Last week, my colleagues Laura Jervis, Chris Sharp, and I, were joined by Carrie Martins from the UF International Center’s Office for Global Learning to host a Tech Byte on designing and implementing online virtual exchange courses. We approached this by addressing six barriers that are often brought up by people who are unsure about teaching a virtual exchange course.

Do you ever have trouble obtaining images for your courses? Sure, there are plenty of pictures out there for a variety of topics, but sometimes it can be difficult locating an image to use in a course without violating copyright laws. And sometimes it’s just seemingly impossible to pinpoint anything to use at all. If you ever find yourself in this position, consider using Generative AI to create your own images!

The AI2 Center, in collaboration with a diverse group of faculty, has established a common definition of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the University of Florida community. This definition is intended to guide academic initiatives as we build an AI University together. The new Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) outlines a model for AI literacy and five distinct AI course designations to enhance our curriculum. The plan also includes AI teaching strategies.

Discourse about AI in teaching and learning feels a little bit like a tidal wave these days: You can either get swept up in the excitement or retreat to dry land but get left behind. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you want to test the waters but don’t know where to begin, you can dip your toes in by designing assignments that use AI but don’t require it to go swimmingly every time.

Have you discovered an educational technology tool that you want to use in your course, but aren’t sure how to get started? Well, UFIT has you covered! Whether integrated into Canvas or not, all tools need be reviewed and tested to ensure they meet university policies, work as expected, and are affordable, accessible, and secure.