Podcast Spotlight - EdTech Bites

I recently had the pleasure to be a returning guest on the "EdTech Bites Podcast" hosted by Gabriel Carrillo.

The first time I was on the podcast was six years ago when I was in Austin, Texas and Gabriel and I enjoyed a meal of fatty brisket at Black's BBQ and discussed well-being (and yes, I acknowledge the irony of that). 

You can listen to that blast-from-the-past interview here - EdTech Bites Episode 57

Now six years later, I got to sit down with Gabriel again, this time at the MACUL Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

If you are not familiar with his podcast, Gabriel describes it as follows:

EdTech Bites is a Podcast about all things EdTech and Food hosted by Gabriel Carrillo. He interviews teachers, leaders, and innovators to discuss the latest trends in educational technology. Many times, while sharing a meal together. So subscribe, tell a friend or colleague, and remember that great conversations happen when we break bread with great people.

I had a wonderful time chatting all about my EduGems website, examples of Gems, my process for creating Gems, the importance of sharing Gems, and a challenge to schools to create and curate their own libraries of Gems for their staff and students.

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 2026 NETA Sessions

I am excited and honored to be presenting at the 2026 NETA Conference in Kearney, Nebraska on April 30th.

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 access more NETA information and register for the conference at:

• https://netasite.org/?page_id=9458

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at NETA, 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!

My ISTE 2026 Sessions

I am excited and honored to once again present at the 2026 ISTE Conference in Orlando, Florida this June 28th through July 1st.

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

You can attend ISTE in person this year, or take part as a virtual attendee. To get more details and register for the conference go to:

• https://conference.iste.org/2026

Below is a list of sessions I will be presenting at the ISTE Conference, along with any associated resources. I will continue to update this list with any changes and additions to my schedule.

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 4-6-2026

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!

Podcast Spotlight - LinkedUp Podcast

I recently had the pleasure to be a guest on the "LinkedUp Podcast" hosted by Jerri Kemble and Jamie Saponaro.

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:

Tune in to LinkedUp: Breaking Boundaries in Education to hear from Jerri Kemble and Jamie Saponaro as they seek global perspectives on educational topics that matter. With so many people to hear from and so many lessons to learn - they are gaining insights from education leaders worldwide. Powered by ClassLink, they are linking up the movers and shakers who make it happen!

I had a wonderful time chatting about topics including:

• Overcoming Challenges: How high school theater helped manage my childhood stutter and build a foundation for public speaking.
• The Human Element: Why AI will never replace educators, but instead give teachers more time to connect with and inspire their students.
• Shifting AI Perspectives: Moving past initial fears of cheating to focus on getting AI into the hands of students for personalized learning.
• "Wrestle, Wrap, Reflect": A practical framework inspired by an MIT study to help students use AI as a catalyst for critical thinking rather than a cognitive crutch.
• The E-Bike Analogy: A comparison illustrating why throwing screens out of the classroom robs students of valuable learning scaffolds.
• EduGems.ai: An overview of my newly launched platform with free, ready-to-use Gemini Gems for educators.
• The Power of Sharing: The importance of releasing educational resources under Creative Commons to help the entire teaching community grow.

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

Recorded Webinar - Making Graphic Novels with NotebookLM

I recently recorded a webinar about creating educational graphic novels with NotebookLM.

A while back I came up with a workflow to use Gemini and NotebookLM to generate graphic novels, which I shared on my blog. 

People have been loving this project and creating so many amazing things to help with teaching and learning in all subjects and grade levels.

To help more people try this out I did a deep-dive hands-on session where we covered the following:

• 🗯️ Graphic Novel Overview
• 📚 Loads of Pre-Made Examples
• 🛠️ How to Create a Graphic Novel
• 💡 Choose a Topic
• 🎨 Choose an Art Style
• 📄 Create the Script
• ✍️ Review and Edit the Script
• 📓 Create a Notebook
• 📖 Generate the Graphic Novel
• ✂️ Edit the Graphic Novel
• 💾 Download and Share the Graphic Novel

To learn all about creating educational graphich novels with NotebookLM, see below to watch my recorded 1.5-hour webinar and to access the resources from the session.

Upcoming Webinar: AI Games, Interviews and Activities for Student Learning

I am excited to be presenting a free webinar about using AI for educational games, interviews and activities for student learning

AI can be the perfect interactive partner for learning activities and games. These can be done with any grade level and any subject, either as whole-class activities where the teacher manages the AI but the students still participate, or with students individually interacting with the AI for their own learning experiences.

In this session we will try out these AI activities live and hands-on as we explore:

• 🎙️ AI interviews
• ⚖️ AI debates
• 🔠 "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories
• ✍️ Co-writing activities
• 🤔 Games including 20 Questions, 2 Truths and a Lie, Classroom Taboo, the Emoji Definition Game

Details for this training:

• 🎲 AI Games, Interviews and Activities for Student Learning
• 🗓️ Tuesday, April 21st, 2026
• ⏰ 3pm ET / 2pm CT / 1pm MT / Noon PT
• ▶️ The webinar will be live-streamed and also recorded for those who can't attend live
• ✅ Register at bit.ly/apr21games or in this Google Form

Feel free to share with others and I hope you will join me for this exciting webinar! Come play and learn!