Control Alt Achieve

Monday, June 23, 2025

What's New in Google - May 2025

Catch up on everything new in Google Workspace for Education from May 2025, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our May 2025 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda with all the awesome resources and Google updates from the last few months. This includes lots of new Google updates and Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

Connect Google-using educators
Share the latest Google Workspace news and features
Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
Share best practices of how Google Workspace is being used within schools
Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the May 2025 meeting:

Technology is a moving target with constant updates and new features. This is especially true with AI advances.

Recently I was excited and honored to be part of a webinar all about new AI updates from Google, Canva, and ChatGPT. The webinar was hosted by Jennifer Womble from FETC, and featured Monica Burns (covering ChatGPT updates), Rob Dickson (covering Canva AI updates), and me (covering Google AI updates).

Here is the description:

🛠️ Power Tools for the Classroom: What’s New from Google, Canva & ChatGPT for K12
AI is evolving at lightning speed—and so are the free tools educators rely on every day! In this fast-paced, must-attend webinar, three expert practitioners break down the newest updates from Google, Canva, and ChatGPT that are reshaping teaching, learning, and classroom creativity. Join us for a power-packed hour designed specifically for K12 administrators and educators who want to stay ahead of the curve. Discover real-time demos, practical applications, and time-saving tips you can implement immediately. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the pace of change, this is your moment to catch up, get inspired, and re-energize your digital teaching toolkit. Your AI update starts here!

The recording for the webinar is now available to watch on demand on the "Road to FETC Webinars" page here - Power Tools for the Classroom

I hope you find the recording helpful!

Podcast Spotlight: Integrate This!

I recently had the pleasure to be a guest on the "Integrate This!" EdTech podcast hosted by Jeremy Mikla and David Berner.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love podcasts and am always mentioning something new I learned from one of them, so I was super excited to get to join an episode of this podcast.

The podcast is described as follows:

Integrate This! is the podcast where education and innovation meet real conversation. Join Jeremy Mikla and David Berner as they dive into thought-provoking discussions and interviews with inspiring voices across the EdTech and education world. From classroom insights to big-picture ideas, each episode brings fresh perspectives and honest dialogue about the future of learning.

I had a wonderful time chatting about:

Creative ways to use Google tools beyond their traditional roles
My philosophy on AI, student struggle, and lifelong learning
Guidance for teachers navigating tech fatigue and staying current
How NotebookLM helps analyze AI guidance docs
Why Gemini is my go-to AI tool for schools
My top tips for using AI ethically and effectively in education

Take a look below to listen to the episode, access the resources that I shared in the episode, and explore more about the podcast.

My OAESA 2025 Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the OAESA 2025 Professional Conference in Columbus, Ohio on June 16th and 17th.

I always look forward to an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends, share some ideas, and learn so many new things from others.

You can get all of the details about the conference including registration, presenters, sessions, and more on the conference website at:

oaesa.org/gamechangers/

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at OAESA 2025, along with any associated resources. Please feel free to join me for any of these sessions. I look forward to sharing, learning, and chatting with you!

EdTech Links - Week of 5-12-25

Each week I keep an eye out for the latest edtech resources through blogs, social media, podcasts, videos, user groups, and more. I then try to reshare these resources in many ways.

One way I share these is here on the blog in these "EdTech Links of the Week" posts. See below to explore the latest batch of resources, and be sure to share with others who may benefit.

If you want to make sure you don't miss new resources, you can:

🔗 View all EdTech Links of the Week: bit.ly/caa-links

📰 Sign up for my weekly email newsletter: bit.ly/curts-news
📧 Join the "Control Alt Achieve" email discussion group: bit.ly/caa-emailgroup
🔔 Get new blog posts automatically through email - FollowIt link

And as always, please let me know of any resources that you recommend. I would love to learn from you!

AI for Alt Text: Boost Accessibility with this Prompt

Illustration of a computer with alt text beside the heading "A.I. for Alt Text" and subheading "Boost Accessibility with this Prompt" for ControlAltAchieve.com by @ericcurts

Did you know that 285 million people worldwide have vision impairments?

Anytime I share content online, I want to make sure it reaches as many people as possible. If that content includes images, that can be a challenge for readers who have difficulty with the pictures.

One way to help with this is by using "alt text".

Alt text is a short description of an image that helps people who can't see it understand its meaning. When someone uses assistive technology, such as a screen reader, it will read the alt text aloud.

This is so helpful, but it can be a challenge to write good alt text that aligns to guidelines and best practices, especially if you share a lot of content online.

To help with this I have created a prompt you can use with your favorite AI chatbot to generate alt text for images in your social media posts. See below for directions, examples, and a copy of the prompt to use however you need. As always please share your suggestions for improvement.