Biography

Steven Sturman, JD., M.Ed.

Instructional Designer, University at Buffalo School of Social Work

Steven has over 25 years of experience as an Instructional Designer for the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. His focus has been on the adoption of emerging technologies for educational use and the integration of best practices for online and HyFlex teaching. His recent focus has been on promoting AI Digital Literacies for the faculty and students he supports. Steven has been a CO-PI on multiple grants that explore the use of AI for educational purposes including; SUNY AI-ED: A SUNY-wide Professional Learning Community for Artificial Intelligence in Education; Using AI effectively in Introductory Science and Social Science Courses; and Promoting culturally competent communication in Spanish across healthcare professions: A mobile application utilizing AI conversational tools. He is a member of the University at Buffalo’s Generative AI Innovation Group which serves as the governance committee for the implementation of university-wide trainings, policies, compliance, and innovation. Steven is a member of the SUNY FACT2 AI Tutor Project, which seeks to develop a system wide AI tutor to support student learning.

In addition to his extensive instructional design experience Steven is also a leader in professional development for faculty across the SUNY system. Steven developed and led a HyFlex community of practice that helped scale HyFlex teaching across the SUNY system, working with over 175 faculty and instructional support staff from 23 campuses to learn how to effectively teach in a HyFlex format. His efforts were acknowledged with a SUNY Excellence in Instructional Design award. Steven is also a member of the SUNY Faculty Advisory Committee for Teaching and Technology, which is an advisory body to the SUNY Provost, advocating and acting as a resource for University stakeholders at the nexus of technology, pedagogy and research.