Tech Tips from ETS

A quick technology tip to help you engage your students whether in the classroom or remotely.

Tech: Timely Advising Tip- Use Google Appointment Schedule for Fall Registration Advising

Posted on by dalkej

Spring Break is in the past, and registration is upon us. How to manage the many student meetings? Google appointment schedule provides an excellent solution.

Appointment schedule will allow you to:

  • create a customized schedule where students can sign up for appointment times and durations set by you;
  • send automated reminder emails (one or several) to your advisee the day before, 5 minutes before, and/or any other custom option you choose;
  • select how and where to meet; and
  • include a note about how you would like students to prepare.

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Down the AI Rabbit Hole: Embracing AI- Beyond Fear to Academic Innovation

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ I share an insightful piece from John Orlando that tackles the pressing issues of plagiarism and AI-induced biases. I also discuss the importance of moving beyond merely trying to catch up with AI to strategically planning for the upcoming technological advancements. 

This week’s tip:
This week’s teaching professor features a thought-provoking piece by John Orlando titled “Getting Past AI Fears: Student Success Demands It,” which encourages us to reconsider our stance on plagiarism and bias in the context of AI.

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Down the AI Rabbit Hole: The Problem with Free AI and The Power of Words

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ I share an important piece from Marc Watkins that warns us about being lulled into complacency by ChatGPT 3.5 unimpressive writing. I also take on one of my professional development heroes, James Lang, and the importance of nailing the title. 

Listen to Down the AI Rabbit Hole (3:55)

This week’s tip:
Marc Watkins is the Director of the Mississippi AI Institute, recognized for their pioneering efforts to incorporate generative AI into college curriculums.

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Tech: Inclusive classes- How do you pronounce your name?

Posted on by dalkej
While you may be able to pronounce student names at this point in the semester, students may not yet know each other’s names. Did you know that students and instructors can record their names in Canvas so that classmates/instructors can hear how to pronounce their name?

Step by step instructions for Canvas student name recordings: 

  • Go to your course in Canvas
  • Go to the three lines in top left next to course name and navigate to settings
  • Choose the “Navigation” tab
  • Find “Student Name Recordings” and hit the three dots to the right, hit “Enable”
  • Click “Save” at the bottom of the page (you may have to scroll down to see “Save”)

Now you will see “Student Name Recordings” in your course left menu bar.

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Down the AI Rabbit Hole: Beyond Text…and a Magic Wand

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ I give some recommendations on AI tools that go beyond text generation. I also fantasize about the next steps we should take to help our faculty with generative AI.

Listen to Down the AI Rabbit Hole

This week’s tip:
So much emphasis has been placed on text-based AI generation; yet there are also a lot of non-text AI products that are very useful.

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Tech: Calling All Faculty- The Affordable Course Content Pilot Has Launched!

Posted on by dalkej
 

 

In line with Denison’s strategic plan to reduce financial burden for students, ITS and the Library are collaborating to launch the Affordable Content Pilot (ACP). This project is designed to explore various options to decrease the costs of textbooks and other course materials to low or no cost, as an institutional priority, for our students.

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Down the AI Rabbit Hole: New AI-Powered Search Engine and AI Literacy Experiment

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ we explore a new AI-powered search engine that, in some instances, can replace Google. I also give an update on my AI Literacy experiment in my calculus class.

This week’s tip:
You might remember the buzz from last year when Kevin Roose, a columnist for the New York Times, had an interesting exchange with Microsoft’s generative AI, which bizarrely attempted to persuade him to leave his wife.

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Down the AI Rabbit Hole: Structured Prompting & AI Literacy

Posted on by dalkej

In this week’s edition of ‘Down the AI Rabbit Hole,’ we explore structured prompting—a technique to enhance productivity with chatbot prompts. Additionally, I’ll share details about my new project this semester: the creation of an AI literacy overlay course. 

This week’s tip:
One of the key distinctions between a generative AI chatbot, such as ChatGPT or Bard, and a Google search is the chatbot’s ability to remember your conversation in real time.

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Tech: Exploring AI- Alchemy and Perplexity

Posted on by dalkej
 

 

Interested in learning more about AI and how faculty and students are using it? In case you missed them, here are the results again from a Denison faculty and student survey by Paul Djupe and Lew Ludwig.

If you are looking beyond campus, Alchemy has excellent webinars and resources geared towards faculty, including information on course design, on assessments, and a beginner’s guide for faculty.

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