Pre-Show and Start of Record Attempt
Presenting Organization: Connected Nation, USA
Presenter(s): Tom Ferree
Empowerment Block: Seniors, Veterans, & Workforce
Presenting Organization: Connected Nation, USA
Presenter(s): Heather Gate, Molly Weiner, Jessica Golson, John Determan, Kiersten Rucker
Ever wonder what actually happens when you click a link? Explore how the internet works, from Wi-Fi and fiber to satellites, IXPs and subsea cables, and discover how Connected Nation and its community partners help turn connectivity into opportunity.
Presenting Organization: Connected Nation, USA
Presenter(s): Tammy Spring and Marco Mata
Technology doesn’t have to be intimidating. Drawing on Connected Nation’s experience helping train nearly 80,000 people in collaboration with AT&T and the Public Library Association, this practical session shares simple skills, real learner stories and proven approaches for building digital confidence.
Presenting Organization: Human – IT, USA
Presenter(s): Lo Terry
In this hands-on session, you'll learn to defend yourself in a world where AI can fake a voice, a face, or a whole conversation. Drawn from Human-I-T's AI Digital Literacy course, this session shows you how to recognize AI-generated scams before they cost you, using AI tools to protect yourself, and telling real photos and videos apart from convincing fakes.
You'll walk away able to: spot the telltale signs of AI-generated scam messages, calls, and emails; use AI as your own defense tool to verify what's real; and identify manipulated or fully fabricated images and videos.
No technical background needed! Just bring your curiosity!
Partner Website - www.human-i-t.org
Presenting Organization: Senior Planet from AARP, USA
Presenter(s): Zeke Tijerina, Wanda Woods
The ability to spot a scam is an essential digital skill. In this lecture, we’ll review some of the most common scams, offer tips for avoiding them, and go over what to do if you do get scammed. We’ll look at sample emails, texts, and deepfakes to see how AI contributes to the increased spread and complexity of scams. We’ll also provide helpful resources for staying informed about the latest scams.
Partner Website - www.seniorplanet.org
Presenting Organization: Murray State University, USA
Presenter(s): Michael Ramage, PHD
Discover how AI simplifies daily tasks like planning meals and trips, messaging, learning, and organizing. This session offers simple ways to use AI for meal planning, communication, learning, comparing options, organizing info, and more. Participants will learn to ask better questions, enhance responses, protect privacy, and understand when to verify AI answers. No experience needed, just curiosity.
Partner Website – www.murraystate.edu
Presenting Organization: United States Distance Learning Association, USA
Presenter(s): William J. Ryan, PHD
Participants will discover practical strategies for connecting skills development, career mobility, and workforce needs through partnerships between employers, learning providers, and educational institutions.
Partner Website – www.usdla.org
Children's Block: After-School Learning Across US Time Zones
Presenting Organization: The Hacking Games, UK
Presenter(s): Noah Bergman, Lorne Rolinson
Local Time Equivalent: 8:00PM BST
The Hacking Games identifies teenagers with hacking aptitude through gaming and turns that skill into a cybersecurity career. This session walks students through HAPTAI, the platform used to assess hacking talent, and shows them where their skills could take them. Participants can complete a live HAPTAI profile during the broadcast to see their own results in real time. The session also covers the difference between ethical and unethical hacking, featuring perspectives from young people who've made that transition themselves.
Partner Website - www.thehackinggames.com
Presenting Organization: The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, USA
Presenter(s): Sheila Mehta
Local Time Equivalent: 3:00PM CT
Did you know that much of the nation's history is available online? Whether you're looking for information about America's 250th birthday, personal family history, research for an assignment, or just want to look up something you heard about, the LBJ Presidential Library and National Archives & Records Administration can help you find it. Learn the tips, tricks, and locations to bring a wealth of information right onto your screen!
Partner Website - www.lbjlibrary.org
Presenting Organization: Compudopt, USA
Presenter(s): Maya Moujaes, DianaMartinez
Local Time Equivalent: 4:00PM CT
Compudopt’s Ocean Deep Dive session will use virtual reality to have students explore underwater ecosystems and discover how scientists study and teach about marine life. In this immersive STEAM experience, students step into the shoes of oceanographers, developing digital literacy, problem-solving skills, and creativity through marine-themed tech projects. Participants will explore coding, engineering, and digital design while uncovering exciting career pathways in oceanography, robotics, and beyond.
Partner Website - www.compudopt.org
Presenting Organization: Common Sense Media, USA
Presenter(s): Gretchen Osodipe
With so many apps and screens competing for your family's attention, it's more important than ever for caregivers and kids to navigate tech together. Join us for an interactive session where we'll explore technology, AI, and some everyday digital dilemmas. And we'll learn quick and easy ways for every member of your family to navigate the digital world with confidence.
Partner Website - www.commonsensemedia.org
Presenting Organization: Digital Connect Initiative - Gila River Indian Community, USA
Presenter(s): Mikhail Sundust
Local Time Equivalent: 4:00PM MST
Coming soon!
Partner Website -
Presenting Organization: Educating for Leadership, USA
Presenter(s): John Monahan, PhD, Adam Low
Local Time Equivalent: 4:00PM AKDT
Join a hands-on session on learning a practical digital design skill. Using free, browser-based tools, participants will learn to design their own nametag, no software experience or special equipment required. For those with access to a 3D printer or laser cutter, the session will also show how to take that design one step further and turn it into a real object. Attendees will leave with a new digital skill they can use right away, along with ideas for building STEM leadership opportunities in their own classrooms or clubs.
Partner Website - www.educating4leadership.org
Presenting Organization: Tech Savvy Teens, USA
Presenter(s): Jaffer Dakroub, Kekanaloa Kailihiwa
Local Time Equivalent: 3:00PM HST
Join two Tech Savvy Teens as they share how young people in Hawai'i are helping bridge the digital divide by providing one-on-one technology support to older adults across Hawaiʻi. Attendees will learn how our youth-led model builds digital confidence for kūpuna while giving teens valuable leadership, communication, and workforce skills they can carry into future careers. Tech Savvy Teens is part of the Connected Nation Teens Teach Tech, powered by AT&T program.
Partner Website – www.techsavvyteens.com
International Overnight Block: Asia-Pacific, Africa, Middle East & Latin America
Presenting Organization: Fizzics Education, Australia
Presenter(s): Ben Newsome
Local Time Equivalent: 12:00PM AEST
From bubbling dry ice to kitchen chemistry experiments you can run during the session, join Fizzics Education as we explore how digital connectivity and internet skills allows science to reach all areas equally.
Partner Website - www.fizzicseducation.com.au
Presenting Organization: Australian Virtual Astronaut, Australia
Presenter(s): Ben Newsome
Local Time Equivalent: 1:00PM AEST
Learn how to find and track Low Earth Orbit satellites using real-time open data, uniting nations through interactive digital space exploration and science.
Partner Website - www.avachallenge.org
Presenting Organization: Aimers Foundation, Australia
Presenter(s): Suk Narayanan
Local Time Equivalent: 9:30AM IST
Students from AIMERS Foundation explore how digital literacy creates real opportunities around the world. The session opens with a student debate sharing hands-on examples of technology helping young people learn, collaborate across borders, and solve problems in their communities. It continues with a look inside Mission ShakthiSAT, where 12,000 girls from 108 countries completed 120 hours of satellite-building training. The students will share the digital and technical skills they gained, the practices that made the program work, and lessons other educators and communities can apply to their own programs.
Partner Website – www.aimersfoundation.org
Presenting Organization: Orissa State Volunteers and Social Workers Association, India
Presenter(s): Dillip Pattanaik, Basanti Sarangi
Local Time Equivalent: 10:30AM IST
Discover how digital tools and innovative technologies are helping rural communities in India prepare for disasters, strengthen climate resilience, and improve everyday life. Through real-world examples, participants will learn practical digital skills and approaches they can adapt to build stronger, more resilient communities in their own regions.
Partner Website - www.osvswa.org
Presenting Organization: Tunisian Association for Educational Initiatives, Tunisia
Presenter(s): Wided Rezgui, Malak Safra, Oussema Felhi
Local Time Equivalent: 7:00AM CET
This session highlights the vision, achievements, and impact of the Tunisian Association for Educational Initiatives in advancing educational innovation, digital transformation, and the meaningful integration of Artificial Intelligence into teaching and learning.
Mrs. Wided Rezgui, President of the Association, will introduce the Association, its mission, and its flagship initiatives that empower educators and learners through innovation, digital transformation, and AI-driven educational practices.
Representing the Association's commitment to professional development, Mrs. Malak Safra will lead an interactive hands-on training session on integrating Artificial Intelligence into education. Participants will explore practical AI tools, prompt engineering techniques, and innovative teaching strategies that enhance learning, creativity, and student engagement.
The session will also feature Student Osama El Falhi, a young innovator and member of the Association, who will showcase AI-powered educational projects and demonstrate how students can leverage Artificial Intelligence to design innovative learning solutions and become active contributors to the future of education.
Together, the three speakers will demonstrate how collaboration between educational leaders, teachers, and students can create an inclusive, innovative, and AI-enabled learning ecosystem.
Partner Website -
Presenting Organization: Angaza Center, Kenya
Presenter(s): Virginia Wanjiru, Dennis Muriuki
Local Time Equivalent: 10:00 AM EAT / 9:00 AM CAT / 8:00 AM WAT / 7:00 AM GMT
Through an interactive show-and-tell experience, this beginner-friendly session introduces junior high learners across Africa to the fundamentals of AI. Participants will see live examples of AI in action, learn how better prompts produce better results, and explore responsible ways to use AI for learning, creativity, and everyday problem-solving.
Partner Website - www.angazacenter.org
Presenting Organization: Impact Hub Harare, Zimbabwe
Presenter(s): Tatenda Manuel
Local Time Equivalent: 10:00AM CAT
This interactive session will explore how young people can turn practical digital skills into employment, entrepreneurship, and freelance opportunities. Drawing from Impact Hub Harare’s experience delivering digital-skills programs in Zimbabwe, the session will cover in-demand digital skills, responsible use of AI, online job platforms, digital professionalism, portfolio development, and online safety. Participants will leave with practical steps for identifying a digital career pathway and accessing opportunities in the digital economy.
Partner Website – www.impacthubharare.net
Presenting Organization: Impact Hub Harare, Zimbabwe
Presenter(s): Tatenda Manuel
Local Time Equivalent: 10:00AM CAT
Across Europe and around the world, educators are asking the same question: how do we prepare children for jobs, technologies, and opportunities that may not yet exist?
In this inspiring session, participants will explore how computational thinking, educational robotics, coding, and AI literacy are helping young learners develop the human and digital skills that will define success in the future. Through stories and examples from Portuguese primary schools, we will demonstrate how classrooms can become spaces where children learn to think critically, solve meaningful problems, collaborate with others, and embrace innovation with confidence. The future of work begins long before the first job interview. It begins with the learning experiences we create for children today.
Partner Website - www.causasxxi.pt
Presenting Organization: The Hacking Games, UK
Presenter(s): Lorne Rolinson, Noah Bergman
Local Time Equivalent: 11:00AM BST
Where does the line sit between ethical and unethical hacking? This session opens on that question, drawing on young people who have had to answer it. Some of the skills that make a good gamer also make a good cybersecurity professional, and there are now routes that spot that aptitude through gameplay and turn it into a career. UK students can interact with HAPTAI, the platform used to assess hacking talent and complete their own profile live during the broadcast. Participants must be 16 years or older to utilize this platform for data privacy reasons.
Partner Website - www.thehackinggames.com
Presenting Organization: Fundación Tecnológicas Conectadas, Argentina
Presenter(s): Rosana Hadad Salomón
Local Time Equivalent: 8:00AM GMT
A practical look at how fake news, image manipulation, and misuse of technology affect our digital identity — and why building healthy digital habits matters most for young people shaping their future, personal and professional life online.
Partner Website -
The Homestretch: Live from Hatfield Media, Friday, September 25
Presenting Organization: Connected Nation, USA
Presenter(s): Heather Gate, Molly Weiner, Jessica Golson
This session explores how everyday digital tools can be used with care, not just convenience. Participants will learn practical ways to recognize and respond to someone struggling online, how to communicate kindly and clearly in digital spaces, and how small actions like checking in on a friend through a message or sharing helpful resources can make a real difference.
Presenting Organization: Connected Nation, USA
Presenter(s): Heather Gate
Revisit the standout lessons, ideas, and voices shared throughout 25 hours of digital skills training from around the world. We’ll highlight what we learned together and reflect on what these experiences tell us about the connected world ahead.