Mark your calendar and join us for Fridays with ITDS, a monthly interview series in a casual, informal virtual learning space spotlighting the unique contributions University faculty, staff, and leadership are providing to teaching and learning at Montclair State University!
Now entering the third year of Generative AI available at our fingertips, faculty in higher education continue to discover new ways to leverage the technology in their classrooms. This semester, Fridays with ITDS aims to spark innovation and creativity by showcasing specific ways GenAI can be your ally and partner in teaching and learning. Specific success stories, upcoming GenAI innovations, and other practical use cases will be shared.
Transforming Learning with Custom GPTs for Student Success
When: March 28, 2025 at 10:00am
Where: Live via Zoom
Are you curious about how AI can be tailored to fit your unique teaching needs? Dr. Wencang (Warren) Zhou, Chairperson of Management, and Qian (Lora) Yao, Instructional Designer, join Fridays with ITDS to discuss the power of Custom GPTs and why they’re becoming a game-changer in education. Hear firsthand how Dr. Zhou implemented a Custom GPT with Lora’s assistance to tackle challenges in teaching soft skills, from improving role-play exercises to providing real-time feedback. Whether you’re new to AI or ready to experiment, you’ll leave with practical insights and actionable steps to create your own Custom GPT for the classroom.
Dr. Wencang (Warren) Zhou’s primary research interests reside in organizational behavior perspective of entrepreneurship, leadership, cross cultural management as well as meta-analysis. His current research is focused on the study of individual differences of entrepreneurs in terms of both demographic difference and deep level differences. He has been teaching courses at both undergraduate and MBA level. Prior to getting his Ph.D. in Management from the City University of New York, he worked in banking industry for seven years.
Qian (Lora) Yao is an Instructional Designer on the ITDS team. She works with faculty on different undergraduate and graduate online programs and she provides course design consultations for online, hybrid and face-to-face courses, as well as designs faculty development courses and workshops. Qian holds an M.A. in Public and Organizational Relations from Montclair State University.
Future Sessions
As more details emerge, this section will be updated. Do you know a faculty or staff colleague making unique contributions to teaching and learning at the university who may be interested in sharing their work in a live, 30-minute interview format? Recommend colleagues or yourself to join a future session of Fridays with ITDS.
Past Sessions
Interested in seeing what sessions we’ve hosted in the past? Take a look below at some of the topics and guests we’ve featured on Fridays with ITDS!
- Fridays with ITDS — February 28Join us on February 28 for a panel discussion on the Montclair AI Sandbox!Friday February 14, 2025
- Fridays with ITDS — January 31Fridays with ITDS returns on January 31 with our "AI As Your Ally" talk series!Wednesday January 15, 2025
- Fridays With ITDS — November 15On November 15, join ITDS in welcoming Dr. Jennifer Urban to discuss how she's leading a team to develop a SEEDS curriculum course that harnesses virtual reality to teach character development in immersive ways!Friday November 1, 2024
- Fridays With ITDS — October 25Join us on October 25 to learn how WikiEdu can offer students an opportunity to research, synthesize, and enhance articles with reliable sources!Tuesday October 15, 2024
- Fridays With ITDS — September 20Join us on September 20 as we resume Fridays with ITDS to discuss how we can foster collaborative learning to improve student engagement!Monday September 9, 2024
