IDEACon 2026: Big Ideas and Practical Practices

From February 9–12, 2026, many Barrington 220 staff joined educators from across the region for IDEAcon 2026, a conference that delivered a fast-moving mix of classroom-ready strategies and big ideas for the future. This year, a clear through-line emerged across every session: AI isn’t the point; learning is. The most impactful takeaways weren't about adding more tools to our plates, they were about strengthening purpose, agency, collaboration, and information literacy as our schools navigate an AI-saturated world.

Barrington 220 at IDEACon

Barrington 220 was well-represented by 33 attendees from across our schools and departments. Attendees represented nearly all of our schools. 

• Barrington High School
• Barrington Middle School—Prairie
• Barrington Middle School—Station
• Countryside
• Grove Street
• Hough Street
• Lines
• North Barrington
• Roslyn Road
• ELC

Teacher Librarians, instructional coaches, classroom teachers, LTAs, STEM teachers, and district leaders all attended to bring back diverse perspectives.

Conference Highlights (from our Barrington 220 staff)

A few themes emerged from the notes shared from the attendees. The themes reinforced our district's commitment to innovation and Framework 220.

• "Be a Lighthouse" Leadership—Kunal Dalal pushed an optimistic, ground stance: Explore, create joy, and most importantly don't do AI work in isolation—process it with colleagues and the community.
• AI for Workflow, Not Replacing Thinking—Multiple sessions focused on workflows using Google tools, Gemini Gems, and sources researched with NotebookLM to support learning and teaching.
• Creation over Consumption—From video storytelling (Google WeVideo) to Canva creations, the most innovative sessions treated media and tools as a pathway to student voice, learner agency, and authentic learning.
• Information Evaluation as a Core Skill—Sessions offered reframed media literacy for the AI era and highlighted the need to teach students to evaluate sources, purpose, authority, and evidence.

Major Takeaways from Barrington 220 Staff

Shannon Feineis from BHS captured the heartbeat of the keynote: AI use is risky when done alone. We stay more grounded when we sit with a colleague and talk through what we’re finding and building. She also captured practical ideas for using Gemini Gems to store context for repeated tasks and Gemini Canvas to build interactive learning games.

Jen Parisi from Roslyn brought back one of the most actionable frameworks: deciding when to emphasize the potential of technology versus the power of collaboration. Two of the catchiest strategies were "Talk then Tech" and "Close with Closed Screens."

Laura Winter from Prairie hit three district priorities: STEAM with purpose, evaluating information via the TRAPPED framework, and "building the info first" before using AI to generate media.

Moving Forward Together

Just like our recent Institute Day, the learning from IDEAcon moves us from "that was interesting" to "here is what we are going to do next." Whether the focus was inquiry, reflection, or new classroom tools, the work connects directly back to our instructional practices and to Framework 220.