ATLE Convergence 2025

Does AI have a place in the elementary school landscape? Do students need exposure to it in the early years or are they simply too young? Join me as we explore what Generative AI can look like in an elementary school and how you can use it with your staff and students to empower them and set our youngest learners up to thrive and succeed in a quickly evolving world!

MagicSchool AI is quickly becoming a huge hit in schools across North America. With over 60 tools for teachers and 40 more for students, this tool allows teachers and students to work with AI in a safe guarded environment. Every learner can benefit from using the tools in MagicSchool AI and every teacher can benefit from the time saving tools they have access to. In this session, we will dive into the teacher tools and the student tools to demonstrate how your life at school and the learning your students do can be enriched by AI.

Come check out Lego Spike Prime with Rundle College students.

In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming education, how do we create assessments that withstand the relentless advances of AI? Join us for an electrifying session, "Outsmarting AI: Crafting Resilient Assessments and Revolutionary Courses in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," where we delve into the art and science of developing AI-resistant assessments.

Discover practical techniques and proven methodologies for designing assessments that emphasize critical thinking, originality, and deep reflection. Learn how to safeguard academic integrity in a world where AI tools are readily accessible to students.

But that's not all! In this session we will also showcase the groundbreaking Intro to AI course developed in just a few weeks using AI technologies. Witness firsthand the remarkable responses and feedback from students, and explore how AI can be harnessed to create engaging, high-quality educational experiences.

Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights from a leader in the field of eLearning. Equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to help you outsmart AI and elevate the standards of your assessments and courses. This is a must-attend session for educators, instructional designers, and anyone passionate about the future of education.

Get ready for some hands-on learning and learn how to build your own design thinking kit! Explore curriculum connections, review design protocols, access experts, and prototype using high and low tech options including Minecraft Education, 3D printing, and loose parts. Whether you are building curriculum resources at the District level, providing instructional leadership to staff, or looking for ways to augment your existing approach to design thinking, this session will broaden your perspective through hands-on, interactive learning!

In today’s diverse classrooms, engaging students is essential for meaningful learning. Visual teaching strategies, enhanced by digital tools, can transform passive learners into active participants by catering to a wide range of learning preferences and abilities. This session will focus on how to use digital tools to make learning more engaging, interactive, and student-centered through visual learning techniques.

Participants will explore a variety of digital tools that support visual learning, understand how to create dynamic learning experiences, and gain practical strategies to keep students engaged. By making learning more interactive and visually stimulating, educators can captivate their students' attention and foster deeper understanding.

Design thinking is an iterative, creative problem-solving process that encourages students to develop solutions to real-world challenges. This hands-on, human-centered approach promotes innovation, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity in the classroom. By integrating design thinking, educators can engage students in active learning, encouraging them to think deeply and work collaboratively to solve complex problems.
This session will guide educators on how to incorporate design thinking into their teaching practices, creating a student-centered environment that fosters innovation. Participants will explore design thinking principles, practical applications for various subjects and grade levels, and real-world examples that highlight the positive impact of this approach on student engagement and problem-solving skills.

Join us for a session sharing our experience supporting the adoption of the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) in the early elementary grades (K-3). Presenters will share lessons learned from supporting primary teachers, students, and parents as they transition to a new LMS. Discover practical strategies and real-world examples of how K-3 teachers are effectively leveraging technology to enhance communication with parents and build young students' technical capacities and skills in the in person classroom.

In this session, you will learn about:
- Facilitating smooth transitions for primary teachers.
- Engaging teachers in focus groups to learn about their unique needs.
- Providing effective training and support tailored to K-3 teachers.
- Engaging parents through the LMS.
- Developing young students' technological skills.

This session will provide administrators, educational technology specialists and teachers with suggestions for using technology intentionally in the younger elementary grades. While our story is about adopting Canvas, anyone working on learning management system adoption for elementary students are invited to attend. The session will be a combination of a presentation followed by an opportunity to share and learn from each other.

Fear is the mind killer. Trying to teach subjects that cause fear in students is an impossible challenge, but immersive simulations offer an approach that leverages 'respawn and retry' gaming culture to put a pin in that fear balloon and get students into the zone of proximal development. Instead of scared and unengaged, tackling subjects like cybersecurity or quantum technologies, that many find overwhelming, through immersive simulation brings iteration and fear free experimentation into the equation in an emotionally empowering manner.

Join us for an engaging professional learning session providing an overview of the robotics platforms used in K-12 education within the Calgary Board of Education, with a focus on how they support the new K-6 Computer Science curriculum. This session will cover essential platforms such as Talebot Pro, Sphero Indi, Ozobot, NEZHA (micro:bit), mBot 2.0, and iRobot Root, highlighting their roles in developing coding, computational thinking, and problem-solving skills. Robotics platforms appropriate for grades 7-12 will also be shared. Participants will learn how these tools align with curriculum objectives, fostering critical thinking and creativity in learners. Additionally, the session will offer opportunities for hands-on exploration with samples of each type of robotics platforms and resources for ongoing support. Enhance your expertise by discovering how these robotics platforms can transform student learning experiences and meet the goals of the new curriculum and learn from the successes we've achieved in one of the largest education systems.

2020 changed how education was delivered to students across the province. The fall of 2020 saw districts creating programs to address students learning from home. I was one of the teachers in my district that built this airplane while flying it. Four years later, this program has only grown in our little corner of the province. Remote Learning has evolved and taken hold in Alternative Education and it is not just for pandemics and homeschooling. We now have students and families who seek out Alternative Education programs because it works for them but also allows students who are in rural areas to access courses they might not be able to due to a variety of reasons. But how do you engage students from all around to not just learn the content, but also engage with teachers and other students to form community in a virtual world? How do we navigate the world of synchronous vs asynchronous learning? How do we address attendance issues? And what about credits for high school? Can students really learn if they are online? Answers to ALL of these questions and more will be addressed in this session! I will show some tools that I use in my virtual space to help engage. I will address the expectations and communication with parents and students that help with course completions. Also the scheduling that is needed to meet the needs of a synchronous online program. We need to revolutionize remote learning to provide students with creative and innovative education opportunities.

Are you ready to transform your classroom into a hub of innovation and problem-solving? In this interactive workshop, educators will discover how to harness the engaging world of Lego to introduce and reinforce crucial coding concepts. Perfect for teachers of all experience levels, from coding novices to tech enthusiasts, this session will equip you with practical strategies to:

- Introduce fundamental programming concepts through playful, hands-on activities
- Develop students' logical thinking and problem-solving skills using Lego Spike Prime's intuitive interface.
- Design cross-curricular projects that seamlessly blend STEM learning with other subject areas
- Foster collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking in your classroom
- Adapt Lego Spike Prime activities for various grade levels and learning styles

Participants will have the opportunity to experiment with Lego Spike Prime sets, exploring its user-friendly hardware and software components. By the end of this session, you'll leave with a toolkit of engaging lesson ideas, troubleshooting tips, and the confidence to implement Lego Spike Prime in your classroom.

Discover the power of podcasts and how they can transform your classroom into an engaging and dynamic learning environment. Step into the world of podcasting as Cornelius shares his personal journey and experiences, and learn how he successfully incorporated podcasting into his curriculum. Explore the exciting project "Grade 7's Talk to Experts" where students interview professionals and gain valuable insights. Get ready to take the first step in podcasting!