I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m taking a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are from members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, from tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders with appropriate metrics to know learning is organic and granular.

Today: Lesson Plans

There are lots of bundles of lesson plans available–by theme, by software, by topic, by standard. Here are a few with links to more detail:

• STEM Lesson Plans
• Coding Lesson Plans
• By Grade Level
• 110 lesson plans–integrate tech into different grades, subjects, by difficulty level, and call out higher-order thinking skills.
• singles–for as low as $.99 each. Genius Hour, Google Apps, Robotics, STEM, Coding, and more.
• Holiday projects–16 lesson plans themed to holidays and keep students in the spirit while learning new tools.

Who needs this

These are for the teacher who knows what they want to teach, but need ideas on how to integrate tech. They are well-suited to classroom teachers as well as tech specialists.

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I love sharing the personal experiences of educators. We all do things differently, in good ways, providing lots of options for diversity among students who don’t get the first or second way we teach a lesson. Brandon Collis, electrical engineer turned private tutor, founder of ClassQuill (https://classquill.com) has ideas on tutoring using AI.

How to Teach Middle School Students to Spot Deepfakes

An artificial intelligence deepfake is a highly realistic image, video or audio that can depict people, places and events. Advances in AI have made these creations increasingly realistic, making it difficult to distinguish between authentic and manipulated content.

Even if middle school students have seen deepfakes, they may not understand the dangers these creations pose. Teachers are uniquely positioned to educate them about algorithmic manipulation and improve their AI media literacy. (more…)

For career changers, college students nearing graduation, and aspiring teachers drawn to meaningful work, the teaching profession can look like a clear way to make a difference. The hard part is that a career in education brings real tradeoffs alongside the rewards: daily responsibility for students, constant decision-making, and a role that doesn’t end when the school day does. Early choices, such as where to teach, what age group to serve, and how to shape long-term educational career paths, can open doors or create friction. Clarity on teaching motivation makes every next decision easier.

Jenny Wise, idea maker behind Special Home Educator and Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, can help with that:

Map Your Path From Degree to Teacher License

This process helps you go from “I want to teach” to a clear, workable route through education degree requirements, teacher certification requirements, and a realistic grade and subject focus. For general readers, it reduces guesswork and helps you avoid detours that cost time and money. (more…)

• Online sites to build a resume
• What to include in your resume
• Formatting tips
• Additional tips

Digital portfolio sites

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to place foot on the moon. Commemorate that this year with an exciting collection of websites and apps that take your students to the Moon (click for updates to the list):

1. Apollo 11: Countdown to Launch via Google Earth
2. Google Moon–see the Moon in 3D with your Google Earth app
3. How we are going to the Moon–video
4. If the Moon Were Only One Pixel…
5. JFK Challenge — takes kids to the Apollo 11
6. NASA’s Musical Playlist–88 million viewers of 188 songs
7. Moon Phase Simulation Viewed from Earth and Space (interactive, elementary and middle school)—and associated Lesson Plan
8. Observing the Moon in the Sky (interactive, elementary)
9. Moonrise to Moonset (media gallery, elementary)

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One enduring favorite in K-12 classes is coding. Why? For educators, it’s because learning to code teaches essential problem-solving, logical thinking, and computational skills that are difficult to learn in any other class. For students, it’s often the game approach to the lessons as they learn to stretch their brains. The coding program accepted by many as the most student-friendly is Scratch. The Ask a Tech Teacher team has a list of great choices for how to teach students Scratch in creative, fresh ways: 

Best Scratch Coding Classes for Kids: A Teacher’s Guide to the Top Programs

Scratch has become the standard entry point for teaching kids to code, and it’s easy to see why. Developed by MIT, this block-based programming language lets students build games, animations, and interactive stories without getting tripped up by syntax errors. For classroom teachers, tech coordinators, and homeschool parents alike, it’s often the first real introduction students get to computational thinking.

The challenge isn’t whether to teach Scratch — it’s figuring out which program actually delivers a structured, age-appropriate learning experience. Between live instruction, self-paced platforms, and free tools, the options can be overwhelming. Below, we’ve compared the leading Scratch coding programs for kids based on curriculum quality, instructional format, and outcomes, so you can make an informed choice for your students or your own children. (more…)

How to Choose (and Test) Tutoring Software Before You Buy

Education tutoring offers personalized learning, helping students progress at their own pace and address performance gaps. However, the right technology is essential to deliver that support efficiently. Before committing to a platform, educators should focus on several key factors to ensure the long-term success of their tutoring program. (more…)

• Take-aways
• Pros
• Cons
• Seminars

Take-aways

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A lot of teacher-authors read both my Ask a Tech Teacher education blog and my writer’s blog, WordDreams blog. In this monthly column, I share a popular post from the past month: 

Perception is greater than reality. Give the impression to anyone paying attention that you are intellectual, even before you’re old enough to be one, and it becomes their reality about you. How do you do this if all you’ve got is a brief conversation?

Read the classics. I don’t mean Euripides or Voltaire, well, not only them. I mean the books that people quote, talk about, bring up in educated conversations and assume you have read. Here’s a starter list, compiled by teacher’s across the country: (more…)