Dear MindShare Learning Community Members,

As we embrace the brilliant Spring season, I am thrilled to present to you our latest edition of the Canadian EdTech MindShare Report, Issue #334. This edition is laser focused on digitally transformative stories and insights that continue shape the educational landscape, inspiring a future where technology seamlessly integrates with education to enhance 'real world' learning experiences across Canada.

This Week on MindShareTV: Dive into our engaging MindShareTV podcast from CoSN 2024. Join me in conversation with John Malloy, former TDSB Director and now Superintendent at San Ramon Valley Unified, as we explore their district's digital transformation journey and the strategic integration of GenAI. This discussion offers valuable insights into the practical applications of AI in education—a must-watch!

Highlight of the Week: We are proud to spotlight the 16th Canadian Schools of the Future Student Invention Challenge. This initiative encourages students to address real-world problems with innovative solutions aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It’s a testament to young creativity and serves as a call to action for educators everywhere to inspire their students.

GenAI Tool of the Week Spotlight: Ace AI Tutor from Numerade

CoSN24 Conference Insights: From the CoSN 2024 Conference in Miami, we bring you five critical insights for K12 leaders on embracing AI and digital transformation strategies that build trust, foster collaboration, and ignite innovative thinking in school districts.

K-12 News: A significant survey reveals that nearly half of high school students anticipate generative AI will dramatically reshape the future workforce, emphasizing a shift towards enhancing soft skills like reasoning and creativity.

Post-Secondary News: Students have submitted more than 22 million papers that may have used generative AI in the past year.

C21 Canada Goes International Spotlight: CEO Academy members,  Patricia Gartland, Superintendent & CEO SD 43 Coquitlam connects for an exchange with Douglas Prescott, Superintendent of the Canadian International School of Beijing recently.

Upcoming Events and Resources: Don't miss our array of professional learning events such as the Dell Education Forum in Vancouver and the Mental Health Summit. These gatherings are exceptional opportunities for professional growth and networking.

Community Contributions: We thrive on your stories, achievements, and research. Please continue to share these with us, enriching our community’s narrative of innovation and success.

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and contributions to the MindShare Learning community. Your dedication enriches our collective journey towards a more innovative and equitable educational landscape.

Feel free to drop me a note with your inspiring news, research, careers, and upcoming events.

On behalf of our team, we are grateful for the growing MindShare Learning community we are nurturing across Canada and beyond (over 25 countries receive our eMag!). Special thanks to you, our board of advisors, partners, and team who continue to inspire me every day!

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

With the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), nearly one in two high school students polled think the workforce as we know it today will undergo a major transformation, a new global survey shows.

More than 48% of those queried believe that hard skills will become less important and soft skills, such as reasoning and creativity, will increase in demand, according to the survey, conducted in March by Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).

Students had the extraordinary opportunity to explore the ancient woods of Cambridge on snowshoes. This experience helped students bridge the gap between the classroom and the natural environment while also allowing for a deeper level of understanding through experiential and investigative hands-on learning.

High school and Adult 12 student transcripts will be available online beginning in summer 2024, through a partnership with the Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC), which owns MyCredsTM.

London police are investigating after students at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School started sharing AI-altered nude photos of their peers this week. Officials at the school say student pictures have been copied from social media sites, then altered using artificial intelligence to make the person in the photo appear nude. The photos have been shared through group chats, officials say. 

Students have submitted more than 22 million papers that may have used generative AI in the past year, new data released by plagiarism detection company Turnitin shows.

Are you curious about using artificial intelligence at work but don’t know where to start?

McMaster University has released provisional guidelines to help employees use artificial intelligence (AI) effectively and responsibly in their work. For example, this technology could be used to help brainstorm ideas, summarize text, enhance presentations and analyze datasets.

Hosted by RTA Professors Dr. Hossein Rahnama and Dr. Afsoon Soudi, the first-ever Creative AI Symposium brought together faculty, students, and industry experts alike for a day of exploration, discovery and conversation regarding the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the creative industries. Noting that the creative disciplines are prone to disruptions, both Dr. Rahnama and Dr. Soudi commented that the convergence of creativity and AI is vital in keeping up with future shifts in the industry. 

The Liberal government is setting aside $2.4 billion in the upcoming budget to build capacity in artificial intelligence. The bulk of that — $2 billion worth — is going into a fund that will aim to provide access to computing capabilities and technical infrastructure.