Issue 28 • Date January 29, 2025

I spoke at the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) conference in 2004 and 2005. Back then I presented about using Palm Pilot and other handheld devices in the classroom. I even did a book signing for the book I co-wrote about that topic. And yes, I had frosted tips back then. 😳

I’m happy to say that after 20 years, I am finally returning to MACUL as a featured speaker! This year’s conference is March 19-21 in Detroit, and there will be no frost in my hair this time.

I’m presenting a Wednesday workshop at MACUL, “Cooking Up Classroom Conversations,” which requires pre-registration. My regular session are:

• From Prompt to Pictures: Creative Illustrations with A.I.

• Artificial Sweeteners: A.I. for Teachers

• Digital Snacks: Breaks for Students’ Brains

• Tempting Lesson Hooks

• Sweet Lesson Closures

• Funky Forms: Offbeat Ideas for Google Forms

Best Buzzer 🐝

One of the offbeat ideas I highlight in my Funky Forms presentation is using a Google Form as a buzzer.

Over the years, I’ve tried various physical and digital buzzer systems for classroom games, but my favorite is Google Forms. It’s free, reliable, and accessible on school networks. Plus, students don’t need to log in—getting started is as simple as sharing a link.

Here’s how it works:

1. Get the Template:
   Make a copy of my Google Forms buzzer template at tonyv.me/buzzertemplate.

2. Link to a Spreadsheet:
   In your copy of the form, click Responses, then select Link to Sheets to open a connected spreadsheet.

3. Share the Form with Students:
   Send the form’s link to your students.

4. Students Buzz In:
   Students enter their names and submit the form when they’re ready to answer a question.

5. Ask Questions:
   Verbally ask a question or display it on a big screen. Students submit their answers using the form.

6. Track Responses:
   Check the spreadsheet to see who buzzed in first. The responses are timestamped and listed in the order they’re received.

7. Repeat:
   Students prepare the form again to answer the next question.

To make the game even more engaging, I like to have students work in teams. Before playing, each team reviews the content together. For this setup, I add a Team Name question to the buzzer form. Points go to the team whenever a teammate is the first to buzz in with the correct answer. This incentivizes students to have a great pre-game study session.

Match & Move ✨

The Match & Move transition in Canva smoothly animates elements between slides, making objects appear to move, resize, or change position seamlessly. Match & Move is similar to the Morph transition in PowerPoint and Magic Move in Keynote.

Canva has a short video tutorial, and I include the slide below in my presentations and workshops as a handy quick reference.

Use Match & Move between pages in a presentation or video project. It’s a great way to enlarge words, emphasize content, and to effortlessly animate elements.

The animation above was created using four pages in Canva. I started by designing Page 2, which displays the initial problem. Then, I duplicated Page 2 to create Page 1 and rearranged the matchsticks into rows. Next, I duplicated Page 2 again to make Page 3, where I simply repositioned one matchstick. I added the Match & Move transition between Pages 1 and 2, as well as between Pages 2 and 3 (indicated by the red arrows below). The animation concludes with a Dissolve transition to a blank white page.

You can adjust Match & Move’s duration, but the longest is only 2 seconds. There are times I wish I could make the transition last longer. Nonetheless, it’s a handy way to move elements without needing to manually create complex animations.

Free Features 🤖

Gemini Advanced is Google’s most powerful AI model (1.5 Pro), and it is available for $20 a month. This subscription allows you to create Gems (custom chatbots), access Gemini within Google apps, and upload a wider range of file types beyond just images.

However, you can use Gemini’s Pro model for free through Google AI Studio. Simply follow the link and click the Try Gemini button.

While Google AI Studio is designed for developers, you don’t need to be one to use it. You might see advanced options, but they can be ignored—just focus on the chat box at the bottom, where you can upload files (not limited to images) to interact with the AI.

Gemini Advanced excels at complex tasks like coding, reasoning, and multi-step problem-solving. Because of its advanced capabilities, generating responses may take longer than other chatbots.

My favorite feature of Google AI Studio is its ability to process a variety of file types. I often upload PDFs and use the AI to create quizzes, summaries, study guides, and other teaching resources.

I should note that you can upload PDFs to ChatGPT and Claude for free. However, those chatbots limit file size to 30MB while Google AI Studio supports much larger files.

Pursuing Perfection ⭕️

Draw a perfect circle with a mouse? That's a challenge! Try Neal.fun’s Draw a Perfect Circle and see how close you can get. After you draw, you'll receive a score—but keep your circle from being too small or too wobbly. It's a quick and fun brain break!

February FigJam Fun 💜

I’ve created two Valentiney templates in FigJam! FigJam is a free collaborative whiteboard that works perfectly as a replacement for Google’s discontinued Jamboard.

Hearty Color Schemes

In this template, students explore color schemes and apply one to create vibrant, artfully designed hearts. Each student gets their own heart to work on within a shared file. Once the hearts are finished, the class can vote for their favorites by stamping the designs they love most. Open in FigJam.

Learny Libs: Valentine’s Day

In this template, the class brainstorms parts of speech and votes on the most vivid words. Using the winning words as a guide, they replace parts of a nonfiction text about Valentine’s Day. After reading the silly new version and sharing some laughs, students guess the original words. Finally, the original Valentine’s Day text is revealed for comparison and discussion. Open in FigJam.

Sensational Shapegrams 😍

Turn your students into digital heARTISTS with Valentine’s Shapegrams!

Most of these no-prep lessons are at the Beginning Blue level, so students with no previous experience in grades 3–12 can get started on them right away .

Membership is only $35 per year per teacher. If you’re unfamiliar with the power of Shapegrams, try some free ones with your class and see how they encourage creativity, build tech skills, and foster a growth mindset.

Wordle Wrangler 🐎

Word.Rodeo is like Wordle, except you can create your own puzzles to share. Puzzles can be be as short as 3 letters and as long as 10 letters. Advanced options include adding a hint and allowing up to 12 guesses.

Did you know that “biweekly” can mean both twice a week and once every two weeks?

Up until now, Learning in Hand has been a weekly newsletter, with occasional breaks for holidays. However, I’ve realized that creating this newsletter takes more time than I often have to spare. While I have plenty of ideas and resources to share, I’m a slow writer, and composing each issue is a significant time investment.

So, I’m adjusting the schedule to biweekly—the “once every two weeks” kind of biweekly. If you don’t see Learning in Hand in your inbox next week, don’t worry—I haven’t removed you from the mailing list!

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. I look forward to sharing more handy education and technology insights with you every other week.

Smiles from Iowa,

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Al was used to revise and proofread some of the text in this newsletter. It was also used to generate possibilities for section titles.