Reimagining Education: AI, Critical Inquiry and Transformative Practice

Audience: Educators (teachers and administrators, as well as faculty and administrators from higher ed)

Overview

This symposium brings together K-12 educators, teachers, administrators, university faculty, and students to address the integration of artificial intelligence in education. Through national keynote presentations and discussion panels featuring leaders from K-12 and higher education, participants will examine practical approaches to AI implementation in curriculum design, pedagogy, assessment, and AI literacy development. Sessions address AI ethics, responsible use policies, and implications for student preparation in an AI-driven workforce, prioritizing actionable frameworks and evidence-based practices over speculative discourse.

Why Attend?

Participants will gain insights from educational leaders navigating AI adoption, engage with current governance challenges, and explore how critical inquiry can guide transformative practice in the age of generative AI.

 
Agenda and Speakers 

Time

Activity

Location

8:00-8:30am Registration & Breakfast Diercks Hall Atrium
8:30-8:45am

Welcome & Introductions

Liz Taylor, director of STEM outreach and K-12 education programs at MSOE

Direct Supply Innovation Technology Center (ITC)
8:45-9:30am

"K-12 Policy in the Age of AI: Applying Values in Practice"

Keynote presenter: Daniella DiPaola, MBA, Ph.D. candidate, MIT Media Lab

Direct Supply Innovation Technology Center (ITC)
9:30-10:00am

"State Guidance on AI in K-12 Education"

Keynote presenter: Amanda Albrecht, digital learning consultant, WI Department of Public Instruction

Direct Supply Innovation Technology Center (ITC)
10:00-11:30am

"Leading the AI Transformation: K-12 Approaches to Innovation, Governance and Student Success" Panel

Moderator: Amanda Albrecht, digital learning consultant, WI Department of Public Instruction

Panelists:

  • Lauren Croix, Ph.D., executive director of educational services, Mequon-Thiensville School District
  • Kelli Kwiatkowski, director of secondary schools, School District of New Berlin
  • Julia Leeson, director of teaching and learning, Grafton School District
  • Tony Spence, superintendent, Waterford School District
  • Rachel Yurk, chief of information technology, Pewaukee School District 
Direct Supply Innovation Technology Center (ITC)
11:30am-1:00pm

Lunch

Diercks Hall Atrium
12-12:50pm

"The Turing Test: Can MSOE Students and the MSOE President Agree on AI's Future?"

MSOE students and MSOE's 6th president, Dr. Eric T. Baumgartner go beyond the buzzwords to talk about AI in education, work, leadership, and what it really means for the future of MSOE and its students.

Moderator: Ben Paulson, B.S. Computer Science '25

Student panelist(s): Caitlin Grant, computer engineering student at MSOE

Diercks Hall Atrium
1:00-1:45pm

"Agentic AI for Teaching and Learning"

Keynote presenter: Andrew B. Williams, Ph.D., MBA, Dean of Engineering, The Citadel

Direct Supply Innovation Technology Center (ITC)
1:45-2:30pm

"AI Didn't Break Education: How it Exposed What We Were Afraid to Measure"

Keynote presenter: Tina Austin, founder of GAInable.ai, AI ethics consultant and biomedical researcher

NVIDIA Auditorium
2:30-2:45pm

Break

NVIDIA Auditorium
2:45-3:45pm

"Leading the AI Transformation" Higher Education Approaches to Innovation, Governance and Student Success"

Moderator: Michele Trawicki, MBA in Education Leadership program director at MSOE

Panelists:

  • Phillis King, chief innovation strategist, Waukesha County Technical College
  • Olga Imas, director of applied AI education, MSOE
NVIDIA Auditorium
3:45-4:30pm

TBD keynote presentation

Keynote presenter: Chris GauthierDickey, head of Dwight and Dian Diercks School of Advanced Computing

NVIDIA Auditorium