Affiliated Institution/Organization(s): Northern Illinois University
Session Format: Poster
Session Tracks:
AEA – Accessibility, Equity & Access
OP – Online Pedagogy & Instructional Strategies
SS – Student Success
TT – Technology & Tools
IT – Innovation & Trends
Session Description
Generative AI is reshaping college teaching, student writing, and expectations for workplace readiness, but access to these tools and the knowledge required to use them effectively are unevenly distributed. Differences in cost, technology access, disability-related needs, privacy concerns, AI literacy, and prior experience may deepen existing digital inequities. My poster will examine generative AI through the intersecting lenses of access, agency, and equity. It will highlight barriers students may encounter when using tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini and consider how course policies, assignment design, and assumptions about technology use may affect students differently. It will also explore the tension between preparing students to use emerging technologies and preserving meaningful opportunities to develop writing, critical thinking, and independent decision-making. Attendees will leave with a handout with practical strategies for developing more equitable AI policies and learning activities that support informed student choice, critical AI literacy, and responsible use of generative AI in academic and workplace contexts.
Learning Objectives
- Identify key digital equity concerns associated with generative AI, including disparities in access, cost, privacy, accessibility, technological fluency, and prior experience.
- Evaluate how course policies and assignment designs may unintentionally advantage or disadvantage students with differing levels of access to and comfort with generative AI tools.
- Apply practical strategies for developing more equitable AI-related policies, assignments, and learning activities that support student choice, critical thinking, writing development, and AI literacy.
- Consider how instructors can prepare students to use generative AI critically and responsibly in academic and workplace contexts without assuming that all students have equal access to or interest in using these tools.
Session Facilitator(s)
- Amanda Hirsch
Bio(s)
Dr. Amanda Hirsch is the Assistant Director of Teaching Excellence and Support at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. She holds a Ph. D. in English from NIU and has extensive experience in higher education, including nearly eight years in faculty professional development and almost two decades of teaching at various higher education institutions. An ACUE-credentialed educator, Amanda specializes in developmental education, online teaching, and faculty development. Amanda’s research interests include equity in education, accessibility, and innovative pedagogical approaches. She is committed to supporting faculty and enhancing student learning through evidence-based teaching strategies and professional development initiatives.