Loading…
Type: Artificial Intelligence clear filter
Tuesday, August 4
 

10:00am CDT

Build Your First Gemini Gem!
Tuesday August 4, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
In this session, you’ll learn how to collaborate with AI to build your first Gemini Gem. I will demonstrate my process for creating a Science Writing Feedback Tool—a Gem born from a science department’s need to improve student skills in CER (Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning).

We’ll explore how to design AI as a guided learning partner that coaches students through the writing process and boosts critical thinking without doing the work for them. I will walk you through the entire journey:

Ideation: Turning a classroom need into a concept.

Iteration: Using Gemini to draft and refine Gem instructions.

Testing: Finalizing the Gem for student use.

The possibilities for enhancing your learning environment are endless! Please come prepared with at least one idea for a Gem you’d like to build to help your students engage with AI in a guided, meaningful way. Let’s build together!

Learning Objectives

  • Design a Custom Instruction Set: Participants will learn how to use Gemini to brainstorm, iterate, and refine specific prompts to create a functional, purpose-built Gem.
  • Facilitate Guided AI Learning: Participants will identify strategies to configure AI as a feedback coach rather than a "shortcut," ensuring students use the tool to enhance critical thinking and writing skills (like CER) independently.
  • Deploy Classroom-Ready AI Tools: Participants will move from a raw concept to a finalized, tested Gem that is ready to be integrated into a guided learning activity for their specific subject area.

Speakers
avatar for Ray Sperl

Ray Sperl

Technology Director, Cambridge-Isanti
My name is Ray Sperl, and I have been the Technology Director with Cambridge-Isanti Schools since 2013, where I am responsible for IT strategy, governance, portfolio management, vendor relationship management, budgeting, cybersecurity/information security planning and incident response... Read More →
Tuesday August 4, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 1205

10:00am CDT

Small Moves, Big Impact: AI Literacy Across the Curriculum
Tuesday August 4, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
AI literacy does not have to be a separate unit or an added burden. In this session, teachers from any grade level or content area will explore simple, practical ways to embed AI literacy concepts into lessons they already teach. Participants will consider how small instructional moves can help students question AI-generated content, recognize bias and limitations, use AI responsibly, and understand the importance of human judgment. Teachers will leave with adaptable strategies they can use right away in their own classrooms.
Speakers
avatar for David Berner

David Berner

Technology Integration Program Coordinator, SWWC
David is the Technology Integration Program Coordinator at SWWC, where he leads and supports technology integration efforts across member and organizational schools. He manages a team of technology integration specialists working in the field, ensuring they have the tools and guidance... Read More →
avatar for Jeremy Mikla

Jeremy Mikla

Instructional Technology Specialist, ECMECC
Jeremy Mikla is an Instructional Technology Specialist with extensive experience supporting PK–12 educators in the effective and ethical integration of emerging technologies. He regularly presents at regional and statewide conferences on topics such as AI in education, instructional... Read More →
Tuesday August 4, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 1234

10:00am CDT

Straight From the Classroom: A Former Educator on AI, Kids, and What Actually Matters.
Tuesday August 4, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Students are already using AI - in your classrooms, on your campus, right now. The educational leaders who get this right aren't the ones with the best policy. They're the ones who understand what it actually looks like for teachers and kids on a Tuesday afternoon.


Join Hattie Strong for an authentic, unfiltered look at how AI is being implemented in real classrooms. Real lessons, actual student examples, practical teacher workflows, and honest reflection on what works, what doesn't, and what forward thinking educators should know. 


Attendees will explore how AI can deepen student engagement, feedback, differentiation, and critical thinking- and leave with realistic, immediately usable ideas for supporting every learner in their building.


Hattie Strong, Former Educator | SchoolAI
Speakers
avatar for Hattie Strong

Hattie Strong

Sr. AE, Other
Hattie Strong is a Kindergarten Educator turned EdTech leader with SchoolAI. A first-gen high school and college grad committed to driving equity in education by building trust, scaling smart solutions, and always keeping students and teachers at the center. From guiding AI conversations... Read More →
Tuesday August 4, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 1207

11:00am CDT

Leveraging AI for Learning: Ready-to-Use Tools and Strategies
Tuesday August 4, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Get ready for the new school year by exploring practical AI tools and strategies designed specifically for educators. This interactive session will provide hands-on opportunities to test ready-to-use AI resources that can support lesson planning, differentiation, assessment, productivity, and student engagement. Participants will leave with a toolkit of classroom-ready ideas and resources they can implement immediately.
Speakers
KB

Kiera Bridley

Special Education Teacher, Other
Kiera Bridley is an experienced educator with six years in K-12 special education. She specializes in technology integration to boost student engagement and literacy outcomes. Kiera has led professional development on AI tools, digital storytelling, and personalized learning. In her... Read More →
Tuesday August 4, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 1205

11:00am CDT

Plan With Pushback: Building an AI Thought Partner for More Responsive Lesson Design
Tuesday August 4, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
AI can generate a lesson plan quickly, but strong planning requires reflection, context, and professional judgment. In this hands-on session, educators will build a personalized AI thought partner designed to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and strengthen lesson design. Participants will shape their agent around standards alignment, deeper learning, accessibility, divergent learner needs, student agency, and the specific communities they serve. They will leave with a reusable planning partner and a clearer process for using AI to improve decisions rather than simply speed up production.
Speakers
avatar for Dave Blanchard

Dave Blanchard

Independent/Keynote/Director of Online @SCSU, Other
Dr. Dave Blanchard is a learning architect, educational strategist, and Director of Online and Distance Learning at St. Cloud State University. His work sits at the intersection of AI, accessibility, and institutional transformation, helping bridge academic vision, technology, and... Read More →
Tuesday August 4, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 1233

11:00am CDT

When Capacity Is Limited: A Model for Building AI Guidance with Rural Schools
Tuesday August 4, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT

Generative AI is moving quickly, and many districts are trying to make important decisions without the same staffing, time, or capacity as larger systems. This session shares how the A.I.D.E. Team at SWWC created a regional AI guidance website, aligned with the Minnesota Department of Education’s AI Guiding Principles, to help schools get started in a practical and approachable way. Participants will see how regional support can help districts move from big-picture AI principles to local guidance that actually fits their context. The session will focus on starting the right conversations, building a team that reflects the district, promoting AI literacy, thinking through policy, and creating a roadmap for responsible implementation. This includes considering voices from administration, teaching staff, technology, support staff, students, families, and the broader community. Instead of handing districts a one-size-fits-all plan, this session will show how shared resources can help schools create guidance that reflects their own values, needs, and capacity.

Speakers
avatar for David Berner

David Berner

Technology Integration Program Coordinator, SWWC
David is the Technology Integration Program Coordinator at SWWC, where he leads and supports technology integration efforts across member and organizational schools. He manages a team of technology integration specialists working in the field, ensuring they have the tools and guidance... Read More →
Tuesday August 4, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 1234

1:00pm CDT

Learning Before Answers: Designing AI-Supported Experiences That Build Skills, Thinking, and Independence
Tuesday August 4, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
AI can help students create polished work quickly, but that does not always mean they are learning more. In this session, educators will explore practical ways to use AI while keeping students actively reading, writing, thinking, explaining, and making decisions. Participants will leave with a simple framework for deciding when AI supports learning, when it removes too much of the thinking, and when it may not be needed at all. Bringing a familiar lesson or stubborn standard is encouraged. 
Speakers
avatar for Dave Blanchard

Dave Blanchard

Independent/Keynote/Director of Online @SCSU, Other
Dr. Dave Blanchard is a learning architect, educational strategist, and Director of Online and Distance Learning at St. Cloud State University. His work sits at the intersection of AI, accessibility, and institutional transformation, helping bridge academic vision, technology, and... Read More →
Tuesday August 4, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 1233

2:00pm CDT

From Literacy to Life Skills: Creating the AI-Ready Graduate
Tuesday August 4, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT
Too often, the focus of AI in schools centers on teaching about the tools.This session shifts the focus to AI Life Skills, where middle and high school students practice enhancing their human abilities with AI to think deeper, create better, and solve problems more efficiently than they could alone. We will explore the scientific necessity of keeping students in the as the primary driver of their learning to avoid cognitive debt and provide  frameworks for syllabus policies and assignment redesigns that move AI use from "cheating" to "meaningful collaboration"

Learning Outcomes: 
  1. Identify and define the six core roles of an AI-Ready Graduate (Learner, Researcher, Synthesizer, Problem Solver, Connector, Storyteller)
  2. Understand the science of cognitive debt and how to guide better learning integratio
  3. Develop a personalized classroom AI policy and redesign one assignment using multi-modal or multi-stage strategies
Speakers
avatar for Adam Engel

Adam Engel

Social Studies Teacher, Rush City
Adam Engel is a Social Studies teacher, peer coach, and building leader in the Rush City School District. He is passionate about edtech integration.
Tuesday August 4, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT
Room 1205
 
Share Modal

Share this link via

Or copy link

Filter sessions
Apply filters to sessions.