“Generative AI is rapidly evolving and we need to support our students, faculty, and professional staff as we continue to move forward,” said Dr. Michelle Fischthal, Vice Chancellor of Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness, who noted that nearly a dozen workshops are planned this spring alone.
Register for the AI Conference
SDCCD’s Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness (II&E) division this year will hold the first InnovAItion Day at SDCCD: Exploring AI for Everyone on April 18 at San Diego College of Continuing Education’s North City Campus in Kearny Mesa. As the largest II&E Gen AI event of the year, it will bring together educators and innovators to explore how AI is shaping our world, providing hands on opportunities to engage with tools and ideas to enhance teaching, learning, while also benefiting their work and community impact.
While most workshops cover specific topics within a 75-minute time frame, InnovAItion Day at SDCCD: Exploring AI for Everyone is an all-day symposium that begins at 9 a.m. and stretches to 4:30 p.m. In fact, this is the SDCCD’s first full-day gathering dedicated exclusively to AI, as well as the first full-day forum led by the Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness division’s Innovation & Emerging Technologies team.
“We’re bringing together experts, faculty, professional staff, and students for a dynamic day of panels, breakout sessions, and interactive experiences aimed at making AI accessible and relevant across disciplines,” Fischthal said. “Attendees will not only learn about AI, but also engage with it firsthand, discovering how it can be integrated into education, work, and daily life. This event marks a significant step forward for SDCCD in fostering AI literacy, innovation, and collaboration across our colleges.”
Other spring highlights include:
- Forums and webinars ranging from AI Demystified: An Introduction to AI Literacy to Enhancing Learning with AI Chatbots: Strategies for Integration and Engagement are scheduled during the spring semester, which began February 3.
- The Innovation & Emerging Technologies team will take it up a notch by participating on panels at The Show - AI Revolution during the ASU+GSV Summit from April 5-7 at the San Diego Convention Center, where it will engage with industry leaders and highlight its innovative work in AI. (Touted as “the World’s Greatest Show for All Things AI in EDU,” The Show is aimed at empowering educators, advancing innovation and pioneering the AI-enhanced future of learning for all.)
- The SDCCD has also developed a comprehensive innovation web page with links to myriad resources such as 101 Creative Ideas on Using AI in Education and examples of AI syllabi. Previous workshops dating to October 11, 2024, (AI Literacy: Reframing Student Engagement) also are available.
The SDCCD is not alone in committing to staying ahead of the curve as advances in generative AI progress at an exponentially rapid pace. The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, for example, is moving ahead with a new Digital Center for Innovation, Transformation and Equity to serve as an incubator for bringing the latest advancements in generative artificial intelligence and digital technology into the nation’s largest system of higher education and workforce development.