[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":203},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/stories/katie-ditmars":3,"processed-html-1b2df75d":188,"processed-html-89d48719":189,"processed-html-6aea352c":190,"processed-html-59a84d6e":191,"processed-html-4e774a4e":192,"processed-html-0f4e3931":193,"processed-html-aaa94ca8":194,"processed-html-bd4ea523":195,"processed-html-e7b13b47":196,"processed-html-75b55d46":197,"processed-html-fc97abf3":198,"processed-html-3d488ea3":199,"processed-html-329277a7":200,"processed-html-ec35cd42":201,"processed-html-aad238de":202},{"id":4,"type":5,"path":6,"published":7,"publishDate":8,"author":9,"taxonomy":10,"headerType":13,"image":14,"video":18,"title":20,"subtitle":21,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"social":22,"bodyBlocks":26,"slug":137,"description":138,"metaDescription":139,"metaTitle":11,"relatedStories":140,"created":177,"changed":178,"breadcrumbs":179},"4b9ae1fd-b063-41c3-b2d4-6966da5aff9b","story","stories/katie-ditmars",true,"April 1, 2026","Ross Bishoff",{"name":11,"slug":12},null,"","image",{"url":15,"alt":16,"caption":17},"https://live-decoupler.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/styles/widescreen/public/media/image/2026/04/katieditmar_page.jpg","Ohio State student Katie Ditmars","Ohio State student Katie Ditmars, who came to the university from Tennessee, said that professor Kristie Sigler has helped her view artificial intelligence as a skill to learn not a shortcut. (Ohio State photo)",{"url":11,"transcript":19},{"text":11},"Katie Ditmars: A masterclass in using AI as a creative skill","AI Fluency initiative developing critical skills for Ohio State students",{"title":23,"description":24,"imageUrl":25},"Learning AI the Right Way: How Katie Ditmars Turned Curiosity into Confidence","Using AI in the classroom doesn’t have to mean shortcuts. Ohio State student Katie Ditmars learned how ethical, guided AI use sharpened her ideas, built confidence and strengthened her communication skills.\r\n","https://live-decoupler.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/media/image/2026/04/katieditmar_social.jpg",[27,34,40,58,64,70,76,82,88,94,100,106,112,119,125,131],{"blockName":28,"attrs":29,"innerBlocks":31,"innerHTML":32,"innerContent":33},"core/paragraph",{"uuid":30},"1b2df75d",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">When Katie Ditmars first heard she’d be using artificial intelligence in a college class, her reaction was a mix of excitement and apprehension.\u003C/p>",[32],{"blockName":28,"attrs":35,"innerBlocks":37,"innerHTML":38,"innerContent":39},{"uuid":36},"89d48719",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“I was a little bit nervous, you don’t want people to think you’re cheating,” said Ditmars, a second-year honors student double-majoring in \u003Ca href=\"https://polisci.osu.edu/\" class=\"bux-link\">political science\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://comm.osu.edu/undergraduate/communication/cae\" class=\"bux-link\">communications analysis and engagement\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>",[38],{"blockName":41,"attrs":42,"innerBlocks":44,"innerHTML":54,"innerContent":55},"sidebar-content/did-you-know-sidebar",{"uuid":43},"514f4e23",[45],{"blockName":46,"attrs":47,"innerBlocks":51,"innerHTML":52,"innerContent":53},"media-text/bux-factoid",{"statistic":48,"label":49,"uuid":50},"2029","All Ohio State students will graduate with AI fluency","a53249c8",[],"\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-factoid\">\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-factoid__item\">\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-factoid__stat\">2029\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-factoid__text\">All Ohio State students will graduate with AI fluency\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div>",[52],"\u003Caside class=\"wp-block-sidebar-content-did-you-know-sidebar did-you-know-sidebar\">\u003C/aside>",[56,11,57],"\u003Caside class=\"wp-block-sidebar-content-did-you-know-sidebar did-you-know-sidebar\">","\u003C/aside>",{"blockName":28,"attrs":59,"innerBlocks":61,"innerHTML":62,"innerContent":63},{"uuid":60},"6aea352c",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">That uncertainty didn’t last long. In her public speaking class with \u003Ca href=\"https://comm.osu.edu/people/sigler.35\" class=\"bux-link\">Kristie Sigler\u003C/a>, a lecturer of Business and Professional Speaking and Public Speaking in the School of Communication, Ditmars quickly realized AI was being treated as a skill to learn, not a shortcut. The course is designed to show students how to use AI as a tool that guides them without taking over. For Ditmars, that made all the difference. Instead of asking a chatbot to spit out entire speeches, students used Sigler’s custom-built SpeechBuildGPT to develop presentations in an ethical, hands-on way.\u003C/p>",[62],{"blockName":28,"attrs":65,"innerBlocks":67,"innerHTML":68,"innerContent":69},{"uuid":66},"59a84d6e",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“The way she taught it was amazing,” said Ditmars, who came to Ohio State from Tennessee. “A lot of our assignments were AI-based, and we learned how to use it as a tool. You would feed it information, and it would prompt you with different questions to help you develop the information you needed to write a speech.”\u003C/p>",[68],{"blockName":28,"attrs":71,"innerBlocks":73,"innerHTML":74,"innerContent":75},{"uuid":72},"4e774a4e",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">So rather than typing a command like, “write me an argumentative speech,” students learned precision prompting. The result felt less like outsourcing work and more like having a conversation that sharpened ideas step by step.\u003C/p>",[74],{"blockName":28,"attrs":77,"innerBlocks":79,"innerHTML":80,"innerContent":81},{"uuid":78},"0f4e3931",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“It’s something I still use today, it was a real game changer learning how to do that,” she said. “In a situation where you very easily could have just had it do it for you, it actually helped me learn more and have a better result.”\u003C/p>",[80],{"blockName":28,"attrs":83,"innerBlocks":85,"innerHTML":86,"innerContent":87},{"uuid":84},"aaa94ca8",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">For Ditmars, who hopes to become a child advocacy lawyer, learning to work with AI feels practical, not intimidating. She points out that while some schools discourage AI use entirely, students will likely encounter it, and use it, anyway — whether in school or in the workplace.\u003C/p>",[86],{"blockName":28,"attrs":89,"innerBlocks":91,"innerHTML":92,"innerContent":93},{"uuid":90},"bd4ea523",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">That’s why she believes clear instruction matters and that Ohio State’s embrace of AI tools through its \u003Ca href=\"https://oaa.osu.edu/ai-fluency\" class=\"bux-link\">AI Fluency initiative\u003C/a> is a good thing. Instead of leaving students to figure it out on their own, or avoid it entirely, having professors demonstrate responsible and effective use builds both confidence and accountability.\u003C/p>",[92],{"blockName":28,"attrs":95,"innerBlocks":97,"innerHTML":98,"innerContent":99},{"uuid":96},"e7b13b47",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“I completely view it as a tool and that’s how the University approaches it,” she said. “Kristie’s classes are a great example of that.”\u003C/p>",[98],{"blockName":28,"attrs":101,"innerBlocks":103,"innerHTML":104,"innerContent":105},{"uuid":102},"75b55d46",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Having a professor walk students through a process removed the guesswork and replaced it with confidence.\u003C/p>",[104],{"blockName":28,"attrs":107,"innerBlocks":109,"innerHTML":110,"innerContent":111},{"uuid":108},"fc97abf3",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“It’s helpful to have a professor who can help you understand AI rather than trying to figure it out for yourself,” she said. “I always recommend her class and tell students to look for classes with AI involved.”\u003C/p>",[110],{"blockName":113,"attrs":114,"innerBlocks":116,"innerHTML":117,"innerContent":118},"core/heading",{"uuid":115},"3d488ea3",[],"\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-h2\">Favorite Ohio State experience:\u003C/h2>",[117],{"blockName":28,"attrs":120,"innerBlocks":122,"innerHTML":123,"innerContent":124},{"uuid":121},"329277a7",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“Definitely \u003Ca href=\"https://collegementors.org/\" class=\"bux-link\">College Mentors for Kids\u003C/a> (she’s currently vice president of programming and will be president next year). It’s completely changed what I want to do with my life, it’s where I spend most of my time. It’s what I’m most thankful for here. We work with students from six low-income Columbus schools. It’s an amazing organization. You don’t just get to know the kids but a wide range of people on campus. We have STEM majors, humanities majors, not just education majors. It’s a cool way to meet people who have a shared interest.”\u003C/p>",[123],{"blockName":113,"attrs":126,"innerBlocks":128,"innerHTML":129,"innerContent":130},{"uuid":127},"ec35cd42",[],"\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-h2\">Making Ohio State home:\u003C/h2>",[129],{"blockName":28,"attrs":132,"innerBlocks":134,"innerHTML":135,"innerContent":136},{"uuid":133},"aad238de",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“(Coming from Tennessee) I loved campus, how big it was and how integrated into the city it is without being surrounded by high-rise buildings. I was worried at first, not knowing anybody. But getting involved changed that for me, involvement in different organizations, my sorority (\u003Ca href=\"https://osu.kappadelta.org/\" class=\"bux-link\">Kappa Delta\u003C/a>), I feel like my network grew super quickly. Now I walk around campus and, no matter where I am, I’m seeing 10 familiar faces, which I never thought would happen on a campus with 60,000 people. You just need to put yourself out there, meet new people, join things. That’s the best way to have a life here. Now when people ask me where I live, I say Columbus.”\u003C/p>",[135],"katie-ditmars","Ohio State student Katie Ditmars learned to use AI ethically and creatively in the classroom, gaining confidence, critical thinking skills and practical experience that reframed artificial intelligence as a powerful tool — not a shortcut.\r\n","Discover how Ohio State student Katie Ditmars learned to use artificial intelligence ethically and effectively in the classroom, building confidence and practical skills through hands‑on instruction and AI fluency.\r\n",[141,154,166],{"slug":142,"path":143,"title":144,"description":145,"subtitle":146,"taxonomy":147,"image":148,"video":151,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"hasVideo":153},"tovah-kaiser","stories/tovah-kaiser","Designing her own path","Designer Tovah Kaiser traces her path from Philadelphia to Ohio State, where architecture, entrepreneurship, and Columbus’s creative community shaped the skills and confidence that led her to launch her studio, Tov Creative.","Philly entrepreneur Tovah Kaiser learned reinvention at Ohio State",{"name":11,"slug":12},{"url":149,"alt":150},"https://live-decoupler.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/media/image/2026/03/tovah_kaiser.jpg","A young woman walks down the street in an urban environment",{"url":11,"transcript":152},{"text":11},false,{"slug":155,"path":156,"title":157,"description":158,"subtitle":159,"taxonomy":160,"image":161,"video":164,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"hasVideo":153},"buckeye-bound","stories/buckeye-bound","Four reasons you should be Buckeye Bound","Ohio State offers unmatched academic breadth, a welcoming community, hands‑on experiences, strong career preparation and the opportunities of vibrant Columbus — helping students find their path, their people and their future as Buckeyes.\r\n","An endless wealth of resources and opportunities await students at The Ohio State University",{"name":11,"slug":12},{"url":162,"alt":163},"https://live-decoupler.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/media/image/2022/12/bb_homepage.jpg","A group of Ohio State students stand together on the Oval.",{"url":11,"transcript":165},{"text":11},{"slug":167,"path":168,"title":169,"description":170,"subtitle":11,"taxonomy":171,"image":172,"video":175,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"hasVideo":153},"finding-opportunities-and-a-family-in-ohio","stories/finding-opportunities-and-a-family-in-ohio","Finding opportunities and a ‘family’ in Ohio","Out-of-state student Ella Higgins embraced every opportunity at Ohio State — from animal sciences research to study abroad — finding community, confidence and hands-on experience that strengthened her dream of becoming a veterinarian.",{"name":11,"slug":12},{"url":173,"alt":174},"https://live-decoupler.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/media/image/2026/03/higgins.png","Ella Higgins with a horse",{"url":11,"transcript":176},{"text":11},"2026-04-01T17:35:30+00:00","2026-04-06T12:24:39+00:00",[180,183,186],{"title":181,"path":182},"Home","/",{"title":184,"path":185},"Stories","/stories",{"title":20,"path":187},"/stories/katie-ditmars","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">When Katie Ditmars first heard she’d be using artificial intelligence in a college class, her reaction was a mix of excitement and apprehension.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“I was a little bit nervous, you don’t want people to think you’re cheating,” said Ditmars, a second-year honors student double-majoring in \u003Ca href=\"https://polisci.osu.edu/\" class=\"bux-link\">political science\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://comm.osu.edu/undergraduate/communication/cae\" class=\"bux-link\">communications analysis and engagement\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">That uncertainty didn’t last long. In her public speaking class with \u003Ca href=\"https://comm.osu.edu/people/sigler.35\" class=\"bux-link\">Kristie Sigler\u003C/a>, a lecturer of Business and Professional Speaking and Public Speaking in the School of Communication, Ditmars quickly realized AI was being treated as a skill to learn, not a shortcut. The course is designed to show students how to use AI as a tool that guides them without taking over. For Ditmars, that made all the difference. Instead of asking a chatbot to spit out entire speeches, students used Sigler’s custom-built SpeechBuildGPT to develop presentations in an ethical, hands-on way.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“The way she taught it was amazing,” said Ditmars, who came to Ohio State from Tennessee. “A lot of our assignments were AI-based, and we learned how to use it as a tool. You would feed it information, and it would prompt you with different questions to help you develop the information you needed to write a speech.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">So rather than typing a command like, “write me an argumentative speech,” students learned precision prompting. The result felt less like outsourcing work and more like having a conversation that sharpened ideas step by step.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“It’s something I still use today, it was a real game changer learning how to do that,” she said. “In a situation where you very easily could have just had it do it for you, it actually helped me learn more and have a better result.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">For Ditmars, who hopes to become a child advocacy lawyer, learning to work with AI feels practical, not intimidating. She points out that while some schools discourage AI use entirely, students will likely encounter it, and use it, anyway — whether in school or in the workplace.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">That’s why she believes clear instruction matters and that Ohio State’s embrace of AI tools through its \u003Ca href=\"https://oaa.osu.edu/ai-fluency\" class=\"bux-link\">AI Fluency initiative\u003C/a> is a good thing. Instead of leaving students to figure it out on their own, or avoid it entirely, having professors demonstrate responsible and effective use builds both confidence and accountability.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“I completely view it as a tool and that’s how the University approaches it,” she said. “Kristie’s classes are a great example of that.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Having a professor walk students through a process removed the guesswork and replaced it with confidence.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“It’s helpful to have a professor who can help you understand AI rather than trying to figure it out for yourself,” she said. “I always recommend her class and tell students to look for classes with AI involved.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-h2\">Favorite Ohio State experience:\u003C/h2>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“Definitely \u003Ca href=\"https://collegementors.org/\" class=\"bux-link\">College Mentors for Kids\u003C/a> (she’s currently vice president of programming and will be president next year). It’s completely changed what I want to do with my life, it’s where I spend most of my time. It’s what I’m most thankful for here. We work with students from six low-income Columbus schools. It’s an amazing organization. You don’t just get to know the kids but a wide range of people on campus. We have STEM majors, humanities majors, not just education majors. It’s a cool way to meet people who have a shared interest.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-h2\">Making Ohio State home:\u003C/h2>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“(Coming from Tennessee) I loved campus, how big it was and how integrated into the city it is without being surrounded by high-rise buildings. I was worried at first, not knowing anybody. But getting involved changed that for me, involvement in different organizations, my sorority (\u003Ca href=\"https://osu.kappadelta.org/\" class=\"bux-link\">Kappa Delta\u003C/a>), I feel like my network grew super quickly. Now I walk around campus and, no matter where I am, I’m seeing 10 familiar faces, which I never thought would happen on a campus with 60,000 people. You just need to put yourself out there, meet new people, join things. That’s the best way to have a life here. Now when people ask me where I live, I say Columbus.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>",1775865667279]