Dr. Louis’s project will implement an AI-powered teaching assistant in a hybrid course FOR 208 at UMFK and SFR 214 at UMO (Forest Products Harvesting and Transportation) to enhance student learning across the two campuses. A specialized forestry operations chatbot will be developed, containing course materials, regional case studies, and visual resources that students can access 24/7.
Dr. Lavoie will be using AI to reduce student costs and expand course materials such as learning resources, quizzes, and rubrics while considering ethical considerations such as transparency.
Congratulations to our faculty recipients!!
UMFK's Generative AI Working Group is offering "Teaching with AI Grants". These grants will provide up to $1,200 for full-time faculty to enhance curriculum and student learning through AI innovation. Funds can be used for training, licensing, or implementing AI projects with the goal of positively impacting student learning outcomes.
The application for spring implementation, 2026, will open TBD. Below are links to useful resources that can prepare you for the open application timeline.
The AI grant is intended for innovation in the classroom. It is not intended for software or applications designed to check or monitor unethical use in students' coursework.
Loni Nadeau - Grant content and instructional design support. loni@maine.edu
Sofia Birden - Grant application Technical support and library/system resources support. sbirden@maine.edu
Rob Nalesnik - AI App support and App VPAT/ADA compliance support. robert.nalesnik@maine.edu
Banner image created by Sofia Birden using multiple images retrieved from NightCafe generative AI program and then edited; Preset style, NightCafe; Model, Flux Schnell; the original images from which the banner images were derived have an aspect ratio of 16:9.