The AI in K-12 Education Symposium

Hall Jackson is an educator and trainer with worldwide experience in both K-12 and adult learning.
I help educational and health organisations employ technologies to enhance student learning, improve services and outcomes.
I enjoy helping schools and health organisations to maximise their return on IT investment by making sure that the infrastructure, management, software, devices and staff training work together to make the technology effectively disappear so teachers can focus on teaching and health staff can focus on their patients.

Adrienne Merlo is a skilled professional with a diverse range of experience in communications and technology.. Her passion for using technology to solve business problems and drive digital disruption is evident in her day-to-day thinking. Adrienne is currently working as Practice Manager - Conversational AI at Datacom where she is responsible for the management of design services, providing sizing and configuration assistance, and performing needs assessments, strategic direction of the Conversational AI practice. Prior to joining Datacom she was the Principal Solution Designer at Nuance communications where she owned the overall design of the chatbot's information architecture, leveraging customer data analysis and partnering with computational linguists.

Rob Barugh is a highly experienced and knowledgeable Director of Learning Technology at Hale School. With over 20 years of experience in the field, he has been instrumental in guiding the school's use of technology to enhance student learning. With a passion for data analytics, adaptive learning solutions, and digital literacy, Rob has a deep understanding of the impact that technology can have on education. His dedication to driving innovation in the classroom has been instrumental in the success of Hale School's technology initiatives, making it a leader in the use of technology for education.

Dr Peter Coutis is Deputy Headmaster of Hale School in Perth. Peter has held significant leadership roles across the tertiary, corporate and secondary education sectors. Prior to joining the teaching profession, he worked as a research academic in the areas of applied mathematics and mathematics education and has, since 2018, served on the Research Committee of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition. With experience in co-educational and all-boys schooling environments, Peter’s current pedagogical and research interests centre around promoting academic care (the melding of quality classroom teaching and pastoral care) and the primacy of teacher-student relationships in that space. Peter views technological applications as enablers, not drivers, of quality learning outcomes, especially when those applications can challenge what need to be challenged and support what needs to be supported.

A former teacher, Steven now works with Microsoft ANZ, supporting staff at schools and universities in WA to make the most out of Microsoft 365 technologies. His work with schools includes training and consultancy on: Microsoft 365, coding, physical computing, mixed reality, and artificial intelligence (AI) - all the things that help bring digital technologies into the classroom to enhance learning and improve efficiency across all curriculum areas.

Formerly an internationally recognised high school Drama teacher and teacher educator, and Learning Futures Advisor at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia and his work sees him engaged in global advisory and consultation roles in all education sectors.

As well as coordinating the Learning Futures Network and the Innovative Schools Consortium, he is also a founding member of the ShapingEDU community and continues as Neighbourhood Mayor for the Connect Education and the Workforce of the Future group, advisory board member to Consortium of Schools Networking Driving K-12 Innovation initiative, FutureWe, NetEDU, OneHE and other projects around the world.

His current research is considering the impact of educational collaborative networks on school innovation and transformation.

Brett Salakas, the HP Education Ambassador, is an international keynote speaker, the best-selling author of ‘A MAMMOTH Lesson’, the founder of #aussieED (the largest online network of teachers in Australia) and the co-founder of both the ED Poets Society and #TheWalkingED. Brett is a Primary School teacher and experienced leader who, over the past 26 years, has taught in South East Asia and Australia. He is passionately committed to turning educational theory into real classroom practice. Brett is all about CONNECTION, COLLABORATION and INSPIRATION.

Schellie-Jayne (“SJ”) Price is a partner at Stirling & Rose, a legal and commercial advisory practice specialising in emerging technology, where she leads the AI practice.  She is a lecturer in Law and Technology at Murdoch University Law School, where her most recent course was the first law school unit in Australia to incorporate the use of ChatGPT into the classes and assessments.  She is on the Advisory Board for the Centre for Legal Innovation of the College of Law,  founded and was the inaugural chair of the Legal Technology and Innovation Community for corporate lawyers across Australia and winner of the WiTWA Tech +20 Award. 

Dan’s role is to empower Microsoft Education customers to achieve more. He works across all of the Microsoft technology stack including Azure, Microsoft 365, Data, AI, Windows devices, Microsoft Surface, Intune, and Dynamics and the Power Platform.  

He has a wealth of experience in the education sector and has been involved in schools, colleges, universities, corporate environments, blue light services and defence. 

Dan also runs a podcast