It is certainly on ours! As we head into a new semester, we can’t help but think about the rapid growth of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, and consider the impact these tools are having on teaching and learning.

“Generative AI refers to computer systems that have been designed to create, mimic, or generate content that is similar to what humans produce. [OpenAI, 2023]”  

Generative AI platforms like Chat GPT, provide an interface for users to enter prompts to receive AI generated content in the form of text, images or videos. 

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (August 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat 

We have spent a lot of time researching, reading and expanding our knowledge of AI and what it means for faculty, staff and students at VIU. We are particularly interested in how AI tools can: 

• Assist in administrative tasks and streamline some of the time-consuming tasks that are part of teaching. 
• Support personalized learning and increase accessibility. 
• Encourage collaboration, critical thinking and higher order thinking in student work. 

We are also aware of potential challenges that educators will need to navigate, including: 

• Ethical considerations including copyright, academic integrity, fair use and bias.  
• The increased need for well-developed digital literacy skills to effectively evaluate AI generated content. 
• Generative AI has the largest impact on creative professions, such as education, and therefore impacts both pedagogy and professional development.  

We still have questions, but we know that AI is ubiquitous and transformative, and it does not look like it is going away. For all of us, this may be unsettling, exciting or somewhere in between. 

This fall we invite you to learn about AI with us in these upcoming sessions. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to class   

Let’s chat about AI’s capabilities and limitations and consider ways you might set clear course expectations about AI use through best practices.  

• What does it look like to interact with different AI platforms?  
• How might you and your students use AI?  
• How should you integrate AI expectations into your syllabus?  

This session is both an overview and an invitation to the deeper conversation we will have in the subsequent session called AI is Just a Tool: Teaching, Designing and Assessing with AI.

AI is coming to class, how are you going to welcome this new student to school?

Sign up via InVIU by clicking on the session date you are interested in. All sessions will take place over Zoom.

Wednesday, August 30 from 10am to 11am
Tuesday, September 12 from 2:00pm -3:00 pm
Thursday, September 14 from 10:00am – 11:00am

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AI is Just a Tool: Teaching, Designing and Assessing with AI

How might we thrive in the AI era? How might we use AI to focus on what matters most in our teaching and learning spaces? Let’s interact with AI to explore how instructors can interact with AI to guide assessment and enhance pedagogy. 

Sign up via InVIU by clicking on the session date you are interested in. All sessions will be hybrid. You can choose to attend in person or via Zoom.

Thursday, September 28 from 11:30 – 12:30pm
Wednesday, October 11 from 11:00am – noon