Dear MindShare Learning Community Members,

We are thrilled to bring you the July edition of the CanAm Special ISTE EdTech Report. This month's edition is packed with exciting updates, inspiring stories, and valuable resources to keep you engaged in professional learning during your summer holidays! 

Speaking of which, on behalf of our team, we'd like to wish our friends & colleagues in the U.S. a memorable 4th of July holiday. 

Highlights from ISTELive 2024: We had a memorable time at ISTELive in Denver, where we celebrated the CanAm Meetup. The conference was punctuated by a vast number of sessions on GenAI which we embrace with cautionary measures. AI/VR and robotics dominated the exhibit show floor. Special thanks to ISTE for our much-valued media partnership. And to our amazing CanAm guests, sponsors, and partners. A notable mention to Alana Winnick for gifting her new book, which is sure to inspire our community. Incidentally, Alana is our featured lunchtime keynote at the forthcoming 15th Canadian EdTech Summit! Important to note that today marks the end of the Super Earlybird special! Register here. Watch for more ISTELive news in future issues! 

Key Updates:

• Umety Unboxing at ISTELive. Winner Best of Show Exhibit! 
• Checkout ISTELive by the Numbers over 17,000 Attendees. Canada makes its mark with the most International delegates!
• The 15th MindShare Canadian EdTech Summit will take place from October 31 to November 2 at UofT Toronto. Don't miss out on the super early bird registration ends tomorrow!
• The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service has announced the United States education technology - Canadian Technology Accelerator program. This seven-month hybrid program aims to accelerate the business development of high-growth potential startup companies in the U.S.
• Our featured GenAI tool of the week, TeachMateAI, is revolutionizing education by saving teachers significant time with its AI-powered tools.

Inspiring Stories:

• Tech-savvy students showcased their skills at the Develop The Future event at Science World.
• St. Mother Teresa High School's Sciency Squids made a splash at the Let’s Talk Science Challenge, demonstrating outstanding STEM knowledge.
• A University Canada West student developed a budgeting app, helping users manage their finances efficiently.

Quotes and Insights: Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE, highlighted that cheating is a cultural problem, not a technological one. This perspective reminds us of the importance of addressing underlying issues in education.

Resources and Events:

• Check out the book of the week, "Artificial Intelligence in Education: Fundamentals for Educators," which provides crucial insights into AI's role in education.
• Join us for upcoming professional learning events, including the Serious Play Conference and the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference.

We are grateful for your continued support and engagement. As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of education technology, let's stay connected, share our successes, and inspire each other to lead innovation in education.

Have a memorable summer with your family and friends!

Until next time, stay healthy, stay safe, and keep the digital learning curve steep!

“ Cheating is a cultural problem not a technological one.  

Research has shown that 70% of US high school students cheat. However the rate has not changed from before and after the availability of generative AI"

-- Richard Culatta, ISTE, CEO #ISTELive24

Tech-savvy students from a pair of District schools recently had the opportunity to show off their skills and creativity at Science World, as part of a program called Develop The Future.

At the event, which was held earlier this month, three groups of students – two groups of Grade 7s from Dorothy Peacock Elementary and one group of 11/2 programming students from Brookswood Secondary – shared their original ideas for a phone app. 

St. Mother Teresa High School Grade 7/8 Science Teacher, Mr. Michael Major, led three outstanding teams from St. Mother Teresa to Carleton University for the Let’s Talk Science Challenge in April. This team-based Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) competition is designed for students in Grades 6-8 to explore new STEM topics and demonstrate their knowledge in a fun and supportive environment.

When ChatGPT and other new generative AI tools emerged in late 2022, the major concern for educators was cheating. After all, students quickly spread the word on TikTok and other social media platforms that with a few simple prompts, a chatbot could write an essay or answer a homework assignment in ways that would be hard for teachers to detect.

A University Canada West student has developed an app to help individuals plan their budgets.

Budgety, created by MBA student Mary-Margaret Chisom Ezeh, is a mobile application that helps people track their financial transactions, manage their budgets and stay on top of their finances. Chisom said she wanted to design the app so users could plan their budgets in a fun and easy way.

When computer science professor Anwar Haque first connected with the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), the organization and its member companies were manually populating its job board with postings. 

It meant staff spent time copying and pasting employment opportunities and formatting them to fit with the style of LEDC’s central job board. As London saw rapid population growth, job postings were exploding. 

It’s a potentially life-altering medical condition typically diagnosed in childhood. The good news is treatment works well if followed properly. The bad news is the treatment is hard to stick to.

An interdisciplinary team of University of Waterloo researchers is trying to improve treatment adherence through use of a social robot that can educate and motivate children and their caregivers.

McMaster University researchers are the driving force behind a tool helping UK voters understand how their views align with the policies of major political parties ahead of the upcoming general election.  

Vote Compass UK went live on June 24. The online tool helps people make sense of the political landscape by revealing how their individual views compare with the policies of the various parties running for election.