited
• Khan Academy Writing Coach
• Teacher Server
• Prompts for Google Sheets
• AI Lesson Creation WorkFlow

Edtech Throwdown:

Vote on twitter @edtechthrowdown and under the pinned post on the profile.

Do us a few favors:

1. Subscribe to the Edtech Throwdown Podcast
2. Apple Podcasts
3. Spotify
4. Amazon Podcasts
5. Stitcher

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 186 called 12 AI Tools to use in the 2025-26 School Year. Guise and I have each selected 6 of our favorite AI tools for the classroom. Listen in to learn about what they are, why we like them, and how they might advance your classroom! This is another episode you don’t want to miss. Check it out.

http://bit.ly/ettsignup

Get our latest updates. Don’t miss out on a blog, podcast, or Youtube video!

Guise’s AI Tools

1. Snorkl.app
2. Suno
3. notebooklm.google.com
4. Diffit Books
5. Google Lens
6. Sky Followers Bridge

Nick’s AI Tools

• Twin Pics
• Khanmigo
• Teachable Machine
• Debunkbot
• Sidekick from SchoolAI
• Deledao

Edtech Throwdown:

Vote on twitter @edtechthrowdown and under the pinned post on the profile.

Do us a few favors:

1. Subscribe to the Edtech Throwdown Podcast

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 185 called How to Teach Students about AI. Have you ever tried to teach your students about AI, what it is, and what role it can serve in education and their future lives? This is a tall task and in this episode, we’ll discuss how we go about this complex process. This is another episode you don’t want to miss. Check it out.

For years now we’ve been involved in trying to get our district to adopt a formal AI policy. Now that this is happening, we’re being asked to put together an education program for students.

• What is AI?
• What can it do? What can’t it do?
• How can it be used to benefit you while in school? In your future lives?
• How can it hurt you in school? In your future lives?

What is AI?

• Ask students what they think AI is? Share their thoughts in a digital space like Padlet. Facilitate some discussion.
• Show a video that explains what it REALLY is. There are tons of good ones, here are a couple we like
• For older students: https://www.ted.com/talks/mustafa_suleyman_what_is_an_ai_anyway
• For younger students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttIOdAdQaUE

What can AI do?

• Choose an AI tool to demo (we use ChatGPT). Show three prompts:
• A bad prompt, something very vague that gives a general and bland response.
• A better prompt, something that includes lots of detail and specific requests. Show that this yields a much better response from the AI tool.
• A prompt that gets untrue results. Students need to know that AI tools can give incorrect information, sometimes that it just “makes up” due to lack of other information.
• ACTIVITY: Have students play with prompts: Ask them to try a bad, vague prompt on purpose. Then ask them to try it again but with more specificity, comparing the results. They share out what they...

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 184 called 10 Project Ideas for Students to Show Mastery. In this episode, we’ll discuss some of our favorite project ideas that you can use in your classroom to check for student mastery. Of course we’ll share some of our favorite edtech and AI tools along the way. This is another episode you don’t want to miss. Check it out.

How has checking for mastery in education changed over the past 10 years?

1. Infographics
2. Visme
3. Canva
4. thinglink
5. Posters/Memes Poster/Calendar
6. Canva
7. Adobe Express
8. Snappa
9. Pixlr
10. VistaCreate
11. Timelines
12. Thinglink
13. Online Timeline Maker
14. Canva
15. Timeline YouTube Video
16. Choose Your Own Adventure
17. Google Slides
18. Canva
19. Student Made...

Welcome to the EdTech Throwdown. This is Episode 183 called 8 Great Edtech Tools for Literacy. In this episode, we’ll discuss some of our favorite websites for enhancing literacy in your classroom. We’ll also take another look at an AMAZING new feature in google notebook lm. This is another episode you don’t want to miss. Check it out.

Guises mind is blown

n over notebook lm’s new feature

1. No Red Ink lessons
2. Maps.com. Not a literacy site, but these are some cool maps and would make for great writing prompts.
3. Diffit Books, How it works: Select “Books” on the Diffit homepage, Choose your book and chapters, Get student-ready resources! We’re rolling this feature out to all schools over the next few weeks, but your access is live now as an admin on your Diffit account. Test it out and let your teachers know it's coming to their accounts soon!
4. ESL BITS: Wide selection of audio books and text. The sole purpose of this site is to help students improve their listening and reading comprehension of the English language.'BITS English Language Learning' is completely non-profit; it sells nothing, advertises nothing, and asks for nothing."BITS" is an online-only site. No links for downloading items are available and none will ever be provided. Skip is wholly responsible for this site and has all the credit or all the blame as the case may be.
5. Write the World: A nonprofit dedicated to developing teenagers’ writing and critical thinking skills. We empower young writers to become global citizens and succeed in school, career, and life.
6. NYT Writing Prompts
7. Wonderopolis Writing Prompts
8. DeepSeek AI Article