AI Lightning Talks: Integrating Generative AI in Higher Education Pedagogy

Explore the various ways faculty are integrating AI into their courses at BU. In this lightning talk session, presentations will be short, quick, and information-rich. This session will also include breakout groups for attendees to engage in deeper discussions with panelists.

Dave DeCamp (Moderator), Educational Technologist

Dave advises and assists faculty on a variety of platforms for classroom use, with a focus on Google Suite for Education, BU Learning Blocks (BULB), Open Educational Resources, MediaKron, and other public-facing platforms for creating and displaying educational content online. Dave also has experience in digital exhibit building, text encoding, and pedagogical applications of open-source mapping technologies. Dave earned his MA and PhD in World History from Northeastern University. While at Northeastern he worked with the library’s Digital Scholarship Group to support using digital platforms for teaching and research. He received his BA in History from Davidson College and taught World History at Northeastern University and Emmanuel College.

AI && You

James Grady, Assistant Professor of Art and Graphic Design and Creative Director of BU Spark!, College of Fine Arts and Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences

James Grady is a designer and educator with over two decades of broad-based experience. He is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Boston University and Principal of Design Axl, a graphic design consultancy with clients spanning the globe. James has been teaching undergraduate and graduate Graphic Design students at Boston University since 2017. He also co-teaches Spark! Product Innovation at BU’s Center for Data Sciences. James is the BU Spark! Creative Director. He has a passion for interdisciplinary cross-college collaboration and has worked with many different Colleges at BU. James recently co-authored a grant from Digital Learning & Innovation to bring an artist in residence to work with students to engage in creative research at BU School of Visual Arts, BU School of Theatre, and Faculty of Computing & Data Science.

Optimizing AI at the Intersection of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Karen Jacobs, Associate Dean of Digital Learning & Innovation, Clinical Professor, and Program Director of Online Professional Occupational Therapy, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences

Dr. Jacobs received her Doctorate in Education from University of Massachusetts; a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Boston University and Bachelor of Art from Washington University. Dr. Jacobs' career as an occupational therapy practitioner spans over four decades. She is Associate Dean of Digital Learning & Innovation, Program Director of the post-professional doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OT) program & Clinical Professor at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. She played a pivotal role in advancing backpack safety through American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) National Backpack Awareness Day & promoting the recognition of occupational therapy through OT Global Day of Service. As a Fellow of AOTA, the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society & the International Ergonomics Association, she has been recognized for her outstanding contributions as a scholar, professor, advocate, & mentor, who has inspired countless students & practitioners through her expertise in ergonomics, artificial intelligence, & entrepreneurship. She held leadership roles as the president & vice president of AOTA contributing to the growth & development of OT & received awards such as a Fulbright Scholarship & Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award. She authored numerous publications & is the founding editor-in-chief of WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation.

What Are the Prerequisites for GPT-4 to Enable Students to Code?

Andrea Lincoln, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, College of Arts & Sciences

Andrea Lincoln is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science in CAS at BU. She primarily studies fine-grained complexity theory (a sub-field in the math of computer science). Andrea has been trying to understand how to update the teaching of computer science given the recent progress of LLMs. She has become very interested in interpretability and the capacity of recent models to help with programming tasks. Andrea hopes that recent tool improvements will give more students the power to program.

AI-intensive Writing, Research & Inquiry Courses: A Two-Year Pilot Supported by the Shipley Center

Sarah Madsen Hardy, CAS Writing Program Director and Master Lecturer of Writing, College of Arts & Sciences

Sarah Madsen Hardy is director of Boston University's CAS Writing Program and a master lecturer in writing. She teaches first-year writing, public writing, and courses preparing graduate students from across the disciplines to teach writing. Her interests include critical language awareness, critical genre awareness, and critical AI literacy, all through the lens of inclusive pedagogy. In her capacity as director, she is committed to facilitating curricular change in these areas and to making the work of non-tenure-track faculty equitable and visible.

Chris McVey, Senior Lecturer of Writing, College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Christopher McVey is a Senior Lecturer in the Writing Program. He teaches writing courses in the Philosophy & Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in addition to other writing and research seminars. His research explores how students use generative AI throughout the writing process, as well as the ethical and social implications of AI technologies in society.

Matt Parfitt, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, College of General Studies

Matt Parfitt is Associate Professor in the Rhetoric Division at the College of General Studies, where he has taught since 1992. He is the author of several books, including Writing in Response (Bedford/St. Martins 2012, 2015) and, with Dawn Skorczewski of Brandeis University, Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. He is currently working on a book about teaching writing in the age of AI.

David Shawn, Associate Director for Writing in the Disciplines and Master Lecturer of Writing, College of Arts & Sciences

David Shawn is Associate Director for Writing in the Disciplines and a Master Lecturer in the CAS Writing Program. He collaborates with colleagues across BU’s schools and colleges to develop programming that aims to enhance the pedagogy and practice of writing in discipline-specific contexts. He teaches first-year writing seminars on topics concerning politics, history, and 19th century America. He also leads the Tutoring Writing in the Disciplines initiative and teaches a training course for undergraduate writing tutors.