2026 AI Summer Design Studio, [Re]shaping your AI Narrative.
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In just three years, generative AI has shifted from a futuristic technology to becoming a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. And, as tech giants race to define the next frontier, we face a critical question: Are we merely passengers on this journey, or the architects of our narratives? How might we move beyond in-the-moment reaction and start critically [re]shaping the narrative of our and/or our learners鈥 futures?
Register for the CTL's 2026 AI Summer Design Studio听
May 7 and 8, 2026 from 9:00-4:00 p.m. MT
At this year's 3rd annual event, we鈥檒l explore the theme: [Re]Shaping Your AI Narrative. We鈥檒l dive into substantive discussions about the future and consider practical strategies to shape your personal and professional narratives around AI, no matter your feelings on this technology. Throughout the two days, there will also be dedicated time and support for you to design, build, and refine your own materials or strategy for the classroom.
Due to the hands-on nature of the AI Summer Design Studio, this is primarily an in-person event.听 in the 2-day event by听Friday, April 17, 2026.
The event will open with a keynote and workshop with听, Director of Digital Learning at the Center for New Design in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) at Georgetown University.听 The keynote,听Pedagogy & Purpose: Centering Voice, Identity, and Agency in the Age of AI听invites us to consider how we can foreground our core values to define our practice while withstanding pressure to rapidly adapt.听Following the keynote address, Molly will deliver a workshop on creating shared agreements and open dialogue with students.听
We鈥檒l also feature a talk by 麻豆免费版下载Boulder鈥檚 very own听Nathan Schneider, Associate Professor of Media Studies and Director of MEDLab (Media Economies Design Lab) focused on reclaiming the AI narrative in hyperlocal educational spaces.
Additionally, participants will have a chance to hear directly from students and to听partner with student designers throughout the event. This is your chance to integrate the student perspective as you shape the future of learning in your courses and assignments.
If you are unable to attend in person,听with Molly Chehak (9:30-10:30 am on May 7) and Nathan Schneider (9:15-10:15 am on May 8).
Questions
Email听CTL@colorado.EDU for questions or inquiries.听
AI Summer Design Studio 2026 - Schedule & Speakers
All times are listed in Mountain Time (MT).
8:30鈥9:00 a.m.: Casual Arrival
9:00鈥9:25 a.m.: Welcome
9:30鈥10:30 a.m.: Keynote Address
Pedagogy & Purpose: Centering Voice, Identity, and Agency in the Age of AI (Molly Chehak)
In an era of a shifting digital landscape and "tech fatigue," it is easy to feel as though our pedagogical agency is being eclipsed by automation, administrative decisions, changing metrics, practices, and norms. This keynote invites us to consider how we can foreground our core values to define our practice while withstanding pressure to rapidly adapt. Together, we will reflect on what truly informs our teaching and how we might use AI literacy and ethics as a foundation to critically evaluate new tools and larger changes to academia. By centering our professional voice and identity, we can calibrate our response to AI through our purpose, values, agency, and identity.
10:30鈥10:45 a.m.: Break
10:45鈥11:45 a.m.: Shared Agreements: Empathy and Co-Creation as Purposeful AI Pedagogy (Molly Chehak)
This interactive workshop provides a space for educators to translate their values into actionable classroom practices that foster open dialogue and understanding between students and faculty. We will move beyond the technical features of AI to focus on AI literacy and ethics as the foundation for our pedagogical choices. Through two hands-on approaches, empathy mapping and collaborative policy design, participants will explore how to engage students in open dialogue and build shared agreements that respect both academic integrity and the human experience. Attendees will leave having experienced short versions of both that may help them consider the role of AI in their practice and classroom.
12:00鈥1:00 p.m.: Catered Lunch
1:00鈥2:00 p.m.: A Fishbowl of Perspectives on AI and Learning
Participate in an interactive fishbowl discussion with students. In this session, students and studio participants will take turns providing perspectives on AI and learning while actively listening to one another. Together, all participants will have an opportunity to speak and listen as we gain an insider's perspective about challenges and opportunities that AI presents in the classroom.
2:15鈥3:15 p.m.: Participant鈥檚 Choice
Select a session that best aligns with your AI narrative, pedagogy, and/or development of your artifact. Student designers will be available at both sessions to co-design and dialogue with participants.
- Option A: 麻豆免费版下载Disco-Tech
麻豆免费版下载Disco-Tech is an interactive, collaborative space where educators explore 麻豆免费版下载AI tools for both their own work and their teaching, reflecting on practices and surfacing student-centered possibilities. Participants will leave with hands-on experience using 麻豆免费版下载approved AI tools and one documented idea, boundary, or question to guide educator or student-centered AI use. - Option B: Human-Centered Assessment
Discuss and ideate on the redesign of a real assignment to elevate transparency, agency, and multimodality. Participants can incorporate AI or make an assignment more AI resilient. Participants will leave this session with a draft of an assignment, rubric, and/or assessment.
3:15鈥3:30 p.m.: Close
3:30鈥4:00 p.m.: Mingling
Stay and enjoy the opportunity to connect with others.
All times are listed in Mountain Time (MT).
8:30鈥9:00 a.m.: Casual Arrival
9:00鈥9:15 a.m.: Welcome + Re-centering
9:15鈥10:15 a.m.: Keynote Address
Beyond Big AI: Points of Intervention for Higher Ed (Nathan Schneider)
What goes by the name of 鈥淎I鈥 is typically synonymous with products offered by large technology companies, whose business models are focused on cultivating dependency, surveillance, and monopolistic power. But there are other ways to develop and use similar technologies. This talk introduces strategies for approaching AI beyond the dominant product offerings, grounded in the practice of 麻豆免费版下载Boulder鈥檚 Media Economies Design Lab and its partners. The talk also explores how universities can use their own power to shape the development of AI systems in healthier, more pro-social ways.
10:30 a.m.鈥12:00 p.m.: Co-Design Lab with Students: Design Burst (with or without AI)
In this immersive session, participants will have the opportunity to synthesize ideas and prototype activities, assessments, or rubrics through a co-development and co-design process with student designers. Participants will leave this session with a draft artifact co-designed with a student perspective.
12:00鈥1:00 p.m.: Lunch
1:00鈥2:00 p.m.: Community Review Studio
In this interactive and generative review environment, participants will share their draft artifacts and provide feedback on peers鈥 projects. Participants will leave with new ideas and actionable feedback to incorporate into the next iteration of their work.
2:00鈥2:15 p.m.: Break
2:15鈥3:00 p.m.: Revision Huddle
In this final session, participants will refine and polish their artifact. Participants will leave with a polished, student-informed assignment, activity, or assessment rubric that contributes to and shapes the future of learning in their courses.
3:00鈥3:30 p.m.: Close
Molly Chehak - Director of Digital Learning
Molly Chehak serves as the Director of Digital Learning at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University. With a deep background in educational technology and faculty development, she leads a team dedicated to advancing the strategic integration of technology across campus, with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence. Molly teaches a variety of courses at Georgetown, including first-year writing, "Learning to Learn with AI," and "AI@Work." She led the development of Georgetown鈥檚 Applied AI microcredential and is currently contributing to the curriculum for the College of Arts & Sciences鈥 new Certificate in Artificial Intelligence. In addition to serving as co-chair of the POD Network group, AI in Education, she has presented at numerous conferences and published works on artificial intelligence in academia.
Nathan Schneider - Associate Professor of Media Studies
Nathan Schneider is an associate professor of media studies at the 麻豆免费版下载, where he leads the and the MA program in听Media and Public Engagement. He is the author of, most recently, published by University of California Press in 2024, and, published by Bold Type Books in 2018. He edited Vitalik Buterin鈥檚 book and co-edited and. Nathan serves on the boards of,, and.听