This year's conference theme continues to be "The Joy of Teaching" with a focus of wellness.  It has been a point of focus especially during and after COVID.  Keynote speakers spoke about work-life balance, making good habits and breaking bad habits, and resilience.  All in the hopes that it can give us some tools to cope with the stress that comes with the job to prevent burn out and maintain retention.

Other keynote speakers of interest over the weekend was Collective Agreement Updates by Michelle Glavine.  Michelle spoke about trends in negotiation items that divisions have brought in to bargain, wage averages, days on grid averages, and other pertinent information that can be found in the Collective Agreement in general.  This is an invaluable session for new teachers or just teachers who would like to know what benefits and services are available to them and what is on the table currently being bargained for.

An afternoon was set aside for Substitute Teachers' Group Chairs to meet and discuss current events within their division.  This is a place where we get to hear about current practices and struggles in each division whether it's at the Local level or at the Division Office (HR) level and exchange ideas on how to improve each other's situations.  We also touch on topics such as how to establish a Substitute Teachers' Group, PDs that are available through the ATA, and the purpose and functions of the ARA.  We wrapped up the session feeling that more time is needed to do some PD that is specifically for the Chairs so they have the tools they need to promote the group.

A typical attendee can choose 2 elective sessions to attend on Saturday, however, due to the Chairs meeting on Saturday afternoon, I was only able to attend one elective.  I chose to attend How to Leverage ChatGPT and Other AI Technologies as a Substitute Teacher session.  Since AI is becoming more prevalent in our everyday lives, it would be beneficial to learn how it can help me.  The biggest takeaway from the session are:

• Don't ever think that you are cheating and letting the computer do your work

• AI is there to help you regain work-life balance

• You still have to use your professional training to vet the work AI produces <--KEY

• Upload student's work into AI for evaluation and parsing with caution due to privacy concerns

• It can most certainly generate a viable lesson with enrichment activity, plus evaluation materials in a pinch

Other sessions, if you are new to subbing or teaching, that are worthwhile to attend include What does Teacher Employment Services do for You?, Your Pension Matters—For Substitute Teachers, and any other sessions revolving around LGBTQ, indigenous, and racial topics I think are invaluable to all teachers new and seasoned.