New Year, New Horizons: AI Goals for 2026
Welcome to the Spring 2026 semester! As we begin a new year at Wake Forest, the conversation around Artificial Intelligence has evolved from “What is it?” to “How can we use it to flourish?”
Why AI Matters for the WFU Community: AI is not a replacement for the educator or the administrator; it is a tool for augmentation. By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows, AI allows us to reinvest our energy into deep work and meaningful student engagement. Whether you are
faculty, staff, or a student, building AI Literacy is a key goal for the year ahead.
AI within Canvas: Enhancing the Digital Classroom: You don’t need to be a prompt engineer to make AI work for you in Canvas. Consider these three goals for your January setup:
- Instructional Support: Use AI to draft rubrics, generate diverse quiz question banks, or create “starter” outlines for new course modules.
- Accessibility First: Use AI-driven tools to ensure your course content—including Kaltura videos and PDFs—is accessible. High-quality captioning and alt-text generation are faster than ever.
- Identification of Learning Gaps: Use AI to help analyze common themes in student discussion boards to identify which concepts might need a follow-up “Announcements” video or extra review session.
AI in Your Everyday Working Environment: Productivity is about working smarter. IS provides several licensed tools that ensure your data remains protected within the WFU environment:
- Drafting & Brainstorming: Use Google Gemini (authenticated with your WFU account) to help
draft emails, summarize long reports, or brainstorm departmental goals. - Creative Design: Leverage Adobe Firefly (available via Adobe Creative Cloud) to generate
unique, copyright-safe visuals for your presentations or Canvas course banners. - Experimental Learning: Explore NotebookLM to organize your research papers or department documentation into a searchable, interactive knowledge base.
Your January AI Goal: “The Power of One”: You don’t need to overhaul your entire
workflow in one day. We challenge every member of the WFU community to try one thing this month:
- The Goal: Use a WFU-licensed AI tool to assist with one administrative or academic task (e.g., summarizing a meeting transcript or drafting a syllabus policy).
Resources & Support
- Learn More: Visit our centralized hub at ai.wfu.edu for guidelines, licensed tool lists, and the Deacs.AI podcast.
- Get Help: Reach out to The Bridge at help@wfu.edu or chat with them at help.wfu.edu.