A conversation with Chris Weidenbach, an English professor at Laney College in Oakland, California, and the longtime chair of the English department. We are joined by professors Tom Haymes and Bryan Alexander to discuss our experiences teaching, learning and using “AI.” Our conversation started with Chris’s lifelong engagement with human rights advocacy and expanding access and equity in his multicultural urban institution.
Chris was an early adopter of using WP websites to expand student access to resources and offering different digital technologies, some barriers to entry for students and their hesitancy with many tools and the introduction of “AI.” We discussed professional development and support for faculty, some of their resistance, and creating an AI policy and its application. We finished with ways faculty can offer assignments beyond just requiring text responses and the many ways students can learn.