Daily presentations on the main stage will offer insights into increasing student engagement, fostering curiosity about equitable learning environments, creating transformative opportunities for educators and more. The Innovation Arcade invites conferencegoers to experience artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies, and attendees should be sure to check out the conference’s many social events and networking opportunities.
Highlighting Modernization With Student Outcomes in Mind
As technology changes, so do the skills students must learn to find success beyond their K–12 education. Conference speakers are sharing ways to equip students with hands-on technology skills, as well as soft skills like leadership and problem solving, which they’ll need to navigate a more digital world. Sessions include:
- “If They’re Just Playing, We’re Not Leading: Empowering Students With Purposeful Technology Use”
- “This Is IT: Student Chromebook Repair Team”
- “The Ultimate Win-Win: Securing Schools While Equipping Students for Careers in Cybersecurity”
- “Littles Can Collaborate (Even With Digital Tools)”
- “Reignite Passion: Embracing Technology and Learner Agency”
Many schools are modernizing their libraries and gathering spaces, transforming them into esports arenas and makerspaces to increase student engagement, ingenuity and collaboration. Attendees who want tips on organizing these spaces should check out these sessions:
- “From Zero to Esports Hero: Lessons Learned Launching an Elementary Esports Program”
- “Pixels & Pedagogy: Minecraft in the Classroom”
- “Esports Livestreaming and Content Creation on a Shoestring Budget”
- “Scissors, Laser Beams and AI: Balancing Low-Tech & High-Tech in Makerspaces”
- “Makers on the Move: Empowering Learning Through Mini and Mobile Makerspaces”
RELATED: Schools make space for community and student well-being.
Other Presentations Offer Solutions for Constrained Budgets
Amid all of the talk about upgrading and modernizing this year, many K–12 administrator and IT leaders are unsure whether they’ll be able to afford these modernization initiatives. Funding challenges persist in K–12 environments, especially as technology refreshes approach and pandemic-era federal support dwindles.
For attendees with these concerns, there are sessions dedicated explicitly to creative funding solutions, such as “Leasing Technology: A Creative Solution for Budget-Conscious Districts”
and “Enjoy the ESSER Cliff with Creative Funding Paragliders.” There are also presenters sharing how K–12 IT teams can optimize investments with technologies currently in their ecosystems:
- “M365 Best Practices: Optimizing Your EDU Environment”
- “Tuning the Machine: Google Admin Best Practices”
- “Chromebooks Can Do That?! Essential Features for Teachers and Students”
Be sure to bookmark this page to keep up with all of our ISTELive 25 coverage, and follow us @Edtech_K12 on the social platform X for #ISTELive insights during the conference.
