ISTE 2026: Innovation in Tech Instruction

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the highlights, key takeaways, and game-changing ideas straight from ISTE 2026. From cutting-edge classroom technologies to forward-thinking instructional strategies, join us as we explore how educators are pushing the boundaries of technology instruction to engage students and transform learning.

Transcript

(VIDEO) ISTE 2026: Innovation in Tech Instruction 

Speaker: [00:00:00] ready to stop feeling like you are coaching alone? Join the EDU Coach Network. Connect instantly with an amazing community of over 1,400 instructional leaders from across the country. Find your people and grow your practice today. Join the EDU Coach Network at educoachnetwork.com. We can't wait to connect with you 

Calling all instructional leaders, curriculum innovators, and dedicated classroom coaches, or whatever they call you. I'm Celine.  

Speaker 2: And I'm Katie. As coaches, we know the path to school-wide growth can feel isolating with big responsibilities resting squarely on your shoulders.  

Speaker: That's why we built this space. 

We're opening the conversation to. Collaborate and bring a unified voice to the world of instructional coaching.  

Speaker 2: Elevate your practice with strategies that work,  

Speaker: and finally feel like you have a whole collective cheering you on.  

Speaker 2: So let's dive into this [00:01:00] conversation. 

 Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the EdgeU Coach Collective. This is crazy 'cause we're actually live at ISTE right now. So we-  

Speaker: Live. We're fine ... who would have thought? It's fine. Everything's fine.  

Speaker 2: Who would have thought? 

So we're super excited. Today we're gonna just talk about our experience that we're having here at the ISTE Conference, and hopefully get to share some of what we have going on today.  

Speaker: There's plenty to share- Yes ... that is going on here, right?  

Speaker 2: Yes.  

Speaker: We might need to do, like, a panorama of-  

Speaker 2: No, yes 

Speaker: looking down at all the people walking by.  

Speaker 2: We will have that B-roll for y'all- Yeah ... ready.  

Speaker: Yeah. So- So Celine, why don't you s- Yeah ... kick it off. Tell us about, what's our team doing.  

Speaker 2: Yes.  

Speaker: You're repping the shirt here. Hello. Google for Education. What are we doing there?  

Speaker 2: Yes. So super exciting. We are at the Google for Education booth, and it's a classroom setting. 

We're talking about the new Google AI badges, and it's super exciting because for me as a coach, a lot of these tools my district has actually used and implemented, so I'm, taking all these gems and bringing them back to them. But we're helping our teachers get Google AI certified very quickly with these new badges that they just launched. 

[00:02:00] Yeah. So we're doing everything from, Gemini Chat and synthesizing data. Uh, we're looking at some scaffolding in NotebookLM and how to utilize that. And then a little bit of vibe coding with Gemini Canvas. There we go. So a little dip and dive into a little bit differ- different things, and it's super exciting-  

Speaker: Yeah 

Speaker 2: to go through this, this experience.  

Speaker: Well, I feel like- Yeah ... in years past, usually what we're doing in, like, the Google room, and it's been Gemini now for three years, is, like, showing all the brand-new features. Yes. And that's happening more, on the vendor hall this year. Whereas in the room, I feel like it, like you said, it's like tools that people have been using. 

Yes. So there's a baseline of familiarity for everyone. Yes. But it's definitely, different ways of thinking about how to use those tools. I would have never thought about using NotebookLM to, help scaffold instructional material. Right. And that's like, I probably would have come to Gemini Chat for that. 

Yes. But makes so much more sense doing it in NotebookLM- Yeah ... so you can add all of your own sources and material and everything. Um, but yeah. Yeah. So I definitely just feel like it's like, hey, here are some different ways to think about using these, common tools that [00:03:00] you've, already have a baseline of familiarity and access to. 

Speaker 2: Yes. Yes, absolutely. Like even- Yeah ... with, NotebookLM, I feel like the first time I used it, it was just very base level. For my coaches out there, I love just plugging in my new district's information teachers' room numbers, schedules, things like that, so I could, quickly have a chat for that. 

But-  

Speaker: Yeah,  

Speaker 2: so you built- ... seeing, yeah. ... your  

Speaker: own personal assistant  

Speaker 2: very quickly. Yes. Yeah. It was... I was like, you know, this is beautiful, but there's so many new, add-ons that they have where you can just quickly make slides if you need something for a teacher, um, in the little studio they have in the NotebookLM. 

Speaker: Oh, yeah. And- The content creation- Ugh ... is insane- Like- ... in NotebookLM these days ...  

Speaker 2: I needed this 10 years ago, okay? I know. Like-  

Speaker: I know ...  

Speaker 2: I really did as a teacher. But there's so much that coaches and educators can use, so it's just super exciting to see this revolution of new things that are coming out.  

Speaker: I know. 

Yeah. I know. And speaking of the badges- we also have a team here, Forward EDGE, boots on the ground in the vendor hall. Yeah. Which is insane. If you've never been to ISTE, it's the biggest vendor hall that you've ever experienced.  

Speaker 2: [00:04:00] Yes.  

Speaker: You get out of breath just walking from one end- Ooh ... to the next. 

Speaker 2: I'm  

Speaker: getting my steps. Um, but yeah, so we have our EdgeU Badges team in there, and we have... We do hold the ISTE seal, so this is always kind of like our coming home party or homecoming or whatever, um, having that ISTE seal and getting to be with people who care about ISTE and the standards- Yes ... and the seal and all of that good stuff. 

So, we're out there just sharing our PD product with anybody who's ready to learn about it, I guess. Yes. Yeah.  

Speaker 2: I love it.  

Speaker: I know.  

Speaker 2: It's just a wonderful experience. If you've never been to ISTE, definitely recommend it for coaches, teachers. There's a whole community of everyone, from administrators all the way up, higher ed. 

Everything you can imagine here. Yeah. So.  

Speaker: And one thing I say is that a lot of times people say like, "Oh, my district won't pay for me to go," and I get it. Mm-hmm. Sometimes they won't. But a lot of times, just ask.  

Speaker 2: Yes.  

Speaker: Right? Like sometimes- Yeah, that's huge ... we don't even ask. Mm-hmm. So sometimes just ask. 

There's a good chance that there's some funding somewhere to send people- Yes ... to conferences. So even if it's not this one, um, definitely try to get out and, and network and [00:05:00] meet people and- Mm-hmm ... bring out- outside ideas in.  

Speaker 2: Yes. Absolutely.  

Speaker: Yeah.  

Speaker 2: Well, we're super excited to be here with you all, and we're gonna share some more of our experience as we're here at the conference live. 

And thank you all so much for tuning in to our episode. We'll have more for you very soon. 

Speaker 12: What's up, guys? It's your girl, Celine Thomas. We are here at the ISTE Conference, and we are in the Google AI Educator Series classroom. So giving you a behind-the-scenes at ISTE and what we've been kind of doing up here, uh, as a Google PD partner for Forward Edge. 

So it's been a beautiful time being able to walk through some of these amazing classroom tools with the new Google AI Educator Series and how people can earn these quick certifications so it's a very nice time. Let's kinda give us a tour here[00:06:00]  

So of course, we have the classroom set up here and lots of different chairs and things of that nature. Then we have the actual classroom here 

All these beautiful props so here's my POV throughout the conference. But yes, this is... What is this? My third ISTE with the company, so it's been a super exciting journey, and it's just a great time to be here amongst educators and being able to inspire them with new resources and tools. 

Um, as a fellow educator myself, um, it's just been a beautiful journey being able to not only be in the field of education, but also continue to work through it and help, teachers [00:07:00] learn how to use some of these new resources and tools . So thank you all so much for watching, and we'll see you in the next clip 

Oh, you watch out for the next 10 minutes I'd like to real quickly direct your attention over here to the guy with the best hair in all of Florida. How y'all doing this morning? Good last day of ISTE. Excited to have you here in our Google for Education room. We're gonna be taking you through a really wonderful demo to explain some of the micro-credentialing badges that ISTE and Gemiini are partnering with today. 

As we walk in, just like any type of school, we're gonna have a locker where you can put your stuff in there if you'd like. If not, you can hold onto it and we can head straight into the classroom, and I'm gonna show you what some of these badges are all about. Y'all ready to go? Yeah. Let's do it 

Follow [00:08:00] me 

Speaker 9: Beautiful. 

Speaker 8: Yes. Yes. Thanks.  

Speaker 9: And the team, off guards.  

Speaker 8: Team.  

Speaker 9: Just act natural.  

Speaker 8: Okay. I gotta  

Speaker 9: act natural. 

Speaker 17: Part of the aesthetic of, of- Yeah. All right. All right. You look good. Oh. Celine said I was cool. Actually, she said I looked cool. She did not say I was cool. That's a very different thing. 

 Okay, so in the booth we have been looking at the new tools that are coming to both the educator and the student experiences. So I'm really just showing how a student might use NotebookLM, but Alex and Ashley have been talking about the new and exciting releases that are coming to a student's Google Classroom experience, including Gemini in Classroom. 

So students are gonna have their own Gemini in Classroom tab, which is gonna let them utilize Gemini tools to personalize their study materials and [00:09:00] create class notebooks that are just pulling resources directly from their teacher's Google Classroom. So they can use the power of NotebookLM, but it's gonna be grounded in everything their teacher wants them to have. 

So some really exciting updates, uh, especially for students who wanna get more into Gemini 

Okay, I think the best thing that ended up getting packed was the, uh, throat lozenges. We need Jolly Ranchers . We need cough drops. That is- that's what my pockets are full of but a very successful ISTE 2026. Can't wait for next year 

It doesn't have to be perfect, like really casual. Just casual, like, "Hey guys," or, "Hey, Tyler here at the Google booth." Yeah. Okay. All right. Hey guys, it's Tyler here. Joined by my friend Matthaeus. Uh, we're at the Google booth. One of the things that I've been really encouraged by is how teachers are embracing, like, student-led AI experiences. 

So I think they've really gravitated to things like study notebooks, notebook LMS for students, uh, creative tools like Vids. So I really do think they wanna put the learning back in students' hands, so I've really enjoyed that. Matthaeus, what about you? I deeply enjoy talking to the other instructional coaches and hear how they're, [00:10:00] uh, talking with other teachers and making it much more acceptable and easier for teachers to bring in these kind of tools. 

I- it's just a great time to be around here 

Was it short enough for you? It was beautiful, Tyler. I'm very proud. Yes, thank you. Y'all are amazing. Appreciate it 

 wave. It's a presentation