The goal of CU at the Mine 2026 was not to impress teachers with technology. The goal was to help them leave with tools that could actually survive a real classroom.
That distinction matters.
A tool can look impressive in a demo and still fail in a school environment. Real classrooms have limited prep time, uneven Wi-Fi, varied student motivation, tight schedules, and the eternal student question: “Is this graded?”
What we covered
The workshop connected three layers:
- AI-assisted curriculum design — helping teachers brainstorm, adapt, and improve lesson plans while keeping teacher expertise at the center.
- Virtual Labs + 3D Minerals — interactive tools for mining, mineral identification, reclamation, processing, and real-world applications.
- PathWise career maps — connecting minerals and mining to engineering, geology, environmental science, robotics, AI, operations, and workforce pathways.
The product lesson
The teacher is the user before the student is the user.
If the teacher cannot understand the tool quickly, adapt it to their class, and trust it in front of students, the product will not matter.
What I learned
Classroom-ready technology needs three things: low setup friction, clear learning value, and a path from curiosity to action. That is the standard I want to keep applying across education products.