Learn.java March 2026 Newsletter

JavaOne 2026

Now that I'm moderately rested and back on my east coast time, I have time to reflect on this year's JavaOne conference. Exhilarating! In a word, the conference was exhilarating! I return to my office, excited about the future and motivated to make good things happen for educators and students.

Prior to the start of JavaOne, we hosted our second annual educator summit. This year, in partnership with the College Board, we were honored to have 16 rockstar high school and higher education faculty attend. The day was jam packed with presentation from College Board by Andrea Herrera Moreno and Deborah Klipp, followed by a Chris Hollinger representing Oracle Academy, and wrapping up presentation, I shared what's new in Java from JDK 8 to 26 that might impact education. What made this day most special for me, was the discussion sessions where we were able to hear from educators on topics like teaching with AI, student enrollment, the role of programming in the job market, online IDEs and tools, and how the updates to Java impact education. Being out of the classroom for a while, these conversations help me to understand the changing needs of CS education, which is invaluable to my work.

We concluded the educator summit, by merging with the Java Luminaries with help from Heather Stephens and Sharat Chander. These sessions allowed educators and industry to expand their conversation on Java and AI, Job Readiness, and how to Simplify the Java Learning Experience. The educators and industry professional that participated were equally inspired and were grateful to learn from each other. This collaboration, as I said in the community keynote, Crystalized (yes, I actually, inadvertently, made this pun.... #hanginghead) the idea that continued open dialog between education and industry is imperative!

And if all that doesn't seem like enough, we took a field trip to DTech High School for a presentation by their BREAD robotics team. I was so incredibly impressed by the way these students interfaced with adults, conducting themselves with such poise as they answered questions about their project and provided demonstrations of their product. What a fantastic way to end the day!

And, we haven't even started the JavaOne conference!!!

The conference itself, kicked off Tuesday with a fantastic keynote which included the release of JDK 26 and had a strong emphasis on how Java is being used in conjunction with AI. Speakers from Uber and Nvidia talked about how their enterprises are built on Java. There was also a session hosted by Netflix. These companies and so many more run on Java!

A huge highlight of the week, aside from the dozens on conversations with colleagues, were the many students who took time away from school to attend JavaOne. Many of these students were attending the conference in between finals. They brought a new life and energy to the conference. They were all so curious, bright, and full of inspiring. The student panel that was part of the Community Keynote, was simply amazing. Thank you to Piper Fleming, Andrew Schoenen, Rebecca Earle, Rohit Agarwal, and Jared Guidry for being on the panel and for all the positive interactions throughout the conference. You and all the other students are proof the future is BRIGHT! Looking forward to all that Sophia Minaya has in store for students and Java!

Now, to take action on the many, many ideas I have coming out of the conference.

Want to watch the keynotes?


This live stream will center around Java's latest release, JDK 26, as well as the opening keynote "Java for an AI World".	Java is a technology but the people around it became a community and, like every year, JavaOne celebrates it with a community keynote.

This live stream will center around Java's latest release, JDK 26, as well as the opening keynote "Java for an AI World".

Java is a technology but the people around it became a community and, like every year, JavaOne celebrates it with a community keynote.

Hope to see you for JavaOne 2027!

What's New with JDK 26?

The release of JDK 26 was March 17th. While there are a lot of new features in this release, many of these have little impact on intro to computer science. The one feature that we are still keeping an eye on is JEP 530: Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch which continues into a fourth preview.

Check out all Java features that impact intro to computer science from JDK 8 through the present. You can find all this in our Educator Briefings.

February Teacher Spotlight - Kimberly Hermans Chopp

Our February Teacher Spotlight is on Kimberly Hermans Chopp, Assistant Professor at Santiago Canyon College. In this video she shares an energizing message about how computer science can amplify what students already love—whether that’s music, art, sports, healthcare, gaming, or the environment. Through relatable stories and classroom moments, they break the myth that coding is only for “math geniuses,” showing instead that curiosity, creativity, and persistence matter most. The video encourages students to explore CS as a toolkit for turning passions into real-world impact: building apps that help their community, analyzing data to solve problems they care about, or designing interactive experiences that tell meaningful stories. With practical advice on getting started and reassurance that everyone belongs in tech, the teacher leaves students feeling confident, supported, and excited to combine their interests with computing.