Inspiring, Practical, and Actionable: InterfacXpo26 Highlights & AI Blueprints

July 30, 20262 min read

Although the interface conference might seem like a long time ago, the follow-up events subsequent to it have continued to grow. Our focus on People, Protocols, Pedagogy and (AI) Tools resonated well with the audiences in Christchurch, Rotorua and Auckland.

After writing 30 individual AI blueprint reports for schools, we engaged with these schools and followed up on many of the suggested actions.

In addition to that, we supported many schools by making sure that they had the correct licences set up in the correct way.

On top of that, 3 lucky teachers won ASUS Chromebooks, which they are now using in their classrooms with tools like Class Tools. There is much more accountability, creativity, and focus from the students who are using Chromebooks in their classrooms. The lucky kaiako are:

Nicole Thornton, Southbridge Primary SchoolErica Jone, Papakura Intermediate School, AucklandYana Butler, Te Wharekura O Mauao, Bethlehem

“Winning the Chromebook at the InterfacExpo was amazing for my classroom in many ways. Probably the most significant way is that it now enables me to use Class Tools so that my students are fully on task when they are using devices for learning. I'm planning to show this amazing app and workflow to other teachers at an upcoming staff meeting.”

Nicole Thornton, DP, Southbridge Primary School

The title of this blog post, "Inspiring Practical and Actionable," was a direct quote from some of the feedback that the organisers of InterfacExpo received about The Learning First presentation. Here are just a few more quotes from the feedback that was given at the 3 venues around New Zealand:

“Martin Hughes from Learning First raised some important points about when and how technology can be used effectively to support teaching and learning”

“Martin at Learning First - saving time and reducing screen time for students. Looking at the relationship with technology. Working smarter and looking at all the puzzle pieces. It's about the people, not the tools!”

“Martin Hughes knew his stuff deeply. Focus on pedagogy, learning, what schools are really about, not just technology. Made me think!”

Here's my presentation from InterfaceExpo 20026

Just in case you might need a reminder about how Class Tools works, here is a quick video (please bear in mind the sound quality isn’t great!). Do feel free to get in touch if you need any support with setting up or using class tools successfully in your school.

Martin Hughes

Martin Hughes

Martin’s approach is centred around simplifying the way educators interact with technology. This allows them to shift their focus to maximising productivity and fostering creativity in the classroom. He empowers teachers to reduce student screen time while simultaneously raising learning expectations.

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Call Martin Hughes 021 222 8364