In celebration of National Distance Learning Week, Austin Community College's Office of Distance & Alternative Education invites you to our annual Distance Education Symposium. The theme of this year's virtual symposium is "Top AI Issues Impacting Distance/ Digital Learning in The Year 2024."
Details and schedules for symposium sessions are listed below.
Professional Development: one hour for each session attended
SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS
Dr. Jason Gulya
Professor of English at Berkeley College
Wednesday, November 6 at 9:00am - 9:30am CST
Addressing the Digital Fluency Gap with Microcredentials
Presented by: Linda Smarzik, Karina Hernandez, Ann Pamela Saez
Austin Community College (ACC) is offering a solution with 13 free microcredentials that cover essential digital skills to help students boost their digital skills and enhance job prospects. These flexible courses cover key digital competencies and award digital badges, building toward certificates and degrees in Computer Science and IT. As AI reshapes the workforce, ACC also offers AI-focused microcredentials to help students stay competitive.
Lemonade Moments When HyFlex Systems Fail
Presented by: Vanessa Nichols, PhD, RN, CNE, Robert Harris, MSN, RN
We would like to share our experience teaching our first HyFlex course and how we navigated the various technology challenges we encountered. Despite these issues, the class progressed, students benefited from the format, and we gained valuable insights into flexibility and creativity in teaching.
Psychology and AI: Where AI Dances with Psychology
Presented by: Sadaf Sajjad
This presentation delves into the fusion of Psychology and AI in the honors course "Introduction to Psychology 2301." It explores how psychological insights influence AI systems while addressing ethical and cultural implications. Students will engage with foundational concepts, preparing to navigate the intersection of technology and human behavior.
How Writing in the Discipline Improves Equity and Student Experiences
Presented by: Amber Clontz
The English Department has created a guiding document to help instructors reduce student reliance on AI. This presentation will share those guidelines by way of explaining how multimodal writing assignments authentic to a discipline can accomplish the same ends, improving equity and student experiences with learning assessments.
Flipping the Script: AI Engagement and Ethical Use with Packback
Presented by: Kerri Pope
We will discuss how to utilize Packback and its suite of tools to facilitate student engagement with course materials while promoting ethical, productive, and responsible use of artificial intelligence.
Accelerated Success: An Innovative 8-Week Program for Rapid Skill Development
Presented by: Lei Ji and Thomas Samuel
This proposal introduces an 8-week program offering accelerated learning through intensive workshops, focusing on key concepts and rapid skill acquisition. This streamlined approach enhances retention, fosters adaptability, and drives immediate impact compared to traditional 16-week courses.
AI, Authentic Assessment, and Ethics: Faculty Approaches to Upholding Integrity
Presented by: Hoda Tavakoli
As a faculty member teaching over 70% of courses online, I focus my doctoral research on Ethical AI in Education, emphasizing authentic assessment and academic integrity. I am currently reviewing literature to explore emerging trends and strategies, with plans to share findings with ACC faculty at the DE Symposium.
Equity and Accessibility in Online Learning
Presented by: Paepin Starr
This presentation addresses the surge in distance learning enrollment at ACC, emphasizing the need for equity and accessibility in online education. It explores strategies for creating inclusive environments that support diverse student needs, focusing on material design and culturally responsive teaching to ensure all students can thrive.
AI Grading Assistance for Writing Assignments Through Packback
Presented by: Herb Coleman
This presentation will demonstrate how Packback can expedite the grading process for student-written assignments while simultaneously enhancing students' writing skills. Participants will gain insights into the platform's features and its potential impact on both efficiency and academic performance.
Course Principles of Inclusion: Creating a High Structure Course
Presented by Dr.Eduardo L. Garcia, Edgar Granillo, M.A.
In this one hour workshop we will compare and contrast the difference between a low structured classroom versus a high structured classroom and what it can mean for inclusion in the online learning space. Walk away with concepts you can apply immediately into your online course.
AI in Education: Empowering Community College Success for ALL with Human-Centered Innovation
Presented by LaKisha Barrett
This session examines how artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize community colleges by linking data-driven insights with human-centered instruction. It will highlight AI's role as a growth partner in promoting belonging, equity, and personalized success while envisioning five ways AI can enhance academic outcomes and deepen engagement.
Ultra Good Vibes! Upgrading to Blackboard Ultra
Presented by: Marisa Mendoza, DE IDs
This presentation will provide an overview of the features for our upgraded LMS, BB Ultra, and outline the resources available for faculty and staff to prepare for the transition in Summer 2025.
Smarter, Not Harder: AI for Distance Education
Presented by: Kara Dixon, Mavis Klemcke
This workshop aims to enhance the distance education experience by exploring AI tools that alleviate anxiety, streamline course delivery, and uphold academic integrity. Participants will discover practical applications for lesson planning, grading, and student engagement, focusing on interactive and personalized online learning while addressing bias and integration best practices.
Community Engagement for Belonging and Purpose in the Distance Classroom
Presented by: Linda Cox, Ph.D.
This session with provide an overview of the types of community engagement offered through the Office of Experiential Learning, as well as the research supporting student belonging through volunteerism and service-learning. We will look at many examples of community engagement currently being used with great success in service-learning courses across ACC.