🗑 Ditch Summit is coming. Details inside ...

And learn how you can win prizes for sharing the summit!

Author

Matt Miller
November 17, 2025

In partnership with

Ditch Summit: Online conference (and PRIZES!)

The Ditch Summit is coming: Dec. 15 to Jan. 11!

Ten years ago, I saw someone in the online marketing space hosting a virtual summit (aka online conference).

I thought, “Oh, that doesn’t sound that hard. Record some interviews. Put them on a website. Let people sign up and send them emails when it happens.”

So I tried it. Like so many of my projects, it was about 10 times harder (and more time consuming) than I expected!

I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested. But that first Ditch Summit had 7,000 attendees. It was such a hit, I had to keep it going!

That was 2016. This is 2025 — our 10th Ditch Summit! 🎉

  • Q: What do I have to do to sign up for the Ditch Summit?

  • A: If you’re receiving this email … then nothing! It’s provided as a benefit of being a subscriber to the Ditch That Textbook email newsletter.

  • Q: Can anyone sign up for the Ditch Summit for free?

  • A: YES, and you can win prizes for referring them!

Enter to win prizes by sharing Ditch Summit with others

We’re giving away prizes for referring people to Ditch Summit

You could win a pair of Apple Airpods OR copies of my books just by sharing Ditch Summit!

📥 HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST:

  1. Copy the text from this email script into an email message. (Feel free to add to it or adjust it as you wish!)

  2. Add email addresses of 10 (or more) of your colleagues and friends that might be interested in signing up for the summit.

  3. Include [email protected] in the To: or Cc: field. (Note: This is NOT the same email address you’re receiving this email from, so don’t just hit reply.)

  4. Click SEND!

🎁 PRIZES: First prize: Apple Airpods // Second prize: A signed copy of each of my SIX books // Third prize: Choice of TWO of my books

✅ RULES: Send the email once (one entry per person); no multiple entries allowed. If the email isn’t sent to [email protected], your entry won’t be recorded. I’ll draw winners on Thursday, December 4 before sending that day’s email newsletter and notify them then.

So … what should you expect during the Ditch Summit?

Check out today’s 💡 Big Idea for lots of details!

Inside:

  • 🎹 Learn to play the songs you love on piano

  • 👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out

  • 💡 The Big Idea: All about Ditch Summit, our free online conference

  • 🎯 Quick Teaching Strategy: Interactive Thanksgiving activities for class

  • 😄 Smile of the day: “Weekends and holidays off” 🤣

  • 👋 How we can help

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👀 DTT Digest

4 teaching resources worth checking out today

🎯 QUICK TEACHING STRATEGY 🎯

🦃 10 interactive Thanksgiving activities for the classroom

Looking for some quick, interactive, plug-and-play activities for Thanksgiving?

We’ve got you covered. In this post, you’ll find lots of ideas, including:

  • The FREE Turkey Trouble escape room

  • The “What Am I Thankful For?” Google Slides template

  • A Thanksgiving traditions read-and-respond activity

  • A Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon Google Slides template

That’s just scratching the surface, and they’re all fun!

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

📺 All about Ditch Summit, our free online conference

So many of us depend on professional development hours to renew our teaching licenses.

And we’re always looking for new, fresh ideas … something to inspire us going into the new calendar year.

Imagine it …

  • Curled up on your couch or in your favorite chair …

  • In your hand: hot beverage (or any favorite beverage) …

  • On your time. As much or as little as you’d like.

Isn’t this how professional development should be?!?

🍿 About the Ditch Summit

If you’re new to the Ditch Summit, here’s what you need to know …

  • It runs from December 15, 2025 to January 11, 2026.

  • It’s totally free. (No paid VIP tickets. No “free now, pay to keep access.” Just totally free.)

  • You’re already registered for it. (We used to make you sign up separately for the summit, but now we just provide it to everyone as part of the newsletter.)

  • All video sessions are on-demand. No streaming live. It’s all pre-recorded so you can watch whenever you want.

  • FREE PD credit. Get a certificate of completion for PD credit with every session you watch.

  • Videos are only available until January 11, 2026. Then the summit closes, and everything’s unavailable until next year.

📺 Ditch Summit video sessions

This year, we have EIGHT new featured speaker sessions. They’re 45-60 minutes long. Highly practical. Super engaging, by top-notch speakers.

I keep my eyes open for Ditch Summit speakers all year long and only pick the best!

This year, we have …

  • Principal Amen Rahh (award-winning principal and CEO, Knowlej)

    • Topic: Building student relationships and school culture

  • Dr. Janell Blunt, Ph.D. (cognitive scientist and associate professor, Anderson University)

    • Topic: Brain science in the classroom + mini white boards

  • LaNesha Tabb (educator, speaker, and author: Alpert)

    • Topic: Infusing student writing with engagement and energy

  • Allyson Apsey (prolific author, award-winning school leader)

    • Topic: Bold instructional strategies that work

  • Ken Shelton, Holly Clark, and Matt Miller (Co-founders and faculty, The AI Fluency Lab)

    • Topic: AI literacy concepts for educators

  • Greg Bagby and Tony Vincent (educators / relentless sharers)

    • Topic: Vibe coding apps and fun things for your students

  • Matt Miller (author: AI Literacy in Any Class (released soon!))

    • Topic: Embedding AI literacy in what you already teach

  • A.J. Juliani (author: The 27 Principles of Engagement)

    • Topic: Practical student engagement strategies

In addition to this year’s new speakers, we also have …

  • Spotlight Sponsor Sessions: These are 30 minute, super-practical sessions from edtech products you love.

  • Previous Featured Speakers: Browse our library of 80+ former Ditch Summit sessions.

🎟 Know someone who wants to join the summit?

Remember, if you’re subscribed to this newsletter, you’re already in!

But for others?

They can head to the summit website — DitchSummit.com — to get signed up. They’ll be emailed as soon as the summit gets started.

(PS: Don’t forget about the contest we’re running. Details at the top of this email!)

😄 Smile of the day

Those non-teachers’ vision of what teaching is? Laughable …

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

  1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

  2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

  3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!

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