Presented Session in Ireland on How AI and Covid Changed my In-Person Teaching

 

Flip-Zoom-Open: How AI and Covid Transformed My Classroom

Lockdown opened a window for the presenter to experiment with in-person teaching methods: using podcasts to flip classes, live-Zooming sessions, and administering open note exams. These strategies foster critical thinking, active learning, and student collaboration.

For in-person instruction today, the combination of podcasts and the speed of AI technology to develop in- and out-of-class activities makes a flipping strategy sustainable. In this interactive session, several practical examples applicable across curricula will be provided. For example, the presenter used Google NotebookLM to create podcasts on pivotal court cases, two of his academic papers, and a recent Complaint filed in an AI copyright lawsuit. Students listen to podcasts before class, and then there is a follow-up in-class activity based on complex hypotheticals designed through ChatGPT prompts. In this way, a professor can pose challenging questions in GPT, have students break into groups to solve problems posed, and regroup with the class for discussion. Then, the instructor shares the results produced by GPT and everyone debates where AI was helpful, right, or wrong.

Finally, this presentation will provide anonymous student feedback on student/professor use of AI, with surveys conducted in 2023, 2025, and 2026.