Get the free companion guide with the step-by-step directions, starter prompts, and force copy link steps: Talk It Out Companion Guide

The simplest way to use AI is the one most people skip. You talk to it. Out loud, messy, and out of order, the way your thoughts actually come out. In this episode, Alison walks through how she talks her ideas into AI and lets it organize them, and how that helped her build lesson plans for her membership without typing them.

In this episode:

• Why talking works better than typing when your ideas are all in your head
• How to set up your lesson plan format and I can statements one time
• Alison's monthly routine: two windows, one microphone, and a finished Google Doc
• How to make a force copy link so teachers can edit their own copy
• Keeping student information safe: school accounts, FERPA, and talking to your tech team first

Links and resources:

• Free typing practice for students (the latest thing Alison built with AI): www.thattechsavvyteacher.com/free-typing-practice
• Free Claude for Teachers account: claude.com/solutions/teachers
• Free ChatGPT for Teachers account: chatgpt.com/k12-verification
• Ready to Click Tech Lab, for K-5 technology teachers: thattechsavvyteacher.com/ready-to-click-tech-lab-membership

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Find more at www.thattechsavvyteacher.com

Get the free companion guide: Episode 17 Companion Guide (PDF)

NotebookLM (now called Gemini Notebook) is a free Google tool that can turn one lesson you already wrote into an audio overview, a quiz, flashcards, a sub plan, and more. In this episode, you will make your first notebook and your first Audio Overview.

In this episode:

• What NotebookLM is, the July 2026 name change to Gemini Notebook, and who can use it
• How to make your first notebook and your first Audio Overview at notebook.google.com
• Six tips from using it myself: say who it is for, make more than one item at a time, do not accept the first draft, pick a style, delete what you do not like, and make something for your students
• Four ways to use it: a listen-through of a lesson you did not write, a quiz and flashcards, a sub plan, and a slide deck or infographic
• Two ways I used it outside my classroom: a parent internet safety handout and an accreditation action plan
• What you can download, how Google Classroom sharing works, and why you decide who it is for before you build the notebook
• Four guardrails for using it with school material

If you only do one thing this week: upload one lesson and click Audio Overview.

Want more tips like this? Join my newsletter at thattechsavvyteacher.com/newsletter.

Happy teaching!

Download the free companion resource (no email required): Digital Citizenship Is Everyone's Job, Episode 16 Companion

Digital citizenship is not just the tech teacher's job. It's everyone's job, and this week is Digital Citizenship Week.

In this episode, I share why my son's first experience with the internet in 4th or 5th grade is the reason I care so much about this topic, why I only see each class about 22 times a year, and what you can do in five minutes to be one of the places kids hear it. We also talk about what to teach (including how to tell what's real and what's AI-generated) and where to find free lessons, most of which aren't mine.

Looking for everything in one place?

• Digital Citizenship MEGA Bundle, Grades 3-5 (12 internet safety resources: games, flipbooks, an escape room, poster projects, and more) on Teachers Pay Teachers

My free resource

• FREE Digital Citizenship Resource Guide, K-5 (22 videos, 5 games, 5 eBooks, 6 lessons and projects). This one is a free email signup.

More from me (Teachers Pay Teachers)

• Internet Safety Early Finisher Digital Choice Board, Grades 6-12
• Digital Citizenship Computer Lab Warm-Ups (10-minute bell ringers): 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th
• All my warm-ups

Free lessons and resources from other organizations

• Common Sense Education: Digital Citizenship Week activities for every grade level
• Common Sense Education: K-12 Digital Literacy and Well-Being Curriculum (free)
• Common Sense Education: AI literacy lessons, K-12 (most 20 minutes or less)
• PBS NewsHour Classroom: Recognizing AI-generated content, grades 6-12
• Google Be Internet Awesome and Interland
• NetSmartz from NCMEC, including Into the Cloud
• ConnectSafely parent guides
• AAP Family Media Plan

Stay in touch

• Get one practical, time-saving idea each week: thattechsavvyteacher.com/newsletter

A quick note on email: the companion PDF does not ask for your email. Some of the resources linked inside it might, like my free guide above.

If this episode helped, follow the show and pass it along to a teacher who thinks this isn't their job.

The Time-Saving Teacher: From Scattered to Strategic