Advancement in Education Summit

AI in Education: Practical Applications, Human Judgment, and Responsible Use  
Practical Strategies for Teaching, Learning, and Educational Decision-Making  
Facilitator: Evelyn Chan, Educational Technology and Digital Content Specialist 

Overview: Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping teaching, learning, and educational practice across K-12, post-secondary, and workplace learning environments. While AI offers new opportunities to support planning, communication, accessibility, feedback, and learning design, many educators continue to ask how these tools can be used responsibly and effectively.  

This session explores practical applications of AI in education through the lens of human judgment, ethical decision-making, and meaningful learning. Participants will examine real-world examples of how AI can support teaching and learning while also considering where critical thinking, reflection, creativity, and human interaction remain essential. 

Drawing on current educational practice and emerging work in AI literacy, the session will introduce practical approaches that educators can adapt to their own contexts. Topics include AI-supported planning and resource development, communicating AI expectations to students, designing learning activities that encourage responsible AI use, and recognizing situations where AI may support learning versus replace important learning processes. 

Participants will engage with practical examples, decision-making frameworks, and interactive scenarios that illustrate how educators can navigate AI-related decisions in authentic educational contexts. The session will conclude with implementation strategies and resources that participants can adapt to support responsible, human-centred AI use in their own settings. 

Presentation Resources

Canva Slides

AI for Accessibility: Practical Tools and Real-World Considerations  

Facilitators:  

Rocio Conde, Educational Technology Specialist 

Joanna Friend, Manager, UDL, Accessible Pedagogy & Academic Success 

Gian Michele Pileri, Educational & Immersive Technology Specialist 

Overview: Artificial intelligence is making accessibility easier to integrate into everyday work, but it also has limitations. This 30-minute session will highlight practical AI features that can support accessibility, discuss key considerations when using these tools responsibly, and demonstrate how AI can assist with accessibility tasks. Through live examples, participants will see how AI can generate image descriptions and use ChatGPT as an accessibility checker to identify and improve potential accessibility issues in documents and content. Participants will leave with practical ideas they can apply immediately while maintaining a critical perspective on AI's capabilities and limitations. 

PowerPoint Slides

AI Innovation in Practice: Building Capacity, Confidence, and Responsible Adoption 

Facilitator: Shehroze Saharan, Senior Manager, Institutional AI Strategy Development and Support 

Overview: The AI Innovation Challenge at George Brown Polytechnic was designed to move AI adoption beyond abstract discussion and into structured, responsible experimentation. This session will explore the institutional context that led to the challenge, how it was framed and launched, and the practical steps involved, including stakeholder engagement, communications, proposal intake, evaluation criteria, governance considerations, participant supports, and alignment with broader AI priorities. It will also examine the project’s impact, including how it surfaced promising use cases, identified support needs, built internal champions, strengthened AI literacy, and created momentum for more coordinated AI adoption. Participants will hear lessons learned from implementation and consider how similar initiatives can support institutional learning, responsible experimentation, and strategic transformation. 

From AI Uncertainty to Institutional Readiness: George Brown Polytechnic’s Approach to Responsible AI Governance.  

Facilitator: Shehroze Saharan, Senior Manager, Institutional AI Strategy Development and Support 

Overview: This session will share how George Brown Polytechnic is approaching AI through a practical, institution-wide governance and enablement model. It will explore the development of the institution’s AI guiding principles, the decision to begin with guidance rather than a formal AI policy, and the creation of key structures such as the AI Centre of Excellence, the AI newsletter, the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, and the emerging AI Plan and Roadmap. Participants will learn how these efforts are helping George Brown Polytechnic move from uncertainty to coordinated action by supporting AI literacy, strengthening consultation, surfacing institutional needs, and creating clearer pathways for responsible AI use across teaching, learning, operations, and strategy.  

AI Tools That Support Teaching and Learning 

Facilitators:  

Rocio Conde, Educational Technology Specialist  

Joana Friend, Manager, UDL, Accessible Pedagogy & Academic Success 

Gian Michele Pileri, Educational & Immersive Technology Specialist 

Overview: Explore practical AI tools that can enhance teaching, increase student engagement, and reduce time spent on routine tasks. In this interactive 30-minute session, participants will see demonstrations of AI tools that can generate engaging learning activities from curriculum content, support visual collaboration through content, image, and audio generation, and foster reflective teaching. This session includes the demonstration of a custom GPT called THREAD-ed, a Socratic teaching coach grounded in humility, relationality, equity, and accessible design. Participants will leave with practical ideas for using AI to support lesson planning, active learning, and reflective teaching practice. 

PowerPoint Slides

Addressing Academic Integrity in the Era of Artificial Intelligence 

Facilitator: Ryan Morrison, Professor, TLX Associate.  

Overview: Generative AI has drastically changed how post-secondary education is approaching academic integrity. There are no absolute solutions that account for all class types while also accounting for accessibility needs. At the same time, Generative AI is challenging the value of traditional education and pushing educators to better meet the needs of their students and society. In this session, we will explore strategies for contemporary assessments and possibilities for re-imagining future approaches.  

PowerPoint Slides