Teacher Tech Weekly Newsletter

Hi !

Welcome ! 👋

I took a tour of Texas this last week with Google For Education. One of the activities we tried out was "Taylor Swift My Lesson". It is a custom Gem built to generate educational songs and musical ideas tailored to specific lesson topics. This is a fantastic way to hook student attention during the "Engage" phase of a lesson, or help students write their own songs to express what they have explored and explained in class. Try it out here, :

Use this link to make your own copy of the Gem:

Listen to My Taylor Swift My Lesson Song

Middle School Math Teacher

On a personal note... my daughter is officially stepping into the classroom this fall to teach middle school math. Proud mom!

Force a Copy of a Gem

A Gem is when you SAVE prompt instructions. It is very helpful for when you're using AI so you can just type "Cell Cycle" instead of "Write me a song in the style of taylor swift about the topic of the cell cycle."

When I share a Gem with you, you can use it. Try adding your activity to this Gem and see what happens:

Forcing a Copy of the GEM

Directions to use

• Create a Gem
• Click on the share icon
• Change the sharing permissions
• Copy the share link
• Go to the Force a Gem Copy GEM
• Paste your Gem link and press enter

Free Orion Summer PD

Orion in Person

Create Apps in Gemini

Translating Google Slides with Slides to Spanish+

This tool allows educators to instantly translate Google Slides presentations, making it easier to support multilingual learners and engage families who speak Any language supported by Google. Instead of spending hours copying and pasting into translation tools, create a copy of your Google Slides in a different language.

Redefining Math Practice 6

A reminder that Standards for Mathematical Practice 6 (Attend to Precision) is not about perfection or just "showing work" on a worksheet. Real mathematical precision happens when students learn to communicate their thinking clearly, critique reasoning, and use precise language to explain how and why they arrived at a solution.

Create Safe Apps for your classroom

Gamifying with the Classroom Blackjack App

Built collaboratively with Gemini, this custom version of the classic card game completely removes the betting elements, turning it into a pure math and strategy tool for the classroom. It is a prime example of "vibe coding", using AI as a partner to quickly build interactive, gamified experiences that keep students engaged without sharing data with 3rd parties.

Apps Without Ads or Data Collection

Design Your Classroom Game Using Gemini

Make Your Own Game

Use Dissertations with 3rd Graders

Drafting with Google Docs Voice Typing

A quick workflow tip for educators: use the native voice typing feature in Google Docs to talk through your thoughts on teaching philosophy, lesson ideas, or assessment strategies. Capturing your natural speaking voice first creates an authentic text foundation that you can then feed into Gemini to refine your lesson planning and inquiry prompts.

Designing with the Eyedropper Extension

A handy Chrome extension that lets you sample and save any color from around the web. I used it to grab the HEX code of my school colors and then use this in my NotebookLM infographics prompts to make them look more consistent.