Initiatives

August 15, 2025

AI, Unscripted Podcast Limited Series

Moving the Needle Podcast log with the red needle pointing to the text: AI, Unscripted Special Edition

AI, Unscripted: From AI-Curious to AI-Confident

Your Journey to Practical AI Implementation in Teaching

The "AI, Unscripted" podcast limited series guides faculty from curiosity to confidence in using artificial intelligence for teaching and learning. Co-sponsored by the USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, the USM Council of University System Faculty, and MarylandOnline, this University of Maryland, Baltimore's Moving the Needle podcast features conversations with Maryland educators who started exactly where you might be now--interested but uncertain about AI's place in higher education.

Each 30-minute episode offers concrete examples, manageable first steps, and practical advice for faculty at all comfort levels with AI technology.

Encore Series

Building on the success of our limited series, the Encore Series goes deeper on critical questions around ethics and environmental responsibility while showcasing innovative ways educators are using AI to support both students and faculty.

Meet Your Hosts

  • Mary Crowley-Farrell, Collegiate Associate Professor in Communication, Journalism, & Speech at UMGC and CUSF member and chair of the CUSF Education Policy committee
  • Jennifer Potter, Associate Director, Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation at the University System of Maryland
  • Ron Hansen, Director of Instructional Systems in Innovation, Learning, and Effectiveness, Chesapeake College and member of the board, MarylandOnline
  • Sam Collins, Professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice, Towson University

Episode Lineup

  • From Policy to Participation: Co-Creating AI Guidelines with Students with Yasmine Kotturi (Assistant Professor of Information Systems, UMBC)
  • Beyond the Podium: AI-Powered Speech Coaching at the Community College with Zach Runge (Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Harford Community College)
  • How We Say It Matters: AI for Thoughtful Faculty Communication with David Leasure (Director of Faculty and Professor, First-Year Experience, UMGC)
  • Sustainable AI: Balancing Innovation with Environmental Responsibility with Burch Fisher (Associate Research Scientist, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)
  • Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Pre-Service Educators for an AI Future with Kris McGee (Professor, Department of Educational Professions, Frostburg State University)
  • Episode 6: Details coming soon!
  • Episode 7: Details coming soon!

Limited Series

Our original seven-episode limited series features faculty from diverse disciplines and institutions who understand the caution many faculty (and students) feel about AI.

Hosts

  • Mary Crowley-Farrell, Collegiate Associate Professor in Communication, Journalism, & Speech at UMGC and CUSF member and chair of the CUSF Education Policy committee
  • Michael Mills, Associate Senior Vice President of Equitable Access and Student Success at Montgomery College and chair of the board, MarylandOnline
  • Jennifer Potter, Associate Director, Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation at the University System of Maryland

Episode Lineup

Our carefully curated lineup features faculty from diverse disciplines and institutions who understand the caution many faculty (and students) feel about AI:

  • Host Handover with Moving the Needle Host Scott Riley and Ai, Unscripted co-hosts, Mary Crowley-Farrell, Michael Mills, and Jennifer Potter
  • AI & Information Literacy: Teaching Students to Think Critically with Ben Shaw (Teaching and Learning Librarian, University of Maryland, College Park)
  • Ask the AI: Business Assignments That Boost Engagement with Bill Carter (Associate Professor, University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business)
  • Therapy Bots & Ethical Practice: AI in Mental Health Education with Amanda Draheim (Assistant Professor of Psychology, Goucher College)
  • Truth, Data, and AI: Journalism's Role in Uncertain Times with Derek Willis (Lecturer in Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park)
  • Writing with Machines: AI in the English Classroom with Eleanor Welsh (Professor of English, Chesapeake College)
  • Clinical Judgment Meets AI: Teaching for Nursing Practice with Denyce Watties-Daniels (Associate Professor in Nursing, Coppin State University)
  • AI as a Critical Friend: Supporting Reflection in Graduate Learning with Liyan Song (Professor, Learning Technologies, Design & School Library Media, Towson University)
  • Ask Us Anything Series Wrap-Up with co-hosts Mary Crowley-Farrell, Michael Mills, and Jennifer Potter and Moving the Needle host Scott Riley 

Common Concerns Addressed

Throughout both series, our guests address questions like:

  • "Will AI make academic dishonesty easier?"
  • "How do I maintain rigor when using AI tools?"
  • "What if I don't have technical expertise?"
  • "How do I help students use AI ethically?"
  • "Will AI replace critical thinking skills?"

Your Next Step

Each episode concludes with our guests answering the question: "What do you recommend to faculty who are just getting started and want to try using AI in their teaching and learning?" Their answers provide concrete, manageable first steps for your own AI journey.

How to Listen

Subscribe to Moving the Needle on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or listen directly on the Moving the Needle website.

Share Your Journey 

We'll be posting on LinkedIn through the William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation page and the MarylandOnline page, so follow us now! We invite you to share your own path from AI-curious to AI-confident using #AIUnscripted on LinkedIn or email us at aiunscripted@usmd.edu.