Last week I attended “Teaching and Learning With AI,” organized by the University of Central Florida and held in Orlando, Fla. I was curious to hear how academics are talking and thinking about those tools, especially given the threat many professors feel that generative AI poses to teaching and learning. Would they be enthusiastic? Skeptical? Realistic?
Short answer: all of the above. This is the second year UCF has held the conference, and it has grown significantly. More than 800 people from nearly all 50 states showed up for more than 200 presentations. I was struck by the pragmatic tone many faculty members took. AI is here to stay, they said. Employers expect new hires to have an understanding of the technology. Students are both intimidated by and curious about AI. As a result, attendees said they believed they had a professional responsibility to learn how the technology works and, where appropriate, use it in their teaching.
In the coming weeks I’ll explore in detail what your colleagues at other institutions are doing with AI, and share resources to help you figure out what your approach to the technology will be. For now, I’ll share some takeaways from the conference. ….more
