2026 Utah Rural Schools Conference has ended

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2026 Utah Rural Schools Conference

Welcome to URSA 2026 at Southern Utah University! All sessions will be in buildings on the upper campus (east end). Here’s the Campus Map if needed.

WiFi: eduroam or SUU-Conference, password "summertimefun"

PLAN AHEAD - Tentative Future Conference Dates
July 7&8, 2027 - Price, UT
July 17-19, 2028 - Richfield, UT

JS

Josh Sulser

Rich School District

Teacher - SRE

11:00am MDT

Conference Credit Online Form Conference Registration, Badge Pick-Up & Text Alerts Opt-In AU - Auditorium Foyer

12:10pm MDT

Beyond Self Care: Leading Systemic Approach to Well-Being for Educators AU - AuditoriumGail Markin

1:30pm MDT

Craft Your Digital Teaching Assistant: Building Custom AI Assistants with Google Gemini Gems ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Rob Bentley

2:50pm MDT

Want to make a Canvas Quiz in three minutes? You can. CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Steve Weller “This Class is Therapy” Gamification, Learning, and Mental Health SC 129 - Science Center, Room 129David J. Rodríguez Sanfiorenzo An Educational Expedition: Rediscovering Educator Joy ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Laureen Graves • Heather Kennedy

4:00pm MDT

Evening Activities Cedar City, Utah

8:00am MDT

🎒 Explore the Exhibitor Hall & Educational Partners CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level) Conference Registration, Badge Pick-Up & Text Alerts Opt-In AU - Auditorium Foyer

9:45am MDT

Canva Reimagined: Unlock the Magic ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Kayla Towner Commemorate America250 Utah with History, Civics, and Heart GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306Rebecca Kirkman • Wendy Rex Atzet Kinesthetic Astronomy 4th grade GC 311 - General Classroom Building, Room 311Jayceen Craven Walker

11:10am MDT

Beyond the B.E.A.C.O.N.: Lighting the Way for AI in Education SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Becca Esplin

1:50pm MDT

From Prompt to Page: Building Better Canvas Content with AI CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Crystal Stott Prompting, Not Cheating: Building Authentic Literacy Skills in the AI Era - USBE + Google Sponsored Session ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104Chris McCaffrey Art Tools and Teacher Tricks GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306Liz Brown

2:11pm MDT

Virtual Field Trips: Instructional Resources ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Heather Kennedy

3:10pm MDT

Becoming Digitally Deliberate GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Talmage Erickson Reaching Every Student: Using Early Warning Systems to Support Student Success CC Vermillion Cliffs - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Vermillion Cliffs Room (100 Level)Kaylee Dunn

8:00am MDT

🎒 Explore the Exhibitor Hall & Educational Partners CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level) Conference Credit Online Form

9:50am MDT

Surviving the RISE: Lowering the Cognitive Lift SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128Rachael Coleman • Lynn Gutzwiller Unplug and Play: Teaching Computational Thinking Skills Through Game Play SC 129 - Science Center, Room 129Traci Rindlisbach

11:10am MDT

Mammoth Plans and Jazz Hands: Building an Innovation Lab for Students CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Jared Covili Beyond the Read Aloud: Bringing Stories to Life CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Sally Baird