Fall 2024 Ivy Plus Writing Consortium Conference

Hosted by

The Thompson Writing Program

Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

October 13 – 14, 2024

“A new digital divide?” So asks Lauren Coffey in the headline for a 25 June 2024 Inside Higher Ed article. Coffey cites several reports about college student usage of generative AI, noting that 51% of Spring 2024 college students indicate “AI has helped them get better grades” and 56% say “AI has helped them be more efficient.” Students’ most frequent usage of generative AI is for proofreading and clarifying concepts, but they also use it for problem solving, study materials, brainstorming, and summarizing class notes (Coffey).

Remarkably, though not surprisingly, a 20 June 2024 survey by Ithaka S+R reveals quite a different picture regarding faculty attitudes toward generative AI: only 14% of faculty indicate confidence in the pedagogical use of AI and only two out of five faculty are “familiar with AI.”

The 2024 Ivy-Plus Writing Consortium Conference invites you to join this conversation about the pedagogical affordances and limitations of generative AI. How are faculty integrating generative AI into first-year writing? What are the costs of doing so and not doing so? How are writing centers preparing consultants to work with students who make use of generative AI? How are writing faculty involved in WAC/WID supporting faculty across disciplines to navigate the complexities associated with generative AI? More broadly, what opportunities and challenges with generative AI do writing programs face as we interact with other university stakeholders, from academic leadership and boards of trustees to parents and alumni?

Join us this October at Duke University, with a keynote address by Sid Dobrin, a global leader in AI and GenAI in higher education, to think together about generative AI and writing programs.

(If you’re curious, this was written entirely by humans—Denise Comer and Eliana Schonberg, your 2024 Ivy-Plus Conference Co-Chairs—but you might want to compare it with an alternative version we asked ChatGPT to generate after we drafted this. We kind of like ChatGPT’s ending better.)

 

Registration and Lodging Information

Conference Registration:

Lodging:

  • A select number of rooms have been reserved at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club:
     
    • To receive the conference group rate of $234 for the night of 13 October 2024, please book your room by 20 September 2024 using this link.
      Note: If you encounter difficulties opening the reservation link, hold down the CTRL key while clicking on the link. The reservations link may not be supported on all mobile devices.
       
    • You can also call the Washington Duke Inn reservations department directly at (919) 490-0999 and request a room from the Ivy Plus Conference (Group ID: 1058660) guest-room block.
       
  • If you prefer alternative lodging, you might try any of the following hotels: (Please note, however, that the transportation on Monday, 10/14, to Penn Pavilion is only being provided from the Washington Duke Inn.)

Nearest Airport:

  • The Raleigh/Durham Airport (RDU), about a 30-minute drive from Duke University.

Ground Transportation:

  • Ground transportation is available through taxi services and ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft. 

     

Conference Schedule at a Glance

Sunday, October 13

Location: Washington Duke Inn, 3001 Cameron Blvd, Durham, North Carolina

  • 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Executive Board Meeting (Trinity Room)
  • 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.: Registration and Welcome Cocktail Reception (Garden Room)
  • 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.: Plated Dinner and Keynote Address with Sid Dobrin (Duke University Room)

Monday, October 14

Location: Garden Room, Penn Pavilion, Duke University, 107 Union Drive (Transportation provided from Washington Duke)

  • 8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.: Breakfast
  • 9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.: Roundtable 1: “Early Findings from a Research Study on Duke Students’ Use of GenAI”
    • Eliana Schonberg, Professor of the Practice and Director of the Writing Studio, Thompson Writing Program
    • Hannah Davis, Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Thompson Writing Program
  • 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.: Roundtable 2: “Views on GenAI from across the Disciplines”
    • Owen Astrachan, Professor of the Practice of Computer Science
    • Mattia Begali, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Romance Studies
    • Sarah Ishmael, Instructor, Thompson Writing Program
  • 11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (Break)
  • 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.: Roundtable 3: “Considerations for GenAI in Writing Centers and First-Year Writing
    • Ernest Pujol Leon, Ph.D. Candidate, Program in Literature and Graduate Student Writing Studio Consultant
    • Mina Kim, Trinity College Undergraduate Class of 2026 (Linguistics) and Undergraduate Writing Consultant
    • Márcia Rego, Associate Professor of the Practice, Thompson Writing Program, and Director of TWP Faculty Development and Assessment
    • Denise Comer, Professor of the Practice of Writing Studies and Director, Thompson Writing Program
  • 12:15 p.m.: Boxed Lunch and Adjourn
Sid Dobrin

Keynote Address

Sunday, October 13th, 6:00 p.m.
Duke University Room, Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Higher Education

Sid Dobrin, Ph.D.   
Professor and Chair of the English Department at University of Florida

In the past 18 months, one of the most pressing conversations in the US (and, frankly, everywhere else in the world) has been about the emergence and implications of a technology called “generative artificial intelligence,” or “GenAI.” While this technology is not new, its widespread adoption and use have created a fervor and, in some cases, panic over its implications for the way we work, communicate, and live. It is no surprise, therefore, that nearly every college in the country is currently reimagining higher education in an effort to leverage the power of GenAI – and to preserve relevant aspects of traditional academic practices and values. From defining and integrating “AI literacies” across curricula to rethinking the fundamentals of what and how we teach, educators are confronting a host of thorny questions about the relationships between technology, knowledge, and human intelligence – all of which are emerging amidst rapid student adoption and use.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) are rapidly becoming ubiquitous technologies, influencing many aspects of our lives, including our work as educators. In fact, AI and GenAI have begun to call to question many of the foundational epistemologies of higher education. Professor Sid Dobrin will address many of the concerns educators have expressed regarding AI and GenAI technologies in order to provoke conversations about the relationship between AI/GenAI and the traditions of higher education.

Sid Dobrin, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the English Department at University of Florida, has become one of the world’s most sought-after academic experts on Generative AI, having delivered more than 70 talks worldwide. He is the Founding Director of the Trace Innovation Initiative at UF and has been named a Digital Thought Leader by Adobe. He serves as a member of the Florida Institute for National Security, part of the University of Florida’s AI Initiative, and he serves on the Steering Committee of the Florida AI Learning Consortium (FALCON). He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles, including Talking about Generative AI: A Guide for Educators, AI and Writing, and the forthcoming collection AI and the Humanities. His current research project examines enduring questions motivated by AI. In addition to his work in Digital Humanities, he is prolific in writing about Environmental Humanities, specifically focused on Blue Ecocriticism and Blue Humanities.