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Student guide to artificial intelligence
January 7, 2026
The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning has released a new Student Guide to Artificial Intelligence offering a comprehensive introduction to AI’s academic, professional, and ethical dimensions to support student success in an AI-enhanced world. The guide walks learners through foundational concepts, responsible use of AI tools, ethical considerations, and how AI literacy connects to future careers, helping students engage thoughtfully and critically with these technologies.
Argonne AI tools power safer, faster aerospace inspections
January 7, 2026
A research collaboration among Spirit AeroSystems Inc., the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory, NIU and Texas Research Institute (TRI) Austin has developed a powerful, new AI-assisted tool that transforms how manufacturers inspect critical aerospace components.
NIU hosts 25th anniversary international conference on AI and digital knowledge
December 16, 2025
NIU is hosting the 25th Anniversary ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL 2025)—a fully virtual international conference focused on AI and digital knowledge, bringing together researchers and practitioners to share innovations in digital libraries, information discovery, and related technologies.
Can AI truly be considered an artist?
November 21, 2025
David J. Gunkel joins WGN Radio host John Williams for a wide-ranging conversation on AI-generated music—exploring the current AI landscape in the arts, how musicians are incorporating AI into their creative work, the ethical and copyright questions it raises, and what AI-driven art reveals about the future of human creativity.
Riyan Mohammed builds AI tutor FastLRN, debuts in NIU business classes
November 20, 2025
NIU graduate student Riyan Mohammed built an AI-powered tutoring platform called FastLRN to help students better understand course material rather than just get answers, and it’s now being used by hundreds of students and several instructors in NIU business classes.
Audiology students gain critical experience using AI
November 13, 2025
A new partnership with Neurotone AI empowers Doctor of Audiology students through hands-on access to Lace AI Pro, a next-generation auditory training platform. This collaboration enables students to experience firsthand how AI-driven tools can enhance listening and speech comprehension for individuals with hearing challenges.
Honors seminar prepares students for an AI-driven future
November 6, 2025
Cindy York, associate professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment in the College of Education, taught an honors seminar in the fall 2025 semester titled, "Future Ready: Exploring the Role of Generative AI in Education and the Workplace."
Merritt speaker A.G. Rud to explore importance of discerning fact, fiction
October 14, 2025
A.G. Rud will deliver the 2025 Merritt Address at NIU on combating misinformation and discerning fact from fiction in today’s complex information landscape. Drawing on concerns about misinformation, deepfakes, and the challenges posed by rapid advances in technology like AI, Rud will explore how critical thinking and education play essential roles in sustaining democratic discourse.
Join the newly launched NIU AI Network
September 22, 2025
NIU has launched the NIU AI Network, a collaborative community designed to bring together faculty, staff, and students interested in ethical, mission-aligned AI practices and learning. The Network fosters connection, resource-sharing, and thoughtful exploration of AI’s benefits, challenges, and real-world use cases, with biweekly meetings open to all members of the Huskie community.
Career Services introduces Quinncia AI to empower NIU students to elevate resumes, LinkedIn and interview skills
August 19, 2025
NIU Career Services has introduced Quinncia, an AI-powered platform that delivers personalized feedback on resumes, LinkedIn profiles and mock interviews using technology similar to what employers use in hiring. Paired with resources like the Huskie Career Launchpad, Quinncia helps NIU students strengthen their professional presence and build confidence as they prepare for internships, jobs and graduate school.
Integrating artificial intelligence in nursing education programs
July 7, 2025
NIU nursing faculty, working with the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, are integrating artificial intelligence tools into nursing education to personalize learning, redesign assessments and create more engaging, real-world learning experiences. AI platforms like adaptive study tools and simulation support individualized student progress, while instructors are using AI to develop authentic assignments and streamline assessment design.
AI detectors: An ethical minefield
December 12, 2024
As the use of generative AI grows in higher education, AI detection tools are increasingly being promoted as a solution for academic integrity concerns. This article explores why these tools can be unreliable and ethically problematic, highlighting the risks of false accusations and emphasizing the need for more thoughtful, learning-centered approaches to addressing AI use in coursework.
NIU assessment team explores potential of AI in accreditation with ETRA student
November 27, 2024
NIU’s assessment team is exploring ways artificial intelligence can streamline accreditation work, from drafting narratives to organizing self-study outlines, as part of a project with a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment. While the initiative highlights AI’s potential to save time and support continuous improvement, it also underscores concerns around data security and the importance of using these tools thoughtfully in institutional reporting.
NIU debuts Mission AI chatbot to provide support for students
October 31, 2024
NIU has launched Mission, an AI-powered chatbot and text messaging service designed to provide undergraduate students with real-time support for academics, wellness, financial questions, and campus life without requiring an app or login. The system combines proactive check-ins and around-the-clock responses to help students stay engaged, informed, and connected to resources that support their persistence and success.
Taking the plunge: Melissa Fickling taps AI to enrich course in counseling ethics
October 29, 2024
Melissa Fickling, spent the summer learning about AI and then integrated generative AI tools into her graduate counseling ethics course to help students explore ethical uses and implications of the technology while enhancing learning through activities like AI-supported case development and transparent discussions of AI use.
What's new in AI?
August 21, 2024
As generative AI tools continue to evolve at a rapid pace, this article highlights key takeaways from an NIU workshop focused on helping faculty stay current with emerging AI capabilities and classroom applications. It spotlights new approaches to framing AI use in teaching, along with campus-supported tools and resources that encourage thoughtful, transparent integration of AI into coursework.
Supporting AI Use for Teaching and Learning
May 9, 2024
At the May 9, 2024 Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee meeting of the NIU Board of Trustees, an update outlined how the university is supporting faculty in responsibly integrating artificial intelligence into teaching and learning. The update highlighted new AI resources, including an AI in Teaching Toolkit, professional development offerings, sample policies, and pilots like the Blackboard AI Design Assistant, alongside ongoing efforts to build institutional capacity for thoughtful AI use.
NIU faculty piloting AI tool
February 28, 2024
NIU faculty are piloting an AI design assistant in Blackboard to help streamline routine course-building tasks like creating rubrics and suggesting learning modules, freeing up time for more meaningful teaching work. The pilot, informed by faculty feedback, will help determine whether the tool will be made more widely available, while sparking important conversations about how AI should be used in higher education.
ETRA researchers explore AI knowledge of St. Mary School middle-level students
January 24, 2024
Researchers from the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment (ETRA) are working with nearly 50 middle-level students and their teachers at St. Mary Catholic School to measure their comprehension of Artificial Intelligence.
Class policies for the use of AI tools
July 24, 2023
A new Class Policies for the Use of AI Tools guide offers sample syllabus language and policy examples faculty can adapt when addressing generative AI in their courses. The resource is designed to help faculty set clear expectations around acceptable and unacceptable AI use while revising syllabi for the upcoming academic term.
Fear not! ETRA summer course will help teachers to tackle artificial intelligence
May 10, 2023
Artificial intelligence is changing the game for all professions, including teaching. Understanding it is only the first step; success in the new reality also will require trying to keep pace with AI’s rapid evolution and the ability to keep an open mind about its presence on the field of play.