Actua partners with TMU to host AI conference to empower educators
Educators from across Canada, the United States and Hong Kong came together at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) to critically explore AI in the classroom. Led by Actua, a leader in STEM youth outreach, the AI Exchange: Empowering Educators for Tomorrow Conference was designed to help educators better understand how to responsibly engage with AI technologies. Actua partnered with TMU, MIT RAISE, Hong Kong Jockey Club, with support from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, to deliver hands-on workshops and expert-led sessions.
The two-day conference was a tremendous success, helping international participants to address common challenges and collaborate on practical strategies. Learning from leading researchers, educators developed their AI literacy skills so they can navigate new technologies in their classrooms and school communities. One person alone doesn’t possess all the answers when it comes to using AI. However, as the conference revealed, when educators come together as a community to ask hard questions, share experiences and pilot new ideas, there are practical solutions to be found.
“Educators play such an important role in helping young people navigate an AI-enabled future, and the AI Exchange gave them a chance to learn together, share their experiences and explore practical approaches to AI literacy. We’re proud of this collaboration with MIT RAISE and TMU, which helped build a community of educators who feel more confident bringing AI into their classrooms and supporting young people as the technology continues to evolve.”
“I am very proud of the collaboration that made this important conference possible. AI Exchange has provided educators a strong foundation to responsibly and thoughtfully manage AI in their classrooms.”
The conference embraced a learning-through-doing approach, letting educators interact with AI-based tools to increase their familiarity with new technologies.
TMU professor Hossein Rahnama led a hackathon where educators and elementary school students worked in teams to create AI technologies to improve education. The hackathon highlighted how people approach problems and technology differently based on their experiences, perspectives, biases, and backgrounds.
Karen Brennan, a Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Practice in Learning Technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, presented on the topic of creative collaboration. She encouraged participants to build ducks using LEGO to explore how participants think and create differently.
One of the amazing outcomes of the conference was that educators from across the world had the opportunity to connect and share their different teaching styles.
Key conference takeaways
- For educators, AI presents evolving challenges and risks to education but avoiding the technology is not the solution
- Establishing clear guidelines on when and how to use AI can help both educators and students think critically about using AI tools for learning
- Educators can increasingly play a critical role in helping students recognize biases and paying closer attention to details when using digital technologies
About Actua
Actua is a leading Canadian science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) youth outreach organization. Each year, the Actua network engages over 500,000 youth in 600 communities across Canada in transformative STEM learning experiences that build critical skills and confidence. Please visit www.actua.ca (external link) .