\n<\/p>\n
As more employers identify uses for generative artificial intelligence in the workplace, colleges are embedding tech skills into the curriculum to best prepare students for their careers. <\/p>\n
But identifying how and when to deliver that content has been a challenge, particularly given the varying perspectives different disciplines have on generative\u00a0AI and when its use should be allowed. A June report from Tyton Partners found that 42\u00a0percent of students use generative\u00a0AI tools at least weekly, and two-thirds of students use a singular generative\u00a0AI tool like ChatGPT. A survey by Inside Higher Ed<\/em> and Generation Lab found that 85\u00a0percent of students had used generative\u00a0AI for coursework in the past year, most often for brainstorming or asking questions. <\/p>\n The University of Mary Washington developed an asynchronous one-credit course to give all students enrolled this fall a baseline foundation of AI knowledge. The optional class, which was offered over the summer at no cost to students, introduced them to AI ethics, tools, copyright concerns and potential career impacts. <\/p>\n The goal is to help students use the tools thoughtfully and intelligently, said Anand Rao, director of Mary Washington\u2019s center for AI and the liberal arts. Initial results show most students learned something from the course, and they want more teaching on how AI applies to their majors and future careers. <\/p>\n How it works: <\/strong>The course, IDIS 300: Introduction to AI, was offered to any new or returning UMW student to be completed any time between June and August. Students who opted in were added to a digital classroom with eight modules, each containing a short video, assigned readings, a discussion board and a quiz assignment. The class was for credit, graded as pass-fail, but didn\u2019t fulfill any general education requirements. <\/p>\n Course content ranged from how to use AI tools and prompt generative\u00a0AI output to academic integrity, as well as professional development and how to critically evaluate AI responses. <\/p>\n \u201cI thought those were all really important as a starting point, and that still just scratches the surface,\u201d Rao said. <\/p>\n The course is not designed to make everyone an AI user, Rao said, \u201cbut I\u00a0do want them to be able to speak thoughtfully and intelligently about the use of tools, the application of tools and when and how they make decisions in which they\u2019ll be able to use those tools.\u201d <\/p>\n At the end of the course, students submitted a short paper analyzing an AI tool used in their field or discipline\u2014its output, use cases and ways the tool could be improved. <\/p>\n Rao developed most of the content, but he collaborated with campus stakeholders who could provide additional insight, such as the Honor Council, to lay out how AI use is articulated in the honor code. <\/p>\n The impact:<\/strong> In total, the first class enrolled 249 students from a variety of majors and disciplines, or about 6\u00a0percent of the university\u2019s total undergrad population. A significant number of the course enrollees were incoming freshmen. Eighty-eight\u00a0percent of students passed the course, and most had positive feedback on the class content and structure. <\/p>\n In postcourse surveys, 68\u00a0percent of participants indicated IDIS 300 should be a mandatory course or highly recommended for all students. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you know nothing about AI, then this course is a great place to start,\u201d said one junior, noting that the content builds from the basics to direct career applications. <\/p>\n What\u2019s next: <\/strong>Rao is exploring ways to scale the course in the future, including by developing intermediate or advanced classes or creating discipline-specific offerings. He\u2019s also hoping to recruit additional instructors, because the course had some challenges given its large size, such as conducting meaningful exchanges on the discussion board. <\/p>\n The center will continue to host educational and discussion-based events throughout the year to continue critical conversations regarding generative\u00a0AI. The first debate, centered on AI and the environment, aims to evaluate whether AI\u2019s impact will be a net positive or negative over the next decade, Rao said. <\/p>\n The university is also considering ways to engage the wider campus community and those outside the institution with basic AI knowledge. IDIS\u00a0300 content will be made available to nonstudents this year as a Canvas page. Some teachers in the local school district said they\u2019d like to teach the class as a dual-enrollment course in the future. <\/p>\n Get more content like this directly to your inbox. <\/em>Subscribe here.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As more employers identify uses for generative artificial intelligence in the workplace, colleges are embedding tech skills into the curriculum to best prepare students for their careers. But identifying how and when to deliver that content has been a challenge, particularly given the varying perspectives different disciplines have on generative\u00a0AI and when its use should<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[535,5665,14138,1186,678],"class_list":{"0":"post-23132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-college","9":"tag-foundation","10":"tag-genai","11":"tag-online","12":"tag-students"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}