Approximately 25 SWCC faculty and staff members attended the Iowa Community College Online Consortium Spring Conference in Ankeny from March 22-24, 2026.
This year's conference focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Southwestern faculty members Holly Booth, Laurie McCown, and Tom Borland presented, The Great QTI Power-Up: Zapping your way through QTI Imports, and online adjunct instructor Ralph Swain presented “Incorporating Universal Design Learning (UDL) in Your Courses for Student Success.”
Iowa State instructor and data scientist Bill Schmarzo was the keynote speaker and explained how AI might enhance college decision-making, improve professional development, and help educators build personalized digital assistants.
A student panel featured Southwestern students and included:
- Patton Adams
- Preston Fleharty
- Paige Gilbert
- Keirsten Klein
- Tucker Knox
- Amanda Malone
- Mallory Page
- Victoria Rosales
- Ella Vanderflught
- Isaac West
Students talked frankly about how AI has impacted them academically and where they see AI fitting into future studies.
