CIS Ontario Professional Learning Event: UNCONFERENCE 2026

Reclaiming the Human Future of Learning in an AI-Shaped World

On February 9, 2026, the 2026 UNCONFERENCE brought CIS Ontario educators together to explore how AI can enhance—rather than diminish—the human side of learning.

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Podcast: LearnIt Media Behind the Chalkboard x CIS Ontario UNCONFERENCE 2026

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Evidence, Imagination, and Purpose

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HUMAN-CENTRIC DESIGN

Focus on building AI fluent communities where human thinking, relationships, and creativity thrive.

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PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Examine real applications of GenAI and surface emerging competencies for school pathways.

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EXPERT KEYNOTES

Keynotes from leading data scientists and forward-thinking educators to ground the day in evidence.

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AI in Schools: Unconference Insights

Sarah Craig on AI & the Human Future of Learning | Unconference 2026

Designing AI for Humanity in K–12 Schools | Garth Nichols | Unconference 2026

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Morning Keynote

Garth Nichols, Head of School, Kingsway College School

What is the State of Generative AI in K–12 schools today and in the near-term future?

We kicked off the day with a bold, framing keynote that set the direction for UNCONFERENCE 2026. In What Is the State of Generative AI in K–12 Schools Today and in the Near-Term Future?, our keynote speaker, Garth Nichols, established the shared purpose, key questions, and mindsets to guide the day’s conversations.

This session oriented participants to the agenda and session strands while surfacing the most urgent challenges—and emerging opportunities—schools are facing as Generative AI reshapes teaching, learning, leadership, and systems.

More than a presentation, the keynote launched a highly interactive, day-long inquiry that culminated in a crowd-sourced snapshot of where our K–12 schools are now—and where they are heading next. Insights deepened throughout the day based on participants’ roles and contexts, while contributing to a collective understanding across the CIS Ontario member school landscape.

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Morning and Afternoon Session Strands

Participants attend one of four focused strands in the morning and one in the afternoon, spanning practical classroom strategies, leadership frameworks, measurement tools, and reimagined assessment practices. 

Strand 1: Start Here – Making AI Work for You in the Classroom

Guiding Question
How might we intentionally integrate GenAI into “everyday learning tasks” so that AI is a partner in thinking, not a shortcut, and in a way that centres on helping students build creativity, critical reasoning, and meaningful collaboration?

Room Facilitators:

Suitable For:

  • Early entry classroom educators with GenAI (all grade levels, all disciplines)
  • Curriculum Leaders, Teachers (K-12), Division Leaders

Strand 2: Deep Dive – Exploring the CAIS AI Maturity Model

Guiding Question
How might we level up our school’s understanding of its current Gen AI landscape in a generative way to enhance our programming, operations, and community?

Room Facilitators:

Suitable For:

  • School middle leadership, senior leadership, administrators, and IT
  • Those who have not had the time to really explore the Model's contents and resources

Strand 3: Collaboration – Generative Learning: Building a Coherent School-Wide Approach

Guiding Question
How might we empower schools to lead from the middle, strengthening faculty collaboration, administrative alignment, and shared practices that create consistency and momentum across the whole learning community?

Room Facilitators:

Suitable For:

  • Any educator, IT, middle or senior leadership
  • Anyone involved in, or wanting to start, a GenAI learning team with colleagues

Strand 4: Assessment – Re-imagining Assessment FOR / AS / OF Learning for the AI Age

Guiding Question
How do we design assessment that strengthens human thinking, agency, and learning relationships in a world where AI can do so much of the work?

Room Facilitators:

Suitable For:

  • Classroom Teachers
  • Educators focused on curriculum and assessment design
  • Division and Curriculum Leaders
  • All who want to strengthen student agency through evaluation
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Closing Keynote: What is the state of AI in schools today?

Garth Nichols, Head of School, Kingsway College School, with Panellists:
Myke Healy, Assistant Head-Teaching & Learning, Trinity College School,
Leslie McBeth, Director Of Special Projects at Future Design School
Natalie Vera, Director of Educational Technology & Innovation, Crescent School and...
featuring NotebookLM

The Unconference Journey: From Opening to Insight

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Overstory with NotebookLM

The Overstory podcast video was created by Notebook LM in real time based on attendee input and Unconference materials!

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Impact Report 2026

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The Goal is Clear.

Build AI-fluent communities where human thinking, relationships, and creativity thrive.

Through panels, hands-on sessions, and collaborative design, attendees examined real applications of GenAI, surface emerging competencies, and chart purposeful pathways for their schools.

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Official Media Partner

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Unconference Vendor Market

CIS Ontario Signature Sponsor

 

OTIP (Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan) is dedicated to helping members of the Ontario education community – faculty and staff – protect the people and things they care about most with a full range of insurance products including: auto, home, life, retirement health and dental plans and more!

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