SAN MARCOS, Texas — Around 375 higher education teachers gathered at Texas State University this week for their first symposium on artificial intelligence in education as educators strive to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology.
The two-day “AI in Teaching and Learning Symposium,” which concluded Thursday, was designed to showcase ways to enhance teaching practices by integrating AI into higher education settings and offering a collaborative space to do it.
Kimberly Conner, Texas State University’s Digital Strategy Lead, emphasized the urgency of embracing AI in education, saying students are using AI whether educators learn more about it or not.
“Today, it’s AI. Next month, it could be a different emerging technology,” Conner said.
The symposium featured sessions on practical applications and considerations for AI in lessons, how it can enhance teaching methods, and weighing the pros and cons of AI in education. Workshops explored the use of AI tools across various disciplines, from health care to digital media and business.
Jeff Davis, a teacher in Communication Design at Texas State, urged colleagues to remain open about AI.
“Be AI-curious; your career depends on it,” Davis said during a panel discussion.
He spoke to a room full of educators sitting in on his lecture, “Integrating AI Tools in teaching: Conceptual Strategies and Image Generation’ which teaches students to use AI tools to develop and refine advertising campaigns with peer review.
“This has been a game changer in the way students can compress knowledge,” Davis said.
Tahir Ekin, a Professor of Business Analytics at Texas State, said he’s already using AI in his class to expose students to the advancements in the field so they can keep up.
He says the symposium allows him to collaborate with other educators, gaining a larger perspective on how AI can be utilized. According to Ekin, the more that educators know about different methods, the more they can do for their students.
“As educators, we need to do a better job in guiding them so that they would use these tools in a responsible way, in a concise manner that would help their learning as well as their career prospects,” Ekin said.
The event reflects a growing trend in Texas higher education to prepare students for an AI-driven future. As AI continues to reshape the workforce, educators recognize the need to adapt their teaching methods.
“I like the vehicle analogy,” Conner said. “Getting from point A to point B quickly also means getting there safely, and getting there in an informed manner … We want to ensure that humanity is always foremost in our minds.”
The symposium’s success highlights the increasing importance of AI literacy in higher education as institutions across Texas and beyond grapple with the implications of this transformative technology.