UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — What do you get when you combine a 25-year-old open-access speech textbook, 14 experienced communications faculty from seven Penn State campuses, a professor from Duquesne University, instructional designers, Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT), Penn State University Libraries, and months of writing and peer review?
The result is “Beyond the Podium: AI, Speech and Civic Voice,” a reimagined open educational resource (OER) from Penn State designed to help dispel myths about professional presentations while embedding artificial intelligence (AI) literacy directly into the public speaking curriculum.
The new OER updates the original text, “Stand Up, Speak Out — The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking."
With support and funding from the University Libraries’ Sally W. Kalin Early Career Librarianship for Learning Innovations, Tiffany Petricini, assistant teaching professor of communications arts and sciences and a previous Faculty Fellow with TLT, partnered with Sherry Rice, TLT faculty engagement specialist and instructional designer, to lead the OER creation. Petricini and Rice recruited individual writers and peer reviewers to update and rewrite each chapter and supplemental course material. Together, the writers represent more than 300 years of industry and classroom experience and are recognized subject matter experts.
The writers include:
- Erika Berlin, lecturer, media and communications, Penn State Behrend
- Delia Conti, associate professor of communications arts and sciences, Penn State Fayette
- Lee Ann Dickerson, instructional designer, Center for Educational Innovation, Penn State Behrend
- Qi Dunsworth, director, Center for Pedagogical Advancement, Penn State Behrend
- Janie Harden Fritz, chair and professor in the Department of Communications and Rhetorical Studies, Duquesne University
- Jacqueline M. Gianico, associate teaching professor of applied linguistics, Penn State, University Park campus
- Brooke Lyle, lecturer, Penn State Behrend
- Rosemary Martinelli, assistant teaching professor of marketing and communications, Penn State Greater Allegheny
- Stephanie Morrow, associate teaching professor of speech communications and program chair, School of Humanities, Penn State Harrisburg
- Angela Pettitt, associate teaching professor of English, Penn State DuBois
- Terri Stiles, lecturer and instructor in the writing program, Penn State Abington
- Jonathan Woodall, assistant teaching professor of communications arts and sciences, School of Humanities, Penn State Harrisburg
Bryan McGeary, the University Libraries’ Sally W. Kalin Librarian for Learning Innovations and Learning Design and open education engagement librarian, helped coordinate the project’s open education strategy.
“It’s important to consider the benefits of OER beyond free course materials,” McGeary said. “This project provided an opportunity to further our goals of supporting interdisciplinary cross-campus collaboration among faculty, enhancing student success and equipping students with the knowledge and skills to use AI ethically and responsibly.”
“Beyond the Podium” weaves AI literacy throughout the public speaking curriculum, to help students become stronger speakers and more thoughtful users of AI. The material asks students to consider how AI affects ethical communication, bias and misinformation, authorship and attribution, audience engagement and the development of effective messages.
Faculty involved in the project have presented the work at conferences, including the Eastern Communication Association annual conference in Pittsburgh, where the resource was introduced to more than 100 colleges and universities in attendance. Several institutions have since adopted “Beyond the Podium” for communication courses.
An advisory board and editorial committee will continue to review and update the resource annually to help ensure it reflects best practices in communication pedagogy and emerging technologies.
Any instructor can access the Pressbook, “Beyond the Podium: AI, Speech, and Civic Voice” and corresponding Creative Commons Canvas modules, which include assignments, activities and openly licensed content that can be adopted, adapted and remixed for individual instructor needs.
For more information about “Beyond the Podium,” contact Tiffany Petricini at tzr106@psu.edu.