AI Literacy Day
Recording: 2026 AI Literacy Day (login required)
When: Friday, March 27, 2026
Time: 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Format: Virtual, Zoom registration (one link for the whole day)
Who can attend: Open to all App State faculty and staff
Hosted by: Information Technology Services (ITS), the Office of Research and Innovation and the university AI Enablement teams
Full schedule: see below!
About the event
AI Day is designed to reduce cognitive load, build shared understanding and empower our campus community with structured, sustainable approaches to AI adoption. You’ll leave with new ideas, new skills and a clearer sense of how AI can support your work at App State.
Colleagues will share their insights, demonstrate real workflows and guide hands-on exploration of university‑approved AI tools. Whether you’re redesigning assignments, improving workflow efficiency, exploring research applications or simply curious about what AI can do, these sessions offer practical, immediately usable strategies.
We have created one link to join any session throughout the day. Register in Zoom to add to your calendar and use the schedule below as your guide.
Why AI Day
National AI Literacy Day is a nationwide day of action focused on exploring the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence.
Opportunities for engagement include valuable lessons for classrooms and professional development opportunities for educators. With events hosted in local communities and national spotlight events, the mission is to promote AI literacy as a foundational skill for the 21st century. Learn more and find additional resources at ailiteracyday.org.
Schedule
9:00 - 9:30 Welcome
- Keith Werner, Chief Information Officer
- Tom Van Gilder, Deputy CIO & Chief Operating Officer
- Mark Bradbury, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Programming and Planning
Introduction and shared vision to introduce AI Day through the university’s AI enablement teams, AI Task Force and the principles guiding responsible AI governance across campus.
9:30 - 9:50 Responsible AI Use
- Michael Friese, AI and Data Governance Business Analyst
- Jim Webb, Deputy Chief Information Officer & CISO
Introduction to the foundations of responsible AI use, highlighting how data quality, privacy and governance shape ethical and sustainable AI practices at App State.
9:50 - 10:00 Break
10:00 - 10:50 Faculty Panel: AI in Practice: Faculty Perspectives on Teaching and Research at App State
- Trish Oxford, Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management, Walker College of Business
- Ben Alexander-Eitzman, Department of Social Work, College of Arts and Sciences
- Thomas Mueller, Department of Communication, College of Fine and Applied Arts
- Mark Nystrom, Department of Art, College of Fine and Applied Arts
Panelists will share real examples of AI use in teaching and research, opportunities, risks and emerging directions. They will discuss successes, challenges and lessons learned as they integrate AI into their everyday academic work.
11:00 - 11:20 From Overload to Optimization: TIME Framework for AI-enabled work
- Jason LaFrance, Associate Professor, Program Director of School Administration, Department of Media, Career Studies and Leadership Development, Reich College of Education
11:20 - 11:30 Break
11:30 - 11:50 Overview of the UNC System AI Foundational Skills Course
Michael Vaughn, Academic Technologist, Learning Management Systems & Digital Learning Technologies, Academic and Emerging Technologies
The UNC System AI Foundational Skills Course is a systemwide resource developed by a cross-institutional team of faculty, librarians, and instructional designers to give students a practical foundation in artificial intelligence. It is being piloted at institutions across the UNC System this spring, including App State, and this session will provide a guided tour of the course to understand the student experience.
11:50 - 12:00 Break
12:00 - 12:50 Sustainability and AI at Appalachian State University
- Shea Tuberty, Professor, Director QEP, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
As part of our campus-wide AI initiatives, we are forming a dedicated working group to explore the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and environmental sustainability. This group may look at both "AI for Sustainability" (using AI to solve climate challenges) and the "Sustainability of AI" (mitigating the environmental footprint of computing). Attendees will divide into breakout groups to discuss specific questions, and then each group will report to the whole room.
12:50 - 1:00 Break
1:00 - 3:00 - Concurrent Sessions (teaching, research and administrative tracks) Choose one session to attend. Each session will offer 20-30 minutes of instruction and 20-30 minutes of hands-on practice.
1:00 - 1:50
- Administrative Track: How to create projects
Jason LaFrance, Associate Professor, Program Director of School Administration, Department of Media, Career Studies and Leadership Development, Reich College of Education
This hands-on session guides participants in building structured, reusable ChatGPT projects that streamline teaching, research, advising and administrative workflows through practical, ready‑to‑adapt examples. - Teaching Track: Using AI in Teaching
Suzanne Edmonds, Academic Technologist, Learning Management Systems & Digital Learning Technologies, Academic and Emerging Technologies
Learn to move from "AI-proofing" to "AI-resilience" by establishing clear classroom norms and policies. Learn the "Traffic Light" framework to help you distinguish between unassisted skill demonstrations and intentional AI collaboration and gain practical strategies for quick assignment redesign and improved transparency. - Research Track: AI-Powered Grant Seeking: Practical Strategies with GrantPuma
Crist Khachikian, Professor, Civil Engineering, California State University, Northridge; Founder of GrantPuma (AI for Researchers)
This session offers practical strategies for AI‑enhanced grant seeking, demonstrating how to use GrantPuma to identify funding opportunities more efficiently.
1:50 - 2:00 Break
2:00 - 2:50
- Administrative Track: Using AI in Administrative and Service Tasks
Michael Vaughn, Academic Technologist, Learning Management Systems & Digital Learning Technologies, Academic and Emerging Technologies
From drafting emails to documenting processes, administrative and service tasks can quietly consume a significant portion of the workday. We'll explore how Google Gemini and NotebookLM, can help reduce that burden by focusing on Gemini's Gems feature and examine how NotebookLM can serve as an intelligent resource hub. The overview will be followed by 30 minutes of guided hands-on time. - Teaching Track: Assessment in the Age of AI
Suzanne Edmonds, Academic Technologist, Learning Management Systems & Digital Learning Technologies, Academic and Emerging Technologies
Shift your focus from detection to design by exploring authentic, process-based assessments that AI cannot easily replicate. We will discuss how to integrate "AI-complementary" tasks, such as prompt engineering and student disclosure statements, into your curriculum. This session emphasizes localized evidence and multimodal work to maintain academic integrity and support deep learning. - Research Track: Using AI for Research: Tips for Effective AI Use in Literature Reviews and Data Analysis
Twila Wingrove, Professor, Assistant Chair, Department of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences; Director of Research Data & Analysis, Office of Research and Innovation
Andrew Smith, Kulynych/Cline Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Psychological Science Program Director, Department of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences
We'll cover 4 examples of using AI in research, two at the literature review stage and two with data analyses:- Using NotebookLM and ResearchRabbit to synthesize research
- Using Gemini and Claude to guide mentees' reading
- Using Gemini for a power analysis
- Data visualization with Gemini
2:50 - 3:00 Closing
With Information Technology Services, Keith Werner, Chief Information Officer, and Tom Van Gilder, Deputy CIO & Chief Operating Officer
Disclaimer
Using university-approved AI tools offers stronger protections for your data, clearer terms of use and alignment with university policies. These tools are designed to support teaching, research and administrative work while safeguarding privacy and academic integrity.
If you choose to explore or compare other AI tools during or after any of these sessions, remember that any information you enter may be stored, used to train models or shared with third parties, depending on the tool’s policies. Always review privacy settings, avoid entering sensitive or personally identifiable information and make sure the tool’s terms align with your responsibilities as a member of the App State community.
Your participation is voluntary, and you are responsible for the information you choose to provide to any external tool.
National AI Literacy Day
