CSTANJ CSPDWeek 2026

What if students didn’t just use AI—but directed it? In this hands-on session, educators will learn how to guide K–5 students in creating 3D-style characters and stories using simple, accessible AI tools. This approach blends creative writing, storytelling, and computer science in a way that’s engaging, developmentally appropriate, and aligned to NJSLS-CS standards. Participants will leave with a ready-to-use lesson they can implement right away.

AI is quickly becoming part of everyday life, and elementary students need early, meaningful experiences that help them understand how it works and how to use it responsibly. This session introduces a classroom-tested, “creative first” approach to AI literacy that makes complex ideas accessible for young learners.

Using a simple, structured workflow, participants will learn how students can use AI tools (text, image, and voice) to create 3D-style characters and short story scenes—connecting naturally to skills in writing, design, and computational thinking.

Throughout the session, we will focus on practical strategies teachers can bring directly into their classrooms, including:
Prompting as a process
Teaching students that prompts are clear, step-by-step instructions—helping build early understanding of algorithms and logical thinking

Storytelling through design
Supporting students in developing characters, settings, and narratives while using AI as a creative tool—not a replacement for thinking

Human-centered AI use
Helping students understand their role as the creator, with an emphasis on decision-making, ownership, and responsible use

This is a highly interactive session where participants will experience the lesson as learners, then reflect as educators. Time will be built in for discussion, adaptation across grade levels, and planning for classroom use.

Participants will leave with:
A ready-to-use lesson plan
A clear, repeatable workflow
Strategies for integrating AI into existing curriculum without needing advanced tech skills or materials"

This virtual two-session professional development helps K–12 educators integrate computer science (CS) into their existing curriculum through interactive storytelling and AI-supported lesson design. Teachers explore how students can create and share projects such as choose-your-own-adventure stories, escape room games, and app-style experiences that combine writing, visuals, audio, and interactivity to deepen content learning across subjects.

Educators begin by experiencing a student-facing project and then use the Elementari AI lesson generator to create a standards-aligned lesson tailored to their grade level, topic, and instructional time. Each lesson includes a structured student writing organizer, built-in scaffolds (such as sentence starters and word banks), and assessment tools to support multilingual learners and diverse student needs. In the second session, teachers test and refine their lessons through peer feedback. By the end they will leave with a tested, classroom-ready lesson and a free upgrade to use Elementari will all their students.

This virtual 2-day (6-hour) professional development helps K–12 educators integrate computer science (CS) and artificial intelligence (AI) into their existing curriculum through interactive, cross-curricular lesson design. Using Elementari, teachers design lessons where students create and publish projects that connect coding with writing, storytelling, and content learning. The focus is on making CS integration practical, accessible, and aligned to diverse student needs, including multilingual learners.
By the end of the PD, educators will create a tested, classroom-ready Elementari lesson. Each lesson includes a standards-aligned plan, a student writing organizer with built-in scaffolds (such as sentence starters and word banks), assessment tools, and a clear strategy for classroom implementation.

Session 1: Experience Learning and Generate a Classroom Lesson
Educators begin by working through a guided Elementari activity from a student perspective. This experience demonstrates how coding supports writing and storytelling while introducing key CS concepts such as sequencing, events, functions, interactivity, and debugging.
Participants then explore how students create interactive projects such as choose-your-own-adventure stories, escape room games, and app-style experiences. These projects combine writing and coding with built-in supports such as structured organizers, scaffolded prompts, illustration libraries, and options for recorded voiceovers, music, sound effects, and multiple story paths. They will also review a range of student published projects from multilingual learners to students with diverse needs to see how all students can succeed and express themselves through writing and coding.
In the second half of the session, educators transition from learner to designer. Using the Elementari AI lesson generator, they input their grade level, topic, and instructional time. The tool generates a complete lesson, including writing supports, organizers, assessment materials, and standards alignment.

Session 2: Test, Refine, and Plan for Implementation
Educators review and analyze their AI-generated lessons, focusing on clarity, alignment, and accessibility. They evaluate how effectively the lesson supports student writing, content learning, and differentiation, and identify areas for refinement.
Participants also examine how the AI lesson generator works, including prompting strategies, how structured lesson components are generated, and how to evaluate outputs for accuracy, bias, and alignment to instructional goals.
Through peer feedback and collaborative testing, educators revise their lessons and strengthen scaffolds, differentiation, and student supports. They also explore classroom strategies such as peer feedback routines, group roles, and collaborative structures.
The session concludes with implementation planning. Educators determine where the lesson fits within their curriculum, how it will be delivered, and how it will support their students. Teachers leave with a tested, classroom-ready lesson and a clear plan for implementation.

A half-day workshop designed to help teachers new to AI educator tools with prompting skills and other ways to support their workflow with AI.

In this workshop, teachers new to AI tools will have the chance to do some supported exploration of using both LLMs and RAGs to support them in their work. After learning about the difference between them, educators will try both for various purposes and compare the outputs. After that exploration time, educators will learn and practice different prompting techniques and end their time with creating something that can be useful to them in the classroom. Educators will also leave with experience in choosing specific tools for specific purposes.

A half-day workshop designed to help teachers new to AI educator tools with prompting skills and other ways to support their workflow with AI.

In this workshop, teachers new to AI tools will have the chance to do some supported exploration of using both LLMs and RAGs to support them in their work. After learning about the difference between them, educators will try both for various purposes and compare the outputs. After that exploration time, educators will learn and practice different prompting techniques and end their time with creating something that can be useful to them in the classroom. Educators will also leave with experience in choosing specific tools for specific purposes.

This PD will engage teachers in instructional strategies and practices designed to remove barriers to learning AI literacy, with an emphasis on learners with disabilities. This professional development was designed through funds from Google to research and disseminate best practices for all learners in K-12 AI education.

This workshop provides K-12 educators with an examination and implementation of strategies, including Universal Design for Learning and High Leverage Practices. Our goal is to help both general and special education teachers build classrooms that embrace all of their learners. Join us as we dive into effective instructional strategies so that all your learners will find success!

This is the workshop for you if:

• You are a K-12 general, computer science or special education teacher. 
• You want to learn more about Universal Design for Learning and High Leverage Practices. 
• You are interested in learning about the meaningful inclusion of all students in CS and AI education, including those with disabilities.

This is a two-part workshop, part 2 is on August 5; 9am - 4pm. You must attend both days.

What does a community need, and who gets to decide? In this hands-on, modular workshop, educators experience a full cross-curricular PBL arc anchored in the design of a community civic center. We start with a tech-free engineering and civics challenge, then layer in CAD-style design tools and coding to create a digital version, and finally explore a wide range of ways to extend the project into math, literacy, social studies, and technology based on your teaching goals and classroom context. You will leave with a replicable PBL framework, ready-to-use tools, and a cardboard civic center of your own design.

"In this highly interactive, modular workshop, educators experience a rich cross-curricular project-based learning journey anchored in a question that is as civic as it is creative: what should a community civic center include, and how do you design a space that serves everyone? The session is grounded in research-informed pedagogy drawing on constructivist learning theory, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and the science of learning, and is structured around the principle that the most powerful learning experiences are those in which students are not just recipients of knowledge but active co-designers of their own understanding.

The workshop is built on a low-floor, high-ceiling, wide-walls framework: every entry point is accessible regardless of prior
knowledge or skill, every learner can contribute meaningfully and authentically from the start, and the ceiling for depth, creativity, and complexity is open. This is not an accident of design, it is the design. Research in learning science consistently demonstrates that tasks structured to invite agency, collaboration, and co-design produce stronger intrinsic motivation, more durable learning, and greater transfer than tasks with a single correct path or outcome.

The session is also intentionally scaffolded to build educator capacity alongside student outcomes. Each segment is structured so that participants experience the activity first as learners, then step back to examine the instructional decisions embedded in what they just did, the sequencing, the constraints, the choice points, and the ways the task was designed to be accessible to all while remaining challenging for each. This reflective, dual-lens approach is grounded in findings from professional development research suggesting that teachers who experience high-quality, learner-centered instruction firsthand are measurably more likely to implement it with confidence, consistency, and fidelity in their own classrooms.

The first forty-five minutes are intentionally tech-free. Participants engage in a fast-paced, team-based engineering and civic design challenge using simple materials to research, plan, and prototype a community civic center. Grounded in civics, the engineering design process, and spatial reasoning, this challenge asks participants to think simultaneously like community members and designers, considering who uses the space, what the community needs, and how a building's layout and features reflect values and priorities. The challenge is structured to manage cognitive load deliberately,
introducing information and constraints progressively so that learners can engage deeply at every stage without becoming overwhelmed a principle drawn directly from the Cognitive Load Theory and its applications in project-based and maker-centered learning environments. Because the task is open-ended by design, every participant, regardless of learning profile, background knowledge, or unique skill set can find a meaningful role and co-design a solution that reflects their individual strengths. Woven throughout the build are authentic connections to the wide range of careers involved in designing and running a civic space, from architects and civil engineers to city planners, accessibility specialists, and community advocates, making this a natural entry point for career awareness alongside engineering and social studies standards.

The second forty-five minutes shift into technology integration, exploring how the same civic center design challenge can be extended using CAD-style design tools and coding to create a digital version of the building. This transition from physical to digital prototyping functions as a natural cognitive scaffold, students arrive at the technology already grounded in the core concepts, which frees working memory to focus on acquiring new digital skills rather than processing new ideas from scratch. Participants are introduced to accessible, classroom-ready tools that allow students to translate their
physical prototypes into digital blueprints, connecting computational thinking, digital design, and engineering in a cohesive and meaningful learning arc. The potential for 3D printing is also explored, deepening students' understanding of iterative design and the relationship between physical making and digital fabrication in real-world professional contexts.

The third segment opens into a broad exploration of cross-curricular extension pathways, giving educators a clear and flexible framework for making this project their own. We model how the civic center PBL experience can reach into financial literacy through calculating construction costs and budgeting for community spaces, into geometry through scale, measurement, floor plan design, and area calculations, into digital literacy and communication through presentation tools like ChatterPix, Book Creator, stop motion animation, and Canva, and into persuasive writing and civic voice through the proposals and community pitches students create to justify their design choices. These extensions are not add-ons, they are natural, standards-aligned entry points that reflect the wide-walls design of the project and allow teachers to connect a deeply engaging, hands-on experience to the academic goals already living in their curriculum. The modularity of the framework ensures that a second-grade teacher and a seventh-grade social studies teacher can both find an entry point that is authentic, rigorous, and right-sized for their students.

The session closes with an open Q&A where participants can explore implementation questions, share ideas across grade levels and content areas, and think through how the framework applies to their specific teaching context. Participants will leave with ready-to-use activities, a replicable cross-curricular PBL framework, and practical strategies for facilitating student-centered, hands-on learning that is both deeply engaging and academically rigorous. Most importantly, they will leave with the confidence that meaningful, community-connected learning does not require a perfectly equipped makerspace, it requires a good question, a sense of civic purpose, and the belief that every student, regardless of background, ability, or experience has something.

A hands-on look at how teachers can use Apple Intelligence to reclaim hours lost to planning, grading, and email each week.

Ever finish a school day and wonder where it went? Between planning, grading, and emails home, teachers are stretched thin. In this session, I'll share how I use Apple Intelligence Writing Tools, Siri, and Notes to claw back time during the week. Bring your iPad and follow along.

Everything we hear today seems to be about Artificial Intelligence. Lucky for us, AI is a field of study within CS which means computer science is a great place to start teaching AI Literacy! But, we often don't have time to even include CS in our classroom as much as we would like. What can we do? Integration is the answer! This session will provide educators with hands-on lesson ideas and approaches to integrate CS & AI Literacy into math, science, and social studies starting with our youngest students. 

Spark Creativity with Digital Storytelling in ScratchJr!
Transform your students from passive screen users into creative digital authors! In this hands-on session, we’ll explore how the intuitive, block-based world of ScratchJr empowers even the youngest learners to design their own interactive stories and animations. More than just a coding tool, ScratchJr serves as a powerful medium for self-expression. We will dive into practical strategies for cross-curricular integration, showing you how to bridge CS with literacy, social studies, and the arts. You’ll learn how to scaffold projects to ensure inclusive teaching for all learning profiles and discover how project-based learning (PBL) can turn a simple coding lesson into a meaningful classroom journey.

In this session, you will:
Create Your First Project: Master the basics of block-based sequencing, loops, and triggered events.
Bridge to Literacy: See how digital storytelling reinforces sequencing, character development, and narrative structure.
Go Beyond the Screen: Learn "unplugged" prep activities that help students plan their stories before they ever touch a tablet.
Get Resource-Ready: Gain instant access to hundreds of free, classroom-ready resources, templates, and lesson prompts to use on Monday.

Whether you are a coding novice or a tech-savvy educator, you’ll leave with the confidence to help your students animate their imaginations!

This session introduces the integration of AI-powered tools such as MagicSchool AI, Canva, Adobe tools, and Brisk Teaching into elementary classrooms to support both teachers and students. These tools can streamline lesson planning, enhance creativity, and provide personalized learning experiences.

Technology has rapidly evolved in recent years, with artificial intelligence becoming more accessible and practical in everyday education. Tools like MagicSchool AI, Canva, Adobe applications (such as Adobe Express), and Brisk Teaching are designed specifically to support educators and enhance student learning.The purpose of this proposal is to:
equip teachers with AI tools that reduce workload and improve instructional quality, provide students with interactive and creative learning experiences, introduce age-appropriate AI literacy skills, prepare students for a future where AI is a common part of daily life.

This is a repeat of the in-person An AI trip on the Magic School Bus (Intro)

Attend Part 2 on August 4th 2:00 - 4:00 PM.

An overview of JuiceMind's AP Cybersecurity, including course structure and classroom implementation.

The session introduces JuiceMind's AP Cybersecurity curriculum aligned with College Board standards and designed to help teachers teach real-world security concepts in an engaging way. As cybersecurity continues to grow in importance within computer science education, teachers need resources that are both structured and flexible enough to fit different student needs.

The session will include an overview of how the curriculum is structured, including editable lessons, built-in assessments, and exercises. We’ll also walkthrough how teachers can easily track student progress, give feedback, manage student work without jumping between multiple tools and prevent cheating to maintain classroom integrity. The goal of the session is for teachers to have a clear sense of how the curriculum can support both effective teaching and strong student engagement in AP Cybersecurity.

This course will introduce learners who have little to no text-based programming knowledge to java syntax and concepts via a hands-on workshop. Topics include the history of java, the structure of a java program, basic syntax, primitive data types, mathematical operators. Conditional expressions and loops may be introduced as time permits. The goal is to create confident novice java programmers!

New standards...let's make sense of them together! I'll show you ready made lessons for you to incorporate this year.

There are so many resources online with full lessons and all the works out there. We will spend time making sense of the new cybersecurity standards. Then we'll work through lessons available that will help our students master these standards. You will be ready for September in no time!

This workshop provides actionable plans and encourages CS teachers to embrace counselor collaborations for a diverse, thriving CS Program. Explore the transformative role of school counselors in shaping CS education. Dive into collaborative strategies, understand counselors’ impact, and share unique educator challenges.

As the workforce landscape becomes more digital, Computer Science skills are a requirement of modern education. Yet achieving a representative and continually growing student body in CS programs remains a challenge for many educators. This workshop addresses a pivotal element that can change the trajectory of CS education: the critical role of school counselors in students' decision making process.

School Counselors serve as a guiding force for students’ academic and post-secondary choices. Counselors have the platform to bridge the gap between students’ ambitions and the pathways that can lead them to fulfilling tech-driven futures. Counselors are the ideal allies to expanding CS education. This workshop aims to spotlight the importance of a CS teacher and school counselor relationship providing best practices and discussions on how to strengthen this partnership.

Key Takeaways
Delve into practical strategies and best practices to create meaningful collaboration between CS educators and school counselors, ensuring a meaningful approach to increasing student engagement.
Deepen educators' understanding of how school counselors can directly and indirectly influence students’ gravitation towards CS, and why their involvement is crucial for a well-rounded CS program.

Participants will engage in discussions providing a platform where educators can share their unique challenges and success stories. These dialogues offer best practices, anecdotes, and insights from lived experiences.

Participants will be encouraged to move from identifying challenges to crafting solutions tailored for individual school environments. Attendees will analyze barriers, spotlight opportunities, and formulate diverse plans to solidify the CS-counselor partnership.

Launch your computer science journey for you and your students. We will focus on the essential first steps: setting up your educator account, creating student rosters, and navigating the Experience CS Code Editor. You’ll walk through a "Day 1" lesson to see how the platform's integrated tutorials support students in real-time, allowing you to facilitate with ease. Leave this session with a fully configured classroom and the tools to start coding immediately.

Experience CS offers a robust, school-safe environment for integrating computer science across the K-12 spectrum. This session provides a technical and pedagogical "jumpstart" for educators. We will begin with the Teacher Dashboard, demonstrating how to manage classes and monitor student progress without the need for external software. Participants will then engage in a hands-on introductory module within the platform’s built-in code editor, exploring how to utilize pre-built starter projects and teacher guides. By the end of the hour, you will understand the platform’s workflow and have your digital classroom ready for student login.

This session is Part 2 and will dive deeper into the integration of AI-powered tools such as MagicSchool AI, Canva, Adobe tools, and Brisk Teaching into elementary classrooms to support both teachers and students. These tools can streamline lesson planning, enhance creativity, and provide personalized learning experiences.

Technology has rapidly evolved in recent years, with artificial intelligence becoming more accessible and practical in everyday education. Tools like MagicSchool AI, Canva, Adobe applications (such as Adobe Express), and Brisk Teaching are designed specifically to support educators and enhance student learning.The purpose of this proposal is to:
equip teachers with AI tools that reduce workload and improve instructional quality, provide students with interactive and creative learning experiences, introduce age-appropriate AI literacy skills, prepare students for a future where AI is a common part of daily life.

This is a Part 2 of An AI trip on the Magic School Bus (Intro), you should have attended Part 1 on August 3 or August 4th 1:00 - 2:00 PM.

What does the typical zoo experience look like and what could it become? In this hands-
on, modular workshop, educators experience a full cross-curricular PBL arc from the
ground up. Start with a tech-free design sprint as teams use simple machines to
engineer solutions to a variety of unique challenges in animal enclosures at a
community zoo, then layer in CAD-style design tools and coding to construct a digital
version of the final zoo design. Finally, we’ll explore a wide range of ways to extend the
project into math, literacy, science, and technology based on your teaching goals and
classroom context. You will leave with a replicable PBL framework, ready-to-use tools, a
wide range of ideas on how to any PBL experience into your classroom in a meaningful
and impactful way.

In this highly interactive, modular workshop, educators experience a rich cross-
curricular project-based learning journey anchored in the design and reimagining of a
community zoo. The session is grounded in research-informed pedagogy. Drawing on
constructivist learning theory, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and the science of
learning, This session is structured to honor the reality that meaningful learning
happens when students are active participants in the design of their own experience.
The workshop is built around a low-floor, high-ceiling, wide-walls framework: every entry
point is accessible, every learner can contribute meaningfully from the start, and the
depth of exploration is limited only by curiosity. This design is intentional. Research
consistently shows that open-ended, maker-centered tasks that invite co-design and
student agency produce stronger engagement, deeper conceptual understanding, and
greater retention than prescriptive, single-pathway instruction.

The session is also scaffolded explicitly to build educator capacity, not just student
outcomes. Each segment of this workshop is structured so that teachers experience the
activity as a learner first, then step back to examine the instructional design choices
embedded in what they just did. This dual lens, learner and designer, is central to the
workshop's pedagogical approach and reflects findings from teacher professional
development research suggesting that educators who experience high-quality PBL
firsthand are significantly more likely to implement it with fidelity and confidence in their
own classrooms.

The first forty-five minutes are intentionally tech-free. Participants engage in a fast-
paced, team-based engineering challenge using simple materials to design and build
enclosures for five different animals at a community zoo. Grounded in life science, the
engineering design process, and 3D spatial reasoning, this challenge asks participants
to think carefully about each animal's biological needs, behavioral patterns, and habitat
requirements as they prototype their designs. The structure of the challenge is
deliberately designed to manage cognitive load, introducing constraints and information
progressively so that participants can engage deeply without becoming overwhelmed, a
principle supported by the Cognitive Load Theory and its applications in STEM
education. Because the task is open-ended by design, every participant regardless of
prior knowledge, learning profile, or skill set, can contribute authentically and co-design
a solution that reflects their unique strengths. Woven throughout the build are natural,
authentic connections to the wide diversity of careers found at a real zoo, from animal
nutritionists and enclosure engineers to educators, veterinarians, and gift shop
managers, making this a powerful entry point for career awareness and community
connection alongside science and engineering standards.

The second forty-five minutes shift into technology integration, exploring how the same
zoo design challenge can be extended using CAD-style design tools and coding to
create a digital version of the zoo. This transition from physical to digital prototyping is a
natural scaffold, students arrive at the technology with conceptual grounding already in
place, reducing extraneous cognitive load and allowing working memory to focus on
new skills rather than new concepts. Participants are introduced to accessible,
classroom-ready tools that allow students to translate their physical prototypes into
digital blueprints, bringing together computational thinking, digital design, and
engineering in a cohesive learning arc. The potential for 3D printing is also explored,
connecting the physical and digital design processes in a way that deepens student
understanding of iterative design and real-world engineering workflows.

The third segment of the workshop opens into a broad exploration of cross-curricular
extension pathways, giving educators a clear and practical framework for making this,
and any other pbl experience project their own. We model how the zoo PBL experience
can reach into financial literacy through calculating the cost to build each enclosure, into
geometry through scale, measurement, and spatial design, into digital literacy and
communication through presentation tools like ChatterPix, Book Creator, stop motion
animation, and Canva, and into storytelling and descriptive writing through the
narratives students build around their animal characters and zoo designs. These
extensions are not add-ons, they are natural, standards-aligned entry points that reflect
the wide-walls design of pbl and allow teachers to connect a deeply engaging hands-on
experience to the core academic goals already living in their curriculum. The modularity
of the framework means that a kindergarten teacher and a seventh-grade science
teacher can both find an entry point that is authentic to their context, their students, and
their goals.

The session closes with an open Q&A where participants can dig into implementation
questions, share ideas, and think through how the framework applies to their specific
teaching context. Participants will leave with ready-to-use activities, a replicable cross-
curricular PBL framework, and practical strategies for facilitating student-centered,
hands-on learning that meets every learner where they are. Most importantly, they will
leave with the confidence that deep, meaningful, cross-curricular learning does not
require a perfectly equipped makerspace — it requires a good question, a cardboard
box, and a willingness to let students build something worth being proud of.

This virtual two-session professional development helps K–12 educators integrate computer science (CS) into their existing curriculum through interactive storytelling and AI-supported lesson design. Teachers explore how students can create and share projects such as choose-your-own-adventure stories, escape room games, and app-style experiences that combine writing, visuals, audio, and interactivity to deepen content learning across subjects.

Educators begin by experiencing a student-facing project and then use the Elementari AI lesson generator to create a standards-aligned lesson tailored to their grade level, topic, and instructional time. Each lesson includes a structured student writing organizer, built-in scaffolds (such as sentence starters and word banks), and assessment tools to support multilingual learners and diverse student needs. In the second session, teachers test and refine their lessons through peer feedback. By the end they will leave with a tested, classroom-ready lesson and a free upgrade to use Elementari will all their students.

This virtual 2-day (6-hour) professional development helps K–12 educators integrate computer science (CS) and artificial intelligence (AI) into their existing curriculum through interactive, cross-curricular lesson design. Using Elementari, teachers design lessons where students create and publish projects that connect coding with writing, storytelling, and content learning. The focus is on making CS integration practical, accessible, and aligned to diverse student needs, including multilingual learners.

By the end of the PD, educators will create a tested, classroom-ready Elementari lesson. Each lesson includes a standards-aligned plan, a student writing organizer with built-in scaffolds (such as sentence starters and word banks), assessment tools, and a clear strategy for classroom implementation.

Session 1: Experience Learning and Generate a Classroom Lesson
Educators begin by working through a guided Elementari activity from a student perspective. This experience demonstrates how coding supports writing and storytelling while introducing key CS concepts such as sequencing, events, functions, interactivity, and debugging.

Participants then explore how students create interactive projects such as choose-your-own-adventure stories, escape room games, and app-style experiences. These projects combine writing and coding with built-in supports such as structured organizers, scaffolded prompts, illustration libraries, and options for recorded voiceovers, music, sound effects, and multiple story paths. They will also review a range of student published projects from multilingual learners to students with diverse needs to see how all students can succeed and express themselves through writing and coding.
In the second half of the session, educators transition from learner to designer. Using the Elementari AI lesson generator, they input their grade level, topic, and instructional time. The tool generates a complete lesson, including writing supports, organizers, assessment materials, and standards alignment.

Session 2: Test, Refine, and Plan for Implementation
Educators review and analyze their AI-generated lessons, focusing on clarity, alignment, and accessibility. They evaluate how effectively the lesson supports student writing, content learning, and differentiation, and identify areas for refinement.
Participants also examine how the AI lesson generator works, including prompting strategies, how structured lesson components are generated, and how to evaluate outputs for accuracy, bias, and alignment to instructional goals.
Through peer feedback and collaborative testing, educators revise their lessons and strengthen scaffolds, differentiation, and student supports. They also explore classroom strategies such as peer feedback routines, group roles, and collaborative structures.

The session concludes with implementation planning. Educators determine where the lesson fits within their curriculum, how it will be delivered, and how it will support their students. Teachers leave with a tested, classroom-ready lesson and a clear plan for implementation.

This is part 2 of a two part session you must attend part 1 to attend part 2.

Educators design hands-on projects that integrate AI within the Deeper Learning framework, building students’ 21st-century skills and readiness for an AI-enabled world.

Participants will explore ways to create rich, deeper learning experiences with and without student AI use, designing protocols to guide the use of AI and assessments of student learning. The workshop will feature time for individual and collaborative planning as well as opportunities for feedback on and revision of ideas and plans.

Educators design hands-on projects that integrate AI within the Deeper Learning framework, building students’ 21st-century skills and readiness for an AI-enabled world.

Participants will explore ways to create rich, deeper learning experiences with and without student AI use, designing protocols to guide the use of AI and assessments of student learning. The workshop will feature time for individual and collaborative planning as well as opportunities for feedback on and revision of ideas and plans.

Educators design hands-on projects that integrate AI within the Deeper Learning framework, building students’ 21st-century skills and readiness for an AI-enabled world.

Participants will explore ways to create rich, deeper learning experiences with and without student AI use, designing protocols to guide the use of AI and assessments of student learning. The workshop will feature time for individual and collaborative planning as well as opportunities for feedback on and revision of ideas and plans.

This PD will engage teachers in instructional strategies and practices designed to remove barriers to learning AI literacy, with an emphasis on learners with disabilities. This professional development was designed through funds from Google to research and disseminate best practices for all learners in K-12 AI education.
This workshop provides K-12 educators with an examination and implementation of strategies, including Universal Design for Learning and High Leverage Practices. Our goal is to help both general and special education teachers build classrooms that embrace all of their learners. Join us as we dive into effective instructional strategies so that all your learners will find success!

This is the workshop for you if:

• You are a K-12 general, computer science or special education teacher. 
• You want to learn more about Universal Design for Learning and High Leverage Practices. 
• You are interested in learning about the meaningful inclusion of all students in CS and AI education, including those with disabilities.
• This is Part 2 of a 2 Part workshop. You must attend Part 1 to attend Part 2.

Unlock the Power of Play: Game Design in ScratchJr!

Turn your students into game designers! In this hands-on session, you’ll discover how young learners can build their own interactive games using simple, block-based coding. We’ll explore essential game mechanics, strategies to support diverse learners, and easy ways to integrate coding across your existing curriculum.

What you’ll get:
Practical Skills: Master basic game logic like triggers and sequencing.
Inclusive Strategies: Tools to ensure every student can design and play.
Ready-to-Use Resources: Walk away with free lesson plans and project ideas to kick-start game design in your classroom immediately.

Hackathons are an educational tool, because not only does a problem get identified but the solution to the problem is often one that requires vast research. When the solution is implemented using student interest, it can provide the community with awareness to the problem posed and the solution created.

Running a Hackathon may sound overwhelming, especially if one has not been run in your school before. This workshop will provide you with details and guidelines necessary to run a hackathon in your school. Hackathons are an educational tool, if implemented using student interest and community problems can be very effective in educations attendees on solving problems using computer science. Hackathons should be passion driven, propose a solution to a problem in the community and educate the community members on the problem and proposed solution. From this workshop, you will gain knowledge on how to create, implement and improve a hackathon in your school.

AI can be a powerful partner for both teachers and students. For teachers, it reduces workload and enhances planning. For students, it opens up personalized, engaging ways to learn. When used responsibly, AI strengthens, not replaces, the human connection at the heart of education.

This session will guide teachers through the integration of AI in the elementary classroom. The strategy must move away from ""adding one more thing"" and toward seamless infusion.

Both the teacher side and student side of Ai will be explored as well as the guardrails necessary for our younger students. Classroom examples will be shared and there will be hands on demonstration for each topic addressed.

Following this session, educators teaching Kindergarten through second grade will be instructed on how to input student information into the Computales dashboard and monitor student progress within this complimentary curriculum designed to reinforce reading skills through computer science concepts.

Introduce your students to the foundational concepts of computational thinking and digital literacy through an engaging, standards-aligned curriculum. Join Martin and his friends as they explore Computer Land, where each chapter offers meaningful activities designed to strengthen computational reasoning and enhance literacy skills. Developed for students in Kindergarten through second grade, CompuTales is designed to complement your current reading instruction while fostering essential skills that lay the groundwork for future learning in coding and computer science.

In this CSTA-accredited session, students transition from being tech consumers to creators by building an AI-powered art generator.

The lesson emphasizes how data is used to inform machine learning models, which then execute creative tasks.

Key Learning Objectives
Machine Learning Basics: Students learn how to collect and categorize data to train a simple machine learning model.

Algorithmic Design: Using loops, conditionals, and variables, participants design algorithms that generate unique "dot art" based on user input or data sets.

Hands-on Creation: The primary project is an automated art generator that selects and applies colors to create digital works, demonstrating the intersection of creativity and technical building blocks.

Implementation and AccessibilityTarget Audience: The lesson is tailored for students in grades 3–12 and can be completed independently or as a classroom activity.

No Prior Experience Needed: Educators can lead this workshop without a computer science background, as Code/Art provides structured professional development and support for its introductory modules.

Let's dive deeper into the Experience CS curriculum! We will explore advanced lesson facilitation, strategies for student debugging, and how to use the platform’s unique assets to create cross-curricular connections. This session remains strictly within the Experience CS ecosystem, ensuring you master the tools and content libraries specifically available to your students.

This session is designed for educators who are comfortable with the Experience CS interface and are ready to enhance their instructional practice. We will analyze the Experience CS pedagogical framework, focusing on how to facilitate "Low Floor, High Ceiling" activities that allow students to personalize their projects. Participants will practice Collaborative Debugging strategies using the platform’s editor and explore how to align specific Experience CS modules with core subject standards. We will conclude with a deep dive into the platform's asset library to help students move beyond basic tutorials toward original, creative expression—all while staying within the secure Experience CS environment.

Unlock strategies for integrating literacy, Computer Science (CS), and AI literacy in the elementary classroom. Focusing primarily on PreK-3, this session will provide educators with hands-on lesson ideas, adaptable resources, and practical techniques to authentically connect ELA and CS, including AI, using storytelling and books. This approach helps to promote student interest and guides them to apply new cognitive skills across domains. Leave with a recommended book list and lessons you can start implementing now!

2026 CSTA Standards for 9-12 CTE & Specialty Pathways
The 2026 CSTA Standards introduce rigorous new benchmarks specifically designed for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and advanced specialty pathways. This session dives deep into the high school standards, focusing on how the new framework aligns with industry-recognized credentials and the technical demands of specialized CS tracks.

We will explore the updated requirements for Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Software Engineering, providing a clear roadmap for instructors to bridge the gap between classroom instruction and professional workforce readiness.

Session Focus:
CTE Integration: Mapping the 2026 standards to existing CTE frameworks and industry certifications.

Specialty Standards: Breaking down the advanced concepts in AI, data science, and security required for 9-12 capstone courses.

Workforce Readiness: Leveraging the new "human-centered design" pillars to prepare students for modern technical roles.

Curriculum Crosswalking: Practical strategies for updating specialized syllabi to meet the elevated 2026 technical expectations.

After nearly a decade, the CSTA PK-12 Computer Science Standards have been fully reimagined for 2026. This session breaks down the critical shifts in the new framework, including the seamless integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), updated cybersecurity expectations, and a renewed focus on human-centered design and ethics. Whether you are aligning a district-wide curriculum or updating a single course, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of the new learning objectives and practical strategies to meet these evidence-based benchmarks in your PreK-12 classroom.

Seesaw offers an expert-designed, all-in-one solution for teaching elementary computer science with confidence. It provides ready-to-use lessons, pacing guides, and professional development, along with engaging instructional content, meaningful practice activities, and assessments that track student growth in problem-solving and computational thinking.

This session explores how Seesaw supports confident, high-quality elementary computer science instruction through an expert-designed, all-in-one approach. Participants will discover how to leverage built-in scope and sequences, lesson plans, pacing guides, and professional development to effectively plan and deliver instruction. The session will highlight engaging instructional tools, including videos, interactive texts, and discussion prompts that deepen student understanding. Attendees will also learn how students apply their knowledge through cross-curricular, real-world activities, and how built-in assessments provide valuable insights into growth in problem-solving and computational thinking.

What if every student had a “Design Thinking Buddy” to guide them through coding, debugging, and creative problem solving? This hands-on session explores how student-facing AI agents—customized for CS classrooms—can scaffold design thinking, UDL, and inclusive CS practices for diverse learners.

Participants will experiment with an AI Coding Buddy, learn core prompt‑engineering strategies, and explore adaptable templates for building their own classroom bots using platforms such as Flint, MagicSchool, SchoolAI, Gemini, ChatGPT, Canva AI, Makers Empire, Coding Makers, Tinkercad, or Qweebi.

Through open-ended challenges and reflection, we’ll examine how AI supports English learners, reluctant writers, and neurodiverse students while strengthening confidence and independence in CS.

Attendees will leave with practical integration strategies, alignment to CSTA and UDL frameworks, and ready-to-use resources for launching their own Design Thinking Buddy in any grade level.

This Intermediate Java workshop is designed for learners who have completed the Java for Teachers course or who have basic experience with the Java programming language, including declaring variables, printing to output, writing conditional statements, and using loops. To build on this foundation, learners will be introduced to key object-oriented programming concepts in Java, such as using objects as data types, understanding the structure of a class, writing and calling instance methods, and—time permitting—basic inheritance.

Planting Ideas is a workshop designed for educators interested in agricultural, computer science and design thinking who want to bring real-world relevance in the classrooms. Using an agricultural-based innovative challenge as the anchor, this session models how authentic problems/topics can spark computational thinking, creativity and design. Teachers will walk away with lessons that include literature, videos and additional resources which are all adaptable. These are classroom ready resources that help students grow from curious thinkers into inventive problem solvers.

In this workshop, educators will explore how real-world agricultural challenges-adapted from the National Agriculture in the Classroom site are met in the classroom setting . This platform can be a powerful launchpad for computer science and design thinking as well as teaching agricultural concepts in the classroom.

Participants will engage in exploring activities that model the full design cycle: identifying authentic problems, analyzing constraints, brainstorming and creating solutions. Teachers can connect these experiences to core CS practices.

You will leave with classroom ready strategies, adaptable project prompts, and cross curricular ideas that help students apply CS and design thinking to meaningful, real-world contexts. Whether you teach in a classroom, computer science, STEAM or designed based topics, this session will help you cultivate a learning environment where ideas take root and grow.

This session will be a review of Day of AI's new curriculum unit Changing the Game: Using AI Fairly and Responsibly in Sports.

In this session, participants will hear an overview of Day of AI's new curriculum unit Changing the Game: Using AI Fairly and Responsibly in Sports. Changing the Game is a 5-lesson unit designed for middle school and high school students. Students will have a chance to experience some of the activities as learners, review the materials, and ask questions.

An introduction to JuiceMind’s AI creator, including how teachers can instantly generate content using a prompt or by uploading a PDF/Google link.

The session introduces JuiceMind’s AI Creator, a new tool designed to help teachers generate classroom-ready content in seconds using a prompt, PDF, or Google link. As teachers continue to balance planning, instruction, assessment, and differentiation, JuiceMind's AI Creator provides a faster way to create teaching materials while still giving teachers control over the final content.

The session will include an overview of how teachers can use AI Creator to generate assignments, lessons, reviews, assessments, and JuiceMind Quizzes. We’ll also walk through how teachers can create content aligned with state-specific standards. The goal of the session is for teachers to understand how AI Creator can help save time, support classroom instruction, and make it easier to create engaging learning materials for students.

Discover empowering digital tools and activities for elementary students to learn more about people’s relationship to the natural environment and ways to work toward a healthy planet. Raise environmental literacy and hone STEM skills while participating in simulations on natural resource use, wildlife habitats and more. Receive resources aligned with New Jersey Student Standards for Science, Mathematics, Social Studies and Computer Science.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming how we collect, analyze, and act on data—but how do we translate this into meaningful classroom experiences?

In this interactive session, participants will explore practical strategies for integrating AI into Data Science instruction using real-world datasets and accessible classroom tools. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming how we collect, analyze, and act on data—but how do we translate this into meaningful classroom experiences?

In this interactive session, participants will explore practical strategies for integrating AI into Data Science instruction using real-world datasets and accessible classroom tools. Drawing from my immersive experience at the University of New Mexico, diving into Data Science + AI with Bootstrap as the sponsor (June 22nd-27th, 2026), this session highlights how educators can move beyond theory and empower students to:
1. Analyze real datasets using AI-supported tools
2. Identify patterns, trends, and anomalies
3. Make ethical, data-driven decisions
4. Understand bias, limitations, and responsible AI use
5. Participants will leave with ready-to-use lesson ideas, student project frameworks, and tools that support equitable and engaging AI learning experiences aligned to CSTA standards.

In this breakout session, participants will explore how GASHA GO! World, an interactive suite of K–2 games, videos, and classroom resources from Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Georgia Department of Education, introduces young learners to the foundations of computational thinking through play. This session highlights how storytelling and literacy connections make computer science concepts accessible and engaging for early elementary students. Attendees will receive free resources, classroom integration ideas, and strategies to support creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

This beginner friendly PD introduces Canva’s AI coding tools for creating interactive classroom experiences. Learn how to use simple text prompts to design engaging activities, add elements of gamification, and bring creativity into your lessons no coding required.

In this beginner friendly session, I will introduce educators to Canva’s AI coding tools and how they can be used to create interactive and engaging classroom experiences without any prior coding knowledge. This session is designed to help teachers feel comfortable exploring AI in a way that is approachable, creative, and directly connected to their classroom needs.

We will begin by exploring what Canva’s AI tools can do and how simple text prompts can be used to generate interactive learning activities. I will model how to create classroom ready materials such as interactive lessons, simple apps, and engaging visual content that can be used across grade levels and subject areas.

Throughout the session, teachers will actively participate in hands on exploration, using Canva to design their own interactive activities. We will focus on creating experiences that promote student engagement, creativity, and participation, while also looking at ways to incorporate elements of gamification to make learning more fun and meaningful.

I will also share strategies for integrating these tools into existing lessons so that AI enhances instruction rather than feeling like an added task. Teachers will have time to think about how these tools can support their current curriculum and meet the needs of their students.

By the end of the session, participants will leave with practical examples, classroom-ready ideas, and the confidence to begin using Canva’s AI tools to create interactive, student-centered learning experiences.

This interactive keynote (90 min.) explores the intersection of AI and our values as educators.

Pushing against narratives of AI's "speed," "efficiency," and "optimization," in the classroom, this session creates space for participants to slow down, reflect, and discuss the values that truly drive our teaching. Engaging with the Analog Inspiration card deck, participants will explore how to center human values, skills, and concerns when integrating AI, preventing its misuse, and navigating difficult AI-related scenarios. The session will provide practical strategies for building trust with students, disincentivizing academic misconduct, and designing AI-integrated assignments that put learning at the center.

💻CSPDWeek NJ 2026: Virtual Wrap-Up & Celebration! 🎊

Don’t sign off just yet! Stick around immediately following Carter Moulton’s Keynote for our official virtual grand finale. We’re closing out our sixth annual NJ CSPDWeek by celebrating the incredible "AI-ready" foundations you’ve built all week long.

What to Expect:
The Victory Lap: A high-energy recap of our best moments and breakthroughs from across the Garden State.
Next Steps: Quick, clear instructions on how to access your 2026-27 PD resources and stay connected with your new CS network.
Stipend Essentials: You will receive a post-conference survey via email. Please note that this survey must be completed to qualify for your $900 stipend!
The Launch: We’ll send you off inspired and ready to bring inclusive, cutting-edge CS to your students this fall.

Let’s end the week on a high note together—see you in the main virtual room!