Students


KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

StaceyZucker

Stacey Zucker - Interim Director of Education

Stacey Zucker joined the Toronto District School Board as Associate Director of Education in 2022 and assumed the role of Interim Director – a position held for a period during the 2024-2025 school year – in December 2025.

With nearly 20 years of experience in education, Stacey previously served as the Associate Director, Support Services at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board where she oversaw the budget and capital planning process, Information Technology and Student Transportation.

Originally from Labrador and a beneficiary of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, she is the daughter of a residential school survivor and has a personal understanding of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Stacey is accredited as a Certified Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant and has also earned an Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Certificate.

Dr. Kris Alexander

Dr. Kris Alexander - Educational Technologist & “The Professor of Video Games”

Dr. Kris Alexander is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology and Serious Game Design at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), where he is the Director of the Red Bull Gaming Hub - a state-of-the-art facility fostering interdisciplinary game design, solo production, and the evolution of education. With a PhD in educational technology and curriculum development, Dr. Alexander is dedicated to leveraging AI and video games to enhance learning, health, and daily life, emphasizing purpose-driven innovation and “Techquity” (technological equity) to empower communities.

His TED Talk, "How Video Games Can Level Up the Way You Learn," explores the pedagogical power of audio, text, video, and interactivity in games, while his TEDx Talk, "How Artificial Intelligence Can Level Up the Way You Teach," demonstrates AI's role in transforming education through tools like achievement systems and personalized prompts. At THE Global AI Summit 2025 hosted by TMU, Dr. Alexander showcased how generative AI can integrate into everyday settings like classrooms to boost creativity and self-sufficiency, such as building apps for sleep training or indoor food growth.

As keynote speaker at the 2025 Health and Technology Symposium in "What the Health? Beyond Technology," he highlighted game-based interventions for health outcomes, including Tetris for PTSD reduction, VR for burn victim pain relief, digital twins for hospital navigation, and avatars leveraging the Proteus Effect to improve patient disclosure. His work bridges disciplines via the Medici Effect, driving collaborations that yield tangible results: higher student engagement (e.g., 91.4% retention in his 864-student classes), accessible tools for educators (e.g., AI-enhanced homework for diverse needs), and community initiatives like teaching underserved youth how to build computers.

Dr. Alexander's obsession with teaching technology use extends to advocating for local AI models to promote privacy and sustainability, ensuring educational technology fosters real-world impact, from motivating K-12 students to advancing interdisciplinary health innovations.