Distance Education & Technology Integration (DETI) Division
University of North Georgia (UNG)
Ervin Howard, PhD
Instructional Designer/Professional Development Coordinator
As online learning, instructional technologies, and generative AI continue to reshape higher education, academic support units face increasing pressure to provide relevant and timely professional development opportunities for faculty. To support future planning efforts, I designed a faculty survey instrument intended to identify instructional technology interests, online teaching challenges, and professional development priorities among university faculty.
This project was developed within the context of the University of North Georgia's Distance Education & Technology Integration (DETI) environment and demonstrates how instructional design principles, educational research methods, and generative AI-assisted workflows can be leveraged to support data-informed decision-making.
Faculty members possess varying levels of experience, confidence, and interest in adopting emerging instructional technologies. Without direct input from faculty, it can be difficult to determine which professional development initiatives would provide the greatest value and impact.
The challenge was to create a practical, scalable, and easy-to-administer survey instrument capable of gathering meaningful feedback that could help inform future self-paced online courses, workshops, and instructional support services.
I designed a structured survey instrument consisting of Likert-scale items and open-ended response questions to collect both quantitative and qualitative data.
The survey was organized into three key sections:
This section measured faculty interest in a variety of instructional technologies and teaching practices, including:
* Generative AI for teaching and learning
* AI-assisted course design
* Online student engagement strategies
* Multimedia and instructional video creation
* Learning analytics
* Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
* Online assessment practices
* Gamification and interactive learning activities
* Emerging educational technologies
The purpose of this section was to identify potential areas for future workshops, training programs, and self-paced learning opportunities.
This section explored faculty perceptions regarding:
* Confidence using instructional technology
* Openness to adopting new teaching tool
* Willingness to participate in professional development
* Perceived value of technology-enhanced learning
* Need for additional instructional support
These items were designed to provide insight into faculty readiness and potential adoption barriers.
The final section provided opportunities for faculty to share:
* Desired topics for future training
* Current challenges in online and hybrid teaching
* Recommendations for professional development offerings
This qualitative component was included to capture perspectives that may not emerge through structured survey items alone.
As part of the design process, I utilized generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, as AI-assisted brainstorming and content development resources. AI-supported workflows were used to help refine survey structure, organize instructional themes, improve question clarity, and align survey content with emerging trends in higher education.
This project demonstrates how generative AI can be responsibly integrated into instructional design and educational planning processes while maintaining human oversight, professional judgment, and alignment with institutional goals.
* Instructional Design
* Faculty Development Planning
* Survey Instrument Design
* Educational Research Support
* Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection Methods
* Online Learning Strategy
* Generative AI Integration
* Professional Development Program Planning
* Data-Informed Decision Making
The survey instrument provides a foundation for gathering faculty-driven insights that can inform future professional development initiatives, self-paced online courses, and instructional technology support strategies. By identifying areas of interest, readiness, and need, academic support units can better align resources with faculty priorities and emerging teaching trends.
This project demonstrates my ability to combine instructional design expertise, educational research practices, and AI-assisted innovation to develop practical solutions that support faculty success and institutional growth in online and hybrid learning environments.