November 25

Tech BFFs — Parlay Ideas

Tech BFFs — Parlay Ideas

BFF is an acronym for “Best Friend Forever.” These websites and tips are so good that they will become your technology BFFs!

Texas Computer Educators’ Association remains the most trusted legacy resource for teaching and learning. From TCEA’s resource recommendations is an established AI tool called Parlay Ideas that will be helpful for your professional teaching endeavors.

Classroom discussion is the consistent instructional strategy. In STEAM learning, classroom discussion is a critical method for fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills through open-ended questions and collaborative dialogue. Teachers guide these discussions, which can involve strategies like Socratic dialogue, Round Table Circles, and using real-world problems, to encourage students to explore ideas from multiple perspectives and build a deeper understanding of concepts.

Parlay Ideas is a legacy online AI application with free account options, that provides a brainstorming opportunity to facilitate higher-order thinking classroom discussion prompts and other learning opportunities. There are several tutorials embedded on the Parlay Ideas website.

Here is a short navigation video shared in my graduate courses:

Video and embedded Transcript at this link: https://www.loom.com/share/0bcf17d66b2844e5899beb1176552ed5

 

Thank you, TCEA!

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February 25

Miguel Guhlin’s blog post: Differentiated Learning Powered by AI

TCEA TechNotes blog link: https://blog.tcea.org/differentiated-learning-powered-by-ai/

Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20250227045616/https://blog.tcea.org/differentiated-learning-powered-by-ai/ 

Category: Differentiation, Generative AI, Online Learning, Post Feed | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 27

Activities for the 100th day of school from TCEA

The 100th day of school in 2025 varies by school, but it’s usually between the end of January and mid-February. The exact date depends on when the school year started. 

TCEA 100thDayofSchool

Image Source: https://blog.tcea.org/fun-activities-for-the-100th-day-of-school/

The Texas Computer Educators’ Association (TCEA) is an advocacy and educational Professional Learning Network (PLN) for educators nation-wide. 

Diana Benner, from TCEA provided these fun, educational, and tech-infused learning environment activities for the 100th day.

Here is the link to the TCEA blog post: https://blog.tcea.org/fun-activities-for-the-100th-day-of-school/

Thanks, Diana Benner and TCEA!

                                                                             References

Benner, (2025, January 27). Fun Activities for the 100th Day of School. TCEA Tech Notes. [Blog post]. https://blog.tcea.org/fun-activities-for-the-100th-day-of-school/ 

 

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August 27

Learning Outdoors- Guide from Stager and Nair

The benefits of learning outdoors have been promoted since Henry David Thoreau took his students on the first Field Trips!

Here is an update on Learning Outdoors — From the TCEA Blog:

Dr. Gary Stager and school architect and designer Prakash Nair have written an excellent guide to providing outdoor learning experiences for students of all ages. This guide is normally sold on Amazon, but is provided free for download here at this link. This guide is presented from the perspective of educators, architects, neurologists, and environmental scientists.

StagerOutdoorLearning

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December 4

TCEA Sponsors a Chat with Santa

From TCEA Digest Communication:

SantaSanta will be stopping by TCEA’s headquarters to host a free, live chat for students around the world on Tuesday, December 10 from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. Central. So make that mug of hot cocoa, get yourself a big plate of sugar cookies, and read on to find out how your class or school can take part in this merry occasion.

Who Can Take Part

The Virtual Chat with Santa is intended for kids of all ages (and adults, too!). This event requires no registration and will be broadcast through YouTube. You do not have to be a member of TCEA to join in the Yuletide fun. Everyone is welcome!

Asking Santa Questions

During the chat, Santa will happily answer the burning questions your students may have about him and all of his North Pole friends. If you’re an advance planner like Kris Kringle (he makes his list and checks it twice, after all), you can submit your questions for Santa ahead of time using this form. Like to ask your questions on the fly (just like those reindeer would)? No problem! Santa will also accept questions live during the chat. (Just so you know, if you submit your questions in advance, Santa may give your students a shout out by name during the live event!)

Getting the Link to the Chat

Bookmark this post because a direct link to the live chat will be available on this blog on the morning of Tuesday, December 10 starting at 9:00 a.m. cst. Make sure to test it out so that you know you will have access. If you are unavailable to attend the live event, a recording of the chat will be available shortly after it ends for you to share with your students and their families.

TCEA hopes that everyone will be able to join for this fun, seasonal activity!

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