kidTECH San Diego is taking place at the Ultimate Skybox in beautiful downtown San Diego, located 15 stories high in the DiamondView Tower and overlooking the magnificent Petco Park (home of the San Diego Padres). If you plan to do any of the fun bonding activities later in the day, like the ballpark tour, you’ll want to wear relaxed clothing and footwear, maybe even some baseball gear to get in the spirit. Of course, the amazing kidTECH programming will run prior to the adventuring, but the dress code is casual, so don’t feel the need to come with two outfits!

It should come as no surprise that the kids and family tech space continues to change rapidly. In our opening session, we will take a look at the moment we find ourselves in, while also looking at some research to help set the tone for the following sessions. Grab a hot dog and some fries from the French Fry Bar, a can of beer, and join us as we kick off our one-of-a-kind kidTECH micro-conference.

Presenters:
- David Kleeman (Dubit)

Retired from professional sports? Or just have a love for the game? Why not start or invest in a sports tech company for our youth? Breaking into the tech scene for kids, however, can be super challenging, especially when you add in an expensive or large hardware component, functionalities like VR, AI, or even coach-to-player or player-to-player interactions that parents may be concerned about. So, what's driving this growing trend, how does the go-to-market strategy differ for these products, and how do you strike (no pun intended) the right balance with safety or privacy concerns? You'll find out if you attend this panel.

Panelists:
- Shai Samet (kidSAFE Seal) - moderator
- Lyth Saeed (Huupe, smart basketball hoop)
- Kyle Wallgren (Edsoma, AI reading platform funded by Shaq)
- Hart Woolery (2020CV, AR technology funded by Mark Cuban)

Just like at past kidTECH conferences, our friends Barry and Jason will make sure things don't get too serious!

AI is finally here - for real, and its permeating every corner of the kids digital landscape. AI in reading, AI in social, heck, AI in plush toys! Inevitably, AI will require the collection of personally identifiable information (PII), like voice or facial data, or will it? Can AI instead be used to anonymize data? The possibilities, opportunities, and risks surrounding AI seem endless. This panel will try to make sense of all the awesomeness (and spookiness) this cutting-edge tech is breeding.

Panelists:
- Mady Mantha (Happypillar) - moderator
- Darius “Bubs” Monsef (Genie, new AI-powered messaging app)
- Tomer Poran (ActiveFence, AI-based content moderation)
- Misha Sallee (Curio, AI-enabled toys)
- Christie Pang (Yeti Confetti Kids!, AI learning companion)

Get your chocolate-covered marshmallows with sprinkles (yum), watch a preview of the magic to come later in the evening, and find your group to partake in an off-site activity of your choice. See the options below, and don't forget to come back for the taco bar dinner and magic show at 6:30pm sharp!

Choose from:

(1) the more adventurous San Diego Seal Tour (no affiliation with kidSAFE Seal, haha). On this tour, you'll wind your way through picturesque San Diego streets before splashing down for a cruise through the waters of the San Diego Bay.

Location of tour: Seaport Village @ 825 West Harbor Drive
Duration: From 4:00-5:40pm
More Details: www.sealtours.com

(2) the more relaxed Petco Park tour, where you'll explore America's #1 ballpark as only players and staff do. Led by a tour guide, this historical, behind-the-scenes tour allows guests to experience the ballpark while learning about the history of Petco Park and the San Diego Padres.

Location of tour: Gaslamp Gates located on 7th Avenue/Tony Gwynn Drive at K Street
Duration: From 4:00-5:30pm
More Details: www.mlb.com/padres/ballpark/tours/faqs

Come back to kidTECH headquarters for a one-of-a-kind, make your own taco dinner, while being mesmerized by the sports world's most favorite magician and illusionist, Shlomo Levinger.

It took nearly 5 years for the FTC to come up with proposed changes to the COPPA Rule, the infamous law that affects every business in our industry. While some of the changes are welcomed, many of them will create additional and possibly unwarranted compliance friction, which could further curtail the industry's ability to monetize and innovate.

Hear from one of kidSAFE's privacy specialists as we break down the FTC's proposed amendments, explain the impact they may have on our fragile industry, and where we go from here.

Presenters:
- Akhil Bhardwaj (kidSAFE Seal)

The number of businesses in the kids' digital industry continues to grow, but only a few of them experience rapid and continuous growth with any degree of longevity. What are the secrets and strategies of these companies on how do they do it year over year despite the ebbs and flows of our unique space? How can you tap into their techniques to do the same?

Panelists:
- Edna Martinson (Boddle Learning) - moderator
- Sunil Gunderia (Age of Learning / ABCmouse)

How do you make a great digital product for kids? And how can you design products that promote their well-being through digital play?

In this keynote talk, you will learn the importance of child-centered design practices when creating media and tech products that are fun, playful, and contribute to well-being. Hint: it’s more than just UX testing with kids before you launch!

Presenters:
- Mike Preston (Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Sesame Workshop)

Grab some pasta and find a table with a topic you're interested in. Fancy another topic? No worries, feel free to move around, or if you're bored, spin around the spaghetti on your fork.

Roundtable topics will include:

(1) Show and Tell: This is the roundtable to show off your child-friendly digital product to like-minded peers and get real-time feedback. Make sure to bring a demo!
- Moderators: Everyone with a product to show off

(2) Content moderation strategies for all forms of UGC
- Moderators: Nathan Sawatzky (Supercell), Hege Tokerud (Aiba)

(3) Lunching with the Lawyers: Big developments in privacy and safety law.
- Moderators: Akhil Bhardwaj (kidSAFE Seal), Jonathan Chandler (kidSAFE Seal)

(4) Show Me the Money! Monetization, distribution, and discoverability strategies across all industry verticals.
- Moderators: David Di Lorenzo (Future Today / HappyKids)

Of the categories of kid-focused tech, this one has been around forever. Atari, Super Nintendo, Gameboy are just a few of the names we (40+ year old's) all remember as kids. But connected gaming is always evolving and what the future holds is anyone's guess. We invited the most innovative players in this space to give us their take.

Panelists:
- Nathan Sawatzky (Supercell) - moderator
- Jonathan Hamel (Another Axiom)
- Paul Dixon (NEX)
- David Kleeman (Dubit)

Although we tend to think in "Internet" terms, it's not always online technologies driving the latest trends in the youth market. How do you explain the recent craze around Stanley Cups (not the hockey kind) or the boom in Pickleball popularity? What do these trends teach us (if anything) for those offering online experiences and can their marketing techniques translate into the online tech world?

Panelists:
- Barry McLaughlin (Game Inventor, Barry & Jason Games) - moderator
- Jerry Jayapal (USA Pickleball Ambassador)
- Brian Greenwald (Usaopoly / The Op Games)

Get your ice cream and sprinkles, find an old or new friend, and have a good schmooze.

This panel is a staple of the kidTECH micro-conference and is back by popular demand! Over the past few years, especially post-COVID, dozens of initiatives have been launched to develop creative tech solutions for modern-day challenges faced by children and students, whether physically, mentally, socially, academically, or religiously. But there are just a few standout products doing exceptional work and making a real impact in this space. Hear from these companies on what it takes to build "tech for good!"

Panelists:
- Sam Gardner (Happypillar) - moderator
- Stephen Dalby (Gabb Wireless)
- Marriella Satow (SignUp Captions)
- Jeff Allen (TruPlay)