New Webinar - "Evaluating AI Content: What Librarians and Educators Need to Know"

Evaluating AI Content: What Librarians and Educators Need to Know
A Library 2.0 / Learning Revolution Workshop with Reed Hepler

OVERVIEW: 

The question "Was this made with AI?" has become ubiquitous—and largely irrelevant. What actually matters is: Was this made well?

In a world increasingly filled with AI-generated content, AI-moderated content, and AI-influenced work, librarians and educators need practical skills to evaluate quality, integrity, and the human judgment behind digital resources. This 60-minute webinar moves beyond AI detection obsession to address what truly matters: critical evaluation.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Understanding AI's Role in Content Creation: You'll explore how AI tools actually work and the spectrum of human-AI collaboration—from AI "slop" (poorly constructed, insta-created content) to thoughtful "alloys" (genuine 50/50 human-AI collaboration). This framework helps you recognize that AI itself isn't the problem; how it's used is.

Evaluating Content Where It Appears: You'll learn to distinguish between content created "in situ" (where it was generated) and content taken "ex situ" (moved to a foreign environment and presented as original or collaborative work). This distinction matters enormously for academic integrity and information literacy.

Applying Proven Literacy Frameworks: Rather than reinventing evaluation practices, you'll discover how traditional information literacy tools—like the SIFT method and counterfeit inspection practices—apply directly to AI-assisted work. You don't need new literacy frameworks; you need to apply existing ones with awareness of AI's specific characteristics.

Moving Beyond Detection: You'll understand why AI detectors are unreliable and why detection alone misses the real issues. Instead, you'll develop skills for asking better questions: Does this demonstrate deep understanding or surface-level synthesis? Has this been verified and contextualized, or merely generated and submitted? Does this reflect genuine intellectual engagement or the shortcuts of "insta-research"?

Responding Constructively: When you encounter poorly constructed AI artifacts, you'll learn how to provide constructive, objectives-centered feedback that communicates the work's weaknesses without being accusatory. You'll recognize the markers of thoughtful human involvement and know how to encourage it.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

This webinar is designed for librarians, teachers, instructional designers, and academic professionals who work with students and information consumers. Whether you're developing information literacy curricula, evaluating student work, curating digital resources, or helping patrons navigate an AI-filled information landscape, you'll gain practical, immediately applicable skills.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Practical skills for identifying poorly constructed AI artifacts and recognizing markers of thoughtful human-AI collaboration
• A framework for evaluating all digital content by asking better questions about quality, integrity, and intellectual engagement
• Strategies for responding ethically and constructively when encountering AI-assisted work in academic and professional settings
• Confidence that you can apply your existing information literacy expertise to this new challenge
  

The recording and presentation slides will be available to all who register. 

DATE: Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026, 2:00 - 3:00 pm US - Eastern Time plus extended Q&A

COST:

• $129/person - includes live attendance and any-time access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate. To arrange group discounts (see below), to submit a purchase order, or for any registration difficulties or questions, email admin@library20.com.

TO REGISTER: 

Click HERE to register and pay. You can pay by credit card. You will receive an email within a day with information on how to attend the webinar live and how you can access the permanent webinar recording. If you are paying for someone else to attend, you'll be prompted to send an email to admin@library20.com with the name and email address of the actual attendee.

If you need to be invoiced or pay by check, if you have any trouble registering for a webinar, or if you have any questions, please email admin@library20.com.

NOTE: Please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

SPECIAL GROUP RATES (email admin@library20.com to arrange):

• Multiple individual log-ins and access from the same organization paid together: $99 each for 3+ registrations, $75 each for 5+ registrations. Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
• The ability to show the webinar (live or recorded) to a group located in the same physical location or in the same virtual meeting from one log-in: $399.
• Large-scale institutional access for viewing with individual login capability: $599 (hosted either at Learning Revolution or in Niche Academy). Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.

REED C. HEPLER

Reed Hepler is a digital initiatives librarian, instructional designer, copyright agent, artificial intelligence practitioner and consultant, and PhD student at Idaho State University. He earned a Master's Degree in Instructional Design and Educational Technology from Idaho State University in 2025. In 2022, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science, with emphases in Archives Management and Digital Curation from Indiana University. He has worked at nonprofits, corporations, and educational institutions encouraging information literacy and effective education. Combining all of these degrees and experiences, Reed strives to promote ethical librarianship and educational initiatives.

Currently, Reed works as a Digital Initiatives Librarian at a college in Idaho and also has his own consulting firm, heplerconsulting.com. His views and projects can be seen on his LinkedIn page or his blog, CollaborAItion, on Substack. Contact him at reed.hepler@gmail.com for more information.

 

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 Starts March 4, 2026