When AI starts acting: what schools need to know about agents
Everyone's talking about AI agents. Almost no one's talking about what happens when they get something wrong — or what oversight looks like when AI is doing things on your behalf.
With Mark Orchison (CEO & Founder, 9ine), Dan Fitzpatrick (The AI Educator · Co-host) & Julia Pidduck (Principal Consultant, 9ine)
Reserve your place
AI agents are the next frontier — software that doesn't just respond to questions but takes actions, makes decisions, and works autonomously on your behalf. In schools, the implications are significant and largely unexamined.
This session cuts through the hype to answer the questions that actually matter to schools: what an agent does differently from a chatbot, where helpful automation tips into lost visibility, what schools would need to see before handing an agent real responsibility, and what to be asking vendors about agentic features right now — before those features become the default.
Why attend
Get a clear, jargon-free explanation of what AI agents actually do differently from chatbots — in terms that matter to how schools operate, not how developers build them.
Understand where the line sits between helpful automation and losing meaningful oversight of what's happening in your school's systems and processes.
Leave with the right questions to put to your EdTech vendors about agentic features — so you're asking before those features are switched on, not after.
Your speakers
Mark Orchison
Over 20 years' experience helping schools navigate technology, cyber, privacy and safeguarding — a highly respected voice in K-12 education governance.
Dan Fitzpatrick
Bestselling author of The AI Classroom, Forbes contributor, and award-winning strategist who has helped over 100,000 educators worldwide navigate AI responsibly.
Julia Pidduck
Specialist in AI and EdTech vendor assessment — helping schools evaluate tools across safeguarding, security, educational value, privacy and data protection.
What to expect
A plain-language breakdown of what an AI agent actually does differently from a chatbot, framed around what it means in practice for a school.
An honest look at where helpful automation ends and real loss of visibility begins — and how schools can tell the difference.
What schools would need to see — in terms of transparency, controls, and accountability — before trusting an agent with genuine responsibility.
The specific questions you should be asking EdTech vendors about agentic features right now, while there's still time to shape how they're implemented.
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