2026 CTEANS - What's old is NEW!

This session is intended for the tasks of ONLY the planning and hosting team(s) of the Professional Association.

Wood Carving - Learn how to carve in wood with a knife. You will also learn how to prepare and maintain a knife edge. If you have a carving knife already, please bring it along and you can tune it up for use. Greg will provide patterns to use in carving for the classroom. Safety gloves, wood, patterns and carving knives will be provided.

Green Careers: In this interactive, escape-room style challenge, participants will work in teams each taking on a green building sector role. Their mission? Design a net-zero home! 🌎 Each task uncovers a code that leads to the next one, all while learning about exciting careers in the green building sector!

Hands-on Woodworking for the Classroom - This interactive session will guide educators through the process of crafting a small wooden salt spoon—a perfect beginner-friendly project that introduces students to woodworking techniques in an approachable way. Participants will learn about design, carving, and finishing methods that can be easily adapted to classroom settings with minimal tools. The workshop will also highlight how such projects can foster creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on engagement in Career and Technology Education (CTE). Attendees will leave with a finished spoon and practical knowledge on how to bring similar projects into their classrooms, making woodworking accessible to all students, regardless of skill level.

This session is for participants that would like additional information about maintaining tools and machines in the production lab. Participants will be emailed the week of conference in order to focus the session on participant maintenance needs. The session will also cover useful items to have for maintenance purposes.

This session will focus on helping young people step into their voice, build self-belief, and develop the mindset needed to lead in their communities. Session will incorporate interactive elements and practical tools you can apply immediately. This session will be engaging, story-driven, and tailored to resonate with youth, with time for interaction and Q&A.

Laser Engravers can be great educational tools in a number of contexts. They can be good for personalizing student projects in Tech Ed, but they can also be good with O2 cohorts and Entrepreneurship courses where students are creating a product and learning about costs, marketing and production. In the first half of this session, Andrew will cover challenges, provincial policy and procurement concerns with Laser Cutters and Engravers. We will compare them to current CNC machines in schools in terms of their advantages and drawbacks. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about the technology and learn about how they might be able to get funding for their own engraver- and how to get it safely approved for use in their schools. In the second half of this session we will engrave our own projects with a LaserPecker 2 (LP2) engraver + rotary attachment and use it as a way to have further discussions about whether they are appropriate for your teaching environment. We will use software to design and create a project each participant can take home!

Interested in introducing woodturning into your classroom or learning a new shop skill yourself? This beginner-friendly session will guide participants through the process of turning a wooden pen on the lathe from start to finish. The session will cover basic lathe safety, tool selection, blank preparation, turning techniques, assembly, and finishing. Participants will also discuss practical tips for running successful pen-turning projects with students, including material selection, classroom management, and project setup. A great introduction for any teacher looking to add an engaging and highly motivating project to their Tech Ed or woodworking program.

Ready to put AI to work for you? Join us for a practical look at Gemini and how it can be used with students and to make your life as a teacher a little easier. From classroom activities and student learning to planning, brainstorming, and resource creation, discover practical ways AI can support the work you already do. No AI expertise required - just bring your curiosity and your questions!  

Are you a coding novice looking to teach Computer Programming? I'm going to show you how I use CodeHS to teach Computer Programming 12 without being an expert myself. This program allows you to control how the curriculum outcomes are achieved, and to avoid AI integrity issues.

Skills Canada – Nova Scotia will be running an interactive trades-based workshop using kits from the most recent Try-A-Trade® Take-Out program lineup. This will be a great opportunity for teachers to learn more about Skills Canada – Nova Scotia initiatives as they put together a hands-on trades-based project.

Visit the Trades Exhibition Hall, a one-of-a-kind career awareness facility and one of the most in-demand field trip destinations in the province. Participants will tour the space and experience a variety of interactive exhibits, including skilled trades simulators. If you teach trades, technology education, O2, or career education, this session will provide ideas, connections, and inspiration you can bring directly back to your program. Note: Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the facility, located approximately 15 minutes from the conference site.

A chance to share resources for Career Development 10 and Community Based Learning 11, as well as out-of-class experiences.

Wood Carving - Learn how to carve in wood with a knife. You will also learn how to prepare and maintain a knife edge. If you have a carving knife already, please bring it along and you can tune it up for use. Greg will provide patterns to use in carving for the classroom. Safety gloves, wood, patterns and carving knives will be provided.

Green Careers: In this interactive, escape-room style challenge, participants will work in teams each taking on a green building sector role. Their mission? Design a net-zero home! 🌎 Each task uncovers a code that leads to the next one, all while learning about exciting careers in the green building sector!

Hands-on Woodworking for the Classroom - This interactive session will guide educators through the process of crafting a small wooden salt spoon—a perfect beginner-friendly project that introduces students to woodworking techniques in an approachable way. Participants will learn about design, carving, and finishing methods that can be easily adapted to classroom settings with minimal tools. The workshop will also highlight how such projects can foster creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on engagement in Career and Technology Education (CTE). Attendees will leave with a finished spoon and practical knowledge on how to bring similar projects into their classrooms, making woodworking accessible to all students, regardless of skill level.

This session is for participants that would like additional information about maintaining tools and machines in the production lab. Participants will be emailed the week of conference in order to focus the session on participant maintenance needs. The session will also cover useful items to have for maintenance purposes.

This session will focus on helping young people step into their voice, build self-belief, and develop the mindset needed to lead in their communities. Session will incorporate interactive elements and practical tools you can apply immediately. This session will be engaging, story-driven, and tailored to resonate with youth, with time for interaction and Q&A.

Laser Engravers can be great educational tools in a number of contexts. They can be good for personalizing student projects in Tech Ed, but they can also be good with O2 cohorts and Entrepreneurship courses where students are creating a product and learning about costs, marketing and production. In the first half of this session, Andrew will cover challenges, provincial policy and procurement concerns with Laser Cutters and Engravers. We will compare them to current CNC machines in schools in terms of their advantages and drawbacks. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about the technology and learn about how they might be able to get funding for their own engraver- and how to get it safely approved for use in their schools. In the second half of this session we will engrave our own projects with a LaserPecker 2 (LP2) engraver + rotary attachment and use it as a way to have further discussions about whether they are appropriate for your teaching environment. We will use software to design and create a project each participant can take home!

Interested in introducing woodturning into your classroom or learning a new shop skill yourself? This beginner-friendly session will guide participants through the process of turning a wooden pen on the lathe from start to finish. The session will cover basic lathe safety, tool selection, blank preparation, turning techniques, assembly, and finishing. Participants will also discuss practical tips for running successful pen-turning projects with students, including material selection, classroom management, and project setup. A great introduction for any teacher looking to add an engaging and highly motivating project to their Tech Ed or woodworking program.

Ready to put AI to work for you? Join us for a practical look at Gemini and how it can be used with students and to make your life as a teacher a little easier. From classroom activities and student learning to planning, brainstorming, and resource creation, discover practical ways AI can support the work you already do. No AI expertise required - just bring your curiosity and your questions!  

Are you a coding novice looking to teach Computer Programming? I'm going to show you how I use CodeHS to teach Computer Programming 12 without being an expert myself. This program allows you to control how the curriculum outcomes are achieved, and to avoid AI integrity issues.

Skills Canada – Nova Scotia will be running an interactive trades-based workshop using kits from the most recent Try-A-Trade® Take-Out program lineup. This will be a great opportunity for teachers to learn more about Skills Canada – Nova Scotia initiatives as they put together a hands-on trades-based project.

Visit the Trades Exhibition Hall, a one-of-a-kind career awareness facility and one of the most in-demand field trip destinations in the province. Participants will tour the space and experience a variety of interactive exhibits, including skilled trades simulators. If you teach trades, technology education, O2, or career education, this session will provide ideas, connections, and inspiration you can bring directly back to your program. Note: Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the facility, located approximately 15 minutes from the conference site.

An opportunity to focus on the in-class component of Co-op, especially workplace safety training.