The last days (weeks?) are upon us …
Double-screening like a pro this morning …
After today, I have eight days left of school until summer break.
For lots of us, the end of the school year is upon us. It’s that odd time where routines go out the window, you’re wrapping everything up, and student motivation is all over the place.
We’re already discussing this in the DTT online community! (If you haven’t joined yet, just click here … it’s free!)
Jump in to answer (or just read what others wrote) …
When is your last day of school? (40 comments in less than four hours already. Thanks Don Sturm for posting!)
What is your favorite end-of-year project? (Based on today’s email!)
Tell us about teacher thank-you notes you’ve received. (Thanks Rania Jabr for posting!)
Below, in today’s email, we’ll share some creative Chromebook projects you can try at the end of the year … and a new screen recorder tool … and a fun online community event you won’t want to miss!
Inside:
🤖 Keep students thinking in the AI age
👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out
👥 Community: Join us for the DTT Community Open House
💻 Tech Tip: Google Vids Screen Recorder
💡 The Big Idea: 30 creative Chromebook projects for end of year
😄 Smile of the day: What are you doing!?!? 😮
👋 How we can help
🤖 Keep students thinking in the AI age
At a time where AI seems to be a roadblock to student thinking … what if it could actually SUPPORT student thinking instead?
In my new book, AI Literacy in Any Class, I share several strategies you can use to get students thinking (and KEEP them thinking). Bonus: They learn a little something about AI and how to handle their business with it along the way.
In one activity, students anticipate what an AI app will say about what you’re studying — and then they critique what it says.
In another activity, students describe what they like or don’t like about AI-generated content related to what you’re learning.
Another activity connects the impact of AI to what you’re studying — so students can discuss and debate it.
The best part? Lots of these activities are low-prep (or no-prep) and get students thinking — and learning a bit about AI literacy at the same time.
Check out AI Literacy in Any Class in paperback or Kindle ebook to learn more.
👀 DTT Digest
4 teaching resources worth checking out today
📱 Social media and teens— This video from PBS Learning Media explores how social media can supercharge the human tendency toward conformity and "groupthink" by rewarding viral trends and imitation. It includes an educators guide and resource materials.
📅 End the Year with 4 New Adobe Express Activities— Join Ann and Martha from Adobe live for The Creative Wrap-Up featuring four brand-new Adobe Express activities designed to celebrate everything this school year has been.
🚫 🛜 Use Canva offline — Did you know that you can use Canva even without an internet connection? Learn how to design offline and keep the creativity flowing – on flights, commutes, or anywhere in the world.
ICYMI ✏️ May activity journal— This book from Book Creator has tons of ideas for activities to do all month long!
📺 LIVE EVENT 📺
Join us: DTT Community Open House
Join us for our first community-wide Open House! Come and meet your fellow DITCHers, and guess what? There’s a theme!
Show & Tell
You know how you can know someone for years and then one day you notice the intricately lined photos on their dining room wall and you suddenly understand something more? Well, we’re going to try a version of that!
Find one physical thing to hold up on camera …
A book you've read twelve times.
Maybe a mug with a origin story or something on your desk you can't explain.
Perhaps there is a weird little object that just makes you happy.
It can be teaching-related, or it can have absolutely nothing to do with teaching whatsoever. It’s your choice how you want to show up for the group.
No slides, prep, or notes are required. We just want to meet DITCHers and the things that shape their lives. 🙂
📺 WHAT: DTT Community Open House
📆 DATE: May 13, 2026
🕝 TIME: 4PM PDT/7PM EDT
For DTT Community members. (Not a member yet? It’s free! Register for the community here)
💻 TECH TIP 💻
Streamline Your Lessons with the Google Vids Screen Recorder
Screen shot from the Chrome Webstore
If you’ve ever felt like creating a quick tutorial for your students takes more time in "setup" than in actual teaching, this week’s tip is for you. Google has released the Google Vids Screen Recorder, a Chrome extension designed to help you capture your screen and camera without ever leaving your browser.
One-Click Recording: No more toggling between external apps. Just click the icon in your toolbar to start recording a lesson, a project walkthrough, or personalized feedback.
Generous Time Limits: You can record for up to 30 minutes—plenty of time for a deep-dive lecture or a detailed tutorial.
Seamless Integration: Once you finish, your video opens instantly in Google Vids (Google's new AI-powered video app) for easy editing and sharing via Google Workspace.
Versatile Formats: Choose to record your entire screen, a specific tab, or just your webcam for a "check-in" message.
How to get started: Simply add the extension from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to your toolbar. When you're ready to record, select your audio/video preferences and hit "Start." Once you're done, you can grab a sharing link immediately or jump into the editor to polish your clip.
It’s a fantastic, no-cost way to flip your classroom or provide more engaging instructional support!
Learn more about Google Vids: Read our post How to use Google Vids: AI powered video creation in the classroom to learn more about using Vids in the classroom.
💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡
💻 30 creative Chromebook projects to try at the end of the year
Image created with Google Gemini
For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about what makes the end of the school year unique.
Here’s another one: Sometimes, it’s the perfect time to try something new — like a new creative project. But what if you only have 15 minutes? What if you have a whole hour?
Sometimes it can be tough to find a great project to fit your time frame. In today’s post — 30 creative Chromebook projects to try at the end of the year — we break these projects up into categories based on time: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60+ minutes.
PS: If you don’t have Chromebooks, never fear … these can definitely be done on laptops as well — and, in many cases, on tablets like iPads.
Here are some of our favorites:
15-minute Chromebook projects
Practice AI image prompting: Learn the art of image prompting with the help of Google AI. After playing the game “Say What You See,” students can write their own tips for good image prompts.
Color famous artwork: One of the fun Google Arts and Culture experiments is the Art Coloring Book. Students choose from famous images to color and can share their finished masterpieces directly to Google Classroom.
Write blackout poetry: You can do blackout poetry with Google Slides! It’s a fun way to look at text a little closer, identify important words, and remix something into an original creation.
Play in a Blob Opera: A ridiculously fun machine learning experiment by David Li. The "blob opera" lets students create, record, and share their own opera songs—absolutely no music experience required!
30-minute Chromebook projects
Create photo comic strips: Use the webcam on your students' devices to take pictures. Then add speech bubbles and turn them into comic strips to show what they've learned!
Be a time traveler: Download an image of a historical figure and use a background remover. Then, use Google Street View to find a modern-day location that fits that figure and combine them in Google Slides to bring the past and present together.
Create a learning dossier: Using a template, students take a screenshot of work they've done and place it in a digital folder. They then drag red numbered dots onto parts of the image they want to describe in detail or reflect on.
Try an Iron Chef EduProtocol: Students become "culinary researchers," diving into assigned topics to craft presentations in a shared space. A "secret ingredient" forces creative synthesis for rapid-fire presentations.
60+ minute Chromebook projects
Make an app with Slides: Google Slides can be a surprisingly effective, collaborative app alternative. It’s easily customizable, accessible on mobile devices, and a fun way for school groups to share information.
Make a class scrapbook: Grab a template from SlidesMania and have students each take a page or two to create a class scrapbook of memories to wrap up the school year.
Curate a review "YouTube" channel: Since YouTube doesn't allow playlists for kids' content, you can use a Google Slides template to create a "channel" layout. Use it to organize video lessons or let students "upload" their own video creations.
There’s even more!
We have 30 of these creative Chromebook projects, and you’ve only seen a summary of eleven of them! Check out the whole post to get more ideas to use at the end of the school year.
😄 Smile of the day
And there is nothing we can do 😭
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!
