From embracing virtual learning during the pandemic to inspiring colleagues to reimagine legal education in the age of artificial intelligence, Dr. Kirsten Davis is leading important conversations about the ways tech transforms how we teach law.
Earlier this month, Davis, a Professor of Law at Stetson and the college’s Faculty Director of Online Legal Education Strategies, was an inaugural recipient of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Technology, Law, & Legal Education Technology Mentorship Award.
The Section’s award announcement to its members described Davis a “a respected authority in legal ethics and communication” who “has made significant strides in integrating technology into legal education,” particularly with regard to the effects A.I. is having on the field.
“Through her impactful pedagogy, scholarly work, and direct mentorship, she has been a catalyst in helping students and peers understand and adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape in practice,” the Section announcement said. “Her initiatives have set a benchmark for technology mentorship within legal academia.”
Advancing the conversation
To be eligible for the award, nominees are required to have made notable efforts to help colleagues navigate the changing technology landscape, such as workshops, scholarship, or events aiming to share insights about emerging tech and offer mentees hands-on opportunities to apply what they’ve learned.
Law Professor Ashley Krenelka-Chase nominated Davis for the AALS award. She said she was motivated to do so because Davis works tirelessly to share her knowledge and understanding of emerging technologies – specifically the proliferation of Generative A.I. programs like Chat GPT.
“Her mentorship has helped people feel more comfortable with what they do and don’t know about using this technology in their classrooms and has allowed all of us to think about the use of generative A.I. and other technologies beyond the black and white in which it is often portrayed,” Krenelka-Chase said.
How it started: Adapting to The New Normal
In 2020, as education institutions everywhere grappled with how to ensure learning continued amid a global pandemic, Davis sprang into action.
She developed tutorials for colleagues who were new to virtual platforms like Zoom, created Amazon shopping lists to help them outfit their home offices with lighting and audio equipment, and more.
“From Zoom to working with Canvas to helping teaching assistants get up to speed on how to support online teaching, we were really just in survival mode in that first bit,” she said.
For that work, the university gave Davis an award for Covid-era innovation.
As the campus transitioned to the learning management software Canvas, Davis worked with Academic Technology Manager Julie Kitzmiller and faculty members Elizabeth Berenguer and Ashley Krenelka Chase on a program to train faculty and staff on the platform.
Sparking New Conversations about A.I.
As ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence began to grab headlines in late 2022, Davis – on sabbatical at the time – jumped at the chance to explore its implications for law schools.
“This was the moment I’ve been waiting on my whole career: the opportunity to study technology that might represent a paradigmatic shift for writing and researching the law,” Davis said.
Realizing the likely impact generative A.I. was about to have on legal education – especially legal writing – Davis reached out to colleagues on a listserv read by legal-writing experts across the country and invited them to join a national online conversation, the Generative A.I. and Legal Writing Convo Group.
Original source can be found here.