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What's New in Educational Technology - April 2026
Welcome to April. As we move toward the end-of-year assessments and activities, most of the planning for next year should be under control. With budgets getting tighter for many districts would free or low-cost resources be of interest?
Much of what is new in tech is also becoming more costly, are the benefits worth the increased cost? (This is an ongoing discussion.) Do we still need 1 to 1 technology placement in school?
Below you will find some interesting resources and products. Rent a STEM teacher, have your students design their ultimate ride, a learn finance resource, and much more.
1. Design and Build Lifesize Rides. Momentum, Inertia, Gravity, and Mass all affect our movement. These are also the underlying forces of most physics. Infento makes life-size, Erector style, kits for students to create their own rides. These are not cheap but are designed to last, and kits are totally re-usable. Some parts kits sell for as much as $2200, and these can be used by as many as 14 students at once. Storage containers are included. Here is a link to their kits for education: Education Kits | INFENTO? Education
2. 35 years of Wolfram Alpha (WA) as a resource for advancing mathematics and computation. Now you can use its opening page for information on the nations economy, each countries domestic product, and lots more information (how many earthquakes occurred in June of 2020?). More important are the resources for educators, especially math teachers. The education section of their website will generate math problems, with answers, for your classes. You can specify the grade level and whether it is a standard class, honors, or AP. Oh, and it all free! Wolfram|Alpha Resources for Educators
3. Wolfram for Education. Yes, this is a second, different approach. I believe it uses Wolfram Alpha developed AI to support educators. The following link ?will enhance teacher presentations and goes beyond simple solutions to provide graphically enhanced materials for the classroom. Included is the ability for students to self-test, get tutor quality step-by-step solutions, and raise the quality of student projects.? For teachers, Wolfram will take your syllabus and class notes and create quiz problems, practice questions, and provide students with guidance on how to solve those problems.? Wolfram Technology System for High Schools
4. Improve your school?s STEM offerings: NextWave offers courses and certifications for STEM teaching. There are 37 subject areas, so STEM offerings can be extended, or built upon these certifications. In addition, NextWave can find certified teachers for your school. This can be for a single subject, or just for as long as it takes to cover a topic. Your Teachers can use NextWave to build their certification as well. There are both in-person classes in Chicago and New York, and online courses as well. Typical kits are meant for a classroom of 24 students, additional materials are also available. NextWave will work with your school or district to get grant funding to help cover the cost. The Drone courses, for example, are available for the whole K-12th grades. Check it out here: Best K?12 STEAM & CTE Curriculum | Project-Based Learning
5. Do we still need 1:1 technology in schools? Does it have to be 100% of the time? The linked article followed the outcome when a 7th grade math teacher decided to stop using laptops (actually Chromebooks) in his class. This will give you something to think about? A hint: most technology used in the classroom becomes more distracting than beneficial much of the time. (Thanks to Mr. Michael Novak at Northern Highlands Regional High School for the article.) You may need to start a free trial of The Atlantic to read this through. Just don?t forget to cancel the trial when done. What Happened After a Teacher Ditched Screens - The Atlantic
6. Learn about an AI product from other educators who use it! Every product I have ever read about online or in advertisements, says how wonderful it is. Even products that are obviously still in development and need more work. (I will not mention any names.) AI Educator Tools is a forum site. Teachers can learn from other teachers about many of the AI products touted for education. (As of April 2026, there are 97 products listed.) Once you join, the contents are available for review and discussion. Many of the products offer a free trial for evaluation purposes and the website makes that known. (Oh, andthe joining the website is free.) https://aieducator.tools/
8. An Intro to AI. Yes, we always can use a refresher, if for no other reason than to see how the vocabulary of a particular subject has evolved. AI is such a topic. Many feel that its impact on education is dwindling. That may be the result of teachers understanding its problems when applied to education. Tech & Learning have updated their Intro to AI materials. Note that this is a long article with lots of paths to discussions. For example: ?4 Tips to designing AI resistant Assessments.? It is worth the look to stay informed on the vocabulary. Plus, it never hurts to learn more?? AI Starter Kit for Teachers | Tech & Learning
9. Turn a presentation into an educational game. I recently visited this site to see how it works. First, choose a subject and/or topic. It will search its library first to find relevant interactive materials. Then it uses those materials, breaks them down, and presents them. The student is asked questions about what they have seen. A score develops and that becomes points to play other games. Take a look. It may not be perfect for all students, but they will find it interesting. Save time. Learn by playing. Reduce stress. | ForClassmates
10. Self-Contained AI Whiteboard Displays. Vibe has added the active PC into the whiteboard. You have a choice of Chromium based or Windows based operating systems, each available as 55- or 75-inch displays. The AI component can take a word, picture, music, or a video, and turn it into a lesson for your students. Prices start at $3600 (55 inch diagonal) and quantity discounts are available. Check them out here: https://vibe.us/solutions/k12-education/
11. Math grading using AI that can read handwriting. Ed.AI can analyze a math assessment and report where the student has lost the logical flow of solving the problem. These results can report where each student is versus state standards, and can provide commentary on what a student needs to know to move along. There is a free version which can grade up to 60 student papers each month. The paid version is school or district focused, is unlimited and includes professional development (PD) for the teacher using it. Ed.ai for Math Grading
12. Getting More from OneNote. I have always felt that OneNote was mis-understood. There are a lot of hidden features that can help create more usable research. For example, you can convert a .pdf file to be editable in OneNote. Another; take an audio file, perhaps a lecture or another presentation, and convert it to editable text. And, the original audio file can be embedded into the saved notes. Move OneNote into ?Dock? mode and it will take less space on the screen. By doing this you can do online research and still type what was found directly into OneNote. Here is a video on these and other new features: Top 5 OneNote Hidden Features You Probably Missed
13. Find those reports you always see at the bottom of the page? There have been times when I wanted to review the actual research, referenced as a citation, at the bottom of a page. Not an easy task. First find who wrote what the writer was referring too, where was that person studying or working when they wrote the results? Then find a source, often a campus library, where it is stored. Then try to get a copy. Lots of work. Google Scholar is an online reference library that makes it simple to find a referenced work. Enter the citation in the search box, or a portion of it, and the specialized search engine will find it for you. Here is the link: Google Scholar
14. In the recent past I discovered a study about printed books versus e-books and how students responded to them. My discovery was in a magazine article, not the original research. Google Scholar was able to find the original research, which was stored in ProQuest. Do students using electronic books display different reading comprehension and motivation levels than students using traditional print books? - ProQuest
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
Looking forward to May?s news!
Mitch Ravitz
mitch@tcclass.com
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