⏰ TL;DR
💸 Enter to Win $100 - Go Like and Comment on this post I did with Turnitin for a chance to win a hundred bucks! Share for Bonus Points! 🙌
🏆 Free Presentation for YOUUU - During a training I did for Waxahachie educators on Tuesday, I made a presentation you can have fo free! Enjoy and it’s explained below!
🧩 FREE resource: a one-page November Classroom Reset Kit. Pick ONE routine to tighten up before the holiday countdown gets louder than Jumanji!
🛠️ Prompt of the Week: Turn your rules and procedures into something students can actually remember!! Rhymes, familiar-songs, or (appropriate) Gen Alpha slang. Your expectations stay the same but the vibes level uppppp!
💎 Gem/Skill of the Week: a Missing Assignment Follow-Up helper that drafts a clear, kind email from the quick info you give it!
📍 GaETC in Atlanta was DOPE! Literally at the airport flying home rn, and reminded of how wonderful educators are. I love getting the chance to hang and work with people like you. Y’ALL THE GOATSSSS!!!
👋 REAL TALK: Texas, teachers, and a whole lotta creating!
This week’s 1st stop: Waxahachie, Texas (pronounced wocks-uh-hach-eeeee) for a six-hour training built around the Google AI Educator Series!
We’re working through prompts, Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and vibe coding, with time to actually CREATE things teachers can use! Then we hit the badge quizzes, cause watching somebody click stuff for six hours is a lot less helpful than leaving with something that works in YOUR classroom!! 😂
And I don’t want you to have to be in the room to get the goods!
👉 Get the workshop presentation
Go through it at your pace. Use File → Make a copy to make it your own, and you’re welcome to present it to your peeps!
P.S. You can also find the walkthroughs at Badge City!
Want me to come work through it with YOUR teachers? I’d love to help them build useful stuff and earn badges. Let’s talk!
🧩 Free Resource of the Week: November Classroom Reset Kit
November has entered the chat.
If your classroom routines have gotten a little loosey-goosey lately, welcome to pre-Christmas 😂 This FREE lil Classroom Reset Kit is for teachers who want to get at least one routine back on track!
It includes editable Google Slides for your planning AND slides you can put on the board for students, plusssss examples and teacher scripts (in the speaker notes) so you’re not staring at a blank page wondering what to say!!
Make a copy, follow instructions, and keep it simple. You’re helping students build a habit and hopefully saving your sanity from saying the same thing 400 billion times!!
P.S. More free resources and templates (as always)!
🛠️ Prompt of the Week: Make your rules stick!
The rules do not have to sound like the Apple iPhone terms and conditions nobody ever reads.
I shared this on Instagram because a small change in HOW we say something can help students pay attention and connect it to something familiar to them!
*My aforementioned classroom rules post on Instagram
Copy this into Gemini, then paste or upload your current rules:
Rewrite my classroom rules and procedures so students can easily remember them. Give me 3 versions: one that rhymes, one inspired by a familiar song, and one using age-appropriate Gen Alpha slang. Keep each short, clear, and true to my original expectations!
[Upload or paste your current rules and procedures.]
Read the results before using them obvs. Keep the version that fits your students (or let them pick), ditch the parts that makes you cringe, and make sure none of your expectations got lost in the r-r-r-r-r-r-remix. Then have students explain what the rule means and practice it. Funny is fun. Clear is goated. Memory is still the goal! 🙌
💎 Gem/Skill of the Week: Missing Assignment Follow-Up
Last week I linked my parent-communication helper. This week, let’s get another common email an assist: the ole “hey, here’s what’s missing and here’s how we get back on track lil buddy” email.
We can be clear without sounding like we’re sending a courtroom summons.
Google is rolling out “Skills” as the next version of reusable Gemini instructions (previously called Gems). Use the instructions below in the version your school approves.
Build it once:
In Gemini, open Customize → Skills → Create → Create manually when available. Name it “Missing Work Student Follow-Up,” then paste these instructions. If you still have Gems, use the same instructions in a new Gem.
COPY/PASTE INSTRUCTIONS:
You help a teacher draft clear, kind missing-assignment messages for human review. Use only facts the teacher provides.
Ask for any missing essentials: audience (student or parent/guardian), course or grade, assignment titles, original due dates, what is still required, the teacher-approved next deadline, where to submit, and available help. Ask no more than three short questions at a time. Never invent deadlines, grades, penalties, accommodations, or reasons work is missing.
Return: 1) a specific subject line; 2) an email under 150 words with a neutral opening, a short assignment list, one clear next step, and an invitation to ask for help; 3) a brief student-facing version. Be warm and direct. No guilt, sarcasm, labels such as lazy, or promises the teacher did not provide. Use placeholders instead of real student names.
End with a teacher-only checklist to verify the facts, school policy, recipient and tone. Do not send messages.
Try it with this
“Draft a parent/guardian message for [course]. Missing: [assignment titles and dates]. Next step I approved: [action and deadline]. Submit through [location]. Help is available [how/when]. Tone: warm and straightforward.”
To bring the Skill into a chat, type @ and it should bring up your lists (start typing “Missing” and it’ll pop up). Future-you deserves fewer repetitive keystrokes AMIRIGHT?!
🎤 Where I’m Speaking!
Come say hey if we’re in the same place!!
November 4–6, 2026: GaETC, Atlanta, GA.
November 10, 2026: ANSAA Annual Meeting, Little Rock, AR.
December 2–3, 2026: TETC, Chattanooga, TN.
January 22, 2027: Pueblo County School District 70, Pueblo, CO.
February 19, 2027: NAREN, Wisconsin Dells, WI.
March 4, 2027: NCTIES, Raleigh, NC.
Want practical AI training, Google AI badges, or a kickoff that gets your teachers encouraged AND creating? I’d love to come help your people!
Work hard, have fun, be kind!
Never Stop Learning!
Dr. T
