Summer of AI
The Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning (CITL) along with campus partners from The University Library, Technology Services, NCSA, ATLAS and The Siebel Center for Design will host the Summer of AI at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Throughout this summer-long series faculty and staff will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops, guest talks, and conversations on how AI impacts the future of teaching and learning.
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
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This hands-on beginners’ Large Language Models (LLMs) workshop will introduce the participants to text generating AIs. We will explore their features and capabilities and apply them in streamlining teaching tasks and research. Other concepts will include: privacy/security, legal and ethical considerations of AI, and generative AI’s place in higher education.
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
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This hands-on, hybrid, beginners’ workshop will introduce participants to image (still and moving) generating AIs. We will explore their features and capabilities and apply them in higher education settings. You will learn how to safely streamline your work, reduce production time, and easily generate visual aids for your classroom needs.
Thursday, June 5, 2025
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As AI tools continue to make it into classrooms and campuses, understanding how to use them responsibly and effectively is essential. This session introduces the core dimensions of AI literacyand explores how they can guide thoughtful integration of AI in educational settings.
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This hands-on beginners’ workshop will walk the participants through the creation process of a custom LLM for classroom purposes with Illinois.chat created by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). Please bring your laptops.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
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Generative AI has brought a serious problem to education. Speaking colloquially, the “cheating” now possible produces an obvious reduction in learning. Working towards a solution, I will demonstrate CyberScholar, offering learners full AI support while tracking negative and positive effects in their learning.
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AristAI offers an AI Tutor that provides 24/7 personalized academic support and an Accessibility Tool that instantly scans and fixes LMS, document, and video content—helping educators enhance student learning and meet ADA and WCAG compliance with minimal IT effort.
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
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This session will focus on the ease of creating custom AI agents using ChatGPT and Copilot. Attendees will first explore existing custom AI agents and then learn how to easily create their own specialized agent.
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No registration required, just stop by Armory room 156 or visit us in the dedicated Summer of AI Zoom room.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
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In this interactive session, we’ll explore the expanding landscape of AI learning resources, from “free” webinars and online courses to seminar offerings from organizations like EDUCAUSE and other entities. Whether you're just beginning your AI journey or looking to deepen your expertise, you'll discover options that suit your learning style, goals, and budget.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
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This workshop offers strategies for balancing innovation, ethics, privacy, intellectual property, and accessibility to create more inclusive learning environments. Digital humanities uses technology to support analysis, community, and connection. Situating AI among analog and digital technologies prepares educators and their students to engage…
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In today’s rapidly evolving AI landscape, knowing which generative AI tool to use can make all the difference. This session offers a practical, side-by-side comparison of the leading GenAI platforms, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Grok, and highlighting their unique strengths, limitations, and ideal use cases. Whether you're writing, coding, etc...
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
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In this upcoming student voices panel, students will provide their own Gen AI perspectives. This will be an informative conversation about the use of Gen AI in student's educational journeys, personal lives, and career preparations.
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No registration required, just stop by Armory room 156 or visit us in the dedicated Summer of AI Zoom room.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
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This hands-on workshop introduces practical strategies for using AI tools to support student success. Participants will explore how generative AI can be used to foster engagement, provide real-time feedback, enhance study habits, support diverse learning needs, and build academic confidence.
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In Thomson Reuters Enter. Ctr. GmbH v. Ross Intel. Inc., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24296, one of the first legal decision regarding GenAI and copyright infringement, the court found that an AI startup is liable for copyright infringement when it copied all the legal decision summaries in creating a legal research search engine powered by AI.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
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No registration required, just stop by Armory room 156 or visit us in the dedicated Summer of AI Zoom room.
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This presentation showcases workflows and use cases to leverage an AI chatbot for research tasks and project development. Mindful of flaws and many challenges, I conclude that use of the chat bot for research tasks often extends my productivity and saves time.
Thursday, June 26, 2025
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Taking stock of recent developments in the U.S.-China AI race, this talk offers a geostrategic analysis of why a winner-take-all approach to AI will fail and what it implies for humanity as a whole.