Interwoven AI and technology
to enrich our mission to elevate education
Our approach to education is centered on the synergistic relationship between developing technologies and human potential. Beyond harnessing the potential of AI using UF’s HiPerGator supercomputer, we continually push the boundaries of research innovation, driving improvements that benefit our community and beyond.
Digital Teaching Tools
The UFLI Foundations Toolbox offers free interactive tools and games aligned with its popular science of reading-based curriculum. Replicating the hands-on nature of instructor-crafted word work mats and blending boards, this digital toolkit mirrors hands-on learning experiences that pair with lessons. With over 13 million views in the last year, UFLI Apps provides accessible and effective literacy instruction tools that enable educators and caregivers to nurture students’ reading skills.
Personalized Feedback, Faster
We are integrating AI throughout our curriculum, including observational assessment of skill mastery. Through a partnership with GoReact, students in our teacher apprenticeships, dyslexia graduate certificate program, and more receive real-time, personalized feedback. This student-focused approach to using large language models for asynchronous video assessment supports professional growth, boosts competence, and improves learning outcomes.
Fresh Mathematical Perspectives
Supported by IES funding, Avery Closser, Ph.D., is researching how perceptual scaffolding can enhance online elementary math education. By embedding vital visual prompts to elevate efficiency, understanding, and problem-solving, this method has the potential to reshape how digital learning platforms can support the way students learn foundational math skills.
Anticipating Technological Horizon
Walter Balser, Ed.D., prompts education leaders to move beyond strategic planning and embrace foresight planning and futurist thinking. His framework for superintendents and school leaders, especially in critical policy areas like AI and changing enrollments, encourages leaders to proactively anticipate innovations that will shape the future of education. Upcoming professional development opportunities will help leaders cultivate a future-focused mindset and anticipate emerging challenges and opportunities.
AI-Powered Fossil Curriculum
Over the past three years, an interdisciplinary team at UF, led by co-PI Pasha Antonenko, Ph.D., has taught middle school science teachers how to integrate AI into their curriculum. Combining ancient shark tooth paleontology and future-oriented machine learning, more than 50 Florida teachers have participated in a year-long program that equips them with the knowledge and confidence to prepare students for the careers of the future. This curriculum is reaching a growing number of students, paving the way for the next generation of creative thinkers. Seeking to extend the project into an informal learning context, researchers recently implemented the curriculum at a STEM summer camp.