Digital Media, Graphic Communications, & Digital Technology Summer Conference

In a world where AI can generate realistic but false text, images, and video, how do we equip students with the skills to be critical digital citizens? This essential workshop moves beyond content creation to focus on critical evaluation. We will provide a framework for teaching students how to identify the hallmarks of AI-generated content, verify sources with greater scrutiny, and understand the societal implications of deepfakes and misinformation. We'll explore how to design assignments that challenge students to evaluate digital content and build their discernment skills critically. You will leave with practical lesson plans and strategies for embedding the crucial 21st-century skill of combating misinformation directly into your existing curriculum.

Tired of writing the same long, detailed prompts every time you need Gemini to help with a specific task? This workshop introduces Gemini Gems, a powerful feature that lets you build custom, reusable Google AI assistants. We'll show you how to create and save personalized instructions, turning the general-purpose Gemini into a specialist for your unique needs. Learn how to build a "Syllabus Helper" Gem that knows your course format, a "Grading Feedback Assistant" pre-loaded with your rubric's criteria, or even a custom research partner trained on your specific field's terminology. We will also explore how you can share Gems with students to scaffold complex assignments, providing them with a tailored tool for tasks like refining a thesis statement or analyzing data. You will leave with the ability to create a personalized toolkit of Gemini Gems, ready to streamline your workflow and enhance your teaching.

Are you looking for practical ways to make your courses accessible to all learners without adding hours to your workload? This workshop explores how Gemini can help you implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) efficiently. We'll demonstrate how to use Google AI for practical accessibility tasks, such as generating accurate transcripts for video content, creating descriptive alt-text for images, and summarizing dense readings for varied comprehension levels. Discover how to quickly differentiate instruction by creating tiered assignments and providing multiple means of representation for complex topics. You will leave with a toolkit of AI-powered techniques for creating accessible materials, saving you valuable time while fostering a more inclusive and equitable learning environment for every student.

Get ready for a deep dive into the future of AI education in Utah! 🤖✨ In this interactive session, we’ll unpack the pilot strands & standards for the second AI course—what they are, why they matter, and how they’re intentionally designed to move students from AI users to AI creators.
But we’re not stopping at theory… 👀

As AI continues to become an integral part of the world, our role is to equip students to use it responsibly and critically. This session is designed to prepare educators to guide their students toward achieving the Gemini Certified Student credential.  During this session, we will unpack the certification process and explore how to seamlessly integrate these foundational AI skills into your existing curriculum. You will learn practical strategies to help students move beyond basic, conversational prompting, teaching them instead to partner with tools like Gemini and NotebookLM for high-level research, structured writing, and personalized study planning. Leave this session with a clear roadmap for facilitating the certification process with your students and prepare them for an AI-powered future.