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What's new in Educational Technology - February 2026
Welcome to February! A great month if you like cold weather and skiing. For fans of Black History, our nation's presidents, and/or Valentine's Day, You are in the right month!
This month's edition speaks about the return of cursive writing, alternatives to the hand-held calculator, game-based learning, and more. Let's look at what's new in "applied arts" (one definition of Technology)!
1. Penmanship (Cursive) is coming back. Though dropped from the CCCS in 2010, many districts didn't stop teaching cursive. Currently, 25 states have cursive in their CCCS. Many districts stopped teaching cursive in 2015. Students who entered the 3rd grade in 2015 would have graduated in 2024. There have been 9 school years without cursive training, affecting the current students from grades 3 through 12. What can districts do to teach cursive to those students? (Keep in mind that current 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders should begin learning cursive during the 2026-27 school year.) How do schools close the gap for the 6th through 12th grades? NJ DOE Cursive Recommendation
2. Bluetooth 6 is coming. For most people, the difference between each version is not significant. Bluetooth 6 includes a faster data transfer speed for moving large files. In effect, being a replacement for using WiFi to connect to a wireless data storage device or to communicate faster with a remote data source like a weather station. This will lead to new portable drives if you want to get into the business.
For the record, each of the versions of Bluetooth since version 4 has actually had two sets of specifications. Regular Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). BLE is what connects wireless earbuds, wireless mice and keyboards, and other "conveniences", like your smartphone to your car's computer. Another difference for BLE is a shorter communications range, stated as 10 meters (about 33 feet). Regular Bluetooth, when it is used, has a range of up to 800 feet (about 243 meters or 2 2/3 football fields). It also requires more energy to cover that distance , so most devices need an electrical outlet. (Probably more than you needed to know?)
3. Special
Education Teachers are supported with Lessi AI. Would you rather write out
compliant and meaningful IEPs or teach? Lessi is designed to support the
paperwork side and free up the teacher's time and energy for the classroom.
Further, it will take a lesson plan and modify it to better meet a student's
IEP goals while also meeting state standards. The end result is more time to
teach toward each student's needs. ?Here is an overview of what Lessi
can do for your teachers: About Us
Get a free copy of the product guide here: AI for Differentiation in Special Education
4.
Free TI Calculator Training Videos are available: TI's range of
Handheld calculators have become the standard for most schools. You see
this in the recommended supplies list that students receive at the beginning of
the school year. These training videos are geared toward new users but if you
look deeper into what is offered, there are offers of emulators and software
updates, plus videos which go deeper into the features of the TI 84 and NSpire
series of calculators: Product
Tutorials | Texas Instruments
More teacher resources can be found at the bottom of this page: Guidebooks | TI Technology Products
5. TI Calculators - Large Screen Edition. We expect our students to have the ability to use a calculator. In math and science classes, Scientific calculators are often specified or stored and made available in the classroom. What if the student's laptop were used instead?
Virtual TI 84 or TI 30 series calculators are available online. These are virtual versions that will work on both laptops and Chromebooks. The downside: you have to be connected to the internet. Check out these sites for access to virtual TI 84s, free of advertisements:
Free TI 84 Calculator Online - Texas Instruments 84 plus graphing calculator emulator.
TI-84 Graphing Calculator Online - TI84Graphing
This one has both the TI-84 and TI-30: TI-84 Calculator Online | Free Graphing & Math Calculations
There are more sources, and a few are advertising-supported, which is distracting.
NOTE: Actual handheld calculators are still necessary when taking PSAT, SAT, AP, ACT, or other exams. For many of these standardized tests, the internet is locked down to prevent cheating, so a virtual calculator is not appropriate.
6. A Teacher's Guide to Engaging Students with Kahoot! Actually, a library of guides and guidance for getting the most out of Kahoot's many features. Kahoot! templates, guides and other resources
7. Gimkit - Create a "Kit" and Stimulate your Classes.- Similar to Kahoot, Gimkit offers free and paid levels for teachers. It provides classroom activities that engages the entire class while reporting student performance to the teacher. There are many different styles (games and competitions) to choose from. Also, for groups of teachers (like a department) and buildings of teachers (an entire high school), there are more features available at the paid levels. Or just select from the Jeopardy-like random games. Here is more information: Gimkit Help
A link to the home page: Gimkit - live learning game show
8. Virtualize your desktop apps - Perhaps you are switching to Chromebooks, but worried that some key administrative or desktop apps aren't compatible. It may be time to add cloud services for your school or district. Google's solution is called Cameyo, a cloud solution that will virtualize important desktop apps. Keep in mind that cloud storage is also necessary for important files. Here is more information: Virtualization solutions - Cameyo by Google
9. Anton the Free learning app! A fully customizable teaching and learning solution for teachers, students, and homeschoolers in K through 8th grades. The teacher or parent can select from 200,000 activities to have students work on or create their own. Success is rewarded with games and other activities. Anton includes each state's CCCS standards, plus ESL/EDL language studies. (For English learners, Anton can work with over 75 languages.) Use this link but scroll down the page to learn more: ANTON - Learn for free with lessons in English language arts, math, science, biology, physics, chemistry, geography, social studies, music, ELL, Life Skills, Spanish and other languages, Pre-K to Grade 8
10. JustTeach An AI based lesson plan generator and grader (it can read hand printing and cursive, besides printed text). Also, it does not build the LLM from student submissions. The free plan will generate 3 lesson plans and grade 10 projects each week. And it is free to try. Take a look here: JustTeach
11. BioBuddy for AP Bio! How do you teach toward the AP Biology test? Would having a college professor, a PhD in biology, be helpful? How about a whole website of biology professors? What if everything was taught with one-on-one explanations, video and animations, multiple-choice quizzes, and more. While not free, it is relatively inexpensive. Students and Parents would pay $25 for the course. A school would pay $5.00 per student. Teachers are also at the $25 rate. Check it out here: BioBuddy - See Biology Come to Life
12. Merge EDU This is a resource that uses augmented reality (AR) to support STEM teaching. During STEM classes your students would interact with or hold an AR object that explains what you are teaching. Things like the weather, or the surface of the moon or mars, a globe representing earth, bring a different experience to learning. Very little of what is taught in the classroom has a tactile component. Merge EDU brings this to your students. There are many pricing plans, all monthly. The free plan has limited access to 3D objects. Teachers can use the resources for $25 per month. An entire school for $113 per month, and there are district plans as well. Take a look here: Merge EDU - Immersive Learning Platform
March is coming up. Perhaps the origin of modern electronic technology was the invention of the telephone, 150 years ago by Alexander Graham Bell on March 7th, 1876.
Also coming up are Women's History Month, the return to Daylight Savings Time on the 8th, and both the first day of Spring and National Alien Abduction Day (space aliens) on March 20th!
There is a lot to review this month, so please share this newsletter with those colleagues who may benefit from this information. Or, have them subscribe by sending an email to: subscribe@tcclass.com
Thank you and look forward to March?s news!
Mitch Ravitz
mitch@tcclass.com
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