ISTELive 26 Brings the Future of Learning to Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla.: Teachers, technology coaches, librarians, administrators and education companies gathered at the Orange County Convention Center this summer for ISTELive 26, a four-day examination of how technology is changing classroom instruction and school leadership.

The hybrid conference ran June 28 through July 1, with virtual programming beginning June 27. ISTELive was held alongside ASCD Annual 26, and registration for either gathering provided access to content from both organizations. The arrangement placed education technology and broader questions of curriculum, leadership and instruction under one roof.

Organizers promoted thousands of professional-learning experiences, from main-stage presentations and conventional seminars to hands-on playgrounds, poster sessions and demonstrations in the combined expo hall. Virtual participants could join 70 interactive online sessions and more than 90 livestreamed sessions, while more than 250 recordings were scheduled to remain available for six months.

The scale made the conference a map of education’s current priorities. Artificial intelligence occupied a central place, but it shared the program with accessibility, creativity, student agency, digital citizenship, literacy, school management and the practical work of helping teachers use new tools responsibly.

From AI enthusiasm to classroom responsibility

Education conferences have spent several years asking whether generative AI belongs in schools. By 2026, the more useful question was how schools should prepare students and teachers to use it with judgment. ISTELive’s program emphasized AI-ready strategies, technology-integration frameworks and a “Portrait of an AI-Ready Graduate” area within the convention center.

That change in emphasis matters. A tool can generate an answer in seconds, but speed does not establish that the answer is accurate, age-appropriate or educationally valuable. Teachers still need to design assignments, recognize misunderstanding and decide when a student should work without automation.

Schools also face operational questions that families rarely see. Leaders must review vendor contracts, identify what student information enters a system, determine whether work may be used to train models and ensure that children are not pushed into consumer accounts with weaker protections.

A credible AI plan therefore needs more than a list of approved applications. It requires teacher training, clear disclosure, human review, accessibility testing and a way for families to understand which tools are used. It should also preserve opportunities for students to write, calculate, discuss and create without delegating the difficult thinking that produces learning.

Learning by making, playing and designing

Many ISTELive sessions were deliberately active. The conference’s playground and poster formats allowed educators to move between stations, try materials and compare approaches with presenters. That structure reflected a central idea in the program: educators learn technology best when they can test it in the same collaborative way they hope students will learn.

One large playground, “Play, Create, Connect,” combined storytelling, digital tools, analog prototyping and Universal Design for Learning. Its organizers framed accessibility as a starting point rather than a repair added after a lesson is complete. Participants were encouraged to design activities offering different ways for students to engage, receive information and express what they know.

The session’s intended audience crossed grade levels and included teachers, counselors and curriculum leaders. Its goals addressed neurodiverse and multilingual learners as well as the broader classroom. That breadth is important for families because inclusive design often improves an experience for everyone: captions, flexible formats and clear navigation can help a child with a documented disability and a student who simply needs another route into the material.

Creativity also served as a counterweight to the idea that education technology is only about efficiency. Storytelling, visual art, maker activities and collaborative problem-solving appeared throughout the program. The strongest uses of technology were presented not as shortcuts, but as ways to expand what students can build, investigate and share.

Leadership, purchasing and the expo floor

ISTELive’s Instructional Leaders’ Exchange gave school and district leaders a forum to work through real challenges together. A separate Solutions Summit connected product leaders, entrepreneurs and senior education officials around research and the design of learning tools.

Those conversations matter because school technology decisions are rarely made by a single classroom teacher. A platform may affect thousands of students, integrate with district records and remain in use for years. Procurement teams must evaluate evidence, accessibility, security, training demands and the cost of switching later.

The integrated expo hall gave attendees opportunities to see demonstrations and ask vendors direct questions. It also created the familiar tension of a large trade show: the newest product can appear to solve a complex educational problem before it has been tested in an ordinary classroom with limited time, older equipment and varied student needs.

Families and educators should ask the same basic questions. What learning problem does the product solve? What evidence supports that claim? Can a school export its data? Does the tool work for students with disabilities? What happens when the subscription ends? A memorable demonstration is a beginning, not a purchasing decision.

A conference designed for more than one audience

Co-locating ISTELive and ASCD Annual expanded the program beyond devices and software. The two communities brought together classroom practice, leadership, curriculum, professional learning and technology. Organizers said more than 100 review teams and over 500 volunteer reviewers evaluated proposals before an integrated committee made final selections.

The combined format also recognized that technology decisions cannot be separated from teaching. A district may buy a sophisticated platform, but its value depends on whether teachers understand it, administrators support implementation and students experience something more meaningful than additional screen time.

Representation and professional voice were visible in sessions such as “Our Voice Amplified,” alongside featured speakers, role-based tracks and educator-led presentations. The program allowed practitioners to share work developed in schools rather than limiting the agenda to companies promoting products.

The virtual component widened access for educators unable to travel to Orlando. Sessions streamed from the convention center were joined by presentations created specifically for online participation. Recordings posted after live sessions also gave attendees a way to revisit material they could not fit into an overlapping schedule.

What families should take from ISTELive 26

Parents did not need to attend the conference to recognize the decisions being discussed. AI tools, learning platforms, online assessments and connected devices increasingly travel between school and home. A child may use the same account in a classroom, on a school bus and at a kitchen table.

That makes communication essential. Families should know which systems are required, what information they collect, how long records are kept and who can see a student’s work. Schools should explain when AI is permitted, how teachers verify automated output and how parents can raise a privacy or accessibility concern.

Technology can give students new ways to create, communicate and access instruction. It can support a learner who needs captions, translation, an alternative interface or a flexible pace. It can also distract, over-collect information or turn every learning problem into a software purchase.

ISTELive 26 was most persuasive when it treated educators as designers and decision-makers rather than passive users. The conference’s hands-on formats, leadership exchanges and inclusive-design sessions pointed toward a standard families can support: use technology deliberately, connect it to a clear learning goal and keep people responsible for the result.

As schools prepare for another academic year, the challenge is not to adopt every tool introduced in Orlando. It is to choose a small number well, train educators thoroughly and preserve the trust of students and parents. The future of learning will be shaped by technology, but it should still be judged by whether children are learning, participating and growing.