ITEC Fall Conference 2026

Welcome to CSTA! We are so excited that you are a member (or are considering it). This session consists of making sure you have everything you need to access all of your member benefits. We'll provide you with resources to help you access (most of) everything available to you as a CSTA Member. Taking advantage of the plethora of member benefits is what we're striving to provide. 

During this session, there will be devices as well as plug-and-play to present to educators on how to integrate and not make it "one more thing" in the classroom for teachers.  The new standards will be used to show how integration is happening in the K-6 classrooms in our small school district.  Teachers will walk away with ideas and suggestions for integrating into their own classrooms.

Strawberry Hill Elementary has been working through the process of creating a computer science curriculum that is developmentally appropriate, hands-on, and incorporates different physical computing devices across grade levels. 


Join us as we dive into our strategy for integrating KIBO (KinderLab Robotics) into the Kindergarten-2nd grade curriculum. We will cover the process of teaching coding & computer science using KIBO within a specialist rotation, and how we partnered with K-2 classroom teachers to integrate KIBO into literacy learning in the classroom to enhance student engagement. 

Technology integration is about more than tools—it's about empowering students to think, create, collaborate, and solve problems. In this high-energy, football-inspired session, kindergarten teacher Beth Smith shares how computer science serves as the playbook behind meaningful technology integration. Through classroom stories, interactive activities, and real examples from a kindergarten classroom where students code robots, use AI for research, design prototypes with 3Doodlers, and collaborate with middle school engineers, participants will discover practical ways to embed computational thinking into any content area.
Inspired by the spirit of the New Heights podcast, this session blends humor, audience participation, and actionable strategies to help educators move beyond technology consumption and into innovation. Whether you're a classroom teacher, instructional coach, librarian, STEM educator, or administrator, you'll leave with ready-to-use ideas and a fresh perspective on how computer science can elevate learning for every student.
Attendees will learn how to:

• Integrate computational thinking into existing curriculum
• Use technology to foster creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving
• Connect computer science concepts across content areas
• Create engaging learning experiences that prepare students for the future

No football knowledge required—just a willingness to think bigger about what students can do.

What happens when students’ stories move beyond the page and become interactive robots? In this hands-on session, explore an interdisciplinary project that combines 7th grade ELA, storytelling, computer science, coding, and makerspace learning.


Learn how students transform their original published stories into robotic characters using Hummingbird Robotics kits, bringing elements of their writing to life through movement, lights, and technology. We will break down the project from start to finish, including the writing process, project design, coding, construction, and opportunities for student creativity and problem-solving.


Participants will see examples of student work and hear about what worked, what challenges arose, and what I learned along the way. If time and materials allow, participants will also have an opportunity to work directly with the robotics kits and experience a small piece of the project themselves.


You do not need to be a computer science or robotics expert to participate. This session is designed to show how hands-on technology can be integrated into an ELA classroom in a creative, accessible, and meaningful way.