The DTT Community is LIVE. Join us!
Today is a big day! The new Ditch That Textbook Community is finally open.
What it means:
It’s free.
Read what other educators are sharing.
Discuss ideas in comments.
Post your own ideas, what’s working in your class, etc.
Join live streams and online events in the community.
In today’s 💡 Big Idea below, I’ll give you all the details about our community — hosted on the Circle platform — what to expect, and some of the things we’ve already been discussing there.
Or you can just join right now and get started!
NOTE: This is new, so we’re still adjusting and fine-tuning. If something is broken or a little off, don’t worry. We’re working on it. (Just let us know!)
FYI: If you get stuck in the sign-up process, try going here: http://ditch.circle.so … or clicking the red button above. (Still stuck? Email Sara, our Head of Community.)
🎁🎁 READER APPRECIATION WEEK: Really, the community is an extension of Reader Appreciation Week — our free gift to you!
In our ❤️ Reader Appreciation section below, we’ll dig into more gifts in the Reader Appreciation virtual gift basket!
Inside:
🥳 Make Test Prep Something Students Want to Do
👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out
❤️ Reader Appreciation Week: More gifts in your gift basket!
💡 The Big Idea: Join the NEW Ditch That Textbook Community
😄 Smile of the day: The line is looooooooooong
👋 How we can help
🥳 Make Test Prep Something Students Want to Do
This message is sponsored by Knowt.
You’ve covered the material. You’ve reviewed. And still, your students come in unprepared.
Meet a test prep tool students actually enjoy using. Millions of AP students & high schoolers already use Knowt to turn your class materials into study guides, interactive study modes, and practice tests that click.
🃏 Flashcards & study guides with mastery tracking and spaced repetition
🎙️ Call with Kai — a voice tutor that quizzes students out loud
🎮 Ready-to-use review games & podcasts made from your existing lesson plans
📝 AP Hub with practice questions and mock exams for every course
No extra prep for you. Just making it more interactive for them — using the material you’re already teaching.
👀 DTT Digest
4 teaching resources worth checking out today
🎶 Suno for curriculum-based music videos — Generate original songs and vocabulary raps by dropping AI-written lyrics into this music tool.
🎨 Sketchpad for zero-login digital creation — Use this versatile digital canvas for quick student sketching without the hassle of account management.
📂 Canvas LMS organization hacks — Streamline your digital classroom by using "blueprint" classes and standardized assignment templates to maintain your sanity.
🌎 Global Day of Creativity community quilt — Connect your students to a global digital gallery by creating personalized "quilt patches" that tell their creative stories to the world in this create-a-thon with Adobe.
❤️ READER APPRECIATION WEEK ❤️
❤️ More gifts in your gift basket!
Check out all of our gifts to you during Reader Appreciation Week! Just click here for our virtual gift basket for you. (Click the link and then click the yellow gift box to open it. Then click all of the goodies!)
In addition to the mini-games and the raffle prizes here are two more things you’ll find in your basket:
✨ Star Wars Day in a Box
Whether you need a full day of STAR WARS themed instruction or a high-interest "anchor activity" for early finishers, this kit blends ELA standards, digital literacy, and STEM reflection into one seamless, "plug-and-play" experience.
🔥 How to get it:
🧺 Open your basket by clicking on the yellow gift box here.
✨ Click on the Star Wars Adventure Day box
🖱️ Click “Get the Star Wars Day Adventure Kit”
🕹️ Classroom Game Show Pack
Wanna turn review day into the best day of the week? The "Game Show Guy" Pack is here to help! This resource comes with fully customizable digital templates for Jeopardy, Chutes and Ladders, and The $100,000 Pyramid. Just drop in your own content, and you’re ready to play in minutes. It includes easy-to-follow video tutorials and flexible scoring options, so it's a breeze to set up and guaranteed to keep every student in the room totally engaged and excited.
🔥 How to get it:
🧺 Open your basket by clicking on the yellow gift box here.
✨ Click on the Classroom Game Show Pack box
🖱️ Click “Download the Game Show Pack”
💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡
🗑️ Join the NEW Ditch That Textbook Community
The new DTT Community: A place to share, connect, and get inspired.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been building a place for you to connect with other educators, see what they’re doing, share what works (and what didn’t) for you … to see and be seen … to get ideas and inspiration.
It’s the Ditch That Textbook Community, and it’s finally open!
FYI: If you get stuck in the sign-up process, try going here: http://ditch.circle.so … or clicking the red button above. (Still stuck? Email Sara, our Head of Community.)
Why create a community?
I’ve been running the Ditch That Textbook email newsletter for 14 years. I always try to bring in voices from my readers (and others in education) however I can. But it can be tough! You hear a LOT of me.
We need a place where everyone can meet and hear from everyone. (Our Head of Community, Sara Candela, calls this our “third place” … not home, not work, but a separate space to connect.)
For me, Twitter was my third place for a long time. But it’s not the same — and lots of educators have quit using the platform.
We aren’t trying to re-create Twitter … but we would like to create a place to share, to learn, to connect … someplace encouraging and practical and fun.
What you’ll find inside
A Welcome Checklist: Once you’ve registered for the community, I suggest that you work through all of the items in the checklist to learn more and get everything set up.
Introductions: Meet other DITCHers (you know, members of the DTT Community) and tell us a bit about you
Join the Conversation: Head to the #TeacherLife channel, the main place where we post. Read others’ posts. Leave them comments. Feel free to post something yourself!
Come to the Launch Party: It’s scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, at 8pm U.S. Eastern / 5pm Pacific. You can sign up under Live Events.
Where you’ll access the community
Our community is hosted on the Circle platform. You can access it in a variety of ways:
IMPORTANT: Join the community first. This link (and the red buttons above) is your invitation to join.
Access on your computer / in a browser: Just go to http://ditch.circle.so. (You might want to bookmark that one.)
Access on the mobile app: Get the Circle app for iOS/iPhone or Android/Google Play. Just sign in and you’re set. (This is how I access it most!)
Once you’re registered, you’ll see this message.
What we’ve already been discussing
We’ve had ~100 early testers (our “Founding Members”) sharing about a variety of things, like …
Once you’ve joined the community, you’ll be able to click those links and jump right into those discussions.
What to expect from the community
First of all, I’m committed to maintaining and supporting this community. I’m really excited about what it can mean to us as educators. It’s not going anywhere.
Even if you don’t join the community, you’ll see the impacts of it. I plan on featuring comments, ideas, links, resources from the community here in the newsletter. You’ll still hear from me directly in the newsletter … but I want to pass the microphone around (metaphorically).
The DTT team (me, Head of Community Sara Candela, and Blog/Social Editor Karly Moura) has big plans for the community! We will roll out new features in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned!
I’m really excited about this
I believe we need supportive spaces where educators can share ideas and lift each other up. That’s what we’re creating in this community.
I can’t wait to meet you there and learn from you — and alongside you!
FYI: If you get stuck in the sign-up process, try going here: http://ditch.circle.so … or clicking the red button above. (Still stuck? Email Sara, our Head of Community.)
😄 Smile of the day
😭 Is it Teacher Appreciation Week yet?
h/t Bored Panda
👋 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!
