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What’s New in Educational Technology – September 2025
School has begun; why not explore new avenues for enhancing student engagement and focus?
September is an opportunity to reset expectations and to implement new ideas; more about this in the first article. There are a lot of free resources in this month’s edition. Let’s improve student focus, give teachers more time to teach, and spend less time on administrative tasks.
1. The Nation’s Report Card does not look like yours! Some facts reported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Most important? Blue states lead while Red states are in decline. Taking politics out of this, what does this mean for the overall population? Especially when you consider that, as a group, Blue states pay more in Federal taxes than they receive, while Red states receive more Federal funding than they contribute.
The number 1 state in achievement, Massachusetts, has districts adding separate periods just for reading (using paper books). (These reading periods are in addition to the English curriculum and are generally 30 minutes.) The outcome: students achieve higher grades in English, Math, and Science. I would imagine that Social Studies may also measure higher. Statistics are available for grades 4 and 8.
My point? Providing time for reading during the school day improves overall performance in many subjects. If you have a 6-hour (or longer) school day, steal a few minutes for reading. (If your district has “English Language Arts” classes, then you may already be providing reading periods.)
The original article is here: Nation’s Report Card: Science, math and reading scores are down : NPR
The National Center for Education Statistics has a website too: The Nation's Report Card | NAEP
2. Extensions for Google Drive What if you could research faster, be more organized, and just have a better experience when using the Chrome browser and Google Drive? Here are 7 file extensions for the Chrome browser that will:
a. Save faster to Drive
b. Open Word, Sheets, and Pages docs for viewing.
c. Edit Word, Sheets, and Slides files while in Chrome.
d. Save files to Google Drive
More Chrome extensions are discussed, and most Chrome extensions work on the Edge browser. After review, you will see that some features overlap between extensions. Here is a link to the original article: Google Drive Is So Much Better When You Use These Extensions
3. Generative AI has no place in my classroom. It is not a neutral tool. That line, taken from the article linked below, is a teacher’s opinion of the future of AI. That teacher’s concern is that there is no growth when using AI. The student does not go through the processes of discovery, processing, and organization that help a student to become a critical thinker. Here are two paragraphs that sum up the article…
“What it offers in efficiency, it erodes in depth. Students can lean on it before developing the habits, patience, and skills that real writing demands. The slow, sometimes frustrating process of wrestling with a sentence, choosing the evidence that best supports an argument, or discovering a new insight mid-draft — these are the moments when thinking happens, however time-consuming, inconvenient, and uncomfortable.
When generative AI shortcuts that process, it doesn’t just “assist” — it replaces the very struggle that leads to growth. In my own classroom, that means AI isn’t just a neutral tool — it’s a detriment to helping students become confident writers and critical thinkers.”
Here is a link to the full article: ChatGPT-5 Just Changed My Mind — Generative AI Has No Place in My Classroom | by David Cutler | Age of Awareness | Aug, 2025 | Medium
4. An adventure in Math for grades 1 through 8. Prodigy makes Math (and now English) into game-based learning. Generally, students like this approach, and the Prodigy website can provide evidence of success. This is Free for teachers and students. There is a portal for parents so they can support their students. (Note that Parents are asked to make contributions.) Free Math Learning Game for Kids
5. A fun learning website for students, preschool through 2nd grade. Using the computer as a central focus, ABC Mouse turns every subject into an interactive learning experience. Free for teachers, parents can buy a full year for just $45.
Subject areas range from math and literacy to science and health, social studies, art, and music. All kinds of interactive media, including songs, puzzles, games, books, and animations. Plus, printables that teachers can use in the classroom. abcmouse.com/teachers
6. Adventure Academy, the educational massively multiplayer online game (MMO). Another website designed for elementary and middle school students, offering an immersive virtual world. The focus is on developing critical knowledge and skills in language arts, math, social studies, science, and more.
Each of their programs offers professional development so teachers can confidently launch the materials and guide student use. In addition, guidelines for using Federal funding are available at the website. home - Age of Learning
7. 3D Printing; Makerbot Resources for Education 3D printing is used in many ways, including product development and final products. There are many online resources for projects, but few are education focused. The Makerbot brand is designed specifically for school use. They provide students and teachers withtarget="_blank" many resources for the classroom. If any CAD, Architecture, Product Marketing, Art, or other design-oriented courses are taught in your school, then their website (and products) can be useful. If you have given any thought to adding or upgrading 3D printing, then this website will prove useful. Resources - MakerBot
8. Microsoft Co-Pilot in Education. Co-Pilot is being added to more Microsoft products. Most recently, the entire Microsoft 365 Suite has seen the addition of Co-Pilot. While I am not a fan of AI use in schools, except to aid teachers, Co-Pilot does not add student-generated content to its large language model. In academic use, the developers have focused on making it Socratic so it will act more like a guide, and not an encyclopedia.
Here is a link for more information about Co-Pilot in Education. Included are resources for teacher Professional Development. Microsoft Copilot in Education - M365 Education | Microsoft Learn
9. What is the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 365? If you are looking for the classic Microsoft Office Suite for Education, but do not want AI involved, then you want Office 365. There are additional differences, including how IT administrators can control what students use versus what faculty use. Here is an overview of the differences: Microsoft for Education License Features - M365 Education | Microsoft Learn
10. A comparison of Google Gemini and Microsoft Co-Pilot. This comparison is for business use; the information applies to education if you want to see how these AI products interact with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office. (Note that any pricing shown is for business use and is not about the academic environment.) Gemini vs Microsoft Copilot - AI Assistant Comparison | Aloa
Coming in October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and National Bullying Prevention Month, not to mention Halloween and, on October 1st, International Coffee Day. There is much more, including the week of October 6th being Mental Illness Awareness Week.
Please share this newsletter with those who might benefit. All teachers benefit from having more time, while every school benefits from student improvement!
Mitch Ravitz
mitch@tcclass.com
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