Rose, bud, thorn: Instructional Technology Tools by Betsy Hartnett

betsyhartnett — 2025-05-20 20:08:22 UTC

What instructional technology tool have you used (or seen used ineffectively) that you absolutely don't like and why ? This is your space to vent.

betsyhartnett — 2025-05-20 20:08:22 UTC

What 2D compliant instructional tool (bonus if it is free) do you love the most and why.... how have you used it (or seen it used) effectively? Can you put a link to it?

betsyhartnett — 2025-05-20 20:08:22 UTC

What is an instructional tool that you are excited to try or that you have just started using?

jhwilsonpnwboces — 2025-05-22 21:29:06 UTC

Jen Wilson

Napkin.ai

(It does not collect any PII -- which means it does not come under EdLaw2D -- it's not "compliant" as they haven't signed our paperwork

jhwilsonpnwboces — 2025-05-22 21:30:03 UTC

Jen Wilson

I have just started using Canva and am excited to learn more -- I'm a late starter!!

jhwilsonpnwboces — 2025-05-22 21:30:32 UTC

Jen Wilson

Mirror Talk was a total disaster for me.

jross180 — 2025-05-22 21:34:52 UTC

I really hated Mirror Talk. I felt like I needed to do it, but it really isn't my jam

tingpxie — 2025-05-22 21:35:37 UTC

Canva for Education. It's an intuitive, drag-and-drop design platform that offers a vast library of templates, images, and fonts, making it ideal for creating visually engaging educational materials.

jross180 — 2025-05-22 21:36:03 UTC

I liked using invideoAi. I think it is a really cool way to create videos. But I don't have a lot of experience with it. I am hoping to explore it in the future.

tingpxie — 2025-05-22 21:36:24 UTC

Brisk Teaching, an AI-powered tool designed to streamline lesson planning, feedback, and student engagement.

jross180 — 2025-05-22 21:37:02 UTC

I really just love ChatGpT. I have starting creating chatbots. I really enjoy it.

pporrovecchio — 2025-05-22 21:39:32 UTC

MagicSchoolAI

amyaschultze — 2025-05-22 21:39:39 UTC

Mirror Talk frustrating.

dhinrichs7 — 2025-05-22 21:39:42 UTC

Magicschool AI has been a huge help for our staff this year.

tfancher5 — 2025-05-22 21:40:06 UTC

Thought Exchange and ChatGPT

2025-05-22 21:40:07 UTC

Diffit! I can't wait to share this with the teachers in my school who have multiple learning abilities and grade levels in their rooms learning the same material.

dhinrichs7 — 2025-05-22 21:40:23 UTC

Unfortunately another vote for Mirror Talk from me.

tingpxie — 2025-05-22 21:40:25 UTC

I don't like mirror talk either. Never worked properly for me

pporrovecchio — 2025-05-22 21:40:39 UTC

PhotoMath

amyaschultze — 2025-05-22 21:40:45 UTC

ChatGPT and Diffit - game changers!

m_vanderzyden — 2025-05-22 21:40:48 UTC

Desmos! Great for math activities that provide immediate feedback. It is free and fun to code in. https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/63e2664baebb8967b960a4e2?utm_campaign=share&utm_content=activity

dmmoletto — 2025-05-22 21:41:02 UTC

Denise Moletto

I like using Google Forms. I use it for my club attendance, meetings, questions for members, scheduling school store hours, and feedback on events.

2025-05-22 21:41:03 UTC

ChatGPT and Claude... Especially now that I have learned to utilize better prompts.

tfancher5 — 2025-05-22 21:41:11 UTC

I am not a fan of Mirror Talk. It asked me irrelevant questions. I didn't find it useful at all.

pporrovecchio — 2025-05-22 21:41:22 UTC

Diffit

dhinrichs7 — 2025-05-22 21:41:29 UTC

Just started using EnlightenAI in our district - super quick to sign our 2D agreement. They will likely be paid next year, but they are currently free!

2025-05-22 21:41:34 UTC

MirrorTalk. It didn't work and caused serious frustration.

2025-05-22 21:41:39 UTC

Microsoft PowerPoint Presenter Coach - I just discovered this yesterday~! It is AMAZING and I love it. It is part of PowerPoint Office 365 so if you have 365, then it is free! It gives you specific analytics on your presentation including your flow, your tone of voice, you common words that you use as fillers, and your confusing words, etc.

2025-05-22 21:41:41 UTC

I personally love Canva right now because I have used it to show teachers and students how to be creative (flyers, Bitmojis, newsletters, presentations) but I have also used it for my PD trainings, Board of Ed presentations, creating videos, and introducing AI tools to the district! I just love it!

m_vanderzyden — 2025-05-22 21:41:52 UTC

SchoolAI Spaces - I am looking forward to still working in spaces and creating some tutor bots for my students.

2025-05-22 21:42:00 UTC

Chat GPT, paid version. I use it for a wide variety of things in my life, not just in education-Meredith Sullivan

dmmoletto — 2025-05-22 21:42:09 UTC

Denise Moletto

I like using Claude. I hadn't used it before this and I really like how it responds and also gives a summary.

amyaschultze — 2025-05-22 21:42:23 UTC

I am starting to utilize Canva as a resource for students! I didn't even want to try to use it until now!

jhwilsonpnwboces — 2025-05-22 21:42:27 UTC

You really don't want my thoughts on this, so I'm just not going to type anything.

prkinne02 — 2025-05-22 21:42:29 UTC

I've really been appreciating the use of Padlet lately with both students and faculty members.

2025-05-22 21:42:30 UTC

Padlet!! Never liked it and now I don't like it even more. From an educational standpoint, it is very difficult for a student to use it as a learning tool. It works for a few people with a few ideas but once you get multiple students I've found they stop getting anything out of it.

2025-05-22 21:42:35 UTC

I want to learn even more about Pear Deck. The times I have used it, it was so user friendly!

2025-05-22 21:42:37 UTC

I really like Perusall. It allows me to upload content and students can highlight, comment, and reply to each other in an interactive way. It's a great way to do collaborative reading and introduce content

model_schools — 2025-05-22 21:42:39 UTC

Book Creator! It is for everyone! K-12 and even the free version is robust. It is Ed Law 2d compliant and now students can be creative with Adobe (AI images) and Canva built in! It has all the accessibility features one would need: speech-to-text, over 100 languages, and read-to-me.

2025-05-22 21:42:52 UTC

Lovable.devAI agent makes games from 1 prompt

2025-05-22 21:42:56 UTC

Mirror Talk AI. Not useful at all

2025-05-22 21:43:07 UTC

I would like to try Chat Bots and be able to create them - that looks like fun!

dmmoletto — 2025-05-22 21:43:11 UTC

Denise Moletto

I do not like Quizziz. I have used it in the past and it expires quizzes that I had created and wanted to use again but it wasn't available any longer.

tfancher5 — 2025-05-22 21:43:13 UTC

I will definitely be learning more about MagicSchool

2025-05-22 21:43:14 UTC

Chat GPT

model_schools — 2025-05-22 21:43:21 UTC

I am excited to use more of Kami and Padlet this summer with our asynchronous conference.

2025-05-22 21:43:25 UTC

Heygen for creating my personal avatar, I've been meaning to do it forever

2025-05-22 21:43:26 UTC

I do not like Perplexity because I found it be invasive. It pulls your information from your searches on the internet and your location and IP information and uses that when it is providing responses to you.

2025-05-22 21:43:29 UTC

Diffit

prkinne02 — 2025-05-22 21:43:32 UTC

I am really interested in continuing to learn and use Diffit more and more.

2025-05-22 21:43:38 UTC

I have to say - using Diffit lately has been huge for us as educators. I was able to showcase the tools with some of our curriculum coaches and they love using it in the classrooms with their teachers. There are so many resources in it and I love exploring

2025-05-22 21:44:15 UTC

Alison Puliatte

Pear Deck
I like using Pear Deck to make slide presentations interactive.

2025-05-22 21:44:24 UTC

Mirror Talk - I did not like that I had to talk into it and record the responses that way. I like typing only if possible

model_schools — 2025-05-22 21:44:28 UTC

Anything cool that is not Ed Law 2d compliant...

2025-05-22 21:44:33 UTC

NotebookLM! at first i was wowed, and after listening to 2 podcasts I can't take it anymore, they're beating around the bush and the faking of conversation is just annoying when you know you're listening to an AI

2025-05-22 21:44:55 UTC

I did not care for MirrorTalk at all. It was annoying to me personally.

2025-05-22 21:44:58 UTC

I know students like it but I am kind of over Kahoot. It sets up strange competitions and I think it fosters questions that are too easy to answer. I think there are other platforms that gamefy learning more creatively and have better ways of structuring competition

amyaschultze — 2025-05-22 21:45:22 UTC

Colleagues share a “before PD” and “after PD” tech-integrated lesson design or student artifact.

model_schools — 2025-05-22 21:46:23 UTC

A virtual comment "carousel"

2025-05-22 21:46:26 UTC

I really liked Diffit! And Notebook LM is a game changer.

2025-05-22 21:46:53 UTC

Alison Puliatte

Canva- my colleagues and students are well-versed in Canva and I would like to become better at using this tool to create visuals for class lessons.

prkinne02 — 2025-05-22 21:48:33 UTC

There are a number of features that frustrate me with DuoLingo as a Language Other Than English teacher. Some of the features of the Ultra DuoLingo that they make you pay for are what students need the most!

2025-05-22 21:48:42 UTC

Share AHA moments

2025-05-25 00:13:10 UTC

I love Gemini - I use it all the time to help me plan and think about new program and PD possibilities.

2025-05-25 00:14:45 UTC

I'm excited to use Napkin AI more. I've used it for a couple of things, but think it has great promise for PD.

2025-05-25 00:16:10 UTC

I have to "mirror" others here and say Mirror Talk. I don't know if I'm just not someone who likes to talk things out or if it's the bot or the tool itself, but it wasn't for me.

2025-05-25 00:18:35 UTC

One Thing I Learned" Share-Out: Interactive Tool: Use a platform like Mentimeter or Slido for an anonymous word cloud or short answer poll. Ask participants: "What's one key takeaway or 'aha!' moment from VITAL?" or "What's one thing you'll remember most?" Reflective Activity: Have everyone write down (or share verbally) one significant thing they learned, not necessarily content-related, but perhaps about their own learning process, a new skill, or a changed perspective.

2025-05-25 20:12:18 UTC

Tool: Edpuzzle
Why: Edpuzzle is a powerful tool for creating interactive video lessons. It allows you to embed questions and notes into videos, making it easy to check for understanding and keep students engaged—especially useful in distance learning environments.

Donna Farren

2025-05-25 20:13:14 UTC

Tool: Padlet
Why: Padlet offers a flexible, visual space for collaboration and brainstorming. I’ve only used it briefly, but I’m interested in exploring how it can support student voice and creativity in both synchronous and asynchronous settings.

Donna Farren

2025-05-25 20:13:42 UTC

Tool: Notebook LM
Why: While Notebook LM has potential, I’ve found it clunky and unintuitive for instructional use. Its interface and limitations in organizing content make it more frustrating than helpful in a fast-paced teaching environment.

Donna Farren

2025-05-25 20:15:57 UTC

Digital Learning Wall where we share:

Key insights
Favorite quotes
Resources we found helpful
Questions we still exploring

Donna Farren

edwyer27 — 2025-05-25 21:52:39 UTC

NotebookLM has been very helpful in making information more engaging.

edwyer27 — 2025-05-25 21:53:28 UTC

Microsoft Reflect is something I recently learned about and am using to collect feedback.

edwyer27 — 2025-05-25 21:53:53 UTC

I also dislike Mirror Talk.

edwyer27 — 2025-05-25 21:57:45 UTC

At this time I think it best to focus on one take away from the experience.

simplegianna — 2025-05-27 01:59:02 UTC

🛠️ MagicSchool AI

This is the tool I’ve found most useful and impactful in my instruction. I use it regularly to create scaffolded tasks and visual explanations for my Geometry students, especially those with IEPs or multilingual backgrounds. It’s also become one of my go-to examples in professional development sessions—it’s fast, flexible, and responsive to learner needs.

simplegianna — 2025-05-27 01:59:32 UTC

🛠️ Microsoft Reflect

I’m excited about the potential of using this tool to gather student emotions and reflections before and after lessons. It could help me better track how students are feeling—especially during abstract or high-cognitive-load units—and allow me to adjust instruction to build stronger emotional safety and engagement in the virtual classroom. I'm planning to use it more intentionally in my next unit.

simplegianna — 2025-05-27 01:59:52 UTC

🛠️ Flip (formerly Flipgrid)

I’ve tried using Flip for student reflections and math talk activities, but many of my students—especially multilingual learners or those with processing needs—seem uncomfortable recording themselves on video. While some love the creative freedom, others feel self-conscious or unsure how to express their thinking orally. I realized that for many, video feels like a performance, not a reflection. I plan to revisit this tool by pairing it with AI-generated sentence starters or optional scripts to build confidence and reduce cognitive load.

simplegianna — 2025-05-27 02:01:02 UTC

Digital learning wall with all the pictures!

2025-05-29 13:28:58 UTC

I enjoy using ChatGPT and Google Forms. Chat GPT has become my go to assistant. I use it many ways. I also use Google Forms for capturing information from both my students and peers

2025-05-29 13:31:09 UTC

NotebookLM and Elevenlabsai are two tools that I have begun to explore during this course. I find that they would both be useful to me in my work as I role out my PPLP. I look forward to expanding my use of them.

2025-05-29 13:34:16 UTC

As soon as I read this assignment Mirror Talk came to mind. I thought it was just me. However, after reading the above posts I see it is not. Sorry, but going with Mirror Talk

2025-05-29 13:40:48 UTC

I think sharing key takeaways and useful resources would be helpful as we move on in our journey. Perhaps a chance to ask questions too

ehuson1 — 2025-05-31 03:32:21 UTC

SchoolAI

ehuson1 — 2025-05-31 03:33:13 UTC

I like Book Creator; however, I am just scratching the surface with it and would like to explore it more.

ehuson1 — 2025-05-31 03:38:02 UTC

Goblintools was just ok for me.

ehuson1 — 2025-05-31 03:39:34 UTC

I like the idea of sharing the big takeaways - areas where we as learners had a shift in thinking or found a tool/practice to be transformative.

prayjo1 — 2025-05-31 20:15:48 UTC

MagicSchoolAI for its capabilities such as rubric generation, student feedback generator, and chatbots!

prayjo1 — 2025-05-31 20:16:26 UTC

I have created a couple of Twines but have not used them in class.

I wish there was an easier way to share Twines.

prayjo1 — 2025-05-31 20:17:32 UTC

I am struggling with MirrorTalk. I haven't found it especially effective when I have tinkered with it on my own.

I find it slow and glitchy. It doesn't not seem to reflect a real-life conversation, but I will keep trying! It's too cool to not use!

prayjo1 — 2025-05-31 20:18:15 UTC

I always like to see real-world examples of student work.

2025-06-01 16:19:04 UTC

NotebookLM is one of my favorite tools I've discovered this year. There are SO many ways to use this tool both personally and professionally. I have used it to help me in standards alignment, a space to keep and organize resources for planning, and a collaborative space for teachers during PL workshops.

2025-06-01 16:21:20 UTC

SchoolAI Custom Chatbots (and custom chatbots in general) next year I would really like to dive deeper into creating custom chatbots. I think there is such value in knowing how to do this, and I want to be able to share that skill with teachers and students.

2025-06-01 16:25:08 UTC

MagicSchool AI. There are some parts of it that I love, but I find that the content generated by MagicSchool is often very generic and does not always reflect best teaching practices. If you have the paid version, there are opportunities to prompt the AI further to get better quality output, but most teachers are using the free version. I think there is value in it, but I also think there are way better options out there.

2025-06-01 16:31:11 UTC

I know I am too late to add to the actual ideas, but for next year, I was thinking it would be cool if the organizers could reach out to different ed tech platforms and see if they could give away a couple of premium subscriptions for a year. Do some sort of drawing or game where participants have the opportunity to win one.

2025-06-02 13:49:56 UTC

ChatGPT and Claude are now my go-to LLMs that I thoroughly enjoy and use daily. Since improving my prompting skills, I find it almost therapeutic to use these platforms to help with brainstorming and feedback.

2025-06-02 13:50:59 UTC

MirrorAI. I found this tough when we used it through VITAL, and I'd like to explore it's ability to help with reflection, especially as a school administrator.

2025-06-02 13:52:17 UTC

FigJam - I did not find this easy or useful to use.

2025-06-02 13:53:43 UTC

I am late to submit, but did comment on a few suggestions that I felt were strong!