ACPE 2025 - Include IT

Learn how AI-driven, non-proprietary security solutions like Avigilon Alta by Motorola empower organizations to enhance safety without being restricted to a single provider—no matter where they are on their security journey. Whether your organization is fully in the cloud, transitioning, or using a hybrid setup, AI-driven open platforms offer the flexibility to integrate advanced analytics from multiple vendors.

Many school districts and organizations are concerned about the changes as a result of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and are looking for alternatives. In recent months, customers have reported huge price increases, changes in minimum contract lengths, and decreasing satisfaction with support. Analysts suggest that customers should start their technical evaluation of alternatives if they haven’t done so already.

More and more organizations are choosing Microsoft and Azure Local for a hybrid cloud solution that brings the power of Azure Local to on-premises. It provides the benefits and features of the cloud, while still having the options necessary for data sovereignty, compliance, or other issues that mandate on-premises storage of data or operations. And Azure Local enables you to utilize Azure services such as Azure Virtual Desktop, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Arc-enabled data services, SQL Managed Instance, and AI at the edge.

DataON has helped school districts such as Cherokee County School District (GA) and Orange County Unified School District (CA) to have the confidence to leave VMware behind and make the switch to Azure Local.

Learn how a new era of innovation in education is here, transforming what leaders, educators, and students can do with Apple products — and what Apple products can do for them. This session is designed to help school leaders,educators, and IT navigate how Apple Intelligence fits into their school and learning environments privately and securely. Explore how Apple Intelligence seamlessly integrates into system experiences and apps used every day, and how new tools such as Writing Tools, Image Playground, and Transcripts use personal context to deliver intelligence that’s useful and relevant, enhancing productivity and creativity.

Apple is committed to supporting your vision for technology at scale. Join us to discuss the latest products and platform changes from Apple, including what’s new for Managed Apple IDs, new deployment options, and management features for macOS and iPadOS.

Education leaders have many things to consider when they’re making technology decisions, such as current systems, processes, and budget. Join us to learn how Apple helps school and district leaders make a smart investment in the technology they provide to their students, teachers, and IT. We’ll share new research findings, customer insights, and more.

"Educators need efficient tools to identify student needs, provide targeted support, and monitor progress—all while making informed decisions about interventions and core instruction. Built with input from teachers and literacy specialists, this MTSS-based tool streamlines student plan creation and progress tracking.

Leveraging Ed-Fi standards, it integrates seamlessly across multiple Student Information Systems (SIS), ensuring scalability for districts. In this session, we’ll showcase how the tool saves educators time, enhances data-driven decision-making, and improves both student support and schoolwide instruction.

Join us for a live demo and discussion on how this tool empowers schools to implement MTSS effectively while simplifying workflows."

Contests and challenges effectively teach software development and spark computer science interest. This presentation shows how structured competitions foster motivation, critical thinking, and technical skills. We'll spotlight East Metro STEAM Partnership's "The Edit," a digital storytelling contest where middle and high schoolers create 90-second news reports on relevant topics with Adobe tools. These contests reinforce programming concepts, build community, fuel creativity, and promote teamwork. We'll share best practices for designing them as gateways to computer science and explore in- and out-of-class uses. Educators will gain strategies to inspire the next wave of developers and computer scientists.