Innovating Higher Ed

Assistive AI Tools: Transform Course Design & Assessment | Professor Scott James

Can a chatbot rewrite your toughest assignments in under five minutes? In this episode, Dr. Norma Jones talks with Scott James—an instructional-design veteran who began in disability services and now builds AI copilots for faculty. Scott explains how his PlayLab custom-bot lets instructors quarantine course materials, slash hallucinations, and surface crystal-clear rubrics—all without surrendering academic voice. He also shares why swapping text-only discussion boards for video collabs is boosting authenticity and how a Star-Wars-themed remix keeps his online class buzzing. Take-aways• A step-by-step prompt flow to generate AI-resilient assignments in seconds• Tactics to “sandbox” sources and avoid copyright & bias headaches• Tips for injecting personality (and student joy) without extra grading time• Change-management moves that win over hesitant colleagues

ChatGPT Pro Deep Research: Worth It? | Tinker Lab with Dr. Norma Jones

Welcome to Tinker Lab, a dynamic new segment of Innovating Higher Ed. In this episode, host Dr. Norma Jones tests OpenAI’s powerful ChatGPT Pro and its premium Deep Research feature. Norma shares her firsthand experience using AI to draft and enhance chapters for an Open Educational Resources (OER) textbook on Public Speaking. Discover how ChatGPT Pro helped identify gaps, suggested valuable updates, and surfaced innovative best practices—especially in accessibility and presentation effectiveness. Step into the lab as we experiment, challenge assumptions, and ignite fresh ideas to elevate teaching and learning in higher education.Take-aways• When Deep Research shines: cross-disciplinary literature scans in minutes• Hidden gems: accessibility standards and medical-presentation insights to enrich course content• Red flags: phantom URLs and a quick Google Scholar back-check to fix them• Budget math: why lower-cost plans still cover most day-to-day course prep needs

Equity-First AI Curriculum for Every Discipline | Dr. Suha Al Juboori

In this compelling episode of the Innovating Higher Ed Podcast, Dr. Norma Jones sits down with Dr. Suha Aljuboori—a visionary educator whose passion for teaching led her from the war-torn reality of Iraq, through rebuilding her career in Jordan, and ultimately to establishing one of the first AI departments in the California community college system. Discover how Dr. Aljuboori overcame language barriers, raised three daughters in unfamiliar environments, and ignited a spark in young women through her robotics camps. Hear her inspirational story of starting from scratch in a new country and learn how she harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to lift others, cultivate resilience, and create lasting impact in higher education.• A step-by-step playbook for launching an AI department that serves tech and non-tech tracks• Workshop formats that help skeptical faculty try AI before they judge it• Multi-level certificates that meet everyone—from refugees to CS majors—where they are• Outreach models (robotics & refugee camps) that drive equity and enrollment momentum

VR Rehearsals: Building Confident Nurses Faster | Dr. Jenna Zeller

Nine in ten rookie nurses freeze during their first real code—no matter how many textbooks they’ve aced. What if they could practice the chaos in a headset first? In this episode, Dr. Norma Jones talks with Dr. Jenna Zeller, Assistant Director of Cabrillo College’s nursing program, about a layered VR workflow that lets students “fail safe,” page a cranky on-call physician, and still make it to lab with a smile. Zeller reveals how she bought Oculus headsets before she even had a lesson plan and why adding a simple “switch!” command keeps every observer on their toes. The payoff: sharper clinical judgment, lower anxiety, and a bump in lab attendance.
Take-aways• Repeatable stack: skill demo → VR scenario → high-fidelity mannequin → rapid debrief• “Switch!” cue that turns passive onlookers into active problem-solvers• VR role-plays that build courage to page doctors early—cutting failure-to-rescue risks• AI prompts that turn terse clinical notes into polished feedback emails in seconds

XR Learning & AI Engagement Hacks | Dr. Garrick Grace

an a VR headset and two smart prompts rekindle student belonging in a single class period?Dr. Norma Jones sits down with Dr. Garrick Grace—Director of Professional Development for the California Virtual Campus—to reveal how extended-reality simulations and adaptive AI tools are reshaping classrooms across the nation’s largest community-college system. Grace recounts using grade-leveled articles to let refugee teens debate NBA stats on day one, then shows how that same “everyone participates” mindset now powers XR chemistry labs and a statewide course-sharing network that wipes out wait-lists. The result: higher engagement, deeper belonging, and faculty who see tech as a workload saver—never a wedge.
Take-aways• Immersive ladder: live demo → XR scenario → guided reflection for rapid skill transfer• Belonging boosters: AI-leveled pop-culture content for multilingual or refugee cohorts• Mind-shift PD: light-bulb workshops that ripple from one instructor to 60 000 colleagues• Budget guardrails: merge AI with XR without draining dollars or staff bandwidth

ChatGPT Teaching Assistant: Lesson Plans in Minutes | Lynn Dickinson

Eighty-six percent of students already lean on AI—yet only 22 percent of faculty have even opened ChatGPT.Author-trainer Lynn Dickinson joins Dr. Norma Jones to help instructors close that gap. Lynn traces her journey from wary observer to classroom pioneer, shares the prompt pattern she uses to build full slide decks in about ten minutes, and explains how a one-month writing sprint (with ChatGPT as co-author) produced her faculty guide How to Use ChatGPT as a Teaching Assistant. She also previews Santa Monica College’s new cross-disciplinary course “Teaching in the Age of AI,” designed to crowd-source resources so no educator starts from zero. The payoff: faster prep, richer discussions, and faculty who feel empowered—not replaced—by generative AI.
Take-aways• Craft discussion prompts students can’t copy-paste, safeguarding authentic learning• Repurpose Lynn’s “why / what / how” prompt flow to generate slides and activities in minutes• Reframe AI for colleagues: from cheating threat to creativity booster and time-saver• Build cross-campus resource banks that scale faculty expertise across disciplines