Symposium Agenda
May 1, 2026 - A.I.D.E. Online Symposium
This year's A.I.D.E. Symposium is offering several concurrent sessions throughout the day that participants will be able to take part in. All sessions will be recorded and made available to all 2026 A.I.D.E. Symposium attendees through our PD on Demand online professional learning platform following the event.
| Time | Session Title and Description |
|---|---|
| 9am - 10am |
Keynote: Preparing Students for an AI World Becky unpacks what true AI literacy looks like for PreK–12 learners and the educators guiding them. She makes the case that the future of education is accessible, equitable, automated, and flexible, and that getting there requires more than adopting new tools. It requires a mindset shift. |
| 10:05am - 11:05am |
Partnering with AI and Game Design for Learning |
| 11:25am - 11:55am | The School Leader's Teammate: Effective Prompting in the Age of AI - Room 1 Explore how generative AI can support the human side of school and district leadership by streamlining communication with all stakeholders, supporting team development, and enhancing decision-making in high-stakes scenarios. |
| 11:25am - 11:55am | Substitution to Redefinition: Using SAMR with Sources - Room 2 Participants will explore how the SAMR model can be used to move source-based learning beyond simple digitization and into deeper, more meaningful student engagement. Participants will see practical classroom examples of how digital tools can transform the way students read, analyze, interact with, and create using sources across subject areas. |
| 12:30pm - 1pm | Under the Hood: How Large Language Models Work (And How We Got Here) - Room 1 A story-driven tour from early language modeling through transformers, scaling, instruction tuning, and RLHF. Attendees leave with a clear mental model of tokens and embeddings, attention, context windows, training vs inference, and why LLMs can feel remarkably capable yet fail in predictable ways. |
| 12:30pm - 1pm | How to Spot AI-Generated Content - Room 2 As AI tools get more advanced, so does their ability to generate misinformation. Spotting AI-generated content is getting harder, making it more difficult to know what’s real. This session will go through strategies to detect AI content and the reliability of tools to detect them. |
| 1:05pm - 1:35pm | Programming With AI - Room 1 AI-assisted development is reshaping how edtech tools are created. This session highlights how AI lowers technical barriers, speeds up product cycles, and enables rapid problem-solving in education settings. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of what programming with AI looks like and what it means for schools and edtech teams. |
| 1:05pm - 1:35pm | The Pinocchio Effect - Room 2 When students talk to AI, it’s easy to believe a "real boy" is behind the screen. This is the Pinocchio Effect: AI so convincing, it tricks students into forming mistaken relationships and offering unearned trust. But an algorithm isn't a friend; it’s a puppet. Today’s goal is to unmask the digital illusion, protect student privacy, and ensure students remain the masters who pull the strings. |
| 1:40pm - 2:10pm | Developing an AI K-12 Scope and Sequence - Room 1 How does AI fit into your school's current Digital Citizenship or Digital Literacy plan? In this session we will explore how we are working on intentionally mapping AI concepts and skills. We will also look at where these AI concepts can align with already-existing Digital Citizenship plans and academic standards. |
| 1:40pm - 2:10pm | From Support Ticket to Strategy: Leading the AI Conversation in Your District - Room 2 You know the tech, but the boardroom runs on a different operating system. When leaders fear change, they stop listening, and sometimes stop inviting tech to the table. In this session, you’ll learn a practical social toolkit to navigate high-stakes conversations, surface hidden fears about AI, reduce resistance, and show up as a strategic partner without being the loudest voice in the room. |
| 2:15pm - 2:45pm | Made by Teachers, For Teachers: EDUAIDE.AI This session provides a practical overview of Eduaide.AI and how it helps K–12 educators quickly create classroom-ready materials like lesson plans, instructional resources, and student activities. We’ll demonstrate a simple workflow for generating, refining, and differentiating content so it aligns to your goals and fits your students’ needs. |
| 2:55pm - 3:25pm | Student Panel: What Do Students Really Think About AI in the Classroom In this engaging panel, high school students share candid perspectives on how they use AI, where it helps (and where it doesn’t), and what educators and technology leaders should consider when designing policies, tools, and learning experiences. From academic integrity to creativity, productivity to pressure, these students offer an unfiltered look at how AI is shaping their education right now, and what they hope it looks like in the future. |
Guest Speakers
Becky Keene
Ruben Puentedura
Jeremy Mikla
Mike Kray
SWWC Speakers
David Berner
Ashley Haken
Meggan Hoffmann
Eli Hulstein
Kyle Krenz
Mykel Madera
Raymond Norton
