Dear MindShare Community Innovator,

Welcome to the Canadian EdTech Top 10 Report: Issue #355!

As we wrap up an exciting November and shift our gaze toward the final stretch of 2025, I’m thrilled to bring you another packed edition filled with insights, innovation, and inspiration from across Canada’s rapidly evolving learning and technology ecosystem and beyond.

This week’s issue highlights a powerful moment of reflection and momentum following the 16th Canadian EdTech Leadership AI Summit. If you missed it, or want to revisit the conversations that shaped the national dialogue, our recorded Fireside Chat from Day 1 is now available. The energy, expertise, and collaborative spirit on display continue to fuel the work ahead as we advance human-centered, responsible AI in education.

🎙️ Quote of the Week:

In a timely reminder about thoughtful AI adoption, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, professor emeritus UofT, renowned as the “godfather of AI,” offers this sage advice:

“ A person using an AI can still do critical thinking… What universities (K12 School Districts) have to encourage is people to use AI well.”

A powerful call for balance and purpose as AI becomes embedded into everyday learning.

Community Spotlight: Celebrate With Us!

We’re less than two weeks away from the MindShare Workspace 8th Anniversary, EdTech Canada Holiday Party , a special moment to gather, reconnect, and celebrate the incredible community that has shaped Canada’s first coworking space in a shopping mall.

🎉 Save the Date

📅 Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | ⏰ 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
📍 MindShare Workspace, Erin Mills Town Centre

Please RSVP so we can prepare food, seating, and holiday treats.
We also encourage guests to bring a non-perishable item to support the Mississauga Food Bank.

🔍 C21 "NEW" AI Report & C21 Leader to Leader Podcast Spotlight

1. Dive into the latest C21 Canada AI Task Force Report and explore new use cases, including Nova Scotia Community College’s inspiring model for boosting productivity and student engagement through increased AI capacity. These real-world applications are helping redefine what’s possible when technology and human ingenuity align.

2. C21 Canada Podcast | Inside Emanate: Dr. Chris Fuzessy, Supt. Foothills SD, C21 CEO Academy Member & Author on Leadership, Wellbeing & AI in Schools

🛠️ AI Tool of the Week

Don’t miss our featured AI tool, your next game-changer may already be a click away.

🎧 MindShareTV Podcast Feature

This week on MindShareTV, we spotlight a must-watch conversation on AI literacy with ChatterHigh x Digital Moment. Essential insights for educators striving to empower students with the skills and awareness needed in an AI-driven world.

📚 Book of the Week

Education for Human Flourishing offers a compelling vision for reimagining the purpose of education in an era of rapid technological and cultural change. A thoughtful read for anyone invested in building vibrant, meaningful learning futures.

📰 Top News Across K-12 and Post-Secondary

From Google’s $30M global push for AI education, to groundbreaking research on teacher experiences with AI, to historic investments in trades training in British Columbia—this week’s top stories underscore a sector in transformation. Whether it's safeguarding student data, accelerating quantum innovation, or reshaping international student mobility, the shifts are big, bold, and consequential.

In Late Breaking news! CoSN Releases First Ever Canada State of EdTech Report

CoSN  released results from the inaugural Canada State of EdTech 2025 report, offering the first-ever nationwide view of technology priorities, challenges and opportunities in Canadian K–12 education. 

And, stay tuned!

📣 Coming Soon: Your Chance to Nominate the 2025 Learning & Technology Newsmaker of the Year

Who inspired you most in the EdTech world this year? We can’t wait to hear your picks!

Together, we’re charting a path toward a future where innovation, equity, and human potential converge. Thank you for your ongoing leadership, curiosity, and commitment to building a better, smarter, more connected Canada.

In closing, wishing our American friends & colleagues a memorable Thanksgiving Weekend! 

Until next time, let’s keep the learning curve steep!

Best, R.

Robert Martellacci, M.A. EdTech
Chair, 16th Canadian EdTech AI Leadership Summit
Founder & President, MindShare Learning Media
Chief Digital Publisher, The MindShare Learning Report™
Founder, MindShare Workspace
CEO & Co-founder, C21 Canada

A new study from the University of Calgary highlights how Canadian teachers are experiencing AI in classrooms with both hope and deep concern, revealing a widening gap between policy expectations and day-to-day classroom reality. Teachers reported an assessment crisis, growing equity gaps, and rising pressure to respond to AI while already facing overwhelming workloads and emotional demands. Although many see AI’s potential to reduce administrative burdens and enhance lesson planning, they fear that poorly designed policies could erode professional autonomy, increase burnout, and turn teaching into a standardized checklist rather than a human-centered practice. The study calls for teacher-led, ethical, and equity-driven AI policies, emphasizing that responsible AI integration must start by listening to educators and grounding innovation in the realities of classroom life.

On National Child Day, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne reaffirmed the need to strengthen privacy protections for children, announcing a joint resolution with provincial and territorial counterparts focused on safeguarding student data in educational technologies. The Commissioner also launched the OPC Youth Council, a diverse group of young Canadians who will advise on digital privacy risks and help guide outreach and policy initiatives. The release highlights ongoing national and international efforts — including new research, investigations into platforms like TikTok, and global privacy sweeps — aimed at addressing risks such as data breaches, profiling, biometric surveillance, and manipulative design targeting youth. With parents and teachers expressing high levels of concern, the OPC is advancing a children’s privacy code, expanding research, and promoting stronger safeguards so young people can safely learn, communicate, and participate online.

British Columbia has announced a major $241-million investment to dramatically expand trades training over the next three years, marking the province’s largest increase in skilled-trades funding in nearly two decades. Premier David Eby said the initiative will help British Columbians secure well-paid jobs tied to major upcoming projects in construction, clean energy, mining, and advanced technology, while ensuring industries have the workforce needed to avoid delays. The investment will double the current trades-training budget, increasing apprenticeship seats, reducing waitlists, accelerating certification (starting with crane operators), and improving mobility across trades as labour demands evolve. With nearly 50,000 apprentices already registered and strong support from unions, colleges, and SkilledTradesBC, the province says this historic commitment will strengthen B.C.’s workforce, economy, and long-term capacity to deliver large-scale infrastructure and innovation projects.

Amazon has announced the 2026 Amazon Nova AI Challenge, a global university competition focused on building trustworthy, safety-aligned AI agents for real-world software engineering workflows. This year's challenge emphasizes multi-step, agentic development tasks that require teams to balance increasing model utility with strong safeguards, reflecting AI’s evolution from simple code generators to systems that plan, build, and validate entire applications. Ten selected teams will operate as either developer teams strengthening agent reliability or red teams probing systems for vulnerabilities, with evaluations measuring both performance and safety simultaneously. With applications opening November 10, 2025, the competition aims to accelerate research in secure, high-impact AI systems while training the next generation of engineers to build responsible, resilient agentic tools.

The University of Lethbridge’s Dr. Richelle Marynowski is examining how artificial intelligence can strengthen, not replace, teachers, arguing that AI’s real value lies in reducing workload and supporting better instructional practices. In her upcoming PUBlic Professor Series talk, she notes that while fears of AI taking over classrooms are common, effective use of AI still requires human judgment, oversight, and pedagogical expertise. Marynowski highlights how AI could help combat teacher burnout by handling time-consuming tasks, allowing educators to focus more on students and learning. Drawing on her decades of classroom and research experience, and her role in co-founding an AI startup for teacher support, she emphasizes a future where AI enhances teacher capacity rather than making the profession obsolete.

A Brock University research team led by Associate Professor Jianbo Gao is developing ultra-sensitive photosensing chips made from advanced nanostructured materials to accelerate breakthroughs in quantum technology, autonomous vehicles, fibre-optic communications, and generative AI. Built from nanoscale semiconducting quantum dots, these devices can detect extremely weak light, capture ultrafast dynamics, and operate far beyond the range of human vision. Gao’s lab is using a state-of-the-art ultrafast laser to engineer chips that could strengthen secure quantum communication networks, improve nighttime vision for self-driving cars, and enable new forms of infrared medical imaging for AI systems. Supported by an NSERC Idea to Innovation grant, the project is now moving toward commercialization through Brock LINC, positioning the research as a catalyst for Canada’s next generation of high-impact technological innovation.

Researchers at the University of Manitoba, in partnership with Magellan Aerospace and Manitoba First Nations, are developing Canada’s first domestically built satellite to orbit the moon, funded through a $6.9-million Canadian Space Agency contract. The CubeSat, set to launch in 2027, will map the lunar surface, search for minerals useful for life-support and fuel, and help prepare for future missions tied to Artemis and eventual Mars exploration. The project blends cutting-edge engineering with Indigenous knowledge, engaging youth across Manitoba to participate in navigation design, drone work, and STEM learning rooted in cultural heritage. Researchers say the mission represents a major step forward for Canada’s space capabilities and a milestone for Manitoba’s growing leadership in lunar exploration.

Country Manager, Crimson Education

Hybrid, Toronto, ON, Canada

D2L Senior Software Developer AI

Toronto, ON, Canada

Senior Account Director, Enterprise - Modern Campus

Hybrid, Toronto, ON, Canada