We found 25 results that contain "writing"
Posted on: #iteachmsu

Posted by
almost 4 years ago
20+ years ago when I began teaching as a graduate assistant, I was was spoiled when it came to student motivation and engagement.
At UW-Madison, I taught several freshman writing and discussion sections that were part of two huge undergraduate Scandinavian literature courses (several hundred students each) with a newly instituted writing component. Many, though not all, of the students were what we call, in second language pedagogy, heritage learners from primarily Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish backgrounds along with a few whose ancestors came from Iceland or Finland, which meant that their motivation and performance was reasonably good to high. In short, most were interested, engaged, and did the work to a reasonable standard.
The same was true a few years later at The University of Minnesota. where I was responsible for planning, developing, and teaching numerous sections of Beginning Norwegian 1001 and 1002 five days a week. Again, mostly heritage learners, so my job was easier than it might otherwise have been.
Here at MSU, I teach numerous IAH courses, once F2F, now asynchronous online. A few seem excited and engage well, but many, or even most, do not. It is a hoop they need to jump through, and many choose a particular course based not on their interest but on how well it fits their schedule.
Given that particular mindset, student motivation and engagement can be thin on the ground sometimes! So, these are two related points, along with how they relate to student success, that I come back to again and again in my reading and related thought behind what I do and how I do it.
Today, I came across a concise webpage on 'The Role of Motivation in Learning' from The Education Hub in New Zealand. Here is the link for people who might like to take a look:
https://theeducationhub.org.nz/motivation/
At UW-Madison, I taught several freshman writing and discussion sections that were part of two huge undergraduate Scandinavian literature courses (several hundred students each) with a newly instituted writing component. Many, though not all, of the students were what we call, in second language pedagogy, heritage learners from primarily Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish backgrounds along with a few whose ancestors came from Iceland or Finland, which meant that their motivation and performance was reasonably good to high. In short, most were interested, engaged, and did the work to a reasonable standard.
The same was true a few years later at The University of Minnesota. where I was responsible for planning, developing, and teaching numerous sections of Beginning Norwegian 1001 and 1002 five days a week. Again, mostly heritage learners, so my job was easier than it might otherwise have been.
Here at MSU, I teach numerous IAH courses, once F2F, now asynchronous online. A few seem excited and engage well, but many, or even most, do not. It is a hoop they need to jump through, and many choose a particular course based not on their interest but on how well it fits their schedule.
Given that particular mindset, student motivation and engagement can be thin on the ground sometimes! So, these are two related points, along with how they relate to student success, that I come back to again and again in my reading and related thought behind what I do and how I do it.
Today, I came across a concise webpage on 'The Role of Motivation in Learning' from The Education Hub in New Zealand. Here is the link for people who might like to take a look:
https://theeducationhub.org.nz/motivation/
Pedagogical Design
Posted on: GenAI & Education

Posted by
12 months ago
Basic but useful info on writing AI prompts, Also see attached from a Training Mag webinar by Garima Gupta.
https://arthademos.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/speak-AI-fluently/index.html#/lessons/vIoAw061pst3uibXbIx1KC9Uo4COTKLY
https://arthademos.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/speak-AI-fluently/index.html#/lessons/vIoAw061pst3uibXbIx1KC9Uo4COTKLY
Posted on: #iteachmsu

Posted by
over 1 year ago
An interesting discussion by Dr. Amina Yonis on how our student can use GenAI in an ethical way to carry out writing and revision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7MC4gwylqk
Kind Regards,
Stokes
Kind Regards,
Stokes
Posted on: #iteachmsu

Posted by
over 1 year ago
Hello Colleagues,
I’m writing to inform you that the MSU Libraries' Open Educational Resources Award Program call for applications for the academic year 2023-2024 opens today.
Now in its 5th year, the OER Award Program provides financial incentives and support to instructors interested in adopting, adapting, or creating OER as an alternative to traditional learning materials to advance our goals of affordability, access, equity, and student success.
Please visit https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/oer/award or consult the attached Call for Proposals to learn more about the application categories, eligibility, participation requirements, timelines, and criteria for evaluation. Application forms are available at https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/oer/award, and the deadline for submission is February 12, 2024.
The OER Advisory Committee will meet to review applications, and successful awardees will be notified on March 1, 2024.
Please feel free to share this information with interested colleagues.
Sincerely,
Linda
I’m writing to inform you that the MSU Libraries' Open Educational Resources Award Program call for applications for the academic year 2023-2024 opens today.
Now in its 5th year, the OER Award Program provides financial incentives and support to instructors interested in adopting, adapting, or creating OER as an alternative to traditional learning materials to advance our goals of affordability, access, equity, and student success.
Please visit https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/oer/award or consult the attached Call for Proposals to learn more about the application categories, eligibility, participation requirements, timelines, and criteria for evaluation. Application forms are available at https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/oer/award, and the deadline for submission is February 12, 2024.
The OER Advisory Committee will meet to review applications, and successful awardees will be notified on March 1, 2024.
Please feel free to share this information with interested colleagues.
Sincerely,
Linda
Posted on: GenAI & Education

Posted by
9 months ago
AI Commons Bulletin 12/16/2024
Human-curated news about generative AI for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
💚 New CTLI Resource for Using AI in Courses
Very practical introduction to AI at MSU. Details for accessing MSU’s licensed Co-Pilot. Step-by-step instructions on using AI for:
1. Writing emails to students.
2. Summarizing your course videos.
3. Designing lesson rubrics.
4. Forming learning objectives.
Learn More: http://bit.ly/SLXD_07
🏹 Open AI targeting K-12 Educators
Can Higher Ed be far behind? At the very least, increased use in K-12 will shape our incoming students. Topics in the new Open AI free online course: What is ChatGPt and how does it work, ways to use ChatGPT in teaching, best practices for responsible AI in a school setting.
Learn More: https://www.commonsense.org/education/training/chatgpt-k12-foundations
💚 ChatGPT for Natural Course Design
MSU educators explore how using ChatGPT enhances course design by improving structure, aligning objectives, and generating engaging content. Key challenges include content inconsistencies and a steep learning curve, highlighting the need for AI literacy to maximize its potential while managing risks.
Learn More: Kumar, J. A., Zhuang, M., & Thomas, S. (2024). ChatGPT for natural sciences course design: Insights from a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis. Natural Sciences Education, 53, e70003. https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nse2.70003
Get the AI-Commons Bulletin on our Microsoft Teams channel, at aicommons.commons.msu.edu, or by email (send an email to aicommons@msu.edu with the word “subscribe”).
Human-curated news about generative AI for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
💚 New CTLI Resource for Using AI in Courses
Very practical introduction to AI at MSU. Details for accessing MSU’s licensed Co-Pilot. Step-by-step instructions on using AI for:
1. Writing emails to students.
2. Summarizing your course videos.
3. Designing lesson rubrics.
4. Forming learning objectives.
Learn More: http://bit.ly/SLXD_07
🏹 Open AI targeting K-12 Educators
Can Higher Ed be far behind? At the very least, increased use in K-12 will shape our incoming students. Topics in the new Open AI free online course: What is ChatGPt and how does it work, ways to use ChatGPT in teaching, best practices for responsible AI in a school setting.
Learn More: https://www.commonsense.org/education/training/chatgpt-k12-foundations
💚 ChatGPT for Natural Course Design
MSU educators explore how using ChatGPT enhances course design by improving structure, aligning objectives, and generating engaging content. Key challenges include content inconsistencies and a steep learning curve, highlighting the need for AI literacy to maximize its potential while managing risks.
Learn More: Kumar, J. A., Zhuang, M., & Thomas, S. (2024). ChatGPT for natural sciences course design: Insights from a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis. Natural Sciences Education, 53, e70003. https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nse2.70003
Get the AI-Commons Bulletin on our Microsoft Teams channel, at aicommons.commons.msu.edu, or by email (send an email to aicommons@msu.edu with the word “subscribe”).
Posted on: GenAI & Education

Posted by
7 months ago
AI Commons Bulletin 2/19/2025
🧠 AI Tools Soon to Decide How Much They Need to “Think”
Expect the answers from AI tools to generally improve over the next few months, as more of them incorporate “reasoning” into their process. These are models that can discern when a prompt is more complex and would require a multi-step reasoning process. OpenAI is starting this with ChatGPT soon.
Learn More: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtwK3hBAjDY
📗 Five Generations of Intelligent Textbooks
Sosnovsky & Brusilovsky compile the literature on intelligent textbooks and organize five generations:
Engineered: AI-powered adaptive reading.
Integrated: Linked with external smart content.
Extracted: AI analyzes and structures knowledge.
Datamined: Tracks student engagement for insights.
Generated: AI creates content, questions, & chatbots
Learn More: Sosnovsky, S., Brusilovsky, P. & Lan, A. Intelligent Textbooks. Int J Artif Intell Educ (2025).
🚫 Guidance for Uses of AI Banned by EU’s AI Act
The EU regulates AI much more than the US does. When it adopted the AI Act, it banned “unacceptable risk” uses, but didn’t provide much explanation. A new report lays out examples, including manipulative, deceptive, and exploitative practices.
Learn More: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/redirection/document/112367
⏳ Waiting 5-10 Minutes for an AI to Answer?! What?!
Deep Research is a newer function of Google’s AI, Gemini. You can ask it an extended question and it will break it down into parts, research each part (including multiple web searches), and write up a report you can download. It’s available both on the web and on Android. Additional $ required.
Learn More: https://youtu.be/IBKRyI5m_Rk
Bulletin items compiled by MJ Jackson and Sarah Freye with production assistance from Lisa Batchelder. Get the AI-Commons Bulletin on our Microsoft Teams channel, at aicommons.commons.msu.edu, or by email (send an email to aicommons@msu.edu with the word “subscribe”).
🧠 AI Tools Soon to Decide How Much They Need to “Think”
Expect the answers from AI tools to generally improve over the next few months, as more of them incorporate “reasoning” into their process. These are models that can discern when a prompt is more complex and would require a multi-step reasoning process. OpenAI is starting this with ChatGPT soon.
Learn More: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtwK3hBAjDY
📗 Five Generations of Intelligent Textbooks
Sosnovsky & Brusilovsky compile the literature on intelligent textbooks and organize five generations:
Engineered: AI-powered adaptive reading.
Integrated: Linked with external smart content.
Extracted: AI analyzes and structures knowledge.
Datamined: Tracks student engagement for insights.
Generated: AI creates content, questions, & chatbots
Learn More: Sosnovsky, S., Brusilovsky, P. & Lan, A. Intelligent Textbooks. Int J Artif Intell Educ (2025).
🚫 Guidance for Uses of AI Banned by EU’s AI Act
The EU regulates AI much more than the US does. When it adopted the AI Act, it banned “unacceptable risk” uses, but didn’t provide much explanation. A new report lays out examples, including manipulative, deceptive, and exploitative practices.
Learn More: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/redirection/document/112367
⏳ Waiting 5-10 Minutes for an AI to Answer?! What?!
Deep Research is a newer function of Google’s AI, Gemini. You can ask it an extended question and it will break it down into parts, research each part (including multiple web searches), and write up a report you can download. It’s available both on the web and on Android. Additional $ required.
Learn More: https://youtu.be/IBKRyI5m_Rk
Bulletin items compiled by MJ Jackson and Sarah Freye with production assistance from Lisa Batchelder. Get the AI-Commons Bulletin on our Microsoft Teams channel, at aicommons.commons.msu.edu, or by email (send an email to aicommons@msu.edu with the word “subscribe”).
Posted on: #iteachmsu

Posted by
almost 2 years ago
If you have a research writing/information finding component in your class, the MSU Libraries Peer Research Assistant program is equipped to help. These undergraduate students can help their peers:
Plan for a research project (such as developing a search strategy)
Find information for research papers (like scholarly articles or books)
Evaluate information (is this paper scholarly?)
Understand citation styles and create citations (MLA, APA, etc.)
Get connected to library services
Appointments and walk in hours are available in Hubbard and the Main Library: https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/engage
Plan for a research project (such as developing a search strategy)
Find information for research papers (like scholarly articles or books)
Evaluate information (is this paper scholarly?)
Understand citation styles and create citations (MLA, APA, etc.)
Get connected to library services
Appointments and walk in hours are available in Hubbard and the Main Library: https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/engage
Pedagogical Design
Posted on: GenAI & Education

Posted by
9 months ago
AI Commons Bulletin - Human-curated news about generative AI for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 12/11/2024
📔 Automatic AI Summaries Now in ProQuest
MSU’s Proquest library database access added an AI “Research Assistant” in an article sidebar. The tool features article summaries, additional sources, important concepts and research topics.
Learn More: Library Learning Space - https://librarylearningspace.com/proquest-launches-ai-powered-research-assistant-to-promote-responsible-ai-use-in-academia/
🔎 Introduction to Prompts
Organizes many practical tips for writing AI prompts into one framework. The article is specific to education and includes links to authoritative resources.
Learn More: Park, J., & Choo, S. (2024). Generative AI Prompt Engineering for Educators: Practical Strategies. Journal of Special Education Technology, 0(0). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01626434241298954
🧬 Think of AI Uses as Along a Continuum
Monash University describes four examples of AI use in their courses:
1. Explore AI with students to build AI Literacy and discuss academic integrity.
2. Design assessments that focus on process rather than product to build critical thinking.
3. Incorporate new AI-enabled activities, like simulated personas.
4. Use AI for basic assessment, freeing educators to focus on personalized feedback.
Learn More: Hook, J., Junor, A., Sell, C., & Sapsed, C. (2024). Navigating integrity and innovation: Case studies of generative AI integration from an Arts Faculty. ASCILITE Publications, 165–172. https://publications.ascilite.org/index.php/APUB/article/view/1234/1478
Get the AI-Commons Bulletin on our Microsoft Teams channel, at aicommons.commons.msu.edu, or by email (send an email to aicommons@msu.edu with the word “subscribe”).
📔 Automatic AI Summaries Now in ProQuest
MSU’s Proquest library database access added an AI “Research Assistant” in an article sidebar. The tool features article summaries, additional sources, important concepts and research topics.
Learn More: Library Learning Space - https://librarylearningspace.com/proquest-launches-ai-powered-research-assistant-to-promote-responsible-ai-use-in-academia/
🔎 Introduction to Prompts
Organizes many practical tips for writing AI prompts into one framework. The article is specific to education and includes links to authoritative resources.
Learn More: Park, J., & Choo, S. (2024). Generative AI Prompt Engineering for Educators: Practical Strategies. Journal of Special Education Technology, 0(0). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01626434241298954
🧬 Think of AI Uses as Along a Continuum
Monash University describes four examples of AI use in their courses:
1. Explore AI with students to build AI Literacy and discuss academic integrity.
2. Design assessments that focus on process rather than product to build critical thinking.
3. Incorporate new AI-enabled activities, like simulated personas.
4. Use AI for basic assessment, freeing educators to focus on personalized feedback.
Learn More: Hook, J., Junor, A., Sell, C., & Sapsed, C. (2024). Navigating integrity and innovation: Case studies of generative AI integration from an Arts Faculty. ASCILITE Publications, 165–172. https://publications.ascilite.org/index.php/APUB/article/view/1234/1478
Get the AI-Commons Bulletin on our Microsoft Teams channel, at aicommons.commons.msu.edu, or by email (send an email to aicommons@msu.edu with the word “subscribe”).