We have LOTS to share in today’s newsletter, but first …
Our new online course — Getting Started with NotebookLM for Teachers — is 25% off through the end of this week … only $29 USD!
Get step-by-step tutorials on how you can create incredible multimedia resource for students — slides, infographics, podcasts, video overviews — in minutes using the free version of NotebookLM!
Each lesson includes video instruction from ME, downloadable PDF workbooks, and discussion boards where participants like YOU can discuss the content!
Want to check it out? Sign up for our free DTT community first … then check out the Getting Started with NotebookLM for Teachers course.
Our Summer PD Bingo card is live!
It’s a tradition that started in 2020 during COVID remote teaching times.
We were desperate for ways to do great teaching with technology — to keep learning going while everyone was confined to their homes. That year, Karly Moura — DTT’s blog and social media editor — pulled together our first PD Summer Bingo card.
Now, the 2026 edition is live! Scroll down to read about it and get a sneak peek on some of the offerings.
Also, in our DTT online community, we’re discussing — What are your summer professional learning plans?
Online courses? Workshops? In-person conferences? We’re gathering the best stuff together in one place — and we’d love for you to particpate!
Want to share? First: Join the DTT community. (It’s free.)
Inside:
😲 Look what you can create with NotebookLM …
👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out
👥 Community: Top books to read this summer
💻 Tech Tip: Free videos & lesson plans about U.S. history
💡 The Big Idea: Our Summer PD bingo board is here!
😄 Smile of the day: May 235th
👋 How we can help
😲 Look what you can create with NotebookLM …
Slides. Infographics. Video overviews. Audio overviews.
And that’s just scratching the surface!
WHAT IS NOTEBOOKLM: It’s Google’s free tool that helps you create all of these fantastic teaching resources.
The best part? They’re based out of YOUR teaching materials … PDF files, documents … even scan a chapter out of your textbook. It stays within the confines of the material you’re teaching.
💻 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Just this week, we just released a new online course — Getting Started with NotebookLM for Teachers.
🚨 EARLY RELEASE DISCOUNT: It’s on sale for $29 USD right now (that’s 25% off the normal price!) until the end of May.
First: Sign up for our free DTT online community. And then …
PS: Group discounts are available! Just hit reply and I can provide you with a quote.
👀 DTT Digest
4 teaching resources worth checking out today
🕵🏽♂️ Free summer secret messages pack — Looking for a device free activity for days when the Chromebooks are put away? Grab this printable pack of summer themed secret messages for some no-tech fun. Note: If the site gets a lot of traffic in a short period of time you might get an error. Just try back in a little while if that happens.
☀️ 40 STEAM activities for summer — Engaging activities that blend STEM with creativity and hands-on learning that can easily be incorporated into summer camps or summer learning activities.
🥪 Try a digital snack — 150+ Breaks for students' brains! Curated by Tony Vincent.
ICYMI 💻 50 free time sites for students — When students are done with an assignment or project, how can they spend extra time wisely? These sites give them something academic to chew on.
👥 FROM THE COMMUNITY 👥
📚 Top summer reads from the DTT community
The DTT community shared 50 summer reading books.
When the school year ends and summer begins, for many of us, there’s finally time to read.
Some of us read teacher books we didn’t have time for. Others? We want to escape and read something completely different!
The DTT online community is no different. Over the past week, they’ve been sharing the books they want to read this summer.
“I am reading a couple of thrillers. I usually read one chapter of a education book each day during the summer The Engaging ELA Classroom, Writer to Writer and Truth is the Arrow Mercy is the Bow are a few on my list already.” — Heather Stringham
“The next book on my list is The Interactive Class: Creation in a World of AI. I briefly browsed through the book yesterday, and I’m already excited to dive in.” — Jennifer Hubert
“I am reading The Epic IEP by Karen Mayer Cunningham. I highly encourage it. Great read.” — Cathy Jones
Another community member — Joe McGrath — collected ALL 50 books and shared links to them all in this Google doc!
We’d love to see what YOU are planning on reading. Share it in the community!
You can join the free DTT Community to read ideas like this, connect with other educators, discuss, and share ideas of your own.
💻 TECH TIP 💻
🇺🇸 Free videos & lesson plans about U.S. history
If you’re looking for resources to help students learn about United States history during the country’s 250th anniversary, Retro Report has excellent free documentary videos and pre-written lesson plans. This month, they’re sharing their #America250 series.
VIDEO 2: An Enlightened Idea: The Constitution Drew on Centuries-Old Principles (video + 2 lesson plans)
VIDEO 1: How the World Came to Fight in America’s Revolution (video + 2 lesson plans)
📧 Subscribe to their email newsletters to get more videos in the series as they’re released.
💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡
😎 Our Summer PD bingo board is here!
The school year is officially in the rearview mirror (or at least it will be very soon!), and it is time to shift gears! For the next couple of months, your schedule belongs to you.
If your current plans involve nothing but sleeping in, pool days, and a total digital detox, we 100% support that. Go touch some grass and recharge!
But if you’re the type of educator who finally has the breathing room to ask, "What do I actually WANT to learn this year?" ... we’ve got you covered. Summer is the ultimate playground for low-stress professional growth, whether you're listening to podcasts on a morning walk or trying out a new tool from the comfort of your couch.
To help you navigate all the great stuff out there, we scour the web and find the best free teacher PD offerings. Then, we gather them into our annual PD Summer Bingo card.
💡 Make it your own: You can share the link to this post, download it as a PDF file, or even make a copy of the Google Slides file to customize the squares and images to suit your needs!
🏖️ Share your summer PD plans
In the DTT online community, we’re starting to share and discuss our summer PD plans. (Again: if your plans are “no summer PD,” that’s good, too!)
Share any plans you have in the community! Let’s gather all of the best options together in one spot.
Want to share? First: Join the DTT community. (It’s free.)
🔍 A sneak peek at this year's offerings ...
We’ve packed this year's board with a mix of edtech tools, Google and Microsoft resources, and cutting-edge AI. Many even offer certificates of completion or digital badges! Here is a taste of what you can explore this summer:
Transform Your Classroom with Canva Code: Take your Canva skills to the absolute next level with this official Canva Design School course. Learn how to code your designs, build interactive classroom hubs, and unlock advanced visual design secrets.
Master the Basics of Mindfulness: Treat your teacher brain to a "spa day" with this UC Berkeley mini-course designed to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
Ride the Wave at "Science is Cool 16" (Hawaii Edition): Catch the wave with PocketLab’s legendary virtual unconference featuring amazing speakers and real-world science instruction straight from Hawaii.
Empower Innovation with Microsoft Copilot: Master advanced prompt engineering so AI can write the first drafts of your rubrics and lesson plans.
Master Generative AI in Adobe Express: Use Adobe’s AI to build gorgeous visual templates in seconds, then put your unique teacher spin on them.
Discover the Modern Classrooms Project: Learn about this research-backed, self-paced, blended learning model designed to fight learning gaps and reach every student.
Padlet AI Mastery Course: Dive into this self-paced course to see how Padlet's brand-new AI features can supercharge classroom collaboration.
… and that’s just a handful! Explore all 24 squares from the bingo board. (You can already check off the free space in the middle, you know … so kudos to you!)
😄 Smile of the day
Such a long month 😭
Source WeAreTeachers.com
👋 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!
