Implications and opportunities for SENCO practice. Everything from the day lives here — slides, the live Padlet, the tools we explore, research, and how to keep going.
Live wall
This is the heart of the day. Post your thoughts, questions, prompts, tips, and commitments here — it stays live throughout the workshop and afterwards, so you can come back to it.
Open the Padlet in a new tab →Try them yourself
The tools we work with across the day. Most schools have Google Workspace, so we lean Google-first — but the same task can be run in any of these. Open one you have never used and compare.
Google's assistant, built into Workspace. A strong first stop if your school is already Google.
Open GeminiGrounds its answers in documents you upload — IEPs, reports, policy. Great for summarising and asking questions of your own sources.
Open NotebookLMFree for teachers. Magic tools for accessible visuals, simplified texts, and learning resources.
Open CanvaThe one most people know. Useful for drafting, planning, and rethinking a task from scratch.
Open ChatGPTStrong for longer writing, careful reasoning, and working through nuanced, sensitive scenarios.
Open ClaudeThe Microsoft 365 assistant — the default if your school runs on Office and Teams.
Open CopilotThe Traffic Light activity, AI readiness tools, and frameworks for educators and school leaders — all in one place.
Explore the tools →Behind the workshop
Gander, T., & Shaw, B. (2024). Navigating the AI landscape: New Zealand educators' perspectives. EdMedia + Innovate Learning 2024. https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/224426/
Read the paperGander, T., & Shaw, B. (2024). AI in education 2023: Understanding the impact on effective pedagogy, inclusive learning and equitable outcomes in Aotearoa. He Rourou, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.54474/herourou.v1i1.9137
Read the paperFreire, P. (2018). The banking concept of education. In Thinking About Schools (pp. 117–127). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429495670-11
Read the full textTijnagel-Schoenaker, B. (2018). The Reggio Emilia approach… the hundred languages. Prima Educatione, 1, 139–147. https://doi.org/10.17951/pe.2017.1.139
Read the paperHeimans, S., Biesta, G., Takayama, K., & Kettle, M. (2023). ChatGPT, subjectification, and the purposes and politics of teacher education and its scholarship. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 51(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866x.2023.2189368
Read the paperInternational research
YAIRN — the Youth AI Research Network — is an international project where students are co-investigators, not just respondents. Aotearoa New Zealand is a founding partner. The NZ strand starts from tikanga and mātauranga Māori, not from OECD frameworks.
If you have students or teachers who want to be part of the NZ contribution, get in touch.
Find out more about YAIRNWork with Tim
Most AI professional learning follows the same pattern — a speaker arrives, demonstrates tools, and leaves. Educators return inspired and unsupported. Nothing changes for learners.
A FutureLearning Practice Partnership works differently. It's a year-long working relationship for schools, clusters, and RTLB practitioners — eight mentored sessions across the year, built around your context and your learners. Not a generic rollout. A sustained professional relationship grounded in effective pedagogy, inclusive practice, and equitable outcomes.
Who we are
FutureLearning works with schools and education organisations across Aotearoa on AI strategy, research, and professional learning.
Visit futurelearning.nzKeep going
If something from today is worth following up — YAIRN, a partnership, or anything else — get in touch directly.
tim@futurelearning.nz