Penn College

Educator presents at Penn State artificial intelligence conference

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A Pennsylvania College of Technology social sciences instructor shared her expertise at a recent conference exploring current challenges in global education and the potential solutions offered by artificial intelligence.

Jennifer Wahl Credit: Penn College / Penn StateCreative Commons

Jennifer R. Wahl served as a topic leader at the online event — “Global Education, AI, and the Greater Good” — hosted by Nittany AI Alliance, a Penn State Outreach initiative focused on leveraging technologies to improve educational experiences. Attendees included educators, graduate students and industry leaders.

Wahl’s discussion explored how artificial intelligence could impact K-12 access to technology in rural areas and restorative justice.

“The goal of my presentation was to give participants four problems that plague education in the areas of K-12 access to technology in rural areas — I focused on the lack of equitable access — and restorative justice practices rather than punitive measures,” Wahl explained. “My goal was to have participants discuss how artificial intelligence could solve the presented problems. Students, academics and industry professionals could discuss and come up with creative solutions that could potentially be marketable in the future.”

Through the conference, Wahl says she was exposed for the first time to Remo, a virtual networking platform that enhanced the exchange of information.

“When the pandemic hit, I realized that conferences and professional development opportunities might never be the same,” she said. “The inability to gather and have face-to-face interactions impacted the method we have established for professional learning. Using Remo, a platform I had never heard of, conference participants were able to travel from table to table as they would at an in-person event. Interactions felt genuine and less like we were behind a screen. The platform allowed for similar fanfare that we often see at conferences, and so participation was abundant and active.”

Wahl earned a master of education degree in educational leadership from Penn State and a bachelor of arts degree in history from Cabrini University.

She joined the Penn College faculty in Fall 2020 and teaches psychology and sociology courses. She previously taught at the college as an adjunct faculty member while serving as a secondary education teacher in the Loyalsock Township School District. In 2018, Wahl was named Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year.

To learn more about academic offerings in the School of Business, Arts & Sciences at Penn College, visit www.pct.edu/bas or call 570-327-4521.

For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free at 800-367-9222.

Last Updated February 22, 2021

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