AI in Education: Friend and Foe?

Abstract

AI is frequently in the news for being a disruptor. Many looks at AI focus on the potential downsides, like students using AI in place of their own work. Unfortunately, the downsides are frequently all that students see from their instructors when it comes to using AI in classes that are not specifically about AI. However, many instructors are leaning into AI. There are many ways that AI can help students and teachers be more effective. From students writing test cases to verify their work to instructors writing exam questions, correctly used AI can eliminate tedious tasks and make it easier to meet student needs. The idea of this panel is to have a discussion about the positive use of AI in the classroom, focused on use that would not cause integrity issues in most courses.

Panelist: Lauren Barbeau

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Lauren Barbeau is the Assistant Director of Learning and Technology Initiatives at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She earned her Ph.D. in English from Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in 19th century American Literature and American Culture Studies. Before becoming an educational developer, she taught writing and literature courses. She began her educational development career at Georgia Southern University and subsequently served as the Assistant Director for Faculty Development and SoTL at the University of Georgia. All things teaching, but especially all things teaching with technology, have been her two most enduring professional passions.

Panelist: David Joyner

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David Joyner is the Executive Director of Online Education & OMSCS in Georgia Tech's College of Computing. His research focuses on online education and learning at scale, especially as they intersect with for-credit offerings at the graduate and undergraduate levels. His emphasis is on designing learning experiences that leverage the opportunities of online learning to compensate for the loss of synchronous collocated class time. Joyner has received several awards for his work in teaching online, including the 2019 USG Regents' Teaching Excellence Award for Online Teaching, 2018 Georgia Tech Center for Teaching & Learning Curriculum Innovation Award, and the 2016 Georgia Tech College of Computing Lockheed Excellence in Teaching Award.

Panelist: Mark Moss

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Mark Moss is a Senior Lecturer of Computer Science at Georgia Tech for the last 7 years. He’s taught on-campus and OMSCS courses at Georgia Tech for over 9 years, along with teaching on-campus and online courses at other places like the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Capitol Technology University in Laurel, Maryland, and Northern Virginia Community College for another 10 years. Before Georgia Tech, he worked in various computing and communication jobs as an officer in the U.S. Army for 25+ years, serving in locations across the United States, Germany, and Okinawa. When not working on some computing problem, he enjoys playing chess and other abstract strategy games, or reading and watching short science fiction stories and movies.

Panelist: Michael A. Smith

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Michael Smith is a senior lecturer in the Scheller College of Business in the Information Technology Management area. Smith develops and delivers courses at Georgia Tech in systems analysis and design, project management, information systems, and emerging technologies. He is a Provost Teaching and Learning Fellow and serves on several Institute committees involved with using technology to further the Institute’s teaching mission. In recognition of his teaching and other activities, in Spring 2015, Smith received the CETL Undergraduate Educator Award. In Spring 2021, he received the Ernest Scheller Jr. Award, which recognizes a faculty or staff member who aspires to service excellence and who acts as an outstanding role model.

Moderator: Chris Poch

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Chris Poch has taught Software Analysis in OMSCS since 2018. He is an OMSCS alumnus and was a TA and Head TA in the program before his current role. By day, he is the Corporate Payments Commercial Technology Manager at WEX, where he runs customer-funded software development for one of the company’s three lines of business. He is part of a faculty committee that is investigating AI in education and was part of a team that used AI to reduce repetitive code writing needed to support a legacy application. Other interests include working on an award-winning musical Christmas light display, live audio production, and travel.