U-M summit to showcase XR, generative AI in education

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Future of Experiential Technologies Innovation Summit Oct. 16-17 will highlight how the University of Michigan embraces transformation and supports experimentation with new kinds of residential and online educational opportunities.

Faculty innovators will discuss embracing extended reality and artificial intelligence for classroom use and training programs, as well as exploring potential future applications of these transformational technologies.

The summit, hosted by the U-M Center for Academic Innovation at the Michigan League, will feature keynote speakers from GRX Immersive Labs and Coursera. Staff from the U-M Center for Academic Innovation will highlight how they partner with faculty to incorporate generative AI skills, extended reality technology and virtual production into online courses and residential classes.

Alton Glass, chief executive officer of GRX Immersive Labs, will address how his studio uses XR in innovative and immersive storytelling and education as the keynote speaker during Day 1 of the summit. Day 2 will feature Mustafa Furniturewala, chief technology officer of Coursera, discussing how Coursera is incorporating generative AI into its platform and partnering with institutions like U-M to host online courses that teach foundational and job-specific generative AI skills.

The summit will include networking opportunities; presentations on experiential technologies; vendor demonstrations, including from Apple, which will showcase the Apple Vision Pro; a celebration of the winners of a student hack-a-thon; and a student showcase of XR and generative AI technology projects.

Featured U-M faculty and staff include:

• Deb Lee, assistant clinical professor at the School of Nursing, will lead a panel on experiential technology use in health care.
• Michael Nebeling, associate professor at the School of Information, will join a group on XR technologies in the classroom.
• Nick Gaspar, distance learning director at UM-Flint, will discuss the use of technology on campus.
• Chris Brooks, assistant professor at the School of Information and Rebecca Quintana, director of blended and online learning design at the Center for Academic Innovation, will lead discussions on generative AI as a learning tool.
• Kentaro Toyama, professor at the School of Information, will participate in a faculty panel discussion on the policy and ethics of generative AI use.
• Jeremy Nelson, senior director of creative studios at the Center for Academic Innovation, will open the summit, introduce speakers and guide attendees through the agenda.
• Sarah Dysart, senior director of online learning at the Center for Academic Innovation, will lead a session about generative AI in online education.
• Chiemela Mgbeahuru, virtual production producer, and the XR design team will discuss the use of the Center for Academic Information's XR stage to create virtual environments and engage XR experiences in online courses.

The summit is free to attend. Registration is required.