2027 Dates Coming Soon!
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
What role will Artificial Intelligence (AI) play in Australian classrooms? As technology rapidly evolves, so too does education. AI is no longer a distant concept— it’s already reshaping how we teach, learn, and lead in schools. The AI in the Classroom stream at the 2026 National Education Summit explores how educators can harness AI to enhance learning outcomes, streamline teaching practices, and prepare students for a future shaped by intelligent technologies.
Choose from one day or two day tickets. Tickets include Arrival tea/coffee, Morning tea & Buffet lunch, Certificate of Attendance (mapped to APST) & Access to Summit Social.
*Program subject to change
9:00am
Welcome by our MC
9:10 – 9:40am
Curiosity in the age of AI
In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, curiosity remains our most powerful human trait. This keynote explores how curiosity fuels innovation, drives ethical decision-making, and empowers lifelong learning in an AI-driven era.
Dan will unpack the evolving relationship between human curiosity and machine intelligence—highlighting how educators, leaders, and technologists can harness AI not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for deeper inquiry, creativity, and transformation. From classrooms to boardrooms, this session will challenge conventional thinking, showcase real-world examples, and offer actionable insights on how to cultivate curiosity in systems, pedagogy, and leadership.
Whether you’re navigating AI in education, policy, or enterprise, this keynote will inspire you to lead with questions, embrace uncertainty, and design futures where curiosity and technology co-evolve for the greater good.
Empowering Classrooms with Copilot 13+: Leading AI Integration at Claver
Discover how Claver is pioneering the integration of Copilot 13+ to transform teaching and learning across secondary classrooms. This presentation will explore leadership strategies for implementation, practical classroom applications, and the cultural shift required to embrace AI as a collaborative partner in education.
Shane Tooley shares insights from Claver’s journey, including staff development, student engagement, and curriculum alignment, offering a roadmap for other schools ready to lead the future of learning.
10:10 – 10:40am
Australia’s Educator-Led AI Revolution: Sovereignty, Pedagogy, and the Future of Learning
Chris introduces the RocketEducation AI Suite (TeachersRocket, LearnersRocket, SchoolsRocket, LibraryRocket) and the AI TRACK Assessment: an integrated AI ecosystem designed in Australia, with information sovereignty and responsible AI as foundational principles.
Drawing on Strategenics’ experience delivering AI, data, and cloud transformation across government and enterprise, Chris outlines the AI-6 Strategic Framework for Educational Leadership. This framework addresses six critical pillars: Assessment Integrity, Personalised Learning at Scale, Teacher Empowerment, Skill Development Protection, Ethical Implementation, and Digital Equity.
This session focuses on what comes next providing a clear, practical pathway for education leaders to safely adopt AI. Chris will walk through emerging use cases, governance considerations, and implementation models that schools can apply immediately.
The session is designed to help school leaders move from curiosity to capability establishing strong foundations in policy, pedagogy, and technology while maintaining full control over data, security, and educational outcomes.
10:40 – 11:00am
Q&A Panel with Dan Bowen, Shane Tooley & Chris Mills to answer questions
11:00 – 11:30am
Morning Tea
Setting Our Students and Ourselves up for 2040
It is estimated that we have experienced 0.1% of the technological changes we will see by 2040. This means we will all essentially be newbies as we begin to understand the enormity of the changes facing our world.
The world is poised at the point of one of the greatest changes in history and if our students are not able to capitalise on those opportunities, their ability to succeed will be lessened.
This presentation outlines the major digital innovations and revolutions foreseeable and considers the skills that will be needed in 2040. Three of the basic skills that are outlined are- show up (ready to learn and perform), opt in (rather than avoid) and be curious.
12:00 – 12:40pm
Cyborgs in schools – where to next?
Classrooms are no longer just human spaces. From lesson planning to student support, AI is slipping into the daily rhythms of teaching and learning. But are schools ready for this “cyborg moment,” where human expertise and machine intelligence fuse?
This session explores what’s possible, what’s risky, and what’s next. Expect provocations, practical examples, and a peek into the near-future of education where teachers, students, and AI learn to co-evolve.
12:40 – 1:00pm
Q&A Panel with Andrew Fuller & Matt Esterman to answer questions
1:00 – 2:00pm
Lunch
No AI Budget? No Problem: A Practical Framework for Systemic School Success
How can we move our staff beyond simply policing AI and start building a culture of effective and ethical use? This session details the journey of a successful Digital Literacy Coach pilot program within a systemic Catholic high school. I will share a low-cost model for embedding AI literacy across the curriculum, from a Year 7 “AI Bootcamp” to redesigning senior assessment tasks to be AI-aware. This presentation will offer a transparent look at what works, sharing some practical strategies that translate diocesan-level policy into tangible classroom practice. Attendees will learn about pioneering initiatives that use AI to increase teacher capacity, provide authentic learning experiences, and even leverage data. This session provides a replicable, grassroots framework for schools seeking to implement a meaningful AI strategy without an independent school budget. Key Takeaways for Participants:
Vibe Coding in Educators: Rapid Problem-Solving with AI
What if every school could solve its own digital problems without needing a team of developers? This interactive workshop introduces participants to vibe coding: the creative process of using conversational AI to collaboratively design and build custom tools, workflows, and prototypes. Our team uses vibe coding to identify pain points across teaching, administration, and student services, then co-create quick, AI-assisted solutions directly in our systems using tools like Claude AI. These projects have ranged from micro-apps that automate repetitive admin tasks to interactive learning tools.
Participants will first explore examples of what’s possible, then work in small groups to map their own school’s “friction points” and learn how to frame prompts and project briefs that AI can turn into usable prototypes. Participants will:
3:10 – 3:30pm
Q&A Panel with Emily Patterson & Brodie McGee to answer questions
3:30 – 3:45pm
Ask the Audience: Delegates share the one idea that they will work on next week
4.00 – 5.30
Summit Social – a networking event for exhibitors, speakers and delegates.
*Program subject to change
9:00am
Welcome by our MC
It’s Only the Beginning… Using AI as a Springboard, Not the End Point
This session reframes AI as a catalyst for deeper learning rather than a destination. Instead of treating AI outputs as finished products, the presentation shows how they can become prompts for inquiry, iteration, and critical thinking. Practical classroom examples illustrate how AI can support planning, differentiation, and formative assessment while keeping teachers’ professional judgement at the centre. Participants will explore strategies that build students’ capacity to question, evaluate, and extend AI-generated ideas, ensuring academic integrity and authentic learning. The session positions AI as the starting point for richer human thinking, creativity, and agency.
9:40 – 10:10am
Bethany Wass, Senior Advisor – Digital Learning and Experience, Brisbane Catholic Education Office
AI for UDL: Practical Strategies for Inclusion by Design
How can educators harness the power of AI to make learning accessible, engaging and challenging for every student without adding to teacher workload? This session explores the intersection of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and artificial intelligence, drawing on real-world examples using the Australian Curriculum version 9.
Discover how tools like Copilot can help you revise assessment tasks, unit plans and learning experiences to provide multiple entry points, explicit support and flexible pathways, without compromising academic rigor.
Walk away with practical strategies, hands-on resources and the confidence to use AI to support a universal approach to quality differentiated planning and teaching.
10:10 – 10:40am
Janet Moeller, Consultant, AI in Education, Recent Principal
Is AI Bias Creeping into Your School?
AI tools promise to save time and boost engagement. But at what cost to equity and inclusion?
This workshop reveals uncomfortable truths: from AI grading and reporting systems that penalise students from linguistically diverse backgrounds to search tools that erase or misrepresent Indigenous perspectives. Learn to identify hidden biases and question whose knowledge AI privileges. Discover how to empower both students and colleagues to challenge discriminatory outputs. Walk away with classroom activities that develop critical digital citizenship.
This session goes beyond AI literacy basics to tackle data sovereignty, cultural erasure, and the voices missing from mainstream AI models. Grounded in the Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools
10:40 – 11:00am
Q&A Panel with Grant Jones, Bethany Wass & Janet Moeller
11:00 – 11:30am
Morning Tea
11.30 – 11.40am
Student self-reported wellbeing data: Insights, evidence and next steps
Drawing on several years of post-pandemic student wellbeing data, Adam will examine emerging patterns across the Pivot Wellbeing Survey domains of resilience, safety and belonging. This snapshot session will connect these trends with current research in student wellbeing, clarifying what they signal for schools and identifying considered next steps for practice.
11:40 – 12:10pm
Maria Mertzanakis, Deputy Head of Senior School- Teaching and Learning, Oran Park Anglican College
Smarter, Not Harder: Reducing Teacher Workload While Elevating Pedagogy
This session explores how schools can redesign assessment to embrace AI’s potential while safeguarding academic integrity. Participants will examine practical strategies such as authentic, real-world tasks, oral defenses, process-based assessment, and adaptive feedback.
The focus is on ensuring assessment remains rigorous, fair, and future-focused; measuring not just what students know, but how they think, create, and apply their learning in an AI-rich world.
12:10 – 12:40pm
When Students Lead: Teaching AI Literacy Through Caring, Connection and Curiosity
This session explores how senior students can take ownership of their learning through AI. Using Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning, it demonstrates how the right scaffolds help students build AI literacy, explore machine learning concepts, and then design their own project objectives, unit plans, and learning guides.
By focusing on Caring, Connection, and Curiosity, students move from passive users to creative, ethical thinkers who direct their own learning. Participants will see how AI can transform classrooms into spaces where students lead with confidence, empathy, and purpose.
12:40 – 1:00pm
Q&A Panel with Maria Mertzanakis & Bradly Saunders to answer questions
1:00 – 2:00pm
Lunch
2:00 – 2:30pm
AI for the Inclusive Classroom
AI tools are becoming an increasingly valuable part of the educator’s toolkit, helping to manage workload and enhance our teaching practices. Technology has moved beyond simple chatbots; it is now a powerful thinking partner or co-teacher that can adapt a text, scaffold a task, or provide visual aids in seconds.
This session is designed to build teacher confidence and find practical, inclusive solutions. We will explore how the latest AI developments can help you break down barriers to learning, support diverse needs, and most importantly, give you back the time to focus on what matters most: connecting with your students.
2:30 – 3:10pm
Canva Magic
In this interactive workshop, educators will experiment with Canva’s Magic suite and Code for Me to design engaging resources and create interactive, student-driven learning experiences. Canva offers a space for learning journeys, where teachers and students can collaborate, explore ideas, and bring concepts to life through creativity and innovation. From auto-generating lesson materials to building student games, quizzes, and custom widgets, participants will gain practical, classroom-ready skills while exploring how to use AI ethically and responsibly.
You’ll leave inspired, empowered, and equipped with transformative tools to enhance both your workflow and your students’ learning experiences.
3:10 – 3:30pm
Q&A Panel with Mary McEvilly Butler & Jo Muirhead to answer questions
3:30 – 3:45pm
Ask the Audience: Delegates share the one idea that they will work on next week
