❄️ Into the doldrums of February …
Today is “Throwback Day” at school (hence the letter jacket) and we made Valentine’s cards in Spanish class!
All throughout my teaching career, I have always identified February as my toughest month. It’s at the end of that long stretch until spring break. The days are short and it’s cold outside.
But thankfully, there’s reason for optimism, too!
The Winter Olympics are going on right now! (And the Super Bowl just happened.)
Valentine’s Day is this weekend.
It’s Black History Month.
… and (at least where I live) the temperatures have taken a warm turn.
📙 COMING SOON: My new book, AI Literacy in Any Class, is almost done! It’s almost through editing. I just need to complete a few visuals and give it one more once-over before sending it to the graphic designer. About two weeks after that, we’ll have the final files to send to Amazon and Lightning Source, our printers.
Today, to bring a little extra excitement to your class, we have a Valentine’s Day-themed escape room — AND a brand new Slides/PowerPoint template that mimics an internet phenomenon your students might know about.
PS: Register here for an upcoming free virtual event where I’ll be delivering the keynote!
Inside:
🎉 Join me at Panoramic 2026!
👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out
💡 The Big Idea: New Google Slides Template! Reddit Ask Me Anything
💻 Tech Tip: Free Valentine’s Day Virtual Escape Room
😄 Smile of the day: You deserve them all!
👋 How we can help
🎉 Join me at Panoramic 2026!
I’m excited to share that I’ll be speaking at Panoramic 2026, Panorama Education's free virtual summit on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
Panoramic is a full day of learning, inspiration, and practical ideas for teachers and leaders. You’ll hear from voices across education on how AI can support student learning, make teaching a little easier, and help create the kinds of classrooms where deeper thinking and creativity thrive.
And if you can’t make it live, every session is on-demand, so you can watch whenever it fits your schedule.
👀 DTT Digest
4 teaching resources worth checking out today
🧮 New math resources in Diffit! — Just go to app.diffit.me, type in a topic you're teaching, and get a fully customizable math resource.
🎨 Black History Month Student Design Challenge — Join the Canva Student Design Challenge to commemorate 100 years of Black history celebrations! Winners will score a special Canva swag pack and have their work showcased for the world to see.
♥️ Valentine’s Day Explore Board — This explore board is filled with a variety of activities to cater to all interests and learning styles. Includes resources for students to explore and learn about the holiday along with activities to apply their knowledge and extend the learning.
🖥️ ICYMI Check out Brisk’s New Whiteboard tool! - Brisk Boost now takes the visual, collaborative energy of a digital whiteboard and supercharges it with AI. It’s easy to create an activity, share it with your class and give them realtime feedback and help.
💻 TECH TIP 💻
💕 Valentine’s Day “Candy Crush” Escape Room
If you need a fun, zero-prep way to channel that pre-Valentine’s Day energy in your classroom, a virtual escape room might be just what you’re looking for. This "Candy Crush" themed virtual escape room, created by VirtualEscapeRooms.org, takes students on an adventure to "unlock" a digital arcade by solving puzzles.
Included in the PDF are bonus Valentine’s Day secret messages that you can use as an extension activity along with the escape room or even for early finishers.
Looking for more escape rooms? Check out our digital escape rooms page where your find many more escape rooms in a variety of themes.
💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡
🚨 NEW Google Slides Template!
🙋🏽 Reddit Ask Me Anything
AMA stands for "Ask Me Anything." It is one of the most popular traditions on Reddit (primarily hosted in the r/IAmA community), where a person of interest—ranging from global celebrity and world leader to someone with a unique job or life experience—opens themselves up to the public for a live Q&A session.
This Google Slides/PPT template mimics the interface of Reddit to help students practice concise writing, audience engagement, and peer-to-peer teaching.
Students can simulate answering questions as someone they’re studying.
It is broken down into four strategic phases each with sentence frames and prompts to help scaffold students as they write:
The Hook: Students craft a professional "Identity" and a compelling title to draw readers in.
The Bio: A space for context where students explain why they are experts on their chosen topic.
The Scope: Students set boundaries for the conversation, defining what they will (and won’t) be answering.
The Interaction: The "meat" of the activity where students respond to peer questions using a conversational yet evidence-based "Reddit style."
The template even includes "upvote" icons and customizable avatars to keep the experience immersive and fun.
5 Ways to Use the AMA Template in Your Classroom
1. Historical "Person of Interest" AMAs
Instead of a standard biography report, have students step into the shoes of a historical figure. A student might post as Alexander the Great or Rosa Parks.
The Twist: Peers must ask questions about the figure’s motivations or "controversial" decisions. The student must answer using primary source evidence but written in the first person. “I am Alexander the Great, and I just conquered the Persian Empire. AMA!”
2. The "Science Lab" Debrief
After a complex experiment, turn the student groups into "Lead Researchers." Each group creates an AMA thread based on their specific findings or variables.
The Twist: Other groups act as the "Scientific Community," asking questions about their methodology, unexpected data outliers, or how their findings apply to the real world. This forces students to analyze their lab results more deeply than a standard lab report allows.
3. Literary Character Hot-Seat
Deepen character analysis by having students "become" a character from a novel they are reading.
The Twist: Students post an AMA at a specific turning point in the plot. For example, Jay Gatsby could host an AMA right after his first reunion with Daisy. Classmates ask questions about his internal monologue, and the student must use textual evidence to justify their "in-character" responses.
4. Career & Industry Expert Exploration
Use this for Career Technical Education (CTE) or counseling. Have students research a specific career path (e.g., Software Engineer, Nurse, or Electrician).
The Twist: Students host an AMA as if they have been in that field for 10 years. They must answer questions about "a day in the life," required certifications, and salary expectations. This turns a boring career search into an active role-playing exercise.
5. The "Fact-Checker" Final Exam Review
Instead of a traditional study guide, use the AMA template as a collaborative review tool before a big test. Assign each student a specific unit or concept (e.g., "The Water Cycle" or "Quadratic Equations").
The Twist: Students post an AMA titled, "I am an expert on [Topic]. AMA!" Classmates post questions they are struggling with, and the student "expert" earns points for providing clear, accurate explanations. It’s a powerful way to use the "Protégé Effect"—where students learn better by teaching others.
😄 Smile of the day
And you deserve every, single one!
Source: We Are Teachers
👋 How we can help
There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:
Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.
Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.
Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!
