Fostering Joyous Collaboration Through a CUNY-Wide AI Initiative
(Collaborating with AI for Teaching and Learning)
Provided Presentation Description:
This panel highlights the collaborative processes and effective technological tools that faculty leads used in a CUNY-wide initiative called Building Bridges of Knowledge (BBK). With the aim to help students use AI tools ethically and responsibly, the BBK project is made up of 25 faculty fellows in five disciplinary areas (Education, Health, Humanities, Social Sciences and STEM) and is led by a CUNY faculty member with expertise in the use of AI. During the summer of 2024, the BBK leads used a myriad of technological tools such as Padlet, Zotero, Shared Google Documents, Custom GPTs, Zoom and Teams, along with collaborative strategies to support BBK fellows with the task of creating OER learning materials. In this session, the panelists will describe the most effective strategies, processes and technological tools that not only helped them successfully build community with their team, but ultimately meet the goal of creating over 30 learning materials, despite the challenges of working across the globe with conflicting schedules. The panel will wrap up with a description of how the project coordinator and leads supported one another through brainstorming, problem-solving and other strategies grounded in a Communities of Practice (CoP) framework.
Presenters:
Laura Scheiber, Adjunct Assistant Professor, KCC Department of Behavioral Studies and CUNY Central, Kingsborough Community College
Karan Puri, Associate Professor, Mathematics & Computer Science, Queensborough Community College
Casandra Silva Sibilin, Lecturer, History, Philosophy and Anthropology, York College
Karyna Pryiomka, Doctoral Lecturer, Psychology, Lehman College
Liz Clark, Professor, English, LaGuardia Community College
Notes:
The presenters took turns sharing their breadth of experience with collaboration, tools and projects, as well as effective techniques in to provide flexibility, fostering engagement, maintaining productivity, and minimizing disruptions. Many of the collaboration tools mentioned are familiar to us, such as zoom, google suite, Microsoft Teams, usage of collaborative workspace. An AI-OER custom GPT was also mentioned. The idea is that custom gpt can be used as a tool to gather and connect pieces of information and simplify the oer process by asking it questions such as "I need help with my AI-OER project.", "Can you give feedback on my AI-OER ideas?", "How do i make my AI-OER more usable?". There were more tools mentioned in the description like Padlet, Zotero and other AI assistants mentioned such as Copilot, chatgpt, quillbot, midjourney, but not much presentation on how they are used to maximize engagement and collaboration efforts. Two presenters were unable to attend the presentation.
Padlet demo:
https://yorkcuny.padlet.org/csilvasibilin/bbk-education-team-cso0y76gzh4uekh1
AI-OER Assistant GPT:
https://chatgpt.com/g/g-198v1mK7G-ai-oer-assistant