SITA 2026

Check in and grab some coffee before the day starts!

Merge 3D: Immersive Learning Just Got a Major Upgrade
Big news from ISTE — Merge Education just launched a platform overhaul and you can be one of the first to experience it. 

Merge 3D is now fully web-based, meaning no more app downloads, no device restrictions, and no IT tickets. Chromebooks, laptops, tablets, PCs — if it has a browser, it runs Merge 3D. 

In this hands-on session, we'll explore what's new and what's possible across the full platform for K–12 learners. You'll get your hands on curriculum-aligned 3D simulations, an ever-growing library of interactive 3D objects students can hold and rotate, and AI-powered creation tools that turn a sketch or photo into a 3D object in seconds. We'll also demo immersive interaction modes — head tracking, hand tracking, and anaglyph 3D glasses — that transform any screen into a 3D window without any special hardware. If you've seen the demo in the past, join anyway, as a lot has changed. You'll be one of the first groups in the country (maybe even the very first) to try this out and see how simple the designers made it to find course aligned projects.

I'll also walk you through licensing options designed to fit real school and library budgets — from single-classroom pilots to district-wide deployments. Even if you have no current budget, you'll receive value. Merge agreeed to extend a free trial for you to use in your classroom through the end of September and you get to walk away with a free Merge Cube (a $29 value)-for up to 30 attendees.

Come ready to experience something new — and leave with a tool, a plan, and a free cube in your hand.

Indi is a low-tech, screen-free way to teach core computational thinking—using colorful command blocks or color-coded cards that students physically arrange, test, and refine; it’s well suited to Pre-K through elementary grades with developmentally appropriate short tasks, vocabulary (step, repeat, when/if), movement-based games, partner/small-group challenges, and unplugged assessments teachers can use to observe reasoning. The tactile color-block approach makes abstract ideas tangible and encourages problem solving, collaboration, and transfer to digital coding later.

For ready-to-use activities, lesson plans, printables, and pacing/differentiation suggestions, see the presentation “Curriculum Ideas for Indi for 4K-3”