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CIDDList: 5 Free AI-Powered Tools to Transform Your Teaching

Summer’s either already here or right around the corner for most educators, which means it’s a perfect time to explore new ways to streamline your prep, spark student engagement, and breathe fresh life into your lessons! Whether you’re winding down the school year or gearing up for next fall, these five websites help you work smarter, not harder (note: some sites offer limited free use before requiring a subscription). You don’t need to be a tech wizard, just click through, enter a prompt or two, and watch them do the heavy lifting. Here’s your CIDDList of essential digital toolkits, each broken down into simple steps so you can get started right away.

CIDDList: Unlock the Fun! 5 Essential Elements for Awesome (and Free) Digital Escape Rooms

Summer is right around the corner, which means you finally have time for all those fun things you’ve been meaning to get around to! One of the popular choices recently has been escape rooms. For those who haven’t done one, it’s an immersive game where players work together to find clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in a themed setting, typically aiming to ‘escape’ or complete a mission within a time constraint. The excitement and collaborative problem-solving inherent in these games translate exceptionally well into education, especially through the accessible format of digital escape rooms. Digital escape rooms are an engaging way to encourage students to learn. They encourage critical thinking and collaboration among students. Plus, you don’t need special software to create them. Readily available free tools, such as Google Forms, work well with a little bit of thoughtful design. To help you craft these unique activities, this CIDDList outlines five essential elements for developing effective and enjoyable educational digital escape rooms for your students.

CIDDList: A Year in Review

It’s hard to believe that 2024 is ending and the fall semester is over. This past year, so much has happened in special education, higher education, and technology. CIDDList readers of the past will recall that these blogs are typically lists of recommended apps, books, podcasts, or tools. Rather than our traditional CIDDList, this year’s CIDDList is a BINGO board (though we call it a CIDDL board).

CIDDList: Replacements for Your Retiring Favorites

If you haven’t heard, Google is retiring Jamboard and Microsoft is limiting availability of Flip to those with Teams accounts. While this news may require some revisions to courses and classrooms, it provides an opportunity for teacher-educators and special education personnel to leverage newer innovations in their curriculum. Thus, in this CIDDList, we will highlight tools you can use in place of these well-loved sites.

A beach with a palm tree, two beach chairs and an umbrella.

CIDDList: Podcasts for Your Summer Listen List

The 2023-2024 academic year is ending. For some, this means hours in the car on road trips. For others, it means relaxing by the pool. And, others might be teaching summer courses. Regardless of how you are spending your summer months, this CIDDLlist is dedicated to providing you with podcasts you can listen to as you (1) catch up on professional learning, (2) forward planning for your future courses (check out this blog on how you can use podcasts as course “readings”), and (3) learn more about fringe interests.

CIDDList: Exploring GPTs Available with ChatGPT Plus

The premium version of ChatGPT offers users additional features that further support special education teachers and students. OpenAI offers GPTs within the system trained on specific content knowledge that can be used within a closed-loop organization or shared openly. These GPTs can be found through the ChatGPT interface on the left-hand side, where it says “Explore GPTs” or There’s an AI for That. Users should continue to be cautious when uploading data and avoid using identifiable and unredacted information.

CIDDList: Assistive Technology Tools and Resources for Young Children

The purpose of this CIDDList is to provide early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) faculty with resources about AT to provide to their pre-service EI/ECSE educators, including pre-service related service providers such as speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, developmental therapists, and interventionists.

CIDDList: Back-to-School Checklist for Technology in Teacher Preparation Courses

It’s hard to believe that the Fall 2023 semester is upon us. Last year, we published a series of blogs dedicated to preparing for the fall semester. Knowing that technology is ever changing, we have curated a list to help guide you in your thought process around technology in your teacher preparation program.

CIDDList: An Updated Packing List for the Tech Lover on Vacay

Summer is here. It’s a time students (both K-12 and college), teachers, and teacher-educators relax, rewind, and re-energize. And, mixed in with that re-ing is excitement for the future. Whether you dream of the back-to-school sales with aisles filled with the prettiest pens and folders or the first day of classes when everything is shiny and new, at least part of summer is spent in anticipation for the coming year. In this CIDDList, we will share some must-have items to take with you on vacation to allow you to do the re-ing and the prepping!

CIDDList: 5 AIs You Need to Check Out This Summer!

CIDDL, and, let’s face it, the world as a whole, has been fascinated with the launch of AI and how it is and will impact our lives. We have talked a lot about the impact of ChatGPT, how it can be used to support literacy, math, and even solve word problems. In a recent CIZZL, our chef Tiffanie Zaugg used it to generate her recipe. But, did you know that there are literally thousands of AIs that have been developed with specific roles and areas of expertise?

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