Teacher Tech Weekly Newsletter

NotebookLM Workshop

Workshop Description

Are you spending your evenings and weekends drowning in lesson prep, searching for policies in dense handbooks, and trying to create differentiated materials for all of your students? It is time to transform your workflow.

Meet your new teaching buddy: Google's NotebookLM. This is not just another tech tool; it is a powerful AI assistant that you control, grounded entirely in the documents you provide.

In this 13-day email workshop, I will guide you step-by-step through mastering NotebookLM for your classroom. Each day, you will receive a bite-sized email with a clear explanation of a new feature and a practical, hands-on challenge to complete. You will learn to instantly differentiate texts, turn boring documents into engaging audio overviews, create study guides and mind maps with a single click, and even get help drafting sub plans and parent emails. This is your chance to reclaim your time and focus on what you do best: teaching.

Sign up now and let's transform your workflow together!

Your 13-Day Workshop Outline

1. Day 1: Welcome and Your First Upload
2. Day 2: Chatting with Your Teacher Handbook
3. Day 3: Creating Your First Audio Overview
4. Day 4: Leveraging Audio to Introduce Students to a Lesson
5. Day 5: Creating Notes: Curation vs. Creation
6. Day 6: Creating Resources with Quick Actions
7. Day 7: Expanding Your Notebook with Different Source Types
8. Day 8: Visualizing Connections with Mind Maps
9. Day 9: Your IEP and 504 Assistant
10. Day 10: Differentiating an Entire Unit
11. Day 11: Sharing and Collaboration
12. Day 12: Your Assessment Generator
13. Day 13: A Pile of Teacher Specific Uses

Recent Blog Posts on alicekeeler.com

• July 23, 2025: AI Sucks at Student Engagement
• July 19, 2025: 5 Reasons You Will Use NotebookLM
• July 13, 2025: 5 Google Releases To Be Excited About
• June 26, 2025: Google Forms Needs Gamification

Student Engagement

50 Ways to Engage Students with Google Apps

I used NotebookLM to upload a copy of the book to request a sample of items that can contribute to student engagement.

Tips from the book 50 Ways to Engage Students with Google Apps

Here are some key takeaways for fostering genuine student engagement:

• Aim for Interest, Not Compliance. True engagement happens when students are genuinely absorbed in their learning because they want to be, not just for a grade.
• Build Strong Relationships. Personalize your interactions. When students know you're invested in them, they're more likely to invest in their learning.
• Embrace "Productive Struggle." Design tasks that are challenging but achievable. The sweet spot of difficulty, where students have to "figure it out," is where engagement thrives.
• Empower with Voice and Choice. When students have a say in how they learn or demonstrate understanding, they take greater ownership and are more motivated.
• Weave in the 4 Cs. Lessons that require Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking are inherently more engaging.
• Make it Relevant. Connect lessons to the real world and create work for an authentic audience. Answer the "When will I ever use this?" question before it's even asked.
• Focus on the Process. Create a classroom where it's safe to take risks. When learning is about growth rather than a single grade, students engage more deeply.
• Spark Curiosity. Start lessons with an engaging hook that makes students think and explore before you provide the answers.
• Leverage Student Interests. Connect new material to students' hobbies and passions to create powerful entry points for engagement.
• Give Actionable Feedback. Feedback that guides improvement is more powerful than a final grade. Make learning a conversation through revisions and peer feedback.

New to Google Classroom?

In our book Stepping Up to Google Classroom we don't just help you with setting up your first classes, but to think about using Classroom from a student centered point of view. Obviously, there were a lot of recent announcements with Google Classroom. I'll be sending out some supplemental pages on the updates. If you purchase (or purchased) the book please fill out this form to receive the additional pages when they are available.

Gemini in Google Classroom

Gemini in Google Classroom is FREE FOR EVERYONE! I am really excited about the possibilties! Stay tuned for more information on using this amazing new resource. Don't have Google Classroom? You'll definitely want my new add-on educatoraiassistant.com (see below)

Educator AI Assistant

Try out my Add-on! Install for free here. Collects NO DATA!

Read the tool list! The add-on allows you to choose from all of these quick tools to have AI help you to create lesson plans, rubrics, quizzes, and more! You can also design your own!!