CSUF symposium examines the use of artificial intelligence in higher education – Orange County Register

Using artificial intelligence and augmented reality tools, art students created fantastical avatars that guide visitors through a virtual garden in the Arboretum and Botanical Garden at Cal State Fullerton. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

Educators from multiple universities shared their insights and research on expanding the use of artificial intelligence in higher education in a daylong symposium hosted by CSUF’s Office of Academic Affairs

The April 30 seminar, “All AI 2024 – Envision Tomorrow:  Exploring AI’s Role in Higher Education,” at the Pollak Library consisted of three tracks – AI Changes in the Curriculum, AI Pedagogy Changes and AI Knowledge Base – and was divided into 22 sessions with 31 speakers discussing all aspects of AI’s impacts on teaching and learning.

Amir Dabirian, provost and vice president for academic affairs at CSUF, said integrated AI in ways that “genuinely enrich and ready our students for the future while advancing our educational objectives.” is crucial for the university.

“It is really exciting to talk about AI and about our university moving forward,” Dabirian said. “This is a very comprehensive AI conference.”

With a rapidly changing landscape, equipping CSUF graduates with an understanding of AI technologies is a necessity, Dabirian said.

Over the course of one week leading up to the conference, 800 faculty members and 4,000 students responded to a survey related to AI technology.

The survey revealed that about 90% of faculty and students were concerned with AI’s impact on ethics, privacy and long-term societal impacts.

A slightly lower percentage of students (67%) compared with faculty (78%) agree that AI will become an essential part of most professions.

More students than faculty are concerned about AI’s impact on job security (74% of students compared with 65% of faculty).

Donna Budar-Turner and Emeline Yong, director and assistant director, respectively, of CSUF’s Office of Student Conduct, led a session titled “When AI Collides with AI: The Intersection of the Use of Artificial Intelligence and University Standards for Academic Integrity.”

The Office of Student Conduct investigates allegations of academic dishonesty.

According to its mission statement, the Office of Student Conduct supports student well-being and approaches misconduct as “an opportunity for holistic student development.”

The office “fosters student learning, facilitates reparation of harm caused by a student’s conduct.”

The presentation from Budar-Turner and Yong juxtaposed technology accessed by students in 2020 that could potentially be used for cheating along with resources available to faculty to determine whether cheating had occurred, with the advanced AI technology available to students in 2024 and the challenges it presents to faculty for discerning academic integrity.

Budar-Turner and Yong said that student use of artificial intelligence to create or revise work submitted for evaluation can be “a slippery slope for scholarly communities to navigate.”

“Can students use AI in preparing their assignments? Yes, they can, and they do,” the presenters said. “May they use AI in preparing their assignments? That depends on you, the instructor, and the parameters you set in your courses.”

Budar-Turner and Yong encouraged educators in attendance to respond to every breach of academic integrity, especially breaches perpetrated by AI, to ensure the integrity of a CSUF degree and maintain a level playing field for students.

Students should be made aware of the benefits of “researching, analyzing, critically thinking, and practicing the range of skills that academic assignments encourage students to exercise.”

CSUF art professor Chen Wang delivered a presentation titled “AI Integration in Graphic Design Education.”

Wang discussed the ways students can incorporate AI technology into their design process.

“By guiding students to critically evaluate AI-driven design solutions and consider ethical implications, we prepare them to navigate the complexities of the evolving digital landscape with confidence,” Wang said. “This project demonstrates our efforts to harness AI’s potential in creating effective design solutions.”

AI is a tool to achieve design goals and meet users’ specific needs, Wang said.

For children, AI can be used to create content suitable for children of all cognitive abilities and be used to design game elements to ensure learning through play, the professor said.

AI can be used to generate background music based on the user’s music taste and preference, voice-based guides for breathing exercises, and yoga practice to help users relax, Wang said.

Other CSUF presenters included: Shelli Wynants, professor of Child and Adolescent Studies; Nicole Seymour English professor; Thomas May, assistant economics professor; Leslie Bruce, lecturer in the Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics; Bruce Swanlund, Writing Center supervisor; Nancy Watkins, director, Educational Doctorate Program and associate professor, Educational Leadership; Todd Taylor, Senior Strategic Development Manager for Higher Education.