👋🏻 An update on Matt's classroom

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As I’m writing this (on Saturday), my book AI for Educators is back at the top of the Computers and Technology Education category on Amazon.

I published it almost a year ago (!), and it’s been there on and off for a whole year. I’ve NEVER had a book to do that before.

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💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

👋🏻 An update on Matt’s classroom

I’m about two months into my return to the classroom, and it’s been a whirlwind!

Want to know how it’s going? Here’s an update …

What I was walking into: The former Spanish teacher was taking a new job and the school needed a spring semester fill-in. It’s the school where my daughters attend and my wife teaches, so I get to see them throughout the day.

Why I went back: It’s been eight years since I taught full-time. I wanted to be sure that what I shared here and in my presentations was relevant and effective. Also, I knew it would be hard to fill the position. My daughter — and lots of family and friends — would be impacted by this, so I wanted to help. Plus, I just missed teaching!

About the school: It’s a small high school with enrollment less than 400 for 9-12 grades. The school was part of a consolidation five years ago between two school districts with declining enrollment. It’s where my own children have always attended school. I’ve taught in the district in the past, and my wife has taught here most of her career.

My schedule: Three sections of Spanish 1, one section of Spanish 2, and two sections of Spanish 3. 46-minute class periods.

How it’s going: I’m loving it. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I also have been reminded of some day-to-day parts of teacher life I had lost touch with. Some specifics:

• Grading: Grading student work — digital or paper — is tedious! It’s such a time commitment, even when you have efficiencies and procedures in place. Effective grading policies and strategies has always been a weakness of mine, so I’m just doing the best I can to keep up.

• Relationships: This has been the best part of teaching. I missed interacting with students! I’ve done some substitute teaching work, but having your OWN kids — in your own classroom — is totally different. I love it.

• Lesson planning: I’m reminded of how crucial every minute is to teachers. Often, I don’t have time to do the fun, cool things I envision because I just don’t have enough time. (Which makes me even more dedicated to helping my readers in this area!).

Tech in my classroom: I’m using it some, but only where it makes sense. My students have used Canvas (their learning management system), Google Slides, Canva, Pear Deck, SchoolAI, Short Answer, Quizlet (and Quizlet Live), eGlass, and Edpuzzle. I have used some AI: ChatGPT and Google Gemini for lesson planning and Midjourney for instructional images. I’m using tech to plan in-person lessons, sub lesson plans, and even a few elearning days due to inclement weather. The best part of using tech, for me so far, has been the immediate feedback I can provide students.

The “no tech” in my classroom: As a world language teacher, I’ve always been a big fan of conversational Spanish. I speak a LOT in Spanish during class, and when I do, it’s just me and the students. No tech. Honestly, that’s been one of the most effective ways my students have sharpened their language skills. I also have a set of hand-held dry erase boards. I also got a Wipebook, a set of big dry erase sheets for my walls. (See the bulletin boards in the photo above.) Students use dry erase a couple times a week for quick response work. It’s a great contrast to the tech that we do.

My Ditch That Textbook work: I am still publishing newsletters (as you have seen!) thanks to lots of help from my blog editor, Karly. (Thanks Karly!) I was under contract to present at several conferences and workshops in January through March. The principal and superintendent were very understanding about me being gone for those commitments I had to honor. It really does feel like I’m working two full-time jobs right now, and it’s a LOT.

Will I keep teaching?: After this semester, I probably won’t keep this position full-time. It’s too much, and I would have to choose between this (Ditch That Textbook) and teaching. I absolutely LOVE teaching. But I feel like the work I do with this newsletter and my speaking/presenting work is really important. It’s helping people do the work that I love — and make it more manageable. This has been a really good, really important experience for perspective and practice.

🎯 Quick Teaching Strategy

📝 Prep for the week in seconds with Brisk Teaching’s Create Menu

Brisk is a free AI powered Chrome extension that helps busy teachers save time directly within the tools they already use, like Google Docs, Slides, YouTube, and web articles. Quickly create instructional materials, share feedback, evaluate student writing, and adjust or translate texts - all without leaving your current workspace. With Brisk, the days of toggling between apps are over, freeing up more time for what you love: teaching.

⏰ Here's how it saves teacher’s time:

• Reduced content creation time: Brisk can halve the time it takes to create materials by simplifying complex ideas, tailoring reading levels, and adjusting word choice in existing resources.

  Create quizzes, resources, slide decks, lesson plans, interventions (IEPs, MTSS menus), administrative tasks (emails, letters of rec, newsletters), and so much more.

  Select ‘something else’ to create anything you want (songs, jokes…)!

• Effortless feedback: Brisk analyzes student writing in Google Docs, offering insights into writing styles, identifying potential plagiarism, and even gauging student effort based on version history. Brisk keeps all of the comments in a draft so that you can add your feedback to what AI created.

  ✨ Glows & Grows: Identify areas of strength, growth, and probing questions.

  🎯 Targeted: Instantly add Google Doc comments aligned with your rubric and standards, guiding students precisely where they need to revise. (Premium feature)

  📏 Rubric Criteria: Generate feedback aligned to your uploaded rubric.

  🪜 Next Steps: Share suggestions and strategies to build core skills.

• Seamless integration: Brisk works directly within existing tools like Google Docs, Google Classroom, and Canvas, eliminating the need to learn and manage new platforms.

  👣 Watch a step-by-step playback of your students' revision history, including their copy-and-paste actions. This gives you a starting point to facilitate conversations around academic honesty, dishonesty, and more.

  🈵 Customize and adjust the text or language of any Google Docs, articles, or webpage to match the learning levels and needs of your students.

💡 How to use it:

1. Install the Brisk Teaching extension for FREE from the Chrome Web Store: Brisk Teaching Chrome Extension

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🎥 Check out the Brisk Teaching YouTube channel to introduce you to everything you need to know to start using Brisk!

💬 Why teachers love Brisk

Ease of use!

Brisk is not another tool that teachers need to learn and juggle. It is a seamless Chrome extension that saves teachers time across the Google docs, slides, YouTube videos, and webpages/articles that they are ALREADY working in!

“I didn’t have to learn Brisk; it’s so intuitive. It figured out what I wanted and it didn't take any extra time.” - Nicole, High School Teacher

Unparalleled Feedback capabilities

With Brisk, teachers generate feedback (in 4 powerful ways) on student work in seconds.

Brisk’s targeted feedback feature is jaw-dropping. Instantly, teachers can generate personalized, targeted feedback, that appears as Google Comments

Brisk gets feedback 80% of the way there, setting the stage for the teacher's final touches. Add your authentic voice, fine-tune for accuracy, and choose exactly what feedback to share with students and when. Nothing posts without teacher approval.

🔗 Get the Brisk Teaching Chrome Extension

Since Brisk is a Chrome extension, you can install it directly from the Chrome Web Store and leverage its features within your existing content.

👋 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!