Think Outside the Book

An EdTech Course Series for Teachers

Think Outside the Book is an edtech course series for teachers.

The purpose of this series is simple:

• Help teachers use digital tools productively
• Match each tool with a clear pedagogical idea about instructional design

This is not a software tutorial course.
It is a teaching design course supported by tools.

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What This Course Series Helps Teachers Do

These courses are for teachers who want to:

• Learn new teaching skills
• Make lessons more engaging
• Save lesson preparation time
• Create commercial teaching products
• Reduce reliance on textbooks
• Liven up boring or repetitive lessons

Each course focuses on practical teaching problems, not technology for its own sake.

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How the Courses Work

Each unit is designed to work in two ways.

First, teachers receive 20 or more polished, ready-to-use lessons.
These lessons can be used immediately in class or online.

Teachers can use these lessons to:

• See complete working examples
• Try ideas in real classes
• Understand the teaching concept before creating anything

Second, teachers learn how to create their own lessons using the same tools and design ideas.

Teachers can use lessons first, then create their own.

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Course 1: Think Outside the Book

Tools + Teaching Design

This is the first course in the series.

A key feature of the series is:

A to Z of free or low-cost teaching software

All tools are free or usable on a free plan.

Each unit connects:

• one teaching idea
• one or more tools
• one clear classroom use

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The Six Units in Course 1

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Unit 1 – Sound Instruction

Teaching with audio as the starting point

Tools:
Audacity

Teachers learn how to create instructional audio such as:

• Short lectures
• Podcasts
• Model conversations
• Pronunciation lessons
• Oral tutorials

After this unit, teachers can:
Create their first original audio-based lesson and reuse it across classes.

Focus: audio-first instruction

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Unit 2 – Frictionless Access

Helping students start activities quickly

Tools:
Bitly
Blogger

Teachers learn how to:

• Reduce logins and barriers
• Share lessons without LMS or email
• Teach in low-resource environments

After this unit, teachers can:
Build a personal library of short, memorable lesson links that can be accessed or shared instantly.

Focus: easy access, fast start

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Unit 3 – Hybrid Content

Back to Paper / Digital Diet

Tools:
Canva

Teachers learn how to:

• Create modern worksheets
• Combine paper with audio or video
• Reduce screen overload
• Improve focus and interaction

After this unit, teachers can:
Design paper-based lessons supported by digital media.

Focus: paper-led, digitally supported lessons

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Unit 4 – PUSH Your Lessons

Produce, Use, Share, Host

Tools:
Google Drive
Dropbox

Teachers learn how to:

• Store lessons safely
• Reuse lessons easily
• Share lessons with links
• Access materials anywhere

After this unit, teachers can:
Organize and reuse teaching materials instead of recreating them.

Focus: content management and reuse

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Unit 5 – Multimodal Rules

Text, audio, and video working together

Tools:
ElevenLabs
Evernote
Edpuzzle

Teachers learn how to:

• Add audio to text
• Add text and questions to video
• Control pacing and comprehension

After this unit, teachers can:
Combine multiple input modes to improve understanding.

Focus: multiple input modes, better understanding

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Unit 6 – Active Learning

Turning content into action

Tools:
Google Forms
Microsoft Excel (Forms)

Teachers learn how to:

• Add interaction to any lesson
• Use auto-grading and feedback
• Track understanding quickly

After this unit, teachers can:
Turn passive lessons into active tasks with clear checks for understanding.

Focus: students act, check, and confirm learning

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Part of a 5-Course EdTech Series

Think Outside the Book is Course 1 in a larger series.

Each course explores a different teaching focus using free or low-cost tools.

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Course 1 – Think Outside the Book

Audio, access, paper, multimodal content, and active learning

Tools include:
Audacity · Blogger · Bitly · Canva · Drive · Dropbox · ElevenLabs · Evernote · Edpuzzle · Forms

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Course 2 – Potent Printables

Tools:
Google Sheets · HTML · iLovePDF · JeopardyLabs · Kami

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Course 3 – Dynamic Presentations

Tools:
Loom · Mentimeter · Nearpod · PowerPoint · Prezi · Padlet · Pear Deck · OneDrive

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Course 4 – Class with SaaS

Tools:
Quizlet · Revisely · Socrative · Teachable · Udemy

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Course 5 – Video Lessons

Tools:
VEED · Wakelet · X · YouTube · Zencastr

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Final Idea

This course series is about teaching better, not chasing tools.

Teachers learn:

• why a tool is useful
• when to use it
• how it supports good instruction

The goal is simple:

Smarter teaching, less effort, better lessons.