Inspiring, Practical, and Actionable: InterfaceXpo26 Highlights & AI Blueprints

Although the InterfaceXpo 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 recommended actions.

In addition, we supported many schools by ensuring they had the correct Google Ed Plus licences set up.

On top of that, 3 lucky teachers won ASUS Chromebooks, which they are now using in their classrooms with tools like Google 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 School

• Erica Jones, Papakura Intermediate School, Auckland

• Yana 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 Google 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!”
  

  
  Watch my presentation from the INTERFACEXpo 2026 Conference.

PS - 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.