What Happens in the Classroom Is the Main Event

Carlo Rotella 

Professor, English, Boston College

One response to the current technological moment is to double down on treating the 2000 minutes we spend in the classroom with students during a semester as the main event.  This foundational principle has consequences for everything from course policies (e.g., no devices, and everybody talks) to a teacher's classroom technique to the mix of assessments we employ.  It's also a key to why citizenship and community are useful--rather than just sentimentally satisfying--ways to think about what we're trying to accomplish in the classroom.

Start By Trusting Students: Pedagogies of Care in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Jesse Stommel

Teaching Associate Professor, Writing Program, University of Denver 

There is no neat and tidy technological solution to the challenges we presently face in education. There is no one-size-fits-all set of best pedagogical practices for building a learning community, whether on-ground or online.

The conversation around Generative AI isn't a particularly new conversation. People have been talking about how technology will transform or dismantle education for decades, even centuries. I think it's important for us to look back even as we look forward — to think about the history of these conversations and what motivates them. What deep ethical questions do we need to ask about AI even as the tech becomes increasingly ubiquitous?

A critical digital pedagogy argues that we are better users of technology when we think critically about the nature and effects of that technology. How does a reflective, critical pedagogy translate into digital space? Can the necessary dialogue flourish within Web-based tools, social media platforms, or learning management systems? How can we build platforms that support learning across age, race, gender, culture, ability, geography? What are the specific affordances and limitations of technology toward these ends?

Carlo Rotella 

Professor, English, Boston College

Carlo Rotella is a professor of English, American Studies, and journalism at Boston College.  He has written books about cities, boxing, music, literature, and film, among other subjects, and his most recent book is What Can I Get Out of This?: Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics.  He has been a regular contributor to the New York Times Magazine since 2007, and his work has also appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, and The Best American Essays.  He has held Guggenheim, Howard, and Du Bois fellowships, and U.S. State Department Speaker and Specialist grants to lecture in China and Bosnia. 

Jesse Stommel

Teaching Associate Professor, Writing Program, University of Denver 

Jesse Stommel, Ph.D. is a faculty member in the Writing Program at University of Denver. He is co-founder of Digital Pedagogy Lab and Hybrid Pedagogy: the journal of critical digital pedagogy, and he earned his Ph.D. from University of Colorado Boulder. Stommel is co-author of An Urgency of Teachers: The Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy, co-editor of Disrupting the Digital Humanities, and co-editor of Critical Digital Pedagogy: a Collection. He is best known for his work as a champion of teachers and students in higher education. He is Executive Director of Hybrid Pedagogy: the journal of critical digital pedagogy, and he earned his Ph.D. from University of Colorado Boulder. Stommel is a documentary filmmaker and teaches courses about pedagogy, film, and new media. He experiments relentlessly with learning interfaces, both digital and analog, and his research focuses on higher education pedagogy, critical digital pedagogy, and assessment. Stommel was most previously a faculty member at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has a rascal pup, Emily, a clever cat, Loki, and a badass daughter, Hazel.

Pedagogies of Friction: Embracing the Productive Struggle of Learning

Meg Konkel, Ph.D.

Senior Director for Fordham's Center for Educational Innovation, Office of the Provost

Evidence from the cognitive learning sciences suggests that learning happens with the right amount of struggle - that friction, or what Bjork and Bjork (2011) call "desirable difficulties," enhances the durability of learning. Yet for many learners, friction is something we want to avoid - and technologies like genAI are presented as tools to increase efficiency, smooth friction, and take away difficulty. So how might we model friction-ful pedagogies that incorporate genAI? How might we enlist genAI to create the productive friction that will enhance our students' learning? This session will introduce the notion of friction from a cognitive science perspective, explore why it supports durable learning, and offer techniques for embracing it through technology.

A Flipped Classroom Approach to Organic Chemistry 

Martin Di Grandi, Ph.D.

Department of Natural Sciences, FCLC 

I will discuss the steps I have taken to flip my classroom, and why I think this is a better way to teach a problem-solving class such as Organic Chemistry.

Introducing Artificial Intelligence in the Chemistry Laboratory

Elizabeth Thrall, Ph.D.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arts & Sciences

One area of my research focuses on the development of pedagogical activities to introduce chemistry students to new techniques from artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science. These computational approaches are transforming research in chemistry, yet they are not widely included in undergraduate curricula. The goal of my work is to develop standalone activities that introduce these techniques to students in the context of chemistry. Along with collaborators at Fordham and elsewhere, I have now completed three projects, which have been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Chemical Education. In this session, I would give a broad overview of this field, a summary of these completed projects, and some details on tools to facilitate this type of teaching (such as computational notebooks).

Authentic Assessment in Online Learning: Designing for Trust, Agency, and Creativity

Steven D'Agustino, Ph.D.

Senior Director for Online Programs, Office of the Provost

Graham Johnson, Ph.D.

Instructional Designer, Office of the Provost

What if assessment were not something done to students at the end of a course, but something built with them throughout it? This session explores how instructors can design online courses where assessment becomes a site of relationship-building, agency, and meaningful learning. Drawing on practices such as co-creating criteria, structured self-reflection, and iterative feedback, we will examine how to surface what students truly know and can do. Participants will leave with practical strategies for aligning learning objectives with authentic assessments that invite ownership, deepen engagement, and make learning visible.

The Security of Connections: Who Can You Trust?

Mark Herzog
IT Security Engineer, Office of Information Technology 

In an era of instant pings and digital noise, how do we protect the sanctity of our professional and personal relationships?

As educators and researchers, your work is built on the foundation of trust—with your students, your colleagues, and your data. Yet, the "Digital Age" has stripped away the physical cues we’ve relied on for centuries to verify who is on the other side of the screen.

Join Marc Herzog, IT Security Engineer, for a refreshing, non-technical exploration of how to reclaim your digital presence. We’ll move past the jargon of "firewalls and filters" to look at the Anatomy of Trust.

In this session, you will learn:

• The Emotional Fingerprint: How to spot digital impostors by identifying the psychological triggers they use to bypass your intuition.
• The Practice of the Pause: Simple habits to protect your "Digital Sanctuary" and reduce the cognitive load of modern security.
• Legacy Protection: Practical ways to secure your intellectual property and professional identity without becoming a tech expert.

Security isn't about locking doors; it’s about creating a safe space where authentic connection can flourish. Come learn how to turn security from a chore into a practice of intentionality.

Tech Trends 3

Kristen Treglia

Senior Instructional Technologist, Office of Information Technology

Technology Trends 3 builds on more than a decade of research, presentations, and campus initiatives exploring how emerging technologies shape teaching and learning. This session looks beyond individual tools to examine larger patterns, signals, and shifts, from AI and immersive environments to data, creativity, and digital identity, and what they mean for higher education.

Drawing on major trend reports, real campus projects, and years of hands-on faculty support, the talk connects future-facing ideas to practical strategies educators can use right now.

Kristen Treglia is a Senior Instructional Technologist, speaker, and strategist who explores how emerging technologies shape teaching, learning, and academic culture. She brings more than 25 years of experience as an educator and innovator.  Through her work in faculty development and campus initiatives, she connects future trends to practical, human-centered practice.

View the Tech Trends Google Site to look back at Tech Trends (2013) and (2019)

Cutting-Edge Chemistry and Communication in the Classroom

Nicholas Sawyer, Ph.D.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arts & Sciences

Since the clinical introduction of insulin in the 1920s, peptides have played an essential role in modern medicine, including the recent revolution and widespread use of GLP-1’s. In this context, I will discuss my design and implementation of an upper-level biochemistry course with dual goals of expanding students’ exposure to state-of-the-art methods in peptide chemistry and developing students’ scientific communication skills. The first half of the course focuses on multi-level engagement with primary scientific literature, culminating in hypothesis-driven design of peptides for experimental testing. The second half of the course focuses on translating those designs into real molecules and testing them using state-of-the-art equipment, including instruments routinely encountered in both academic and industrial research settings. Constructive feedback on periodic writing assignments and presentations helps students develop written and oral scientific presentation skills necessary for success in their future STEM careers.

Inside Fordham's AI Hub: Building a University-Wide Ecosystem for Ethical Innovation

Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D.
Dean and George N. Jean Ph.D. Chair, Gabelli School of Business

​​Fernando Montejo
Senior Director of External Partnerships and Engagement, Gabelli School of Business

Vincent Ponzo
Fordham AI Business Hub Lead & AI Fellow, Gabelli School of Business

Beth Semaya, Ph.D.

Associate Provost for Graduate Programs, Office of the Provost

What does it mean for a Jesuit university to build an institutional response to artificial intelligence? Specifically, one grounded in ethics, inclusion, and the greater good? In this session, Lerzan Aksoy, the Dean of the Gabelli School of Business, will offer an overview of Fordham's newly launched AI Hub, a collaborative center of innovation designed to bridge industry, community, and higher education at Fordham. The session will explore the Hub's core initiatives, including its AI Fellows program, which brings senior industry leaders in business, technology, and policy into an advisory relationship with the university Fordham University,  as well as incubator programs that put AI tools directly in students' hands. Attendees will come away with a clearer picture of where Fordham is heading as an institution and how faculty across schools and disciplines can engage with, contribute to, and benefit from this growing ecosystem.

Immersive Futures: Intertwining 3D Design and Extended Reality (XR) in Academic Spaces.

Nicole Zeidan, Ed.D.
Assistant Director for Emerging Educational Technologies, Office of Information Technology 

Sabina Perez
Lead, Emerging Educational Technologist, Office of Information Technology 

Immersive Futures: Intertwining 3D Design and Extended Reality (XR) in Academic Spaces examines how the convergence of 3D modeling and immersive XR technologies, powered by AI, is reshaping teaching and learning. This session highlights practical applications, while addressing implementation challenges and scalable strategies. Attendees will gain insight into how experiential, creation-driven learning environments can enhance student engagement, retention, and future-ready competencies.

Preparing for the Future While Perfecting Our Present: Academic Libraries Move Forward Without Leaving It All Behind

Kirsten Lee-Javadi

Distance Learning and Scholarly Communication Liaison

Alexa Sanders

Electronic Resources Librarian

Gabriella DiMeglio

Archives & Special Collections Manager

Values-Driven, Human-Centered Teaching and Learning with GenAI

Meg Konkel, Ph.D.

Senior Director for Fordham's Center for Educational Innovation, Office of the Provost

Jesuit education presents academic disciplines from a human-centered perspective, situating disciplinary knowledge in a larger context of human values, patterns, and relationships. So what does it mean to question genAI from a values-driven, human-centered perspective? This hands-on, interactive session will engage participants in the examination of genAI in teaching and learning by leading with values. Using Carter Moulton's Analog Inspiration card decks, participants will identify the core values that shape their teaching and explore practical ways to integrate genAI in centering those values in the classroom. This session is designed for faculty who are curious about genAI and looking for ways to launch further experimentation.

Beyond the Text Box — Designing Elegant Learning Experiences with HTML in Blackboard Ultra

Eugeniu Grigorescu

Assistant Director of Online Learning, Graduate School of Education

Blackboard Ultra's default content blocks are functional, but they often produce cluttered, visually flat course pages that are not very engaging for learners. This session demonstrates how an HTML-building template can transform Bb's environment into a clean, purposeful, and visually compelling learning space. Participants will see live examples of custom-coded content blocks, explore a practical template they can immediately adapt, and leave with a concrete toolkit for elevating course aesthetics - turning good instructional design into something students actually want to engage with. Participants are encouraged to bring their laptops to follow along.

Worry Less: Leveraging AI to Heighten the Human Connectivity of Teaching

Kevin Muller

Adjunct Instructor, Computer & Information Science, Arts & Sciences & Information Technology & Operations, Gabelli School of Business

Interlock Group Assistant Director, Office of Information Technology

What happens when an instructor is asked to teach outside their primary expertise? The result is often "imposter syndrome"—a barrier that can lead to rigid teaching and disconnected students. 

By utilizing AI as a course development partner and research assistant, the presenter was able to quickly synthesize unfamiliar material and develop creative supplemental aids. 

However, the true pedagogical breakthrough wasn't the technology itself, but what the technology enabled: a "lightened burden" with an expanded focus on our students.