As the Spring semester drew to a close, educators from across the University of Florida and beyond gathered to reimagine teaching, learning, and research at the Interface Teaching Conference. Hosted by UF’s Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom from April 28-29, 2026, this annual conference aimed to support and inspire educators at UF and beyond.
“The value of Interface is the opportunity for educators to come together and learn from each other,” said Dr. Michael Barber, Assistant Director of CTE. “We have a lot of wonderful teachers here at UF and they’re doing wonderful things on campus. This is just an opportunity to unite people and have them bring their best practices to hopefully perpetuate those good practices out to the larger UF community.”
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UF Center for Teaching Excellence Director Dr. Alexandra Bitton-Bailey with Assistant Director Dr. Michael Barber
The Interface conference included a variety of speakers and panels from across disciplines, as well as a poster session and a resource fair. The featured keynote speaker was Dr. Kate McConnell, Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation at The American Association of Colleges and Universities. Her presentation emphasized finding joy in teaching through reflecting and reframing.
“Interface gives educators the opportunity to pause, reflect, and celebrate the good work of teaching that gets done throughout the year,” said Dr. Alex Bitton-Bailey, Director of the CTE. “Faculty have told me that Interface is their teaching idea toolbox for the year. I am so glad we continue and grow the UF Interface tradition.”
Attendees included faculty, staff, TAs, GAs, and post-docs, including the Center for Online Innovation & Production (COIP). “Interface is a great annual event,” said Rachel Sanabria, Instructional Designer with COIP. “It really brings all of the teaching staff and faculty together, especially this year getting a return to the passion of teaching and really linking pedagogy with practice.”
Panel with Dr. Monika Oli, Chris Sharp, Dr. Soohyoun Ahn, Dr. Tonika Jones, Dr. Grady Roberts, & Dr. Sebastian Galindo
The conference’s breakout session tracks included “Assessment and Feedback”, “Building Relationships in Teaching”, “Professional Development, Mentorship, and Leadership”, and “AI and Technology”. “AI is here to stay,” said Dr. Monika Oli, Master Lecturer in Microbiology & Cell Science. “And we have to live and struggle with it, using it for the best.”
Discussions in the AI sessions included designing courses to incorporate AI, AI-assisted experiential courses, AI in patient simulations, AI safety, empowering students with AI, writing with AI, and instructor experiences utilizing GenAI.
“What I love about UF is it’s not just one group that’s doing great things with AI but it’s collaborative nature across the campus,” said Dr. Barber. “Here, more so than I’ve seen at other institutions, teachers are just diving in, trying to find ways to use it, not being afraid of it, and being willing to experiment with it in teaching and having their students experiment with it. What I love about UF is seeing this cross-campus collaboration and teachers who are bold enough to jump in the deep end and start using it.”
This conference provided teachers of all experience levels with practical tools and fresh perspectives to elevate their classroom experience. “Interface is my favorite conference on campus every single year,” said Dr. Oli. “I’ve been attending ever since I’ve started here. Great community, bright minds!”