Spark Curiosity EDU 2026.
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Spark Curiosity EDU 2026 Is Complete.
2027 Is Coming.
Thank you for making The Experience unforgettable. The anti-conference for educators ready to teach with wonder again returns in 2027.
50 educators. One day in Austin. Zero worksheets. Curiosity-driven Learning Labs and an evening networking social. Get early access to 2027 details.
Location
Cambria Hotel Austin
Austin, Texas
Date
August 1, 2026
Event complete
2027
Coming Soon
Early access available
From Curiosity to Connection: Real Classroom Strategies That Make Students Want to Learn
What if your students didn't have to be convinced to engage because they were already curious?
Ms. James, award-winning educator and 2023 National Grammar Educator of the Year, is redefining what it means to engage students through curiosity-driven instruction.
Ms. James is an award-winning middle school English teacher, National Board Certified educator, and the 2023 National Grammar Educator of the Year. Widely known as IAmThatEnglishTeacher, she has built a global community by transforming everyday classroom moments into powerful, curiosity-driven learning experiences.
Grounded in the belief that learning begins with a spark, Ms. James designs instruction that invites students to question, think deeply, and connect meaningfully with content. Her work centers on turning routine lessons into moments of discovery where language becomes a tool for expression, confidence, and critical thinking.
Through her classroom practice, speaking engagements, and digital content, Ms. James equips educators with practical, ready-to-use strategies that reignite student engagement and restore joy in teaching. Her approach doesn't just deliver content. It creates experiences that make students want to learn.
Join hundreds of educators ready to teach differently.
💭 "When was the last time your students were genuinely curious?"
2026 Theme Song
Reimagine Learning (Spark the Future)
What You Get at The Experience
A Different Way to Teach
Stop covering content. Start letting students uncover it. Walk away with the Spark Curiosity framework for turning any standard into a question worth exploring.
Not a Conference. A Reset.
Spark Curiosity EDU: The Experience is built for the educator who is done with passive PD, burned out on six-hour lecture blocks, and tired of leaving "professional development" with a folder of worksheets they'll never open.
This is The Experience — an intimate 50-person gathering at Cambria Hotel Austin where curiosity isn't just discussed. It's practiced. In breakout Learning Labs that feel like conversations. On a rooftop where connections spark under the Texas sky. At Banger's Sausage House on Rainey Street where the real breakthroughs happen between labs.
Born from Kampus Insights CC and fueled by Fearless Educator Radio, The Experience brings together teachers, instructional coaches, principals, and teacher leaders who believe that in a world of AI and automation, the human capacity to wonder, question, and connect is our greatest competitive advantage.
Yes, you'll explore how AI can support your teaching. But only as your assistant, never your replacement. Because the work that matters most — igniting curiosity, building relationships, designing transformative learning — cannot be automated.
This year, curiosity isn't strategy. It's survival. Wonder isn't optional. It's essential.
Three Pathways. One Transformative Experience.
Spark Classroom
For teachers who want to design learning that begins with wonder.
Lead Spark Team
For instructional coaches and teacher leaders ready to facilitate transformation.
Technology + Humanity
For school leaders navigating innovation with integrity.
Featured Speakers & Leadership Panel
Learn from Visionary Leaders Transforming Education
Panel Moderator
Olivia Odileke
Founder & CEO, Kampus Insights | Conference Host
Olivia Odileke is the visionary behind Spark Curiosity EDU, Fearless Educator Radio and the author of Unleashing Curiosity. Blending her background in Industrial Engineering and Instructional Technology, Olivia has trained over 25,000 educators worldwide in curiosity driven instruction. As CEO of Kampus Insights, she designs transformative professional learning experiences that help teachers ignite wonder, deepen engagement, and lead with fearless innovation. Olivia's mission: make curiosity driven learning accessible to every classroom.
Afternoon Leadership Panel
Saturday, August 1, 2026 | 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Marcia Narine Weldon, JD
AI Governance Expert | Illuminating Wisdom
Marcia Narine Weldon is a nationally recognized expert in AI governance, compliance, and ethical risk management. As founder of Illuminating Wisdom and a former Fortune 500 Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, she bridges corporate governance and education. Marcia designs AI governance frameworks and responsible use policies for organizations navigating emerging technologies. Her insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, and she has testified before Congress on corporate compliance.
Dr. Stephanie R. Barton
Chief Education Officer | Stephanie Barton & Associates, LLC
Dr. Stephanie R. Barton is a nationally recognized expert in culturally responsive teaching and AI integration in K-12 education. As Chief Education Officer of Stephanie Barton & Associates, LLC and Managing Director of Sector Partnerships at Dallas College, she bridges equity, innovation, and industry to transform learning for historically marginalized students. Dr. Barton designs professional development frameworks that help educators leverage AI as a teaching assistant while maintaining human centered, culturally relevant classrooms. Her work in racial justice and educational innovation has equipped thousands of educators nationwide with strategies that make learning Fun, Relevant, Engaging, Standards Based, and Higher Order (FRESH).
Christine Dulany Dyer
Learner-Centered Educator & Ph.D. Student, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Christine Dulany Dyer is a learner-centered educator with 25 years of teaching experience in U.S. and international high school English classrooms. She champions community-based learning and authentic assessments that encourage collaboration, perseverance, and student voice. As an interdisciplinary Ph.D. student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Christine researches how classroom discourse can shift ownership of learning from the teacher to students, creating environments where every learner's voice is valued.
Join Us for the Afternoon Leadership Panel
Reimagining Learning in the Age of AI: Restoring Wonder, Curiosity, and Human Connection
Saturday, August 1, 2026 | 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM
As artificial intelligence rapidly enters classrooms, a deeper question is emerging:
What kind of learning experience do we want students to have in the future?
This interactive panel brings together superintendents, a legal expert, an instructional innovator, and a classroom leader to explore one of the most important conversations in education today — not just how AI is changing schools, but who gets to shape what learning becomes next.
Together, we'll examine:
- how AI companies are influencing the educational landscape,
- the ethical and governance challenges schools must navigate,
- why curiosity, human connection, and critical thinking matter more than ever,
- and how educators can help redesign learning experiences before technology defines them for us.
This is not a conversation about replacing teachers.
It's a conversation about protecting what makes learning deeply human while reimagining what education can become in the age of AI.
Live audience polling and interactive dialogue ensure participants help shape the conversation in real time.
Learn About Spark Curiosity EDU 2027Real Learning Labs. Real Strategies. Ready for Your Classroom.
9 learning labs led by educators, AI experts, and school leaders, all built around what works in real schools.
Reimagining Learning Together
Presented by Ms. James & Olivia Odileke
Begin the conference with a shared experience designed to spark curiosity, connection, and possibility. Through storytelling, music, reflection, interactive dialogue, and live learning experiences, participants will experience what it feels like when learning becomes collaborative, wonder driven, and alive.
This opening experience includes
- Community Connection Experience
- Opening Reflection with Claudine James
- Spark Curiosity AI Coach Live Experience
- Reflection & Transition to Learning Labs
Spark Their Thinking: Five Curiosity-Driven Moves That Build Student AI Literacy
Presented by Dr. Jamiylah Jones, Founder, Creative Transformations
Educators explore five curiosity-driven strategies that help students question AI outputs and understand the role of human thinking in an AI-rich world.
Teaching on the Edge of the World: Spatial Computing, Adaptive AI, and the Next Frontier of Immersive Learning
Presented by Dr. Kim Abel, Head of School, Optima Academy Online
See how Optima Academy Online students use spatial computing and adaptive AI to explore history and science in three dimensions, then work with agentic AI that partners with their thinking. Real classroom examples show why teachers who know their students can build better tools than any off-the-shelf option. Leave with ideas to bring back to your own school.
The OS for School Improvement: Installing a Collective Collaboration System That Actually Works
Presented by Olivia Odileke, Founder, Spark Curiosity EDU
Learn how to install a Collective Collaboration Operating System that strengthens human connection and drives measurable improvement through curiosity-driven inquiry cycles.
Beyond the Buzz: Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Age of AI
Presented by Dr. Stephanie R. Barton, Chief Education Officer, Stephanie Barton & Associates
Discover strategies that combine innovation with equity to ensure technology supports meaningful, identity-affirming learning for every student.
Creating Music with AI to Inspire Learning (Fearless Educator Radio Experience)
Presented by Olivia Odileke, Founder, Fearless Educator Radio
Discover how music and AI can spark creativity, joy, and connection in learning, with hands-on creation tools you can bring back to your classroom.
AI Governance for Educational Leaders: Protecting What Makes Education Human
Presented by Marcia Narine Weldon, JD, AI Governance Strategist
As AI rapidly enters classrooms, educational leaders must balance innovation with responsibility. This session explores practical governance strategies for ethical adoption.
From Curiosity to Confidence: Helping Students Find Their Voice with AI
Presented by Miles Brown, Founder, Good Speakers Academy
Educators explore how AI can support students in organizing thoughts, building communication skills, and developing leadership confidence.
There's an App for That: Building AI-Powered Learning Experiences
Presented by Jasmine Smith, Instructional Technology Innovator
Participants explore how to build AI-supported learning experiences using Google AI Studio that strengthen student thinking, agency, and judgment.
Partners & Sponsors
Powering Innovation in Education
Spark Curiosity EDU 2027 Is Coming
Be the first to know when the next Experience opens. Join the 2027 interest list.
The Experience Agenda
One day of curiosity, connection, and recovery in Austin.
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Main Conference Day | 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Opening Experience
8:15 to 9:40 AM
Reimagining Learning Together Experience
A powerful opening experience designed to spark curiosity, connection, and possibility through music, reflection, storytelling, interactive dialogue, and live learning experiences.
Featuring
- Community Connection Experience
- Opening Reflection with Ms. James
- Spark Curiosity AI Coach Live Experience
- Reflection & Transition to Learning Labs
10:00 to 11:00 AM
Learning Lab 1 (2 concurrent labs)
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Learning Lab 2 (2 concurrent labs)
12:00 to 1:00 PM
Lunch + Fearless Educator Radio Listening Session
1:00 to 2:00 PM
Learning Lab 3 (2 concurrent labs)
2:00 to 3:00 PM
Learning Lab 4 (2 concurrent labs)
3:15 to 4:30 PM
Leadership Panel: "Leading with AI and Curiosity"
4:45 to 5:45 PM
Applied Practice + Closing Reflection
7:00 to 9:00 PM
Spark Networking Social at Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden
79 Rainey St, Austin, TX. Connect with fellow innovators and spark collaborations under the Austin sky.
Opening Experience + 9 Learning Labs + 1 Leadership Panel + Applied Practice & Closing Reflection = 12 Core Learning Experiences
Experience the Spark Curiosity Hub
Every attendee receives access to the Spark Curiosity Hub. A collaborative digital space designed to help educators connect, reflect, share ideas, revisit resources, and continue the learning experience throughout the conference.
Learning Labs
Explore immersive labs and collaborative learning experiences
Spark Wall
Capture reflections, ideas, and moments that ignite curiosity
Attendee Directory
Connect with fellow educators, leaders, and changemakers
Resources
Access session materials, tools, and conference takeaways
Spark Curiosity EDU 2026 Is Complete
Thank you to every educator who joined us in Austin on August 1, 2026. The Experience continues in 2027. Be the first to know when registration opens.
Spark Curiosity EDU 2027 Is Coming
Dates, location, and registration details will be shared first with educators who join the 2027 interest list. No spam. Just early access.
Tell Me About 2027Testimonials / Legacy Impact
Hear from educators who attended Spark Curiosity EDU 2025
The Spark Curiosity Conference didn't just give me strategies—it gave me back my why. I left Austin feeling like a brand new teacher, ready to lead with curiosity and courage.
— Yolando J.
Math Teacher
This conference reminded me why I teach. Not to deliver content or manage technology, but to spark wonder in young minds. I left feeling empowered as an educator, not replaced by a tool.
— James F.
Chemistry Teacher
The practical nature of Spark Curiosity's quick inquiry tasks means I can use them spontaneously to energize my class. It's remarkable how a simple 5 minute activity can transform the entire learning atmosphere.
— Alisha P.
7th Grade English Teacher
Every educator needs to be sparked to be reenergized, reignited, and reminded of the 'why' behind the work we do. Spark Curiosity provides that inspiration.
— Ms. Claudine James
Veteran Educator & TikTok Influencer, @Iamthatenglishteacher
Every student has the capacity to learn, but not every student has been given a reason to be curious. AI can transform the classroom, but it is the educator who ignites curiosity. Spark Curiosity invites us to turn confusion into curiosity, curiosity into engagement, and engagement into achievement.
— Dr. Parnell Beaubrun
Psychologist, Educator & Administrator, NJ
Spark Curiosity reinforced for me that deep thinking must be at the heart of the classroom. As leaders, we have to create space for teachers to reflect, take risks, and keep asking, 'What else can I try?'
— Dr. Kim Abel
Head of School, Optima Academy Online
Our inaugural 2025 event sparked a movement, and now we're ready to grow. In 2026, Spark Curiosity EDU is expanding its mission to empower more educators to transform their classrooms into ecosystems of wonder, engagement, and fearless learning. From classroom to culture, from curiosity to leadership.
Join the Fearless Educator Community
All attendees gain access to our private Facebook community for ongoing support, resources, and collaboration.
Connect with fellow innovators beyond the conference
Frequently Asked Questions
Got questions? We've got answers.
All attendees will receive a certificate of completion for 8 hours of professional development. This conference meets the requirements for continuing education in Texas and can be submitted for reimbursement in most districts. You'll receive your certificate via email within one week of the conference closing.
Your registration includes: Full access to all Learning Labs (opening experience, breakout labs, leadership panel, applied practice), light breakfast and refreshments, lunch, the evening Spark Networking Social at Banger's on Rainey Street, all conference materials and resources, a FREE copy of The Question Driven Principal, free access to Spark Curiosity AI Coach, and a conference swag bag. Not included: Hotel accommodations and transportation (but we've secured a special rate of $139/night at Cambria Hotel Austin).
Cancellation Policy: Before May 31, 2026: Full refund minus $25 processing fee. After June 1, 2026: No refund, but you may transfer your registration to another educator. All refund requests must be submitted in writing to olivia@kampusinsights.com.
Yes! We designed this conference for educators at ALL levels of AI comfort—from "I'm curious but cautious" to "I'm already experimenting." Our labs are clearly labeled by experience level, and the Spark Curiosity AI Coach workshop is specifically designed for beginners. You'll never feel lost or left behind.
The Opening Experience and Leadership Panel will be recorded and made available to all attendees for 90 days post-conference. Breakout Learning Labs will not be recorded to encourage authentic participation and discussion, but all lab materials and resources will be provided digitally.
A Virtual Access Pass is available for $49. It includes live stream access to the Opening Experience and the afternoon Leadership Panel, plus access to the Spark Curiosity Hub and session replays. Breakout Learning Labs are not streamed live, but all materials are provided digitally.
Thank You, Austin
Spark Curiosity EDU 2026 Is Complete. 2027 Is Coming.
No ballrooms. No six-hour lectures. No folder of worksheets you'll never open.
Thank you to the 50 educators who joined us at Cambria Hotel Austin on August 1, 2026. The Experience continues. Get early access to Spark Curiosity EDU 2027.
Tell Me About Spark Curiosity EDU 2027Not ready? Listen to Fearless Educator Radio and hear what last year's attendees are still talking about.