Kurt Friday remembers working with a student on an independent study that focused on addressing a gap in the artificial intelligence and cybersecurity space. The student, while highly innovative and experienced in cybersecurity, lacked a strong coding background.
鈥淲ithout this coding experience that some of these students do have, he was limited in what he could deliver,鈥 said Friday, who is an assistant professor of instruction in 同性恋色情鈥檚 Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing. 鈥淗e can only implement so many types of programs and industry-related software functionality.鈥
Using AI changed that.
鈥淲ithin roughly a week, he put together a platform that you would traditionally see from a software development team over the course of a month,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was very, very impressive.鈥
Friday shared this example during a panel discussion at 同性恋色情鈥檚 second annual AI in Education Summit. Nearly 250 teachers and administrators from school districts around the state heard from artificial intelligence experts and learned from educators, researchers and industry leaders who are exploring how AI is rapidly reshaping K-12 education.
Exploring AI鈥檚 role in education
The two-day summit, which was hosted by 同性恋色情鈥檚 College of Education, highlighted a broad range of AI-related topics, including responsible AI use, human-centered design, AI literacy, adaptive learning systems, immersive technologies, accessibility and classroom productivity tools.
鈥淎s educators, we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to thoughtfully consider how these technologies can support human learning and human flourishing, while also ensuring that issues of ethics, equity, creativity and critical thinking remain at the center of our work,鈥 said 同性恋色情 College of Education Interim Dean Jenifer Jasinski Schneider. 鈥淲hat excites me most about this summit is it brings together people from many different perspectives. Some of you are just beginning to explore AI in education, while others have been conducting research for 30 years.鈥
Balancing innovation and responsibility
The summit featured keynote presentations, panel discussions and breakout sessions focused on responsible AI integration, instructional innovation, literacy, accessibility and the future of work in education. Bellini College faculty played a central role in the conversations, with their expertise in artificial intelligence, ethics, public policy and classroom innovation.
鈥淥ur college is meant to be a hub for AI, and we want to be able to push AI everywhere and education is an important piece of that,鈥 said Larry Hall, Bellini College associate dean of research and innovation. 鈥淎s educators ourselves, we have to be able to figure out how to use AI.鈥
That means coming up with ideas on how to make it useful in education. That could take different forms such as grading essays 鈥 鈥淎lthough somebody might argue it did it poorly,鈥 he added.
Hall suggested AI could be used in classrooms through course planning, looking for answers to simple questions, equations or statistics. But in using it, there are also instances when teachers would want to teach students to challenge the answers AI provides.
鈥淭here are some very powerful things it can help you with,鈥 Hall said. 鈥淭his meeting is where I think you will find a way forward for AI in education. How to do it well. How to do it safely. How to do it fairly.鈥
AI theory to classroom implementation
Several Bellini College faculty members were featured throughout the summit, highlighting the college鈥檚 growing role in interdisciplinary AI research and education.
Associate Professor John Licato delivered a keynote address on the opening day of the conference. Licato鈥檚 research spans artificial intelligence, natural language processing, cognitive modeling and human reasoning, with applications that connect emerging AI capabilities to real-world decision-making and learning environments.
Karni Chagal-Feferkorn, an assistant professor of instruction, also delivered a featured keynote presentation
that contributed to ongoing summit discussions about balancing innovation with ethical
and policy considerations in educational institutions.
Bellini College faculty also joined educators and researchers in breakout sessions
exploring practical and forward-looking applications of AI in teaching and learning.
Assistant Professor Dayane Reis led a breakout session on 鈥淥pening the Black Box: Interactive Classroom Activities to Explore How AI Works.鈥 The interactive session demonstrated hands-on classroom activities that can help students understand how AI systems work.
Associate Professor of Instruction Oguzhan Topsakal presented 鈥淏uilding Classroom-Aligned AI Support for Teaching and Learning: The AI Course Companion Model,鈥 examining ways AI systems can better support educators and students through contextual and instructional alignment.
The AI Course Companion, which Topsakal developed, combines instructor-provided course materials with an interactive AI assistant embedded in Canvas. Students can ask questions, review concepts and practice exam material using instructor-approved content.
Topsakal, along with Assistant Professor of Instruction Kurt Friday, also participated in a panel discussion alongside faculty from the 同性恋色情 College of Education on the future of AI integration in educational environments.