We are on the cusp of a technological revolution that will fundamentally reshape how we learn, work, and interact with the world. Increasingly intelligent digital tools are no longer just assisting us—they are augmenting our cognitive and creative abilities in profound ways. In this talk, I will explore the transformative impact of these technologies on education and the evolving workforce. Through personal insights, historical parallels, and examples from the cutting edge of research, this session will challenge educators and researchers to reflect upon their roles and embrace new opportunities to shape the future.
Assistant Vice Provost for Research Faculty, Georgia Tech
Dr. Coleman is a Regent's Researcher and Director of Research for the Institute of People and Technology at Georgia Tech. She received a B.S. in Computer Engineering as well as a M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. In her 20+ years as a research faculty member her... Read More →
Wednesday May 14, 2025 8:50am - 9:50am CDT Ballroom350 Alumni Drive, Mobile, AL, USA
This interprofessional education (IPE) research event examines collaboration of care between Physical Therapy (PT) and Physician Assistant (PA) students at the University of South Alabama in the assessment and treatment of back pain. The primary focus of this investigation centers on comparison of virtual interaction versus in-person interaction with standardized patients and whether outcomes demonstrate statistically significant variability. Additionally, the study examines participants' understanding of interdisciplinary roles and explores how this knowledge could potentially influence collaborated care. This IPE event, conducted in partnership with the South Alabama Simulation Lab, utilizes a HIPAA compliant virtual care delivery platform akin to real-world virtual care practices in PT and PA settings.
Join us for an engaging panel discussion on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in education, centered around the innovative AI video resources developed by the University of Alabama Teaching Academy and the AI Initiatives of the Office of Teaching Innovation and Digital Education. The panel of experts will share practical applications of these AI resources, demonstrating how they can enhance teaching methodologies, foster student engagement, and prepare the workforce of tomorrow. Attendees will gain valuable insights on leveraging AI tools to create a dynamic and effective learning environment. This session is ideal for educators, administrators, and industry professionals seeking to harness the power of AI in education.
The advancement of Generative AI technology has significantly changed the academic landscape, particularly in English Composition classes. The traditional writing process scenario has been primitively challenged by the rapid impact of AI-generated tools, such as Grammarly, ChatGPT, and Quill Bolts, due to their accessible assistance in writing. As students transition from high school to college, they face challenges in adapting to the diverse academic environment where writing classes feel more complex and challenging, especially for English as a Second Language Learners (ESL).The paper will present an argument that to preserve diversity and inclusivity in the composition classroom, universities should avoid completely banning AI tools. Instead, to reduce misuse, universities should teach college students, particularly ESL learners, how to use AI tools, which may, in turn, help reduce dropout rates since many students, especially English as a Second Language Learners, often avoid takin
The technical literature of academic disciplines can be intimidating. Students do not know where to start and, in recent years, have turned to AI for help. This research talk proposes the use of the infusion method of critical thinking (IMCT) to break down complicated scientific writing coupled with a discussion on how to use AI with critical thinking skills. Presented as a case study, participants will explore how IMCT and open conversations about AI help all students in any discipline better wrestle with empirical studies. Using the IMCT, participants can expect to take away new ideas for leading students to examine data analysis and evaluation within journal articles. Participants will also discuss ways in which AI can act as a peer helper that guides a student’s thinking rather than replaces it.
Ever since Open AI made ChatGPT publicly available in 2022, university faculty nationwide have scrambled to figure out how to use the now various generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) programs to drive their students’ learning. The major challenge has been incorporating GenAI into existing instructional systems, rather than creating completely new ones. This virtual roundtable will provide participants with a model for and practice with employing scenario-based instruction using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). This model can help participants create scenarios in mere seconds and allows the faculty member to make nuanced changes to selected aspects of those scenarios quickly to challenge students ability to adapt their use of course concepts and critical thinking skills to rapidly changing real-world situations.
Generative AI is a rapidly advancing technology that has significantly impacted the field of education. Many professional sectors now expect incoming employees to be proficient in its application. As educators, we are responsible for integrating generative AI into our curricula to better prepare students for the digital landscape of the professional world. This workshop will develop assignments designed to help students understand and effectively use generative AI tools, such as chatbots, for composition and research. Participants will also engage in an activity to teach students how to utilize generative AI for brainstorming and outlining an essay, demonstrating how these tools can enhance composition in any college-level classroom
Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. This workshop will guide the attendees through the process of creating an action plan to guide strategic planning for the hybrid learning environment at the programmatic or course level. You will learn how to create a process which encourages the iterative nature of planning and assessment to drive improvement in programmatic and student outcomes. The workshop will include discussion of the assessment cycle and common assessment frameworks used in higher education. Attendees will participate in discussion and Q& A to determine the best actions to take to plan for success in their hybrid teaching and learning environment and discipline. Attendees will begin to craft an action plan to take back to their institution/organization to move the assessment culture forward into the hybrid teaching and learning age.
Hybrid learning presents mental health challenges for students in both online and in-person environments. The online component increases anxiety due to inconsistent schedules, limited face-to-face interaction, and self-directed learning demands, leading to isolation and decreased motivation. In-person settings introduce social anxiety, peer pressure, and academic stress as students adjust to fluctuating environments. Transitioning between virtual and physical classrooms can cause cognitive overload, hindering time management and retention. Sensory overload from crowded classrooms and long commutes contributes to fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Despite these challenges, hybrid learning fosters independence, self-discipline, and adaptability. Supporting student well-being through structured routines, mental health resources, and social-emotional learning is essential for fostering both academic success and personal growth. Holistic support from educators is critical for student success.
“Open” culture in academia is everywhere, encompassing everything from open source software & hardware, to open education (such as freely available homework problems, tutorials, example builds, tests, and lectures), to open access publications & data, and so much more. But what does it all mean? What myths are associated with the open movement? How can a campus community successfully navigate the open landscape? And most importantly, why does it all matter? Join this Open South panel session to learn why open culture matters for academia. Gain a better grasp of definitions and tools related to open culture, and successfully navigate the open landscape. Hear multiple perspectives from around campus. Be invited to engage with our Open South Faculty Learning Community working to better serve our students, departments, and communities. Knowledge is open; let’s learn together!
Veterans who are returning to university after military retirement may have greater self-awareness, larger social networks and access to capital, making them ideal candidates to start new business ventures. Given hybrid academic schedules, this would be another growth moment for the university as it faces the Demographic Cliff.
In recent decades, anthropologists have included digital worlds in ethnographic work. Social life is lived out in person but also through the virtual worlds of video games, social media, blogs, and much more. Increasingly even our in-person lives are more intertwined with the digital as when we send money through a cash app or jump on a Zoom call. These new ethnographic landscapes come with potential to learn about communities but are also fraught with new ethical dilemmas. Through a section in a Research Methods Anthropology class, students learn about conducting virtual ethnography, and examine best ethical practices. This research talk focuses on a classroom activity where students play Cards Against Digital Anthropology, which is a game based on Cards Against Humanity. The aim of this activity is for students to playfully engage with ethically ambiguous scenarios in digital ethnographic fieldwork and reflect on their potential responses to these dilemmas.
This research inquiry measured the effectiveness of hybrid Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) by analyzing participation in a recent academic interdisciplinary faculty book study that was delivered both in-person and online. Faculty members who opted to participate in a monthly interdisciplinary book study were quantitatively queried shortly after the study’s conclusion using a 6-point Likert scale via a Qualtrics survey. Findings indicate that faculty found merit and value by participating, noting positive impacts on their sense of belonging, constructive impact on their teaching practices, increased levels of self-reflection as practitioners and an enhanced sense of community. Qualitatively faculty recognized the benefit of collaborating and sharing with colleagues across disciplines.
As higher education evolves and becomes more inclusive of a wide range of learners, an increasing number of non-traditionally aged students have enrolled in undergraduate programs. This student demographic aged 25 and above faces unique challenges that can impact their educational experience. Adult learners often struggle with balancing work and family responsibilities and endure significant financial restrictions (Dill & Henley, 2010). Despite these stressors, nontraditional students exhibit higher levels of intrinsic motivation than their traditional classmates (Bye et.al, 2007; Johnson et.al, 2016). It is vital to understand the nontraditional experience to inform better teaching practices that can accommodate this student demographic’s needs. The purpose of this study is to assess the specific factors that influence non-traditional students’ return to education, their level of engagement and motivation in their studies, and how their unique life responsibilities impact
Google Drive, with its unique ability to show editing on documents in real time, has allowed students in writing courses to interact virtually in a way they had not been able to before. Real-time editing and online interconnectivity has created a platform for students and the professor to examine, critique, share, and revise writing and ideas comparable to the process on printed copies in the classroom. This hybrid approach to writing has offered a platform for student flexible engagement with each other and the professor. Students can work off a screen and make real time edits and revisions while being in the physical classroom to engage and discuss these processes with myself and their classmates. This immediate access to student work allows the professor to show students the flexible nature of writing and how it is always in flux and is a skill that is ever-evolving, just as it appears on our screens.
Our campus launched the LevelUp QEP in 2023. The overall mission of LevelUp is to prepare students for what comes next. With LevelUp and its faculty fellows, our office, Career Development is tasked to increase students' career readiness skills and awareness. Our office sits under the Student Academic Success Division, which includes Academic Advising and Transfer Services (AATS). In 2024 we transitioned to a Career Consultant Model to allow us to meet the needs of our students, faculty, educational partners, and the LevelUp QEP. This model provides individualized support to assigned colleges, academic departments, and specific student populations. Each student is on a unique career journey, and our Career Consultants provide individualized support to their student caseload. This model has significantly increased student interactions, bolstered career readiness skill development, and enhanced campus partnerships and collaboration.
Students enrolled in introductory physical geography courses at the University of South Alabama typically use the course to meet General Education requirements. These students have little incentive to learn the material before or beyond an exam. In addition, large enrollments hinder instructors' ability to determine student comprehension during lectures. Pear Deck, Perusall, and iClicker are apps that can engage and gauge student comprehension during synchronous and asynchronous lectures during online, hybrid, and in-person meetings. Using Pear Deck in a course as described above showed that students performed better on quizzes administered via Pear Deck, which translated into moderate increases in student performance on exams. Incentivization to use Pear Deck during the lectures changed from rewarding group endeavors to individual successes.
In November 2023, a bipartisan report produced by the US Senate Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs argued that AI advancements simultaneously challenge human independent thinking and interconnectivity. We must, they say, identify structures and best practices that allow humanity to evolve and compete with AI. Here, I propose that the live lecture/note-making model is a core teaching practice that will become essential as AI unfolds. Good note-making reflects critical thinking, comprehension, communication, and creation. In an age of AI and mechanized learning, notes also embody crucial human interactions between teachers and students. At the same time, however, our lecture/note-making practices must be reassessed in light of changing student thought patterns and new tools students use to make notes. Conclusions derive from a SotL conducted in the fall of 2024, where I assessed over 500 sets of student notes for a gen ed class.
Considering A. Bandura’s social learning theory, which focuses on the role of modeling in human behavior, I explored whether modeling a public speech for public speaking students improved the students’ speech performance. Speech modeling has served as an important pedagogical tool for years. However, there has been limited research to determine if modeling improves speech performance. Speeches modeled for students included the following: (1) an ice breaker speech, (2) a special occasion speech, (3) an informative speech, and (4) a persuasive speech. Implications from this study can be used to help students deliver more effective public speeches.
This session will present the Scholarship on Teaching and Learning project (SoTL) completed during the 2024-2025 academic year. The study focused on the use of Educational AI in Teaching Social Studies preservice teacher education course. I will share the pre and post survey data as well as findings from the two course assignments using Educational AI. This session will add to the conference theme regarding innovative instructional practices to increase student outcomes.
Over the last five years, learning in higher education has shifted. As the unique needs of students continue to evolve, so must our teaching and assessment methods. This research talk will explore the implementation of team-based assessments in a sport, performance, and exercise psychology course. The audience will learn about how the team-based assessments are structured for this course as well as student perceptions of this implementation. There will also be discussion surrounding how the instructor uses these team-based assessments as part of a practical application in this course (e.g., team cohesion, communication, building confidence, etc.). This project is part of University of South Alabama’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fellowship Program, and thus, implications for teaching and learning outcomes will be discussed.
Service-Learning was utilized during spring 2025 in Social Work 402: Generalist Practice II, which is a required community organizing course for BSW students. This poster session will describe the experience of service-learning activities from the viewpoints of students and community partners. By virtue of participating in this session audience members will be able to: 1) describe what worked well or not for students and collaborative partners to meet the needs of the respective communities, and 2) describe what worked well or not for students to meet the learning outcomes of the course by working with collaborative partners on community projects.
Engage with our panelists who are leading various campus based initiatives that leverage the best of collaborative group work - Problem Based Learning, Project Based Learning and Team Based Learning. Educational leaders from CoTL partners institutions will share their visions and plans for unifying themes for their general education offerings.
Studies suggest that active learning increases understanding and retention for higher-ed STEM students. As educators, we need to support students with a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and former education. It can be difficult to meet students where they are because their experiences cover an expansive continuum of understanding and knowledge. Active learning can take many forms, but this panel will focus on the use of videos as an active learning tool. Videos have a low learning curve since the technology is widespread and commonly used. We will discuss challenges, share tips, highlight effective strategies for boosting student success, and discuss curation of videos. Attendees will leave the session with an understanding of how technology can bridge learning gaps, and they will be better equipped with practical strategies to include videos, curation of quality instructional videos, and assessment of student learning.
Engineering is usually taught in a traditional lecture format, involving theory in the classroom, homework outside of class, and routine examinations. Progressive forms of learning such as project based learning (PBL) have created new and fun ways for professors to interact with students and for students to be more involved in their learning. The work described here details project based learning activities for three courses in aerospace engineering. In Instrumentation and Experimental Methods, the students are tasked with integrating 3 fundamental electronic components of their choice with a microcontroller to build a final product. In Spacecraft Design, the students are tasked with building and launching a hobbyist grade rocket while also taking altitude data during the flight. In Principles of Aircraft Design the students must build and fly a radio controlled aircraft. They must also take accelerometer and GPS data during their flight.
As higher education continues to adapt to the evolving needs of diverse learners, the HyFlex model has emerged as a powerful approach to enhance student engagement and accessibility. This presentation will showcase the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice's journey in implementing HyFlex course sections across our MPA and Criminal Justice programs. We will highlight our strategies, challenges, and successes in delivering flexible, student-centered learning experiences.
Discover how proven, research-backed strategies can remove the certification exam barrier, leading to higher enrollment, retention, graduation rates, and dramatically improved pass rates.
The University of South Alabama’s meteorology program is distinguished by its emphasis on weather forecasting, preparing students for careers in operational meteorology through hands-on experiences. Traditional final exams often fail to comprehensively assess the critical thinking, decision-making, and real-time analysis skills required for weather forecasting. To address this limitation, a severe weather forecast simulation was implemented as an alternative to a final exam in an upper-level meteorology course. This non-traditional approach engaged students in analyzing meteorological data, assessing severe weather environments, and issuing risk-based forecasts under time constraints. Surveys were then administered to evaluate student perceptions, comparing the simulation’s effectiveness to traditional exams and evaluating whether students felt they learned more through the project compared to a traditional final exam.
This session explores the impact of client-driven feedback in project-based game/simulation development courses as a model for hybrid student engagement. Through a two-course game development sequence, we examine how faculty and client feedback influence student motivation, self-efficacy, and enjoyment. Findings suggest that integrating real-world client interactions with structured coursework enhances career readiness and engagement, reflecting the hybrid future of education. The session will include interactive discussion and participant polling to explore strategies for balancing faculty and external feedback in hybrid learning models. Attendees will leave with research-backed insights and practical applications for integrating authentic client collaboration into their courses, fostering student confidence and real-world preparedness. This session aligns with
In General Biology II laboratory (BLY122L), one course learning outcome is that students analyze data by generating and interpreting meaningful graphs. As a first step in helping students meet this objective, they complete a series of Excel-based tutorial assignments. Students are guided via brief Panopto videos through the calculation of basic descriptive statistics as well as construction of a publication-style graph. The tutorial series has been used in both in-person and fully online sections. The goal of this study is to document the effectiveness of the assignment series in building graphing ability. Pre- and post-tutorial rubric scores on graphing assignments were compared. Additionally, pre- and post-tutorial questionnaires were administered to look for gains in student confidence in graphing skills. Preliminary results of this study will be presented.
This SoTL research talk explores the use of reference sheets during testing and their effectiveness at reducing test takers anxiety. Reference sheets can be useful for decreasing student anxiety during test taking, thus increasing student performance. At first glance, a reference or “cheat” sheet may seem like an easy way for students to pass an exam without committing the content to memory. However, these sheets are only useful if students put the time into creating them, which increases healthy study habits and allows students to learn to identify the important information from a lesson while identifying gaps in their own understanding.
The 12-credit Synoptic Meteorology capstone sequence is required for the B.S. in Meteorology at USA. The course encompasses the equivalent of three separate courses offered in other Meteorology programs. It is a traditionally structured lecture/lab, where concepts are introduced in lecture, practiced as a homework assignment, and then applied daily to real-time weather situations in lab. Traditionally, a tenure-track faculty member leads the lecture, and co-leads the lab with an instructor. In 2024-2025, we introduced a third faculty member to familiarize him with the course, and decided to offer it as a Learning Community (LC). To our knowledge, this is the first time a LC approach has been used for multiple courses within a single discipline, and at the senior level. We will present specific examples of the ways that the LC allowed us to blend individual faculty expertise, participate more fully in all phases of the course, and enhance the overall student learning experience.
Supplemental Instructors (SIs) are peer-facilitated learning sessions hosted by a student who has previously taken the course and has been identified or recommended by a professor at the university to has “soft-skills” such communication, empathy, and patience. These SI sessions are typically interactive, group discussions that encourage student participation in a low-stakes environment. The authors seek to determine the student’s perception of the effectiveness to the educational benefits of the SI program implemented in the College of Engineering at the University of South Alabama. A survey was created and distributed to students and alumni who have completed courses in the College with SIs. This Research Talk will provide a brief description of the SI program, the development of the survey, and preliminary results of the survey. The presenters plan to provide the results using an audience interactive educated-guessing game.
