Educational Development Digest: November 2026

Listen to this Post

---

In April 2026, educational developers from across Minnesota State came together to exchange ideas, learn from one another, and collaborate on topics important to educational development. These articles grew out of that shared work.

---

By Lisa Marcis, Minnesota North College

Many faculty conversations about generative AI stall out at the same crossroads: prohibitions feel unrealistic, but ethical integration feels unclear. The reality is that AI is already present in our classrooms, whether we invite it or not.

Rather than asking whether to use AI, a growing number of instructors are asking more productive questions: How can I teach with AI in ways that preserve rigor, support student learning, and respect my own workload? Recent work in teaching and learning suggests that the most effective approaches do not treat AI as a shortcut or threat, but as a design challenge—one that invites us to be more intentional about where curiosity, judgment, and productive struggle live in our courses. 

One promising shift is designing assignments and learning activities where AI can assist, but not replace, thinking. For example, instructors can ask students to use AI to generate multiple ways of demonstrating learning outcomes, then require students to justify why a chosen pathway best represents their understanding. Similarly, AI can help instructors audit assignments for alignment—clarifying what students will learn and why it matters—often revealing where redesign may be needed. Perhaps most compelling is the use of AI to support faculty care at scale, such as drafting personalized mid‑semester check‑in messages based on gradebook data.

When paired with clear guardrails and the instructor’s own voice, these tools can make feedback more consistent without becoming impersonal. As research in Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence reminds us, the pedagogical value of AI hinges not on the tool itself, but on the intentional choices instructors make about how—and why—it is used.

---

---

By Lesley Allan, Minnesota State Community and Technical College

Let’s be honest: I drafted this tip with Copilot sitting right beside me. Not because I couldn’t write it myself, but because generative AI is becoming one of the most useful collaborators in higher education. The trick isn’t to let AI do the thinking for you; it’s to let it help lift the cognitive load of everyday tasks. 

Generative AI works best when we treat it like a thought partner, not a shortcut. The human element is still the most important piece. Your judgment, your expertise, your voice. AI simply accelerates the messy middle: brainstorming, drafting, revising, and re-imagining. 

Here are a few ways faculty (and students) can use GenAI as a partner rather than a replacement: 

• Start with your idea: Give AI your rough thoughts, then ask it to refine, expand, or reorganize. 
• Use AI to test your thinking: Ask it to challenge your argument, find gaps, or offer counterexamples. 
• Co‑draft, don’t copy: Let AI produce a draft, then revise it heavily so the final product reflects your expertise. 
• Model responsible use for students: Show students how to use AI for brainstorming, outlining, and practice questions – not for bypassing learning. 
• Keep the human voice: Add your tone, context, and nuance. AI is the assistant; you’re the author. 

If you’ve been hesitant to try generative AI, consider this your invitation. You don’t have to hand over the keyboard; just let AI sit in the passenger seat while you drive. 

Now – if you already use Copilot to brainstorm ideas, tidy up your writing, or help you draft that email you’ve been avoiding, WooHoo! But Copilot has grown up a bit, and it can do far more than polish sentences or generate first drafts. If you’re ready to level up, here are a few ideas that move beyond the basics and into genuinely helpful academic workflows. 

• Use Copilot to analyze your own teaching materials: Copilot can help you review your syllabus, assignment instructions, or rubrics and point out places where expectations might be unclear or where students might struggle. Try asking it to identify ambiguous instructions or suggest accessibility improvements. 
• Ask Copilot to generate multiple versions of the same idea: Instead of one draft, ask for three distinct approaches: formal, conversational, and student‑friendly. This is especially useful for assignment prompts, policy explanations, or course announcements. 
• Use Copilot to test your thinking: Ask Copilot to challenge your argument, find counterexamples, or identify gaps in your logic. This works beautifully for research writing, committee reports, and strategic planning documents. 
• Let Copilot help you scaffold student learning: Instead of giving students answers, Copilot can help you create guided practice, hint‑based support, or step‑by‑step reasoning prompts. Try asking it to generate practice questions or create hint‑based feedback. 
• Use Copilot to simulate student perspectives: Ask Copilot how a first‑year student, a multilingual learner, or a returning adult student might interpret your assignment or instructions. Try simulating student interpretation. 

Even with all these advanced tricks, the real magic isn’t that Copilot can do more; it’s that you can do more with Copilot. The human element is still the secret ingredient: your judgment, your expertise, your context, your voice. Copilot can accelerate your thinking, expand your options, and tidy up the rough edges, but it can’t replace the insight you bring to work. That’s the partnership: AI supports the process, and the human steers the outcome.

---

---

By Beth Jensen, Bemidji State University

When an image contains significant data or instructional content, alternative text (alt text) can be used to point users to a longer explanation.

Microsoft Copilot can be helpful for generating alt text and long descriptions for these complex images. Add the alt text to the image and place the long description immediately after the image or in an appendix. 

Step 1: Use Copilot to generate the initial alt text 

Example prompt: Create concise, WCAG-compliant alt text for this image. Focus on the purpose of the image rather than every visual detail. 

Step 2: Use Copilot to generate the long description  

Example prompt: Create a WCAG-compliant long description for this image. Describe the purpose, key trends, significant values, comparisons, and conclusions a student should understand from the visual. Present the description in paragraph form suitable for screen reader users. 

Step 3: Review all generated text for accuracy 

Example Alt text: Line graph showing student retention rates over five years. Detailed description follows. 

Example Long Description: The graph displays retention rates from 2020 through 2025. Rates increased from 72% in 2020 to 84% in 2025. The largest increase occurred between 2022 and 2023, when retention rose from 75% to 80%. 

View more digital accessibility tips.

---

---

By Scott Wojtanowski, System Director for Educational Technology and Development, Minnesota State

Educators across Minnesota State are actively exploring how the growing availability of AI is changing teaching, learning, and assessment in our courses. While AI presents new opportunities, it also raises important questions about how best to evaluate student learning, maintain academic integrity, and design meaningful learning experiences.

Share Your Ideas

To support this ongoing conversation, the Distance Education Committee of the ASA Technology Council is seeking ideas, examples, artifacts, and resources related to assessment in online learning environments. Through this effort, the committee hopes to identify and examine promising practices, innovative approaches, and lessons learned that help demonstrate student learning, support instructional quality, and remain practical and sustainable for faculty to implement at scale.

Whether you have redesigned an assignment, developed an assessment strategy, created guidance for responsible AI use, experimented with alternative grading approaches, or found effective ways to balance authentic assessment with faculty workload, we invite you to share your experiences and insights.

The committee is interested in both successes and challenges as educators adapt to the opportunities and realities of AI use in teaching and learning.

There are several ways to contribute:

1. Submit Your Idea –  Review the call for ideas and submit your contribution through the Microsoft Form by December 1, 2026.
2. Join a Conversation with Colleagues – Participate in a facilitated discussion about assessment and learning in a world with AI.
   • Thursday, November 5 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. [RSVP]
   • Wednesday, November 18 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. [RSVP]
3. Share a Recording – Create a webcam or screen recording demonstrating an assignment, assessment strategy, practice, or resource that you have attempted. Send a link to your video to ned+ai@minnstate.edu. 
   When sharing your recording, please consider addressing:
   • What role AI was intended to play in your example?
     • AI use was discouraged or prohibited
     • AI use was limited to specific purposes or circumstances
     • AI use was intentionally integrated into the learning activity or assessment
   • What evidence or observations suggest that the practice supported or hindered students’ achievement of the desired learning outcomes?
4. Contact Your Committee Representative – Share your ideas directly with your bargaining union representative serving on the Distance Education Committee. Learn more.

---

---