2025 Day 1 Sessions

Thursday, April 3

  • Amplify, Not Replace: Human Creativity Meets AI 

    Jena Marble explores the transformative potential of generative AI, drawing from industry experience and academic research. She examines how technology can amplify human storytelling, break down creative barriers, and open new pathways for expression. Attendees will take away resources and practical strategies for using AI tools that enhance creative capabilities by entering a human-first approach.  

  • Speaker: Sarah Coleman

    This presentation explores the power of animation in web design, showing how to bring static visuals to life to create more engaging and dynamic user experiences. I’ll share techniques and tools used to animate assets, as well as examples of successful animations implemented in past projects. Attendees will gain insights into the principles of web animation, practical skills for implementing animations in their own projects, and the impact of motion on user engagement and retention.

    Takeaways:

    • Insights into the principles of web animation
    • Practical skills for implementing animations in their own projects
    • The impact of motion on user engagement and retention
  • People who design using social media as a guide are missing key facts about graphic design. Those facts are the subtle nuances that make a design or a logo good versus great. For example, a subtle nuance like when to use a serif font versus a san serif font. That’s important because fonts have different voices and convey many meanings, feelings, and emotions. Social media is great at supplying a plethora of information. However, learning the tenants of graphic design such as contrast, balance, emphasis, proportion, hierarchy, repetition, rhythm, pattern, white space, movement, variety, and unity fill in the blanks greatly where social media lacks.

  • In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) holds transformative potential for enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the university classroom. This presentation will explore how AI tools and technologies can be harnessed to create inclusive learning environments, address biases, and support diverse student populations. Attendees will gain insights into practical applications of AI, such as personalized learning experiences that accommodate diverse needs, data-driven approaches to identifying and mitigating biases in teaching practices, and AI-powered tools that foster more equitable student engagement. The session will also address the ethical considerations and challenges of implementing AI in a way that genuinely promotes DEI.

  • Incorporating accessibility into Agile sprints is essential for creating inclusive digital experiences. Treat accessibility as technical debt, addressing it systematically to prevent long-term issues. Begin by recognizing accessibility gaps, then gradually implement improvements within your current sprints, focusing on steady progress rather than perfection. Prioritize accessibility tasks by role, ensuring that content providers, designers, developers, and QA teams contribute to the process. Regularly review and update your accessibility practices during sprint retrospectives to maintain consistent progress. By following these steps, your team can integrate accessibility effectively, making your products more user-friendly and inclusive. Every small improvement in accessibility can make a significant difference in the lives of your users, ultimately changing the world for the better.

  • Speaker: Courtney Fleegor

    Join a step-by-step walkthrough on how to leverage Figma, a collaborative tool for interface design, to bring your UI concepts to life. Designed for both beginners and those experienced with Figma, you will learn more about:

    • Figma’s community and user interface
    • Figma’s core features like variables, variants, and auto layout
    • The difference between designer and developer modes
    • How to create responsive prototypes within Figma
    • How to set up your own sharable components

    This session is ideal for designers, developers, and product teams aiming to enhance their UI design process and establish a strong foundation in design systems.

  • Speaker: Lea Peck

    Did you know Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” has the perfect tempo for Hands-Only CPR? Thanks to a single Instagram post by the American Heart Association, over a million people now do. This workshop will explore how aligning your digital marketing strategy with your brand’s mission and voice can lead to powerful engagement with new and younger audiences. Through real-world examples, you’ll see how brands are leveraging social media to extend their reach in impactful ways. You’ll leave inspired to take bold chances and empowered to use your platform for positive change.

  • University Housing worked to analyze resident opinion data to refine communications encouraging residents to live on campus for a second (or third, or fourth!) year. Data backed key messages then ran through communications and marketing materials for a digital-first returner campaign with startling success. The presentation will include follow up survey data.

  • Speaker: Kelsey Anderson

    Is a full website redesign out of reach? No problem. In this session, we’ll guide you through smart, strategic updates that can significantly boost your website’s performance. We’ll explore practical ways to enhance your website, making it more effective at engaging prospective students, even with an incremental investment end effort. This session is perfect for higher ed marketers looking to maximize their site’s potential while staying within their current framework. You’ll learn how to: Prioritize your limited time and energy. Give your top pages the love and attention they deserve. Gain momentum with simple tasks and weekly goals. Keep content sprawl at bay. Approach smaller design changes and add-on functionality. Utilize tools and tricks to improve quality, accessibility, and SEO.

  • Speaker: John Moist

    A good interview starts long before you press “record.” In this session, we’ll dive into techniques to level up your interviewing skills for print, video, podcasts, and more. Learn strategies to prepare effectively and establish rapport and comfort with interviewees. Discover tips for managing the flow of conversation from beginning to end and crafting questions that elicit engaging responses. We’ll also cover best practices for making the most of your interview content during editing, on the web, and on social media. Whether you’re a novice or have some experience under your belt, this session will offer valuable insights for everyone.

  • Speaker: Jason Rambeck

    If you are an information worker, you’ve been using AI for a bit now and been slowly discovering all that is possible with this new-found power. In this session we will cover AI strategies, techniques, and tools website managers and authors can use to dramatically increase the productivity and quality of their work. We are all used to using AI to do things like: generate titles, outlines, content, or content ideas? But what if we could deeply integrate tools into our CMS to generate alt text, identify redundant content, and refine our information architecture. Then, taking advantage of the real power of AI, training models to guide things like content governance, tone of voice, and doing usability testing. We will explore these possibilities together using real-world examples to demonstrate how to unlock the power of AI for your website management.

  • Speaker: Nic Morse

    This would be a presentation I would give explaining different types of animation and multimedia that one can do on campus and that you can do it with a budget and with free programs that are given to us as Illinois employees. All it takes is a little time and effort!


  • This presentation will cover the importance of device specifications and Best Practices for Android and iOS accessibility testing. It will be a general knowledge share for those new to mobile accessibility and how to test for it.

  • Speaker: Cordelia Geiken

    This session will walk folks through the different kinds of questions you should have answers to before you sign with a vendor. We will cover topics like: Design, Accessibility, Search Engine Optimization, Content Imports and Exports, Which CMS to use, Security, Backups and Storage. Come with your own questions and we will endeavor to answer those as well.

  • Speaker: Adam Rahn

    As communicators typically we are the liaisons to executives or experts who need to be on-camera OR more likely than not we’re tasked with being on-camera (or interviewed on a podcast, or recorded) ourselves. The workshop will provide crucial skills for effective media engagement and brand communication that marketers and communicators of any kind can implement themselves and take back with them for internal training and educational opportunities within their own organizations. We’ll discuss and navigate traditional and digital media platforms so attendees will have the skills needed to credibly, and professionally, conquer everything from headshots to podcasts to live interviews. Topics covered will include essentials of media literacy, conveying messages, effective presentations, body language, vocal delivery, rhetoric, attire, and managing nervousness, with the aim to empower marketing and communications professionals to convey their message clearly and confidently across media platforms.

  • Speaker: Marisa Peacock

    Explore the potential of AI in social media marketing in this intermediate-level presentation. We’ll dive into how AI can enhance content creation, audience targeting, and campaign optimization, while also discussing the challenges and limitations, such as automation pitfalls and ethical concerns. Gain a balanced understanding of how AI can boost engagement and streamline efforts, along with the potential drawbacks to watch out for in your strategy.

  • Speaker: Johnathan Grant

    Hey, web wizards! Ready to uncover the secrets behind a seamless web review process? Join us for an in-depth case study on how a dynamic University of Kansas team revolutionized their web review system by optimizing workflows and forging strong partnerships with their customers. This session will highlight the innovative techniques and collaborative strategies that drove efficiency and excellence. Discover how the team streamlined operations, leveraged cutting-edge tools, and worked hand-in-hand with customers to ensure a smooth, effective review process. Whether you’re a web development pro or just getting started, you’ll gain valuable insights into creating a more efficient and customer-centric web environment. Let’s elevate our web game together!

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