2025 FITSI: Essential Skills and Digital Literacies in Higher Education
August 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30pm
All FITSI sessions will be recorded and shared with the USNH community on the FITSI website. Only the presenters and individuals who ask audible questions will appear in the recording. Transcriptions of questions or chat messages will not be shared. We will post the zoom link on the FITSI website the day of the event.
Keynote – Chris Dede Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education
Topic: Join us for a pragmatic consideration of essential skills, including digital literacies, for USNH students. With keynote speaker Chris Dede, we'll examine the importance of preparing students for success in an everchanging world and discuss the role of generative AI in higher education. Our sessions will include explicitly teaching and assessing learner’s critical skills, demos of AI integration in the classroom, and specific AI tools supported at USNH. You'll also learn about a new digital ethics module for students as well as current recommendations and policy guidelines around generative AI use. This event focuses on empowering educators to equip students with essential competencies for the future of work and learning.
All USNH faculty and staff are encouraged to register and join the conversations. A single zoom link will be the location for all sessions throughout the day, and it will be sent to registrants several days before the event. For those unable to attend, recordings for each of the sessions will be made available to the USNH community after the event.
Agenda
9:00am – Welcome, overview of the day, intro to Chris Dede
9:10-10:40 am Key Note
Presentation Slides
Description. We'll examine the importance of preparing students for success in an ever-changing world. Identifying what skills and abilities will be essential for all of us, including those we are graduating. This will include discussions about the role of generative AI in higher education.
10:50-11:45 am Using technology to enhance learning and the practice of essential skills
Description. Three speakers will share their experience using technology, particularly AI, to enhance learning and the practice of essential skills, such as writing, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning in their respective areas of teaching (occupational therapy, project management and finance, and K-12 education). Each panelist will share their perspective on prompt engineering as an emerging “essential skill” that is being fostered in their courses.
11:45 am – 12:15 pm - LUNCH BREAK
12:15 – 1:05 pm Demo of AI in the classroom
Recording of the presentation
Description.Three faculty are sharing how they have structured assignments, activities, and assessments to incorporate AI
1:15-1:50 pm Copilot and DeepThought Walkthrough & ET&S supported AI
Recording of the presentation
CoPilot Presentation Slides and DeepThought Presentation Slides
Description. Introduction to the available AI tools, how to appropriately use, options and limitations.
2:00-3:00 pm Policies, Standards, and Guidelines at USNH
Description. General Counsel will review legal requirements with regards to what information can be shared with AI tools (e.g., FERPA). Then, Julie Simpson from Research Integrity Services will talk about some ethical issues and recommendations. And finally, the Provost’s Office will discuss existing academic affairs policies and areas where we might like to formalize more academic affairs policies. Plans for coordinated efforts in the coming academic year will be discussed.
3:00-3:25 pm New Digital Ethics Module for Students
Recording of the presentation
Presentation slides
Description. This session will outline a 2-hour module currently being developed for students that faculty will be able to insert into their courses (as desired). The goal of this module (which is also a digital badge-microcredental) is to provide students with foundational knowledge for ethical engagement with digital technologies. The module will serve as a cornerstone for instilling digital citizenship, and it will also include ethical considerations for Generative AI use. A subsequent microcredential will later be developed following this Digital Ethics module, which will focus solely on Generative AI uses. It is essential to ground students in digital ethics prior to introducing the larger suite of Gen AI tools.
3:25-3:30 pm – Closing - continue the dialogue, feedback, communication
Additional Resources:
For information about Generative AI, you may also visit this page on the Teaching and Learning Hub.
Please see this document to explore three categorial approaches to incorporate AI in your teaching.
If you are interested in appropriate AI citations, Purdue University provides helpful guidance.
Information about the Key Note Speaker:
Chris Dede is a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was for 22 years its Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies. His fields of scholarship include emerging technologies, policy, and leadership. From 2001-2004, he was Chair of the HGSE department of Teaching and Learning. In 2007, he was honored by Harvard University as an outstanding teacher, and in 2011 he was named a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. In 2023 he was named a Fellow of the Online Learning Consortium. In 2024 he was named a Scholar of the Immersive Learning Research Network.
In 2020 Chris co-founded the Silver Lining for Learning initiative (https://silverliningforlearning.org). He is currently an Advisor to the Alliance for the Future of Digital Learning, sponsored by the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiative (MBRGI). Also, Chris is a Co-Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Research of the NSF-funded National Artificial Intelligence Institute in Adult Learning and Online Education.
His most recent co-edited books include: Teacher Learning in the Digital Age: Online Professional Development in STEM Education; Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Realities in Education; Learning engineering for online education: Theoretical contexts and design-based examples; and The 60-Year Curriculum: New Models for Lifelong Learning in the Digital Economy. His professional website is https://chrisdede.com
2024 FITSI: Teaching and Learning With Generative Artificial Intelligence
2024 FITSI Keynote Speaker: José Antonio Bowen, Teaching and Thinking with A.I.
CoAuthor of Teaching with A.I.: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (2024), Teaching Naked (2012 and the winner of the Ness Award for Best Book on Higher Education), Teaching Naked Techniques with G. Edward Watson (2017) and Teaching Change: How to Develop Independent Thinkers using Relationships, Resilience and Reflection (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021).
2023 FITSI: Empowering Faculty to Help Students be Their Best
2023 FITSI Guest Speaker: Dr. James Lang | |
Dr. James Lang Tuesday, June 6, 10am - 11am (via Zoom)"Teaching Distracted Minds: Old Challenges, New Contexts"Presenter: Dr. James Lang Author of: Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It (2020) Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning (2016) | |
2023 FITSI Guest Speaker: Ray Schroeder | |
Ray Schroeder Wednesday, June 7, 10am - 11am (via Zoom)"The Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Higher Education"Presenter: Ray Schroeder Professor Emeritus of Communication, University of Illinois, Springfield Senior Fellow University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) | |
2023 FITSI Guest Speaker: Dr. Carol Hurney | |
Dr. Carol Hurney Wednesday, June 7, 2:30pm - 3:30pm (via Zoom)"Making Active Learning Work Using the Science of Learning"Presenter: Dr. Carol Hurney Associate Provost, Faculty Development Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Colby College |
