AI and Innovative Tech Symposium: Full Schedule

12:40pm PDT

Best Practices For Writing Classrooms in the AI Era

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

With AI in the writing classroom, the question isn't if, it's how. Come get real, classroom-tested strategies for using it across the whole writing process, from brainstorming to revision to feedback, without losing authentic student writing. I'll share the moves I actually use: assignments AI can't easily fake, leaning on peer review so students won't pass AI work off to each other, turning an AI draft into a revision task, and getting students to judge AI feedback instead of trust it. You'll leave ready to build AI literacy, head off misuse, and keep the thinking where it belongs, with your students.

Speakers

Jen Roberts

High School English Teacher, San Diego Unified School District

Jen Roberts is a Nationally Board Certified high school English teacher with 25+ years of experience teaching English Language Arts and Social Science and in grades 7-12. She is the co-author of Power Up: Making the Shift to 1:1 Teaching and Learning and a Google for Education Certified... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Breakout Session 2

12:40pm PDT

Computing + AI: A Ready-to-Teach Curriculum for Future-Ready Classrooms

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we solve problems, yet many educators feel uncertain about how to prepare students for this new reality. This interactive session introduces Computing+AI, a curriculum designed to build foundational computing knowledge alongside AI literacy so students become informed, creative, and ethical users-not just consumers-of AI. Participants begin by sharing their context and current AI practices allowing the session to adapt to audience needs. After the presenters model the instruction of a lesson, educators will experience a lesson from the curriculum as learners. They will complete hands-on activities, analyze instructional routines, and reflect on how each design choice supports inquiry, problem solving, student agency, and equitable participation. Participants will explore teacher resources, lesson structures, and implementation supports that make classroom adoption practical across diverse learning environments.
Educators will leave with immediately usable instructional strategies, adaptable lesson materials, and a framework for integrating computing and AI concepts into existing curricula. By experiencing the curriculum from a learner's perspective, participants will gain the confidence and practical tools needed to foster computational thinking, AI literacy, and future-ready learning in their own classrooms. Here is our curriculum link: bit.ly/computingai

Speakers

Dana Saito-Stehberger

University of California, Irvine

Dana Saito-Stehberger, Ed.D. is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and a Research Specialist at the University of California, Irvine Digital Learning Lab. She leads the design and research of innovative K–12 curricula that integrate computational thinking and artificial... Read More →

Evelyn Rodriguez

University of California, Irvine

Evelyn Rodriguez is a fourth-year Informatics major with a specialization in Human Computer Interaction at UC Irvine, where she also serves as a Research Fellow at the Digital Learning Lab. She is one of the Co-Designers for the curriculum development for the Computing and AI for... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Breakout Session 2

12:40pm PDT

Elevating Student Agency and Depth of Learning through Gemini Notebook Curation

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Discover how to revolutionize student agency and depth of learning using Google’s NotebookLM, a powerful AI-driven personalized research assistant built on Gemini. Moving far beyond basic reading summaries, NotebookLM functions as an active synthesis engine designed to help educators and students deep-dive into complex topics with secure, source-grounded discovery. Now integrated as a Google Workspace for Education core service with robust privacy protections for all ages, this tool is fully accessible for direct classroom deployment. In this immersive, hands-on workshop, participants will experience the "Model, Show, Explore" framework to transform traditional reference materials into interactive, localized learning hubs. We will demonstrate how to design customized, multi-language Audio Overviews with real-time "Interactive Mode" tutoring, generate tailored study guides, map out complex concepts using diverse visual and textual formats, and leverage direct integrations with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle, and Google Classroom. Examples will showcase live classroom applications and professional development frameworks. Attendees will collaborate to optimize source curation, evaluate AI-generated materials for accuracy, and safely configure school-wide access and data privacy guidelines. Ultimately, you will leave equipped to shift technology from a novelty tool into a purposeful vehicle for equitable, student-driven growth.

Speakers

Rob Johnson

EdTech Innovation TOSA, Torrance Unified School District

Phuong Uzoff

EdTech Innovation TOSA, Torrance Unified School District

Taraneh Karim

EdTech and Innovation TOSA, Torrance Unified School District

Taraneh Karim is an Educational Technology Innovation Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) for Torrance Unified School District with more than a decade of experience in education. Before transitioning into educational technology, she taught middle and high school social science, where... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Breakout Session 2

12:40pm PDT

Exploring Story, SEL, and Critical Media Literacy in ELA Classrooms

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Literature offers readers lessons that transcend beyond its pages. Through these lessons, through thematic topics, and through characters’ interactions and conflicts, there are opportunities for students to notice and develop connections to our dynamic everyday lives. Join me as I share a unit that fosters student creativity at the intersection of literature, media literacy, and technology: Dear Evan Hansen through the lens of Critical Media Literacy. In this session, participants will learn how I, an ELA teacher, paired with my district’s EdTech team to design a unit focused on teaching students more than the literacy processes of reading and writing. Participants will learn how, through our partnership, we connected the trials and tribulations the characters in the play faced, with tangible strategies for how students could, and should behave and interact with peers, friends, and their communities online. We developed strategies to incorporate meaningful utilization of AI in the classroom, including an opportunity for students to interact with the plays’ characters through a character chatbot, an activity that lifted conflicts and characters off the pages of the play. Additionally, participants will walk away with strategies for teaching Critical Media Literacy, not in isolation, but connected directly to the curriculum to foster analytical thinking.

Speakers

Gurbir Kahlon

High School Teacher, Torrance Unified School District

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Breakout Session 2

12:40pm PDT

Identity First Districts Are Safer, Faster and Easier to Run

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Start every school day calm and secure with identity as your operating system. In this session, we will guide you through a steady rhythm where access, automation, and analytics work in concert.

On day one, accounts and rosters are synced from SIS and HR systems, so students and staff open their devices and land on the right tools. Access is always aligned to the role and updates as students switch classes or staff move into new positions. MFA is quick, teacher-friendly, and phone-optional, so security improves without extra friction. Even substitutes and contractors receive sponsored access that is personalized, auditable, and set to expire.

With this foundation in place, usage analytics like screen time provide clear, board-ready reports that leaders rely on to make strategic decisions. The result is fewer tickets, more insights, and classrooms that run smoothly in unison.

ClassLink

Speakers

Lee Williams

ClassLink

Lee Joined the ClassLink team in 2023. He has spent the last 25 yearsworking with Education and Enterprise organizations across the country.His focus has always been about creatively designing and implementingsustainable technology solutions. Lee works to become the trusted advisorwithin... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Breakout Session 2

12:40pm PDT

Three Paths, One Prep; Designing Differentiated, Student-Driven Learning Experience with AI

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Differentiation doesn't fail because teachers don't believe in it. It fails because producing three versions of one lesson costs three evenings. This hands-on session collapses that cost so the students who most need a different path actually get one: English learners who need multimodal, language-supported explanations; students with IEPs who need self-paced content they can replay; and students without academic support at home.
This is a build session, not a presentation. Model: participants begin inside a student-facing module, experiencing an interactive lesson path, an AI avatar explanation, and scaffolded practice exactly as a student would. Show: a brief live build makes every decision visible: why this prompt structure, why this element stays human written, how AI content is checked for bias, and what student data never enters an AI tool. Explore: working in pairs, participants design and begin building a differentiated module for a real upcoming lesson from their own classroom, supported by a reusable template and decision checklist.
Every tool (Genially, AI text and avatar generators) is chosen only where it moves students toward deeper learning, expanded access, or greater ownership of pace and path, and participants practice that same judgment themselves. Educators leave with a started module, a reusable template, a responsible AI checklist, and a workflow that makes differentiation a sustainable weekly practice.

Speakers

Abida Merchant

High School Teacher, Downey Unified School District

Abida Merchant teaches AP Computer Science, AP Cybersecurity, and Business at Warren High School (Downey USD), where she serves as department lead and, beginning this school year as Teacher Technology Lead specializing in AI. A Project Lead The Way Master teacher since 2016, she has... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 12:40pm - 1:40pm PDT

Breakout Session 2

12:40pm PDT

12:40pm PDT

12:40pm PDT

12:40pm PDT

12:40pm PDT

12:40pm PDT

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