Hello everyone,

I hope you're ready for a great week. This week is turning super cold in south Georgia but we have lots of things happening: state football, state One Act Play, and Thanksgiving festivities.

In today's newsletter I'll share about the new AI browser that is my favorite, an awesome STEAM toy, some great ideas for elementary writing teachers an episode of Cool Cat Teacher Talk that is a must listen for helping make learning real world for teachers and students as well as some amazing AI explanations from my favorite AI youtuber, Rob "The AI Guy."

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6 Ideas for Helping Kids Get Excited About Writing

Nancy McCabe talks about teaching creative writing, free writing, writing “field trips” and the tricks to help kids enjoy writing. With a special focus for elementary classrooms, Nancy McCabe has lots of ideas in this quick episode. https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e917​

The Real Deal:

In this episode of Cool Cat Teacher Talk, we get real. I have Rob "the AI Guy" Benjamin talk about how AI really works (like why it goes off the rails if you talk to it too long and how to fix itt.) Then, we talk about what being employed in the AI field looks like with Zach Kinsler from Boodlebox.

We'll dive into real-world professional development that actually helps teaches with 2024 NASSP Assistant Principal of the Year Courtney Walker. Then, we'll look at real world learning for kids with Assistant Principal Misa Sato and how she helps kids get a head start on life. Then, we'll give parents and kids some real world help with how to manage homework from award winning educator, Brian Page.

All in all, this is a very practical episode for Cool Cat Teacher Talk full of ideas for making your school and home better. https://www.coolcatteacher.com/realdeal​

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The Atlas Browser

​The Atlas Browser from OpenAI is incredibly useful. While I don't use it on confidential, private information, I'm finding it very useful for typing up detailed instructions for substitutes, giving explanations for those who have questions, and to create additional resources for lessons I'm teaching.

Basically, you just load up Google classroom or an assignment and whatever you highlight becomes selected text and then you can ask ChatGPT which operates to the right of the screen. Just as "Rob the AI Guy" talked about, be careful about the context window. As he shared on the "Real Deal" episode of Cool Cat Teacher talk in today's newsletter, if you chat too long, AI can only remember so much, so it drops things out of memory but often it drops the wrong things, which is why chats that are too long "go off the rails." (Listen to the show to learn more.)

I'm using Atlas far more than just going to chatgpt directly. It is very useful and super fast.

My Classroom

In ninth grade, we've started building apps in MAD-Learn, kids are programming in Code Combat, also.

My AP CSP kids have mastered binary numbers and memory conversion and I pulled out my favorite formative tool for teaching math, Socrative. Once they aced their test, now they are moving back to Code Combat to Game Dev 1 and 2 to build games, learn to spawn items, and create global and local variables. We sure do love Code Combat.

My eighth graders have finished learning generative features of Adobe Photoshop 2026, new features in Canva, and new features in Adobe Express. I've been extremely impressed with the tutorials and fun projects in Adobe Express and I highly recommend it for fun projects over break. Now, they're working on their trip project where they have a budget and plan a 7-day trip anywhere in the world as their 23-year old selves. This is a spreadsheet project where they are learning to use formulas, tally data, make charts, and then they will create a persuasive presentation to present to their parents (pretend, of course) about the trip. My students love this project!

Cool Cat Teacher Talk is a National Show

The 10 Minute Teacher has done well with over 900 episodes and over 8 million downloads. But we had an opportunity last year to start packing the best of 10 Minute Teacher plus some new longer interviews into a radio and TV show and it has done well on the first five stations. So, more stations have picked up the show!

Each stations chooses when to air the show and some air it more than once a week. Typically these stations carry Cool Cat Teacher Talk before it airs on YouTube and my blog and podcast. There's so much I don't know about radio and TV but we're learning!

FM Radio Stations

• WDJY FM 99.1 Metro Atlanta - 4pm each Wednesday
• Denver 92.9FM/89.3HD3 Denver
• KPFA 94.1 FM California (Berkley)
• Texas Public Radio San Antonio TX area
• WZQR Florida

Public Access Television

• PAC 8 Community Television New Mexico
• Fairfax Public Access Fairfax/DC
• California San Francisco
• New York NYC
• NCTVNH Newport, NH
• Urbana Public TV Urbana, IL
• DCTV Washington, D.C.
• CNJN New Jersey
• NCTV Newington, CT
• BronxNet Bronx, NY
• TV18 Detroit Detroit, MI

So many amazing people keep coming on the show and I also am pulling some of the best interviews of past 10 Minute Teacher Shows so that each show is about one topic.

📢 Listen & Subscribe:​
​Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | iHeart Radio | Deezer​

News

So, I'm playing catch up in so many ways with life, school, friends, and just even having a moment to breathe. Thank you to all of you who sent emails after I sent the newsletter out last week letting you know of my Dad's passing. I appreciate the kind words from so many of you. Everything has changed in many ways, but the purpose and calling on my life has only intensified. I do want to do a good job and be helpful.

I also am going to be offline some in the next two weeks spending some time with my husband. We need to catch up! I'll share more on that later.

I hope your school year is going well! Thank you for subscribing to the newsletter!

Joyfully in your service,

Vicki Davis