EdTech Alchemy · Field Guide Vol. 1
Better learning with the tools you already have.
A practical guide for educators making the most of real-world tools, time, and budgets.
16 pages · Five field-ready recipes · No new purchases required
Inside the guide
Five recipes. One repeatable method.
Recipe 01
A Form That Teaches
Turn a basic form into a branching pathway for support, practice, and extension.
Recipe 02
Shared Slides, Better Feedback
Use a familiar slide deck for specific, equitable, and actionable critique.
Recipe 03
Fewer Devices, Richer Roles
Turn a device shortage into purposeful roles and complementary stations.
Recipe 04
An LMS Feedback Loop
Move from submit-and-grade toward prioritize, revise, and reflect.
Recipe 05
AI as a Planning Partner
Generate more planning options without giving up privacy, verification, or professional judgment.
Made for real constraints
Ordinary tools can still transform learning.
This guide is for the classrooms and systems educators actually work in. Each recipe helps you improve a routine with the time, tools, and policies already in place.
Every recipe includes: the learning move, ingredients, transformation steps, a human-impact check, and a remixable planning tool.
The Alchemist’s Check
Who gains access? Who carries extra work? What data moves?
Learning value, accessibility, privacy, equity, and teacher time belong in the design from the beginning.
A note from Paul
“Resourcefulness is the real upgrade.”
I have not always worked in schools with deep budgets or the newest tools. That constraint taught me to look harder at what we already had, ask better questions, and combine simple technologies in ways that made learning more useful and humane.
Paul Richter · Middle School Principal · EdTech Alchemist
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A few useful answers.
Is it really free?
Yes. Download and share the unmodified guide with attribution.
Is it tied to one platform?
No. Each recipe starts with a learning goal, so you can adapt it to the tools your school already uses.
Can I use it with a team?
Absolutely. Start with the 30-minute Alchemy Plan or Tool Trial Scorecard.
EdTech Alchemy 