NATS Fall Conference 2026

Demystifying AI

A hands-on exploration of LLMs, guardrails and classroom applications. Four live labs. Follow along on your phone if you like.

  • Friday, October 9, 2026
  • Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Start with Ask AI See all four labs
The session robot, waving

Watch, or follow along.

How this hour works

Four live labs, on the big screen.

Follow along on your phone if you like. One link carries all four.

  1. Lab 1

    Ask AI

    Does it know, or just sound sure?

    Ask AI assistants a question about NDE science standards and compare their answers.

    Open the lab
  2. Lab 2

    Build a simulation

    Turn it into a simulation

    Pick an indicator and watch AI turn it into an interactive simulation.

    Open the lab
  3. Lab 3

    Find misconceptions

    See them before the test

    Pick an indicator you teach and use AI to surface student misconceptions.

    Open the lab
  4. Lab 4

    Interview a student

    Be the student

    Be the student. An AI interviewer asks about the learning outcomes.

    Open the lab

Keep going after today

Nebraska AI Literacy & Workforce
Infrastructure Initiative

AI literacy for every corner of Nebraska.

NA'WI brings free AI literacy sessions to rural Nebraska, in person, online and by hologram. It is led by AI-CCORE at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, with Nebraska EPSCoR.

The PanhandleSandhills & North PlatteSouth-CentralNortheastUNO, Omaha

Four rural regions on a three-year rotation. A UNO instructor can appear live, by hologram, anywhere on this map.

of rural Nebraskans have used an AI tool
27%

of rural Nebraskans have used an AI tool

say they are barely or not at all informed about AI
53%

say they are barely or not at all informed about AI

rural Nebraskans NA'WI plans to reach in three years
450

rural Nebraskans NA'WI plans to reach in three years

Nebraska Rural Poll, 2024 (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

Three sessions, one certificate

This hour follows the same arc.

  1. Session 1LiteracyWhy AI, when AI
  2. Session 2FluencyJudge the output, protect the data
  3. Session 3ProficiencyA real project for your community

We come to you

Three ways NA'WI arrives.

  • In person

    Extension offices, libraries, schools

  • Online

    Starlink kits for sites without bandwidth

  • By hologram

    A UNO instructor, live, with robots

Free for teachers

Become an AI Champion and run it in your district.

If you would like to teach this in your district, we will train you. Today's exercises join a shared repository for teachers to reuse.

Explore NA'WI

Visit the NA'WI exhibit at the conference, Friday, 8 A.M. to 4 P.M.