News And Events

AI Literacy for Students

This workshop will provide an overview of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) actually works, giving students the awareness and background knowledge to use AI tools with more skill, confidence, and judgment. Students will experience how AI functions, discuss its real-world impacts, and learn where to trust, question, verify, or refuse a tool's output.

Topics Include:

• What We Mean by AI: Generative Tools, How They Work, and Their History
  
• Behind the Scenes: The Environmental and Infrastructure Costs of AI
  
• Privacy and AI Agents: What Happens to Your Data and Conversations
  
• Hallucination: Why AI Output Always Needs to Be Fact-Checked
  
• Sycophancy: Recognizing When AI Tells You What You Want to Hear
  

This course is in-person only. No prior AI experience or programming experience is required.

The University Curriculum Committee is a central, faculty-led governing body responsible for reviewing, evaluating and approving all academic changes to the Texas State University course catalog. It serves as a vital gatekeeper to ensure that academic programs align with our institutional goals, accreditation guidelines, and state regulations.

Each college is given an opportunity to present program and course additions, deletions, and changes to the council.

A beginner friendly workshop creating a robotic arm using Blender 3D.
NOTE: Workshop is 2 hours for 4 days. The following dates are November 2, 4, 9 and 11 from 2-4 pm. You must attend all 4 sessions for your micro-credential.
This NASA Badged workshop is introductory-level 3D modeling, unwrapping, rigging, and animation using Blender. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio works closely with scientists to create visualizations, animations, and images that promote a greater understanding of Earth and Space Science research activities: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Learn how to prepare for a shoot, effectively use a camera, utilize lighting equipment and techniques, capture clear audio, and learn best practices for filming on an LED volume. Students will learn these practices in a classroom setting and then spend the second half of the workshop in the Virtual Production studio using these skills hands on. No prior experience necessary.

Part 1 Pre-Production and Composition will cover the following: Screenplays, Scripts, Storyboards, Shotlist, Shot Composition, Camera Movements, The Rule of Thirds, The 180 Degree Rule, and a brief introduction to the ALIAS Virtual Production Studio and the studio equipment.

The class will meet twice a week for two weeks. You must attend all four sessions to earn the micro-credential.

Part 1: Pre-Production and Composition - 11/02/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - ALK139

Part 2: Cinema Cameras and Lighting - 11/04/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - ALK139

Part 3: Audio Capture and Virtual Production - 11/09/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - ALK139

Part 4: Mock Virtual Production Shoot - 11/11/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - ALK139

Catch an open mic performance in the Wittliff Collections on the first Tuesday of each month! Instruments and microphones from ALIAS Audio and Music Production (AMP) Studios will be moved into the Wittliff Collections on the 7th floor of Alkek Library for students to play. Come listen to tunes while you browse the collections, or sign up to perform here. All skillsets are welcome at this inclusive event. 

AI Literacy for Students

This workshop will provide an overview of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) actually works, giving students the awareness and background knowledge to use AI tools with more skill, confidence, and judgment. Students will experience how AI functions, discuss its real-world impacts, and learn where to trust, question, verify, or refuse a tool's output.

Topics Include:

• What We Mean by AI: Generative Tools, How They Work, and Their History
  
• Behind the Scenes: The Environmental and Infrastructure Costs of AI
  
• Privacy and AI Agents: What Happens to Your Data and Conversations
  
• Hallucination: Why AI Output Always Needs to Be Fact-Checked
  
• Sycophancy: Recognizing When AI Tells You What You Want to Hear
  

This course is in-person only. No prior AI experience or programming experience is required.

Learn how to prepare for a shoot, effectively use a camera, utilize lighting equipment and techniques, capture clear audio, and learn best practices for filming on an LED volume. Students will learn these practices in a classroom setting and then spend the second half of the workshop in the Virtual Production studio using these skills hands on. No prior experience necessary.

Part 2 Cinema Cameras and Lighting will cover the following: Exposure, Camera Settings, Exposure Triangle, Lighting, Color Correction/Grading

The class will meet twice a week for two weeks. You must attend all four sessions to earn the micro-credential.

Part 1: Pre-Production and Composition - 11/02/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - Classroom ALK139

Part 2: Cinema Cameras and Lighting - 11/04/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - Classroom ALK139

Part 3: Audio Capture and Virtual Production - 11/09/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - Classroom ALK139

Part 4: Mock Virtual Production Shoot - 11/11/2026 2:00pm-4:00pm - ALK139

Upon completion of this workshop, you will receive a micro-credential badge in Canvas.

Build something real in 72 hours! The Immersion Studio Hackathon is a team-based build sprint. You'll design and create a 3D user interface project in Unity, using the Immersion Studio's projection and interactive technology.

Details

• When: Friday, November 6 at 12 PM to Monday, November 9 at 12 PM
  
• Where: Alkek One Design Space (first floor of Alkek Library). Final projects are submitted online.
  
• Who: Any Texas State student. New and experienced programmers are equally welcome.
  
• Teams: Up to 5 people. Bring a team or find one in the Discord.
  
• Prizes: $1,000 for 1st place, $700 for 2nd place and $300 for 3rd place
  

Get ready before the event: On Thursday, November 5, the Immersion Studio is hosting a Unity Basics + XR Integration Workshop in Alkek Library, Room 105. Each session runs about 1 hour, and you can join whichever one fits your class schedule: 11 AM, 2 PM or 4 PM. You can also stop by the Immersion Studio any time it's open to try the headsets and set up Unity, and find starter resources in the Discord.

How it works

1. Build (Fri, Nov 6 at 12 PM to Mon, Nov 9 at 12 PM): Teams form and start building Friday at noon. Commit to your repository throughout the event, not just at the end.
   
2. Submit (by Mon, Nov 9 at 12 PM): Submit your project at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/0hwfGAFkXA with:
   
   • A demo video (3 to 5 minutes) showing your project in action, including a short segment where team members explain how a key part of the code works
     
   • A link to your project repository
     
   
   
   
3. Judging: Judges review all submissions and score them on novelty, technical execution, presentation and collaboration.
   
4. Finalist Q&A: Top teams are invited to a short Q&A, about 10 minutes per team. Each team walks through its project, and every member should be ready to explain how their code works.
   
5. Results: Winners are announced in the Discord and by email.
   

Using AI: AI coding assistants are welcome, as long as you understand and can explain the code you submit. Finalists will be asked about their code, so make sure every team member knows how the project works.

Beyond the Hackathon: The first-place team will have the opportunity to further develop its project toward submission to the 3DUI Contest at IEEE VR 2027, an international competition for 3D user interface design. Guidance and support will come from the Immersion Studio and the Texas State XPI Lab.

Join the Discord: https://discord.com/invite/PBQj2BFsD

Hosted by the Immersion Studio (ALIAS) in collaboration with the Texas State XPI Lab.