Every 3 years, Lutheran teachers from around the globe gather for the LEA Convocation.  This month it was in St. Louis and our entire podcast team was there to Connect, Share, Inspire, Grow and Support . . . well . . . anyone who came to visit the TEC21 Playground.  Today we’ll share with you some of our stories, lessons learned, and inspirational thoughts and ideas from LEA 2025

Cool Stuff

Brian - LEA take away…teachers don’t give themselves enough credit when it comes to trying new things!  Eduaide - AI platform has been remodeled. Very easy to navigate, very clear to understand

Dennis - Adobe Express (free for schools) added AI enhanced speech for recording voiceovers.  What does this mean?  It means that kids no longer have to go out in the hall to record. Works on both laptops AND iPads.

Rob - binaural beats. There are some times I REALLY need to focus, and I can really tell the difference. I don’t use them for sleep, mostly for work focus and I believe I can tell the difference.

LEA stories, lessons learned, and inspirational thoughts from Brian, Rob and Dennis

For the last several decades, if you work in a school, particularly a Lutheran School, use of Google and Google tools are just a part of teaching and learning.  Mostly because Google has always made their core tools FREE for education. Learning to use these tools efficiently and effectively is what we always focus on in our first TEC21 Workshop so today it just makes sense that we follow up with even MORE about “the Google” - things we love, things that annoy us, and maybe a few things you didn’t know.  So “Buckle up” as we do a “Deep Dive” into the world of Google.

Cool Stuff

Brian - Upgraded my printer to a BambuLab P1s

Dennis - Snorkl.app - Math teachers hate AI, but they might love this.

Rob - I got re-acquainted with Wakelet.

Top 11 Google Tips:  The Good, The Not-So-Good, and the New Stuff

1. Use Chrome Profiles - Help Sheet
2. AutoCrat Add-On
3. Gemini and Google Classroom got hitched!
4. NotebookLM
5. Google Gemini “Gems”
6. Google Apps for iPad - Don’t use them.  Use the Safari Browser instead. Help Sheet
7. New Google Slides Templates
8. New Google Vids
9. Google Canvas
10. Shared Drives
11. Google/Canva Integration

The culminating event of our 2025 TEC21 Cohorts is Celebration Day - the day teachers share what they’ve learned and how they plan to use it next year.  On this episode of the podcast we celebrate the culmination of our second season as we CONNECT with one of our awesome TEC21 facilitators who will SHARE some of the amazing LEARNing from this year so we can all GROW.  It’s Celebration Day on  Season 2, Episode 7  of the TEC21 Connections Podcast.

In Ecclesiastes, it says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

• A time to be born, a time to die

• A time to weep, a time to laugh

• A time to keep silent and a time to speak

• A time to be notified and a time to silence notifications

• A time to look at screens, and a time for screens to be put away

Okay, I might have paraphrased a bit there. On today’s show we take a look at our connectedness - our connectedness to our devices and most importantly our connectedness to our God. Joining us on our journey today is author and principal Dr. Jake Hollatz who will help guide us as we strive to teach our children “how to be God’s faithful people in a digital world” 

Cool Stuff

• Brian - ChatGPT and Canva have hooked up! Eduaide a true powerhouse of AI school tools
• Dennis - AI music generator: Suno.com  Example: Samuel’s Song, written by AI based on the Bible Project video of 1st Samuel
• Rob - https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/

SPECIAL GUEST - Dr. Jake Hollatz

Principal at St. John’s Lutheran, Orange CA

Co-Author “Faithfully Connected”

How data-driven are you? In this episode of the TEC21 Connections Podcast, we decode the details of data—how to collect it, visualize it, and use it to design learning experiences and drive daily classroom decisions. From discovery to delivery, we’re dissecting the digital dashboard of data to determine how it directs, defines, and deepens learning. Join us as we welcome special guest Jonathan Orr, Director of Innovation and Continuous Improvement at Faith Lutheran Middle & High School in Las Vegas, to explore how "data takes the wheel" in education.

Notes & Links 

Episode 205 - Data Take the Wheel with Jon Orr

Cool Stuff to Share

• The TPACK model is a powerful tool for self analysing the use of technology within the Content and Pedagogy of your lesson planning. 
• Brisk has added ability to analyze images
• Google Maps
• Gulf of America

Notes and Links

Special Guest: Jonathan Orr, Director of Innovation and Continuous Improvement, Faith Lutheran Middle & High School, Las Vegas

Talking points:

• The importance of data in education

• Data-driven decision making at schools

• Using AI to interpret data

• Kids are not data points in the eyes of God!

Two, Four, Six, Eight, Who Wants to Collaborate? Remember back in school when your teacher told you, “This is going to be a group project.”  Did you get excited with anticipation? Or did you dread the thought of having to work with your classmates.  (I was definitely the latter.) On today’s show we’re going to offer some help for those of you like me who find collaboration cringy and offer some tech tools to transform these tasks into something:, “T double-E double-R double-R double-I double-F double-I double C, C, C!” on Season 2, Episode 4 of the TEC21 Connections Podcast.

Notes & Links 

Cool Stuff to Share

ShadowMap

Snorkl.app

Eduaide

Christmas Train Layout Video - YouTube

Collaboration Notes and Links

Apple Freeform

Mural

Canva Whiteboard

Google Spaces

Google SmartChips and Building Blocks - You probably already see them at the top of your screen when you start a new doc, but you can also get to them by going to the INSERT menu and looking for SMART CHIP or BUILDING BLOCKS.  Finally, you can insert them directly into a doc by typing @ and looking for them in the pop-up menu.

Twas the podcast before Christmas and all through the school

Every teacher was searching for that most perfect tool

A tool to engage every bright youthful mind

But an app or a site can be quite hard to find

So here are some experts who can do the job

Our podcasting team: Dennis, Brian and Rob

We’ll share teaching strategies, apps, tools, and sites

To fill your digital stockings with techie delights.

Join us as we gather round the virtual tree

On TEC21 Connections, Season 2, Episode 3

Mentioned on this show:

Apps

Web Tools

Strategies

How can we know what you know if we don’t know what you don’t know? In today’s show we’re asking “What is assessment?” And how are digital tools like EdPuzzle and Kahoot  or  AI tools like Brisk and ChatGPT reshaping the way we measure what students really understand.   Join us as we dive into dynamic digital assessments, and explore how tech is transforming the way we track, test, and truly connect with student progress.

Notes & Links 

Episode 201 - Digital Assessments

What did you learn this month?

• Rob - Example of a student using AI in a REALLY productive manner (Using ChatGPT to do a character analysis of his 19 chapter novel). 
• Brian - Digital Hall Passes
• Dennis - BlueSky, like the twitter we used to know.

Digital Assessment

GUEST INTERVIEW:  Dr. Marci Nuoffer & Students Liana and Kinnley, from Faith Lutheran High School, Las Vegas

Student Project: The 7 Days of Creation

AI use in the classroom - is it a headache or an opportunity? Should we block it or embrace it? From saving time with smart tools to tackling cheating concerns, let’s explore how teachers can embrace AI, leverage it for learning, and use it to empower students as we share a few tips, tricks, and just a little bit of tech magic!Welcome to a new episode and a new season of the TEC21 Connections Podcast!

Cool Things Learned This Month

Google NotebookLM’s Audio Overview

Canva Magic Tools

Google adds Tabs to Docs

AI Notes

What AI Can Do Today

Tools to Save Teachers Time

Tools for Student Productivity & Creativity

Thoughts, Comments, Questions, Complaints, Criticisms or Donuts?

Contact us at: [email protected]