Innovations in Teaching Competition 2025: Call for Entries
Here’s your chance to share your expertise and take part in one of the favorite panels at the AEJMC annual conference: the Innovations in Teaching panel. Once again, the Visual Communication and Magazine Media divisions are teaming up to host this panel at the 2025 conference in San Francisco.
Description
This year’s entries should fit the theme “Leading in Times of Momentous Change: Individual and Collective Opportunities,” centered on teaching and the ethical applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging media technologies (e.g., AR/VR). As always, teaching tips should be related to teaching visual principles.
Our theme mirrors AEJMC’s 20th Annual AEJMC Best Practices in Teaching Competition. If you have a great idea for visuals that didn’t make the cut, we’d love to see it!
We are seeking teaching strategies that actively involve students in ethical AI practices relating to visual communication and visual principles and practices for journalism and mass communication. Submissions might include projects or assignments that employ AI tools to create photos, videos, graphics, UX, or other visually communicated content. Submissions might also share teaching lessons on visual principles such as design and emerging visual media technology (e.g., AR, VR) to create promotional materials, campaigns, social media engagement, strategy development, or digital content with creative visual storytelling voices. Additionally, we encourage examples of how AI literacy and its ethical application for visual communication is being cultivated in and beyond the classroom.
We are particularly interested in examples of teaching that showcase ethical AI/emerging media use in student assignments through one or more of the following ways:
- Innovative student assignments, including but not limited to activities focused on AI-generated visual assignments/projects.
- Creative media production activities.
- Interdisciplinary or collaborative methods for teaching journalism, public relations, advertising, mass communication, and media production projects which include AI visuals.
- Experiential, practical, or service learning (e.g., student publication, media work, or student agencies) as a form of strategic use of AI visuals in the strategy and execution of service-related programs or activities associated with learning outcomes.
- Distinguishing and preparing students to examine ethical/unethical practices of AI application in the visual communication industry.
Application Requirements
Submit a visual communication teaching technique, innovation, assignment, project, or exercise which incorporates or applies generative artificial intelligence (AI) that can be shared in about 5 minutes. Include:
- Your name
- Your affiliation
- Teaching tip title
- Description of teaching tip/innovation in approximately 150-300 words.
- Other document/s (optional). Files might include
- Documentation of rationale, documentation of effectiveness, and/or supporting materials.
- Activity/assignment instructions, grading rubric, assessment, etc.
- Visuals or media files.
- Handout or presentation for conference panel.
- Description or handout must clearly demonstrate how the submission applies to visual communication.
- Tech needs for presentation at conference.
Deadline for Submissions April 1, 2025
Notification
Winners will be notified about a month after the submission deadline. Those selected are expected to present at the 2025 AEJMC conference in San Francisco. Every winner must have a handout or “takeaway” to share with Vis Com Division.
Questions?