AcademicTechExpo2025: Full Schedule

The Academic Tech Expo 2025 at the University of Oklahoma
Sooner AI: Pioneering Educational Innovation at OU

January 9th ATE Virtual! All virtual presentations over Zoom.
January 10th ATE In-person on the Norman campus in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

THE SCHEDULE IS LIVE!

9:45am CST

Navigating Gen AI in Education: Challenges, Countermeasures, and Ethical Considerations

Friday January 10, 2025 9:45am - 10:35am CST

This presentation examines the questions and challenges of Generative AI
(GenAI) in education, focusing on its impact on learning tools vs. supplanting learning, the
beginning of the GenAI war with countermeasures and double agents, and the effects in the
classroom. It explores whether educators should embrace or regulate AI tools, addresses ethical
concerns, and highlights institutions' continued but evolving responsibility to address these
issues with haste. Participants will gain a practical insight into GenAI's impact on their
classrooms, research, and the academic ecosystem while considering ethical and pedagogical
alignments.

Speakers

Kelly Berry

Joshua Riesenberg

Competition Manager, OU Esports & Co-Curricular Innovation

Joshua Riesenberg came to OU from Houston, TX in 2013. Over the course of the next 11 years he has completed over 250 credit hours of course work and has decided to pursue a PhD to learn to produce high quality research. It is his hope that he can help create standardizations for... Read More →

Friday January 10, 2025 9:45am - 10:35am CST
Associates Third Floor Oklahoma Memorial Union

10:45am CST

Leveraging GenAI to Improve Motivation and Retrieval in HE

Friday January 10, 2025 10:45am - 11:35am CST

Associates

Generative AI (GAI) presents novel opportunities to enhance motivation, curriculum structure and development, and learning and retrieval processes for both learners and instructors. This lecture presents methods to leverage GAI to facilitate educational outcomes. These include mechanisms to increase autonomy, decrease planning, and promote knowledge retrieval and retention while shifting instructor time commitments from development to validation. Responsible GAI application in educational settings will revolutionize learning practices, making education more accessible and tailored with positive motivational outcomes for both learners and instructors.

Speakers

Franklin Hays, PhD

Assistant Professor, College of Allied Health

Experienced and self-motivated scientist specializing in biochemical, computational, and team-based research on medically relevant systems including diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular biology. A proven track-record of productivity in mentoring, service, teaching, and research funding... Read More →

Friday January 10, 2025 10:45am - 11:35am CST
Associates Third Floor Oklahoma Memorial Union

1:30pm CST

Applied AI in Construction

Friday January 10, 2025 1:30pm - 1:55pm CST

Associates

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades but is experiencing a golden run presently. With this new era of AI, lots of uncertainty about how it can be applied in construction exists. In the Fall 2024 offering of the Introduction to Construction Analytics and Innovation course, students were exposed to hands-on activities that helped them explore the applicability of AI to construction. First, students explored how computer vision and machine learning can be applied to safety management on construction jobsites. Second, students were introduced to a no-code tool for building their own chatbots. The latter exercise was aimed at helping students appreciate the pros and cons of generative AI in construction.

Speakers

Kofi Asare

Assistant Professor, Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture

Dr. Kofi Asare is an Assistant Professor of Construction Science at the University of Oklahoma and the PI of the Construction Innovation and Analytics Lab (CInnaLAB). Dr. Asare’s research is centered on digitalized and data-driven built environments. His research activity brings... Read More →

Friday January 10, 2025 1:30pm - 1:55pm CST
Associates Third Floor Oklahoma Memorial Union

2:05pm CST

Decoding AI's Role in Academic Writing

Friday January 10, 2025 2:05pm - 2:30pm CST

Associates

This study investigates the incorporation of generative AI in academic writing, analyzing AI usage statements from articles published in top-ranked, open-access Elsevier journals across 27 Scopus categories. By systematically collecting and examining these statements, the study explores authors' purposes for using AI, variations across disciplines, and patterns among international and non-native research teams. Employing content analysis, text mining, and quantitative methods, the research identifies common AI tasks, tools, and thematic elements. Results aim to inform academic policy on AI disclosure, highlighting ethical and practical implications in academic publishing.

Speakers

Ziyang Xu

Ph.D student Graduate Assistant, SLIS, Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences

Friday January 10, 2025 2:05pm - 2:30pm CST
Associates Third Floor Oklahoma Memorial Union

2:50pm CST

Integrating AI tools with Social Science Methods for Theory Testing and Model Refinement

Friday January 10, 2025 2:50pm - 3:40pm CST

Associates

Speakers

Christopher Garneau

Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences

My two main areas of research are political sociology and sociology of religion. Much of my publication record deals with political tolerance – which is the willingness to extend civil liberties to marginalized social groups. I have published three co-authored articles that examine... Read More →

Dr. Heather Bedle

MCEE

Dr. Heather Bedle is an Associate Professor, EK Gaylord Presidential Professor, and Lissa and Cy Wagner Professor of Geosciences in the School of Geosciences at the University of Oklahoma. As PI of the Attribute Assisted Seismic Processing & Imaging (AASPI) Consortium and Social... Read More →

Friday January 10, 2025 2:50pm - 3:40pm CST
Associates Third Floor Oklahoma Memorial Union

AcademicTechExpo2025