AI tools are becoming more common across higher education. But making a tool available doesn’t mean educators will use it—or see a reason to.
For faculty, instructional designers and LMS administrators, meaningful adoption depends on more than a tool’s features. It depends on whether the technology fits into existing workflows, supports professional judgment and gives educators a safe place to learn by trying.
To explore what helps educators adopt an AI tool in meaningful ways, researchers formed a research-practice partnership (RPP). The work involved Yoon Ha Choi of Digital Promise, Alice Wu Swift of the University of Hawaiʻi System, Ashley Morris Biddle of Leeward Community College and 26 practitioners from seven higher education institutions. With funding from D2L, the partnership examined how educators used D2L Lumi, D2L’s AI tool embedded in D2L Brightspace, for instructional support.
The findings offer useful lessons for institutions considering how to introduce AI in ways that reflect educators’ needs.
Start with the work, not the technology
Workflow integration was important to participants.
Participants valued D2L Lumi because it supported work they were already doing. One faculty participant specifically appreciated being able to batch questions for review while staying within the LMS. The tool was fast enough to be useful and prompted the educator to check that the questions were accurate and aligned.
When educators have to leave familiar systems, open another platform and learn a new process, even useful technology can feel like one more thing to manage. When AI support like D2L Lumi is built into existing workflows, educators can more easily decide whether it’s right for a particular task.
Keep educators in control
The research also showed that educators have different ideas about which parts of their work AI should support.
One faculty participant explained that creating assignments was one of the parts of teaching they valued most. Understanding their students, working with course material and finding creative ways to engage learners were not tasks they wanted to hand over to AI.
The findings suggest that educators want the freedom to decide where AI can help and where human expertise should remain at the centre. Meaningful adoption doesn’t require educators to use AI for everything. Trust also depends on oversight. One participant valued D2L Lumi’s features that prompted them to review and confirm that AI-generated questions were accurate and aligned before using them.
Make experimentation feel manageable
Participants described D2L Lumi as a low-stakes, safe way for instructors who were new to AI to begin experimenting. A familiar environment, a focused instructional task and opportunities to review or revise the output helped make that experimentation more manageable.
The RPP encouraged participants to try D2L Lumi more intentionally and recommend it to others.
Build opportunities to learn together
The partnership created another condition that supported adoption: connection with peers.
Participants took part in institution-specific focus groups and interviews, along with three cross-institution meetings over five months. These conversations brought together faculty, staff and instructional designers from different institutions and disciplines.
Participants said the partnership encouraged them to talk about D2L Lumi with colleagues, including instructors who were new to AI. Those conversations helped move AI adoption beyond individual experimentation and into a shared process of learning.
These findings suggest that institutions could create similar opportunities through communities of practice, cross-functional working groups and regular time to share examples and questions. Educators need to learn not only how a tool works, but when and why it makes sense to use it.
The takeaway is clear: meaningful AI strategies start with educator needs. They fit naturally into existing workflows, respect professional judgment and make room for careful experimentation. The researchers will discuss their findings during the poster session AI Use for Instructional Support: Insights and Implications from a Research-Practice Partnership at the 2026 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference on September 30, from 4:30–5:30 pm MT in the EDUCAUSE Commons poster area.
The RPP was all about collaboration and learning. We want to continue these types of conversations with EDUCAUSE attendees and invite you to stop by our poster.
-Yoon Ha Choi, Postsecondary Senior Researcher, Digital Promise
AI adoption isn’t about asking educators to hand over their work. It’s about giving them the support and space to decide where AI belongs—and where it doesn’t.
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