AI-powered tools have the potential to have a positive impact on students’ learning. At the same time, their ability to make mistakes, produce false and misleading information, and produce artificial content that is indistinguishable from reality has made the problem of finding reliable and trustworthy information online even more difficult.

In this session, our focus will be on learning empirically-based digital media literacy strategies that can be used to effectively evaluate information online, with a focus on content created by AI. Participants will use AI tools to experience how they can produce false, misleading, and biased content, and practice using lateral reading skills to determine whether text, photos, and videos were created by people or by AI.

The resources presented are part of CTRL-F: Digital Media Literacy classroom resources from CIVIX. All resources are free for educators, and available in both English and French.

Session Recording and Slides

This content is available to registered attendees of the explorAItion! 2.0 conference.

This hands-on workshop introduces Canadian educators to machine learning education using micro:bit and CreateAI platform. Participants will experience practical ML implementation through movement-based activities, data collection, and coding exercises designed for 7-12 classrooms. The session covers training ML models, using micro:bit for AI concepts, and developing engaging classroom activities that make abstract machine learning principles tangible and accessible. Educators will explore Computational Thinking 1.0 vs 2.0 frameworks, learn core ML principles and applications, and gain practical experience designing age-appropriate AI activities. By session end, participants will have hands-on experience with CreateAI tools and ready-to-implement strategies for bringing machine learning education to Canadian students using affordable, classroom-ready technology.

Session Recording and Slides

This content is available to registered attendees of the explorAItion! 2.0 conference.

In this session, we’ll explore how educators can move beyond AI awareness to AI intentionality; teaching students not just how to use AI, but how to use it well.

Drawing from recent research with over 390 Ontario faculty and students, we’ll examine five key themes: motivation, readiness, comfort, confidence, and use. I explore how they reveal a growing gap between student AI usage and their understanding of it.

Participants will leave with a clear framework for integrating AI into their classrooms ethically and effectively. We’ll discuss how AI mirrors human behavior, why it must be “raised” like a child, and how educators can shape its learning through intentional design. You’ll gain access to classroom-ready strategies that increase engagement, reduce failure rates, and foster critical thinking.

Whether you’re new to AI or already experimenting with tools, this session will help you empower students to use AI with purpose, creativity, and care.

Session Recording and Slides

This content is available to registered attendees of the explorAItion! 2.0 conference.

There has been so much posting, talk and video about GenAI that it is hard to find an opportunity to consider the bigger picture. This conversation will address issues of disruption, identity, inquiry, privacy, pedagogy and assessment. It will culminate in sharing pedagogical strategies that —hopefully—help us feel fine.

Session Recording and Slides

This content is available to registered attendees of the explorAItion! 2.0 conference.