The Balanced Educator: AI Tools to Minimize Burnout and Maximize Engagement
You are invited to an exclusive workshop, hosted by What School Could Be, d’Skills, HTA, and Gabe Yanagihara:
Are you feeling the pressure to meet the diverse needs of your students while also managing your own workload and work-life balance?
The Balanced Educator: AI Tools to Minimize Burnout and Maximize Productivity is a transformative workshop designed to empower you as an educator with innovative AI tools and strategies to enhance your teaching effectiveness and personal well-being.
Date and Location:
April 6th, 8:30-11:30am
Hawai’i Technology Academy, Waipahu Campus
Workshop Overview:
At this interactive workshop, you’ll experience two exciting experiences!
In the first segment, led by Gabe Yanagihara, you will dive hands-on into ways AI can help you reduce burnout and reclaim time in your day. You'll explore a suite of AI tools designed specifically for educators, learning how to seamlessly integrate them into your daily routines to streamline lesson planning, grading, and student engagement. This proactive approach not only minimizes the time spent on administrative tasks but also maximizes classroom interaction, allowing you to focus more on what truly matters—inspiring and educating your students.
In the second segment, facilitated by Hannah Grady Williams, founder of d’Skills, we’ll hear from the student perspective! Witness the real-world impact projects students in Hawai’i are executing using the power of AI, and be inspired to become a “d’Skills Rebel Commander,” where you’ll have the chance to get YOUR students involved with this one-of-a-kind experience, and gently guide them during their participation in d’Skills bootcamps at the rebel base.
Listen to Hannah’s episode on the WhatSchoolCouldBe podcast to learn about d’Skills.
What You’ll Take Away:
Practical Tools: Gain back time + energy, while gaining expertise in cutting-edge AI tools, positioning yourself as a leader in educational technology.
Student Success: Learn methods to equip your students with the skills + mindsets necessary for success in today’s technology-driven world, opening doors to future opportunities.
Certification and Recognition: Leave the workshop not only with new skills but also as a certified d’Skills Rebel Commander, ready to make a significant impact on students in your classroom through real-world projects and opportunities.
Exclusive d’Skills Rebel Commander Invitations: Participants will have the opportunity to receive exclusive scholarships for students to join d’Skills bootcamps, fostering the next generation of digital natives.
Join us to transform your educational approach, minimize burnout, and maximize productivity, all while preparing your students for a bright future in the digital age.
About our Partners
Hannah Williams
CEO and founder of d'Skills.
At 25, Hannah's entrepreneurial journey, which started at age 12 in her father's pickup truck, has led her to found d’Skills, a venture reshaping education by focusing on real-world skills over traditional test prep. With a college degree in international business by 18, she's now making strides in preparing students for an AI-driven future. Her start-up, backed by notable figures including Chris Lochhead who praises her as "a pioneer of our time," has sparked diverse opinions, being seen as innovative by many but "offensive to some" in traditional educational circles.
Gabriel Yanagihara
Born and raised in Hawaii, Gabriel Yanagihara is an experienced educator with a background in computer science, creative media, and video game design. In addition to teaching, Gabriel is an advocate for Professional Development and Community Outreach, and gives Keynotes, Teacher Trainings, and PD workshops on topics including Esports, Minecraft, Virtual Reality, and Machine Learning AI tools. Since 2009, he has provided training and support to over 1000 teachers and educators across the islands and abroad.
In an era where technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), are reshaping the global workforce, the traditional education system is increasingly becoming obsolete. This disconnect between educational curricula and the real-world demands of the job market is leaving a generation at risk of entering the workforce ill-prepared. d’Skills, founded by Hannah Grady Williams, emerges as a visionary edtech start-up aimed at bridging this gap. Through its innovative 10-week sprints, d’Skills equips motivated young adults—especially those from Gen Z, the "native digitals"—with the critical digital skills required to excel in the modern workforce. This white paper explores d’Skills’ mission, its pedagogical approach, and its potential impact on reshaping education to empower the next generation for success in the AI-driven future.
ORGANIZERS
The vision of the What School Could Be Podcast is that innovation in education comes from the grassroots: From the public, private and charter school educators and education leaders engaging students and their communities on the ground. The mission of the What School Could Be Podcast is to give full voice to those educators and education leaders so that their stories of innovation, creativity and imagination might inspire others towards student-driven and relevant learning. This podcast amplifies the belief that student engagement, purpose and joy comes from project-based, problem-based, challenge-based, essential question-based, product-based, place-based, culture-based, intentional design-based, personalized, individualized, multiple intelligences-based, inquiry-based, competency-based deeper teaching and learning. Find this podcast at Apple, Spotify, TuneIn, Amazon, Google, Pandora, iHeart Radio and all the other podcast stores. Join the What School Could Be global online community by installing the app on your smartphone or tablet.
Hawaii Dept of Education
Welcome to the Hawaii State Department of Computer Science program, where our mission is to provide equitable access to high-quality computer science (CS) education to all preK-12 students within the Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE). We are committed to realizing our vision: ensuring that all HIDOE students graduate with foundational CS knowledge and skills, empowering them to thrive in our increasingly digital world. As technological advancements continue to reshape our society at an unprecedented pace, the HIDOE recognizes the urgent need for a comprehensive statewide CS education program. Our program is built on the belief that every student deserves access to CS education, regardless of background or prior experience. With preK-12 CS learning opportunities, students not only develop technical proficiency but also critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity – essential skills for navigating an interconnected world. With a dedicated team of educators, industry partners, and community stakeholders, we are committed to fostering innovation, equity, and excellence in CS education.
Miki Cacace
Miki Cacace presently serves as a State Resource Teacher at the Hawaii State Department of Education, offering comprehensive support for computer science education across the state. Her role involves aiding educators in the seamless integration of computer science into their curriculum. Furthermore, Miki brings over 14 years of teaching experience in K-8 educational settings, with her most recent 5 years dedicated to teaching computer science and coding in a middle school environment.
Brett Tanaka
Brett is the Computer Science Educational Specialist for the Hawaii State Department of Education provides statewide K-12 computer science education-related support. Brett has also served as Past-President for the Hawai’i Society for Technology in Education (HSTE) ISTE-affiliate chapter and is the current President and founding member for the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Hawaii CSTA-affiliate chapter.
Josh Reppun
Josh Reppun is the founder of Most Likely to Succeed in Hawai’i, a “movement” founded by extraordinary people dedicated to developing global public, private and charter school conversations around Ted Dintersmith’s film, Most Likely to Succeed and his book, What School Could Be.
