Speed Geeking 2023: Making Magic with Ed Tech

By Rebecca Renegar

Last November at NAGC’s annual convention gifted and ed tech enthusiasts gathered in the most magical place on earth for our latest installment of the perennial favorite Super Sunday session- Speed Geeking.  Started by the OG Speed Geek Brian Housand in 2009, Speed Geeking provides a rapid-fire opportunity to share and learn about favorite online resources to use with our students. This year thirteen Speed Geeks volunteered to share nearly twenty different resources to support learning.  Each Geek chose whether to present as many tools and resources as possible or just one tool or resource--their absolute favorite at this point in time--and they had just five minutes to tell the audience about it before being buzzed off the stage. Attendees filled the room quickly and many people were standing or sitting in the hallway from doors at the back and side of the room.

Below is a brief recap of the tools and resources shared in our annual Speed Geeking session. Special thanks to each of the Geeks who contributed to this year’s session, especially Chris, Morgan, April, Amanda, Karen, Erica, Pauline, Christine, Jessica, Alissa, Shirley, Alison, and Brian!

• Bitsbox Coding This coding platform provides students with challenges and games to build, helps to transition from block based to text based coding, and gives error guidance.
• Text Blaze This is a freemium, AI Chrome extension where users can add text snippets and save to use in other apps.
• Classkick This is a freemium platform to create assignments, see students working in real time, utilizes drag and drop manipulatives, and can be useful for virtual activities.
• www.openai.com Chat GPT (generative pre-trained transformer), generative AI
• Duotrigordle This Wordle game challenges users to solve 32 words in a set amount of time.
• Tinkercad This program can be used for 3D modeling and circuit building.
• Connections: Group words by topic. New puzzles daily. - The New York Times  In this puzzle 16 words are given. Solvers find four word matches in four categories of varying levels of difficulty.
• Connections – Custom Puzzle Creator View past Connections puzzles and create your own.
• PuzzGrid Similar to Connections, but you can solve more than one a day.  It is  timed and you have the ability to submit your own.
• 켄켄(KenKen) Customizable Killer Sudoku/ Addoku puzzles where students must do mathematical operations to complete the puzzles.
• Diffit Website to assist in creating differentiated lessons/articles, reading level, language, create passages, questions, etc.
• Mathigon Free site that provides virtual math manipulatives, lessons, and games.
• Goblin Tools This site has six awesome AI tools that can help with task management and executive function:
  • Magic to do- prioritize lists of things to do, indicate amount of support needed
  • The Chef- put in ingredients, tells you what to make and recipe
  • The Judge- lets you know the tone of your response/emails
  • Formalizer- “less snarky” to help you modify the tone of your writing
  • Estimator- how much time something should take
  • Compiler- brain dump organizer/prioritizer
• Pixton You can use this freemium program to create comics/class photo with changeable themes.
• Scribble Diffusion Create AI images from your drawings.
• Adobe Firefly AI image generation you can use to create and save images/fonts.
• Calligraphr Create your own fonts- used for pigpen cypher, personalized fonts for students
• Waffle Wonderments - BRIAN HOUSAND, PH.D. Waffles! I was wondering what U.S. State would make the BEST Waffle 🧇. Use this Google Slides Template to create a state shaped waffle and make your case as to why your waffle would make the best one. Also, consider what state based product would make the perfect waffle topping. Recipes for Disaster Have students imagine the worst possible scenario, product, etc.  help to reduce anxiety around trying to create the best possible, increase creativity (reverse brainstorming)

Be sure to join us next year in Seattle, Washington, November 21-24, 2024 for the fifteenth annual Speed Geeking Super Sunday session and our Thursday evening network event. Come be a Geek or see what the Geeks will share next!!

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Rebecca Renegar is the coordinator of gifted services at Milton-Union Schools in West Milton, Ohio. She is Chair of the NAGC Computers & Technology Network.