Issue 36 • May 21, 2025

The advice above about onscreen keyboards was one of my very first Tip Tuesday tweets, posted August 2013. Since then, I’ve shared a new tech tip almost every Tuesday, offering quick and practical ideas about teaching and technology. It started as a simple way to highlight helpful shortcuts, clever tricks, and little-known features. Over the years, it has become a weekly tradition.

614 Tuesdays later, the tradition continues!

Padlet of Pointers 📌

I’ve kept my master file of Tuesday tips Top Secret... until now!

Most of my Tuesday tips are intentionally text-only, making them quick to read and easy to try. Over the years, I’ve collected 334 tips. Some have been repeated, and a few have become outdated as tools and features evolve.

As a thank-you for reading this newsletter, I’m giving you access to my Padlet with all 334 tips, organized into categories:

• 🎨 Canva

• 🌐 Web browsing

• 📊 Google Slides

• 🧰 Google apps

• 🗂️ Miscellaneous

• ▶️ YouTube

• 🖼️ Slideshows & design

• 💻 Chromebook

• 🤖 A.I.

• 📱 iPhone/iPad

• 🖥️ Mac

I’ll admit, there’s no dedicated Microsoft/Windows/Office section. I don’t use those tools often enough to write many tips. But if you use the Padlet’s search bar, you’ll still find a few helpful PowerPoint and Windows ideas.

I’ll continue adding new tips, so feel free to click the Bell icon on the right side panel to follow the Padlet and get notified when I post something new.

And of course, you’ll still find Tip Tuesday each week on X, Facebook, Bluesky, and Threads.

Emoji Expression 😎

Another Padlet I’ve recently shared is full of digital snacks. These are online activities that work well as quick brain breaks. Most of them don’t require a login, so students can get started right away without any hassle.

One site featured on the Padlet is Brush Ninja, which you might recognize as an online animation maker. But there’s more to it than that.

One of Brush Ninja’s creation tools is Emoji Art, which gives you a grid that you can fill with emojis to create colorful mosaics.

It’s relaxing and satisfying to drag your mouse across the squares, filling them with your selected emoji. You can change the number of squares by clicking the Pixel count button. When you're finished, you can click Share to download your image, copy it to your clipboard, or grab a link to your creation.

Brush Ninja also includes several other tools:

• Paint Ninja: Create simple artwork with an online drawing tool

• Code Ninja: Use a basic coding language to make 2D art

• Photo Collage: Combine multiple photos into a single image

• Comic Maker: Upload up to 8 images to create a zine that prints on a single sheet of paper

Yearbook Yikes 😳

TikTok user Raul (@rtbjj19) posted a video showing a page from his high school yearbook that was clearly written with help from AI. How can we tell? The final sentence in a paragraph about the Future Farmers of America reads, “Feel free to let me know if you need any adjustments or additional information!”

That line strongly suggests someone copied text directly from ChatGPT or another AI tool and forgot to revise or remove the default assistant phrasing.

Most yearbook classes and advisors take great care in writing, reviewing, and editing content, so it’s surprising that this slipped through and made it to print.

This example is a good reminder for all of us. Anytime you use AI, it's important to carefully review what it gives you. Not just because it can get things wrong, but because anything meant for human eyes deserves a human touch.

Push Past the Praise 🫸

AI chatbots are continually being updated and tweaked. Last month OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, faced criticism after an update caused the chatbot to become excessively agreeable and flattering. This “sycophantic” behavior was intended to improve GPT-4o, but it led to over-the-top praise. ChatGPT would agree with the user, even when the human entered incorrect or irrational information into the chat.

OpenAI rolled back the GPT-4o update, making ChatGPT less sycophantic. However, bias toward human input remains an issue. Chatbots don’t tend to push back on the user, opting to dutifully agree with the human.

Depending on the task, it might be a good idea to ask an AI chatbot to push your thinking. To avoid the trap of an overly agreeable chatbot, ask it to challenge, reframe, and critique your ideas.

I made a poster with 10 ways you can invite a chatbot to stretch your thinking and strengthen your ideas. You’re welcome to download it as a PDF.

Delightfully Digital Days 💻

Since 2006, I’ve had the pleasure of being part of the Arizona K12 Center’s Camp Plug and Play, the creative technology camp for teachers. While it’s usually held in Tucson, this year the camp is fully online, making it easier than ever to join from anywhere in Arizona.

Arizona teachers are invited to attend Camp Plug and Play 19.5: Delightfully Digital, happening June 2–4. I’ll be leading six live virtual sessions filled with ideas for creative teaching and learning, along with three informal campfire chats where we can connect and collaborate.

You can register for just $19.50 and attend as many sessions as you'd like.

Designs for Digital Drawing 🎨

Shapegrams aren’t just for the end of the year. In fact, they’re a fantastic way to start the school year, giving students a creative outlet while building their skills and growth mindset from day one.

Still, May tends to be the time when many teachers finally have space in the schedule for hands-on, creative activities like Shapegrams.

There are plenty of free Shapegrams to explore, and I’m grateful to the teachers who support the project through a paid membership. For just $35 a year, members get access to:

• All 68 lessons with instructional videos

• 54 Zipper challenges

• A 92-page PDF full of helpful tools and techniques

The newest Shapegram features a colorful tumbler for students to recreate! The Google Slides and Google Drawings templates include popular Stanley color codes and an animation that demonstrates how layering three ovals creates a more realistic, rounded look. And, no Shapegram is complete without a pun!

From tips to tumblers, I hope this issue of Learning in Hand gave you something to click with.

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.