Innovators
Welcome to our AI Innovators community, a space where we have insightful conversations and thrive in collaboration. You can both contribute and gain insights into the innovative ways in which our faculty, instructors, students, and staff are using Gen AI tools to develop new teaching and learning methodologies, engage in respectful conversations to address the ethical complexities of Gen AI, and attend CITL events focused on Gen AI.
Connect with us about utilizing GenAI in your teaching, Request a Consultation
Join the Generative AI in Education group on MS Teams
Gen AI Events
Fall Into AI Series
This series is happening now at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign! Throughout this Fall series faculty and staff will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops, guest talks, and conversations on how artificial intelligence (AI) impacts the future of education and beyond.
You can view the past recordings on Mediaspace and Youtube.
For more information about upcoming events view our CITL Calendar and sign up to Present for Future AI Sessions.
Let's recap the Summer of AI 2025 series that began with a Kick-off and Showcase event in May, which faculty and staff attended either online or in person to learn more about how artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of education and beyond. Throughout June and July, the series offered a full calendar that listed total of 38 hybrid events that included 11 hands-on workshops by CITL, 16 guest presentations led by campus partners, 3 panel discussions led by students and faculty, and 8 AI consulting sessions facilitated by CITL.
You can view the all recordings on Mediaspace and Youtube.
Rhetoric Workshop: "Writing Assignments in the Age of AI"
December 10, 2023
This presentation on writing assignments in the Age of AI is led by University of Illinois Rhetoric Program faculty Kristi McDuffie, Dana Kinzy, and Dani Nyikos.
- Kristi McDuffie is the Director of Rhetoric and oversees the first-year writing program at UIUC, which teachers around 4,000 students a year. In addition to teaching and leading writing program initiatives, she studies the rhetoric of social justice movements.
- Dana Kinzy is the Associate Director of Rhetoric and a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Dept. of English. In addition to teaching writing at a variety of levels, she trains current and future writing teachers and conducts research at the intersection of literacy and identity.
- Dani Nyikos is a Lecturer in the Dept. Of English where they teach first-year writing, game design, and creative writing classes. They have trained a few (comparatively small) large language models of their own, including one from the works of Jane Austen.
Teaching with Innovative Technologies Coffee Talk
November 3, 2023
- Download the PDF of Fei Du's presentation
- Download the PDF of Sandra Corredor and Melanie Wiscount's PDF of their presentation.
- Download the Top Ten Tips guide for integrating AI assessments into a course.
- Check out the webinar recording of the 5 Things You Should Know.
- View previous Teaching with Innovative Technologies Coffee Hour events.
Quad Day
Perspectives on AI - Quad Day 2024
On Quad Day, August 25, 2024, students at the University of Illinois shared their thoughts on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). In this video compilation, students from diverse academic disciplines discuss how GenAI has influenced their studies, creative projects, and daily lives. Through these brief interviews, the video highlights both the opportunities and challenges GenAI presents in a university setting.
Voices From The Community
University of Illinois Ph.D. Student Leads Development Project of an AI Teaching Assistant By Robert Baird, CITL Senior Associate Director
In an article Jiheng Jing, a Ph. D. student and teaching assistant in the Grainger College of Engineering, discusses AI and how he uses it for his projects, studies, and recent entrepreneurial efforts.
Watch this short video where Jiheng Jing uses AristAI.
AI Assist: Advising, Teaching, and Career Prep for College of Engineering Students By Robert Baird, CITL Senior Associate Director
In this article, Jonathan Makela, a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the Grainger College of Engineering, discusses how he's been exploring the potential of generative AI for reaching, learning, and research.
Watch this short video where Jonathan talks about how teachers can get started with AI.
Gies Professor Designs Course “Bots” to Enhance Student Learning By Robert Baird, CITL Senior Associate Director
In this article, learn how Gies Professor Vishal Sachdev designed course bots to enhance student learning and ensure appropriate use of Generative AI in the classroom.
Watch this short video where Vishal discusses creating the Debate Bot.
Instructor Voices
GradLIFE: AI @ Illinois
October 5-6, 2023
The Graduate College explores AI's influence on graduate student experiences through the blog series GradLIFE: AI @ Illinois. This series features thematic posts and insightful interviews that shed light on the impact of artificial intelligence on students' academic journeys.
AI x Education: Generating the Future of Education with AI
August 5-6, 2023
- Visit their blog and conference report.
- View the more conference videos.
March 3, 2023
CITL put together a diverse group of campus stakeholders to open up the conversation around this disruptive technology and discuss the implications for teaching and learning in higher education. Our panel discussion, Artificial Intelligence: Implications on Teaching & Learning, is hosted by Jordan Leising, Instructional Designer (CITL) and Jamie Nelson, Assistant Director, Emerging Technologies (CITL) and Associate Director, Educational Technologies (Gies). View the full recording of this panel discussion.