Education | Beens' Blog

February 24, 2026February 24, 2026

ACSE 2026 Conference: TAS, AI, Computer Science, and Cybersecurity Education

Second semester is underway, making this a practical time to plan professional learning for the year ahead. ACSE 2026 offers a full-day, in-person conference focused on Technology and Skilled Trades education, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Computer Technology, and Cybersecurity.

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026
Location: St Joan of Arc Catholic High School, 1 St Joan of Arc Ave, Maple, ON L6A 1W9
Registration Fee: $80
Includes: Lunch and snacks
Parking: Free on-site

The venue is conveniently located near Canada’s Wonderland and offers ample parking for attendees.

Program Overview

ACSE 2026 features 14 sessions across the day, including two extended double sessions. The program emphasizes practical application and curriculum alignment. Key topics include:

Curriculum planning for TAS and senior Computer Science
Classroom uses of AI and large language models
Designing AI-resilient assessments
Cybersecurity and operating system labs
Robotics and microcontrollers
Electronics simulation
Quantum technologies
Design Thinking
Unreal Engine for game and media development
Hands-on machine learning with micro:bits

Sessions are designed to support both strategic program development and immediate classroom implementation.

Who Should Attend

The conference is suited to educators teaching or planning programs in TAS, Computer Science, Computer Technology, and related fields. It is also relevant for those integrating AI into instruction or assessment.

Colleagues within school boards and subject associations are encouraged to share this opportunity.

Registration

More information and registration details are available at:
https://acse.net/acse2026/

January 16, 2025February 5, 2025

ACSE Conference 2025

The ACSE Conference 2025 offers a rich variety of sessions across several key strands, including Computer Science, Computer Technology, Pedagogical Topics, and Teaching Technology and the Skilled Trades (TAS1O/TAS2O).

October 22, 2024February 5, 2025

CamelCase vs. Lowercase Hashtags: A Debate on Readability, Simplicity, and Innovation in Digital Communication

This post has been created using my Peter’s Visionary Debaters CustomGPT with the prompt “Debate the merits of using CamelCase vs all lowercase for hashtags/tags in social media posts and task management software.”

October 11, 2024February 5, 2025

How Teachers Can Leverage AI Tools Like Google’s NotebookLM to Make Complex Issues Easier for Students

With the integration of technology into education, tools such as Google’s NotebookLM offer new ways to simplify complex topics for students. This AI-powered tool helps teachers break down dense information, making it easier for students to grasp challenging subjects, particularly when engaging with current events or multifaceted issues.

May 11, 2024September 14, 2024

Philosophers Debate: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Education

This image features a conceptual debate with eight philosophers, engaged in an intense discussion around a round wooden table in a sophisticated library setting. Each philosopher displays distinct styles, reflecting a blend of traditional and modern attire appropriate to their philosophical eras. The room is adorned with bookshelves, globes, and ancient scrolls, symbolizing a mix of historical and contemporary thought. The philosophers are actively conversing and gesturing, highlighting their engagement in the intellectual exchange. The atmosphere is charged with a pursuit of knowledge and understanding, set under a domed ceiling that casts a warm, inviting light over the scene.

Welcome to an experiment using my new “Peter’s Visionary Debaters” Custom GPT, available at https://chatgpt.com/g/g-j7VppiEeO-peter-s-visionary-debaters.

May 1, 2024May 1, 2024

Please help me promote the new #OntEd K-8 Coding Email List

To read the announcement about this new email list, click here.

To join the list, click here.

April 29, 2024April 29, 2024

Unveiling ACSE-K8: An Innovative Email List for Ontario’s K-8 Educators in Coding and Technology

Welcome to the latest addition to Ontario’s educational landscape—ACSE-K8, an interactive, private email list designed exclusively for K-8 educators. Whether you’re teaching in public or private schools, or you’re a consultant in this field, ACSE-K8 offers a unique platform to integrate coding into your classrooms.

March 20, 2024April 7, 2024

OTF Rejects Request from Ontario to Let Retired Teachers Work More

Key Takeaway

Ontario’s teachers unions have rejected a request from the Ministry of Education to extend the working period for retired teachers, emphasizing the need for the government to address staffing shortages more effectively.

March 18, 2024April 7, 2024

What does Spring Arrive? (According to ChatGPT)

A vivid landscape depicting the transition from winter to spring in Canada. The left side of the image shows a snowy environment with lingering snowflakes and the Rocky Mountains, representing winter. The right side bursts with the colors of spring, featuring blooming flowers, budding trees, and Niagara Falls, under a clear, sunny sky. At the center, the Earth is symbolically positioned relative to the Sun to indicate the vernal equinox, illustrating the astronomical perspective of spring's arrival. This composition harmoniously integrates meteorological, astronomical, and geographical perspectives on the onset of spring in Canada.

I love ChatGPT. I pretty much use it all the time now instead of Google. So when I turned to it to ask the simple question “When does spring arrive?”, I was met with this overly complex response:

March 6, 2024November 2, 2024

My Custom GPTs

This is a highly detailed and stylized digital artwork featuring a workspace scene. The scene is dominated by a central, large monitor displaying a complex and intricate design, which includes various gears, circuits, and a prominent letter 'A' in a futuristic style. Surrounding the monitor are floating objects that seem to defy gravity, including a light bulb emitting a soft glow, sheets of paper, electronic components, and household objects like a magnifying glass and a pair of glasses. The desk below is cluttered with an open book directly in front of the screen, a wizard's hat with stars and a moon pattern to the left, and stacks of hardcover books to the right. Various items like pencils, a notebook, a coffee cup, and other office supplies are scattered across the desk. The background features a bookshelf filled with books and a wall-mounted clock, adding to the ambiance of an intellectual and creative space. The lighting is warm and comes from the left, casting soft shadows and giving depth to the objects. The overall impression is one of magical innovation and intellectual pursuit, as if the space belongs to a wizard in the modern age of technology.

For those of you with a ChatGPT Plus account, here are the public custom GPTs I have created. Some were created primarily for my own personal productivity, while others were designed to benefit educators.