Mainstage Presentations Encourage Empowering Students
Three mainstage presentations will focus on what happens when students are empowered to guide their own education and shape their future. The sessions emphasize that the role of the educator is to create inclusive environments where every learner feels represented, supported and capable of growth.
On Sunday, July 28, the Opening Mainstage will call on educators to embrace uncertainty and change by cultivating adaptability, empathy and curiosity in an era of rapidly evolving technology. Heather McGowan, author, leadership expert and LinkedIn Global Voice for Education, will explain how this era of rapid change is an opportunity for educators and leaders to grow in their roles.
The Tuesday Mainstage builds on this, exploring how teachers can create spaces where students see themselves in learning, share their stories and develop the confidence to shape their own future. Mychal Threets, Reading Rainbow host and resident librarian for PBS and PBS Kids, will inspire educators to create inclusive environments that give students agency over their educations.
DISCOVER: CDW’s expert-led sessions at ISTELive 26 will cover AI, cybersecurity and more.
The Closing Mainstage offers attendees a chance for reflection on how both extraordinary and everyday creative work can help students meet their goals while expressing their creativity. Pixar Animation Studios’ Character Art Director Deanna Marsigliese will share the importance of fueling imagination among students and how lessons learned from her personal journey can inspire teachers to cultivate environments that spark innovation.
Defining an AI-Ready Graduate
Artificial intelligence takes center stage, with sessions covering innovative ways it’s being used in classrooms and how IT teams can regulate it. In addition to the dozens of AI-focused sessions at this year’s conference, the exhibit hall will feature the Profile of an AI-Ready Graduate interactive experience. Presenters at six stations will host demonstrations, hands-on activities and short talks on how they’ve embraced AI-enabled learning.
Two sessions — “Tomorrow's Creators Today: Creating a Future-Ready AI Graduate” and “Profile of an AI-Ready Graduate: Durable Skills for Learning and the Workforce” — will offer a closer look at how schools are developing the skills students will need to collaborate with AI after graduation. These sessions will emphasize why building critical-thinking skills will be vital for students to collaborate with AI now and into the future.
READ MORE: Organizations are implementing AI for a variety of use cases.
Presentations to Focus on Technology In and Out of the Classroom
Beyond AI, sessions will cover the latest trends in classroom modernization, curriculum and instruction, leadership and emerging technologies.
Two sessions — “E-Rate: Making the Most of Your Eligible Budget” and “Unlocking Opportunities: A Guide to Grant Funding for Schools” — will explain how districts can take advantage of available funding to maintain their technology ecosystems and pay for necessary upgrades.
Other notable sessions worth checking out include:
- “Future-Ready Classrooms: Balancing Edtech Policy, Innovation and Core Instructional Priorities”
- “Student Data Privacy in the Age of AI: An Educator's Guide!”
- “Redefining the Classroom: Research on AI, VR, Virtual Tutors and More”
- “Driving Innovation When Budgets Are Tight”
- “Empowering Digital Citizens: Media Literacy and Critical Thinking in the Age of Edtech”
- “Student AI Ambassadors: Leading the Way to Their Future”
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