Workplace Writing Workshop and Conference

Glass Hall

April 16 - 17, Glass 486

The Workplace Writing Forum (formerly Society for Technical Communication – Student Chapter) is a student organization that sponsors informative programs for students to learn more about the practice of writing and designing content for functional uses. Students can learn more about publishing information for a variety of fields, such as technological, medical, and legal fields.

Each year the Workplace Writing Forum sponsors two annual conferences: one for students interested in learning more about professional writing and one for faculty and others interested in teaching professional writing.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Workplace Writing Faculty Workshop

Tuesday, April 16; Glass 486

Instructors around the world have begun to consider what role Generative Artificial Intelligence might play in their classrooms. This workshop will initiate a conversation about how to design assignments and curricula that introduce students to GenAI tools, methods, and best practices. This session will address the potential and risks of bringing GenAI into the classroom in ways that maintain instructors’ teaching philosophies and educational objectives. The workshop will also take up the role of AI literacies in relation to workplace readiness and consideration for the relationship between education and employment. The workshop will include a collaborative exercise for developing GenAI-supported assignments.

9:30 a.m.: Sign-in 

9:45 a.m.: Welcome

10:00 a.m., Session One. The Role of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the classroom (presentation and discussion)

11:30 a.m.: Lunch 

1:00 p.m.:  Session Two. Designing GenAI-Supported Assignments (Workshop)

Please help us in our planning by letting us know you're coming. Click to register for the free workshop: FACULTY WORKSHOP REGISTRATION 

Workplace Writing Student Conference

Wednesday, April 17; Glass 486

9:30 a.m.: Check-in 

9:45 a.m.: Welcome

10:00 a.m.: Dr. Sid Dobrin, "Demystifying GenAI technologies: Preparing for the workforce and navigating academics" (Presentation and discussion)

This presentation will begin with an overview of how Generative AI works toward the end of demystifying GenAI technologies. The session will then consider how students might use GenAI platforms in their work. It will also take up the relationship between higher education and workplace readiness regarding AI and GenAI literacies. The session will focus on responsible use and integrity, particularly regarding creativity, originality, and authorship.

11:30 a.m.: Lunch on your own

1:00 p.m.: Brian Gregory, Jack Henry, Inc., "AI in the Toolbox: Empowering People, Not Replacing Them" (Presentation and discussion)

2:15 p.m.: Alumni Panel