friEdFair 2026

Friday, March 13, 2026

8:45am - 3:15pm CST

One powerful day of learning.

100% online.

All about what works.

A keynote and 14 live breakout sessions

6.25 hours of CPE/CEU credit, including GT 

Access to all session recordings afterwards

Flexible, affordable PD for all educators

Everything you love about friEd sessions, including practical ideas, joyful learning, and a human approach to edtech, comes together at friEdFair. It’s the same friEd experience, expanded into a full day of connection, creativity, and inspiration.

Can't make it to friEdFair live?

All session replays will be available through June 1

PD credit included | No travel needed | Big ideas ready to use

Welcoming Keynote

friEd Extra Crispy: AI Insights You Didn't Know You Were Hungry For
Amy Mayer

AI is moving at a dizzying pace, and the midway is only getting more crowded. In this fast-paced keynote, Amy Mayer cuts through the cotton candy and carnival noise to serve up the AI insights educators actually need. No smoke and mirrors, no sideshow distractions. Just the freshest research, tools, and trends that matter in real classrooms. Discover why when you access AI is just as important as how, what the latest research says about student learning and AI, and why the conversations happening in education right now might be asking the wrong questions entirely. Come hungry. Leave with something worth serving up Monday morning.

Breakout Session 1

Hold Me Closer Tiny Podcaster
Lori Roberts

Are you ready to help your students share their voice? This session guides educators through the simple steps of planning and creating powerful, student-led podcasts in any content area. We'll say goodbye to traditional assignments and explore how to launch your students like a Rocket Man into the world of digital storytelling. You will leave with practical strategies and resources to enhance student voice and creativity. After this session, you'll find you're Still Standing and ready to implement podcasting immediately.

I've Got the Magic in Canva AI
Courtney Watson

Explore the capabilities of AI in Canva's Magic Studio with "I've Got the Magic in Canva AI". This experience focuses on essential AI tools such as Magic Write, Magic Design, and Magic Media, allowing you to efficiently create content. Learn practical applications including text-to-image creation, auto-resizing, and format switching. Improve the efficiency of your creative projects with AI-driven tools and safeguard your data with built-in security controls.

Step Right Up to the AI Side-Show: Universal Understanding with Kami!
Melissa Summerford

 Looking for the most powerful act at the fair? Join us for an "all-access" pass to Kami’s AI-powered Understand Menu. We’ll show you how to instantly summarize, explain, translate, and reveal complex text to meet every student exactly where they are. Then, watch the ultimate magic trick: we’ll take those same differentiation superpowers off the page and onto the open web using Kami Companion. It’s the ticket your students need to turn any website or document into a perfectly tailored learning experience!

Breakout Session 2

No Strings Attached with Low-Prep High-Impact Bellringers
Lori Roberts

Say Bye Bye Bye to boring warm-ups and get in sync with your students from the moment the bell rings. This session delivers high-impact strategies with truly No Strings Attached and minimal prep for you. This I Promise You, these activities will boost engagement and build community in just minutes each day. Build a toolkit of bellringers that will make your classroom pop!

Gem(ini): Truly Outrageous
Courtney Watson

"Showtime, Synergy!" Forget the 80s, your own personal holographic AI is here... and it's called Gemini! In this "truly outrageous" session, you'll learn how to stop re-typing the same prompts and start building your own custom AI assistants called "Gems." We'll transform Gemini into your personal "Synergy," an expert lesson planner, a differentiation specialist, or a parent-communication pro. Get ready to build your own Gem from scratch, save hours of work, and become a true AI rockstar.

MagicSchool Unlocked: Hidden Tools, Pro Tips & Power Moves
Amber Stewart

Think you know MagicSchool? Think again. In this reimagined MagicSchool 101 session, we’ll go beyond the basics to uncover powerful features you may not be using yet — from uploading directly from your phone, to transforming Student Rooms into dynamic teacher PD spaces, to gamifying learning for maximum engagement. You’ll also discover how Raina can help you build smarter prompts, customize tools, and create content that works exactly the way you need it to. Whether you’re brand new or already using MagicSchool, you’ll leave with practical strategies you can implement immediately.

Lunch and Learn

Turn Every Student into a Knowt-It-All
Alyssa Faubion
Abheek Pandoh

Every student has the potential to master what you teach and Knowt gives them the tools to get there. This free, all-in-one AI instructional platform helps teachers plan, differentiate, assess, and support every learner in one place. Explore how Knowt's adaptive flashcards, live games, AI-powered Chat Activities, and 1:1 voice tutor help students engage with content in the way that works best for them, while teachers maintain full visibility and control. Whether you're supporting multilingual learners, students with diverse learning needs, or just trying to reach that one kid who won't stop staring at the ceiling, Knowt meets every student where they are and helps them walk away a certified Knowt-It-All!

Breakout Session 3

Fantastic Searches and How to Complete Them
Lori Roberts

Step into a world of wonder and discovery and explore a plethora of search operators, time-saving filters, and hidden gems that will revolutionize your online quest for knowledge. Channel your inner Newt Scamander as you harness the power of search operators like quotation marks and minus signs. Equip yourself with the tools and techniques that will empower both you and your students in navigating the vast expanse of the internet, reminiscent of a magical journey. Unleash the magic of Google search for a transformative learning experience that is sure to enchant and empower every educator!

One More Time! Engineering the Replayable Lesson
Darryl Legaspi

What makes a lesson so perfectly designed that students can't wait to hit start again?

We analyze Super Mario Bros. 1-1—the ultimate blueprint for instructional design. This session dissects the perfect engineering behind this iconic level, identifying the critical sequencing of pacing, challenge, and reward that makes it inherently replayable.

Learn to map this foundational 8-bit structure to your classroom activities, transforming content into high-fidelity, motivating experiences. Discover how Generative AI becomes your ultimate production partner, helping you rapidly prototype dynamic quest chains and content that keep students saying, "One More Time!"

The Gen-AI-lly Sideshow: Interactivity You Have to See to Believe
Hannah Ketteman
James Flaskamp

Step right up to The Gen-AI-lly Sideshow! Witness the magic of blending Genially with Generative AI to craft spectacular interactive activities for boys and girls of all ages. Master the art of rapid digital design and high-flying engagement to transform your lessons into a spectacle that’s no parlor trick. 

Breakout Session 4

Designing for Student Engagement with Stickity
Lauren Heil

In this hands-on session, we'll explore how human-centered design principles can transform the way you create student-facing materials Together, let’s make them more accessible, more intuitive, and more effective at keeping students engaged and managing their own learning.
Through a live demo of the Stickity chrome extension, you'll see how visual supports, digital stickers, and intentional design choices can reduce cognitive load, remove learning barriers, and empower students to stay on task without constant teacher prompting. Whether you support students with learning differences, multilingual learners, or just kids who need a little more scaffolding, you'll leave with practical strategies and ready-to-use ideas you can bring back to your classroom immediately.

Now That's What I Call Scaffolding! (Vol. AI)
Courtney Watson

Is your classroom playlist feeling disjointed with 7+ reading levels? It’s time to drop the ultimate compilation! This session uses AI "hit-makers" like Diffit, Brisk, and MagicSchool to instantly remix any text. You'll practice adding "liner notes" (supports) and producing "extended cuts" (extensions) for all learners. We’ll move beyond simple radio edits to creating tiered tasks that ensure everyone makes the charts. Leave with a platinum-status activity ready for release.

Padlet: Future-Ready Collaboration with New AI Tools
Zareen Levien

Join us for an interactive session all about Padlet's newest collaboration and AI tools! Create engaging classroom activities, games and openers in minutes. Experiment with different visual formats to reinforce your learning objectives, and learn how our new AI tools can support your planning, engagement and differentiation.

Closing

friEdFarewell

End the day with a quick recap of all the highlights from friEdFair, a chance to win some great door prizes, and important information on how to claim your PD credit and certificate of attendance. Stay until the end — it’s your chance to win and walk away with everything you need to get credit for the learning you’ve done today!