Strengthening Digital Literacy Competencies in the Age of AI Symposium

Speaker 

Presentation Title & Description 

Dr. Jennifer Epley-Sanders, 
Political Science Program 

Practical Strategies for Researchers Who Need to Quote Stuff from Biased Media and Data Sets 
This short talk will introduce the term "media bias" and its impacts for scholarly research; three practical strategies for evaluating and addressing media bias in a research project; and one approach to realistically ground those three strategies. This talk is for anyone who needs a concrete plan to assess appropriate resources and effectively, efficiently, and responsibly in a research project. Examples will incorporate domestic and international considerations. 

Aída Almanza-Ferro, Mary and Jeff Bell Library 

AI and Academic Integrity: Navigating Ethical Challenges 
This presentation explores the ethical issues of using AI in academic research, focusing on potential challenges such as bias, accuracy, and privacy. It also provides practical strategies for responsible use to help researchers navigate these tools effectively. 

Dr. Rachel Messing, School of Arts 

Digital Research for the Modern Musician 

We are always trying to find methods to make research and writing more meaningful to our students. How do we engage them with interesting topics so it can feel relevant to their current studies and future goals? My topic invites students to delve into online resources, looking to the past with focus on music history treatises, while comparing historical primary resources with modern music education trends.  

Benjamin Walther, Life Sciences 

Evaluating Science Communication in a Digital World 
Evaluating claims about scientific discoveries in the media is critical for an informed citizenry, especially in an age when articles may be generated or summarized by AI.  This talk will summarize classroom assignments meant to assist students in exploring the scientific background underlying media reports about science topics with a focus on ecological conservation.  The talk will describe how students are led through the process of locating both media articles and peer reviewed scientific literature to explore the accuracy of media portrayals of scientific advancements, as well as the difficulty in communicating complicated science topics to a general public.   
 

Dr. Robin Pizzitola and Dr. Katie Walker, Education and Human Development 

Supporting Teacher Candidates in Lesson Planning Using AI 
The presenters will share how they use AI resources in undergraduate coursework to help teacher candidates understand key lesson plan components. The presenters will share how various AI resources were used to help teacher candidates develop an understanding of a.) lesson structure; b.) backwards design; c.) alignment to standards; and d.) components of a high-quality lesson. The presenters will share how different resources can support various parts of the lesson planning process and what strategies have been the most effective in meeting Domain 1: Planning goals when working with teacher candidates who are in the field for the first time. 

Ellie Coppage, Dr. Katie Walker, and Dr. Robin Pizzitola, Education and Human Development 

Using AI to Gamify Literacy Differentiation  
A teacher resident will share the strategy that she and another teacher resident on her campus have used to develop differentiated literacy instruction during WIN time using AI to create interactive stories to challenge students that exceed grade level standards. The teacher candidate will share the resources she used to develop her lesson, how she incorporated progress-monitoring to support instructional objectives, and key considerations for the development and implementation of this teaching strategy. 

Dr. Stephanie Rodriguez, Communication and Media Arts 

Creating Digital Research Proposal Posters in the Capstone Course: A Carefully Scaffolded Process

This talk describes the process of guiding students through the task of developing research proposals and presenting them in a public forum for the Communication Studies capstone course. The research proposal process is new for most students and many struggle with the higher order critical thinking tasks associated with identifying relevant sources, reading research reports, developing a good research question, synthesizing research findings, constructing an argument for their research, conveying the content in a digital poster, and presenting the content a brief 2–3-minute oral presentation. This lighting talk describes the carefully scaffolded steps and assignments that take students through the process. These steps could also be used to help guide students through parts of writing a thesis or dissertation.