FY25 Pre-Conference: AI Empowerment

Sponsored by

The AI Empowerment Pre-Conference is intended for anyone looking to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, to increase efficiencies in their school business administrator role and office.

May 13, 2025 - 8:00-4:00, Nauset 3, Sea Crest Beach Resort; breakfast and lunch are included.

Session Objectives:

1. Understand the foundational principles of AI and its relevance to school business operations.
2. Learn practical techniques and best practices for using AI tools to automate tasks, analyze data, and enhance decision-making.
3. Develop confidence in applying AI solutions to real-world challenges in your school district, transforming routine processes into efficient, data-driven workflows.

AI Empowerment

Kick off your day with an AI training session designed specifically for School Business Administrators. The morning offers an immersive introduction to the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and its practical applications in school business operations. You’ll learn the core concepts behind AI tools, explore prompt engineering, and see firsthand how AI can streamline your daily tasks—from automating routine communications to enhancing data analysis and decision-making.

Throughout the session, we’ll combine clear, step-by-step demonstrations with engaging real-world examples that illustrate the transformative impact of AI in school settings. Whether you are completely new to AI or looking to deepen your understanding, you’ll gain valuable insights and practical skills to integrate AI into your operational workflow. We encourage you to bring your documents—such as budget reports, policy manuals, or communication materials—so you can start testing the AI technology during our live demo session using your own data.

AI Catalyst

In the afternoon, harness AI and transform school business operations. You will explore innovative AI tools and techniques that streamline everyday tasks—from advanced data analysis and document revision to creating custom chatbots based on your own documents.

This hands-on experience invites you to bring your ideas and documents—such as budget reports from the past two years, policies and procedure documents, current communication materials, financial statements, or board meeting minutes—to work on real-world projects that directly impact your school district. Learn how to apply AI to enhance data insights, automate routine tasks, and elevate operational efficiency.

Whether you’re looking to spark innovation in your current processes or are simply curious about the potential of AI, this session is your launchpad. Prepare to dive in, collaborate with peers, and bring your vision to life with actionable insights and practical tools.

Before May 13, please ensure you have activated the following:

• Sign up for a ChatGPT account (a free account will suffice, though we’ll demonstrate some capabilities of the Plus subscription).
• If you are part of a Google district, ask your IT department to enable Gemini, Gemini extensions, and Notebook LM for your Google account.
• Request that your IT team enable Gemini, allow Gemini extensions, and NotebookLM for your Google account to fully participate in the hands-on activities.

Note from the presenter: During the training, I'll primarily demonstrate the free version of Gemini. To fully participate, attendees should enable extensions in Gemini so they can access their Google Workspace. I'll also show how to train a custom chatbot. These custom chatbots are called "Gemini Gems" in Gemini and "My GPTs" in ChatGPT, and the paid subscription also grants access to many AI models. While I'll focus on the free version, I recommend attendees have a paid subscription to either ChatGPT or Gemini for the best experience.