In this module, CTL has assembled some helpful resources related to “AI in the Classroom.” The goal of this module to support SDSU faculty as you update your syllabi for another semester impacted by generative AI. As university educators, we need to address the practical and ethical implications of GenAI directly in our syllabi and in our classrooms.

I suggest that you start with the valuable introduction to AI Literacy in this MLA / CCCC AI literacy guide, also available in this module as a pdf. This includes definitions and a detailed description of what it looks like to be AI literate.

Ryan Watkins’s article “Update Your Course Syllabus for ChatGPT" has aged surprisingly well (it was published Dec. 2022). It’s an upbeat, practical guide to thinking about the era of ChatGPT. In addition to some general perspectives on pedagogy, this short essay offers tips for teaching with ChatGPT or other generative AI applications.

The first section of this module also includes a simple glossary of terms, sample syllabus language, and a video webinar (one-hour). The contents of this "The Basics" section are intended to help any faculty member begin to adapt to the changing landscape of higher ed. The following sections offer additional perspectives on the subject of AI in higher ed. Don't miss our colleague E.J. Sobo's optimistic "Commentary" on the ChatGPT era.

The CTL encourages all faculty to up-skill for the GenAI era by enrolling in the Academic AI micro-credential, produced by our own ITS — its principal authors are SDSU faculty members.

The goals of all these efforts are to cultivate student engagement and to promote AI literacy. Providing students with assignments that they find meaningful will go a long way toward intercepting the impulse to take shortcuts. As Dr. Julia Staffel puts it, "we need to have honest conversations with [our students] about the contexts in which it is acceptable to use AI-generated texts, and the contexts in which AI assistance is illegitimate."