IT Professionals Conference

Utilizing AI Tools to Design and Develop Engaging Online Compliance Training for UW-Madison Staff, Faculty, and Students
2026-05-29 12:20 - 12:50 (America/Chicago)
Virtual
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This session will demonstrate how expert instructional designers on the DoIT-Academic Technology Learn@UW Team utilize AI tools and instructional technologies, including LLMs, NotebookLM, and Articulate 360 AI Assistant, to design and develop engaging online training. While our work is centered around UW-Madison and compliance training, the same concepts can be applied across departments and institutions. We will discuss the steps we take to synthesize and organize content, as well as assessments to evaluate learning. Finally, we will end our talk with a review of best practice tips and tricks around using AI for instructional design purposes.

Presenter(s)

Cori Schmidtbauer
Lily Sullivan

DoH! How to implement DNS over HTTPS on Windows Server 2025
2026-05-29 13:00 - 13:15
Virtual
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DNS traffic is rarely encrypted on endpoints, with plain-text queries going back and forth over the network on port 53. On an enterprise network, this is usually not a concern, but as endpoints leave trusted networks, steps must be taken to ensure privacy and security to mask DNS requests as normal HTTPS traffic.
RFC 8484, DNS Queries over HTTPS (DoH), was adopted by the IETF in October 2018. Since then, Windows clients have been able to take advantage of DNS encryption: Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 both support DoH. However, Microsoft has not supported DNS over TLS (DoT) or DNS over HTTPS (DoH) in the past for its built-in DNS server. With the recent release of Windows Server 2025, Microsoft has begun testing the implementation of DoH on Windows Server. While not yet ready for production, this is an important step forward in providing end-to-end encryption for DNS queries on DNS servers that can be encrypted and managed centrally.
This presentation will go over the above, then go into DoH and Windows Server 2025’s implementation and the lessons learned along the way.

Presenter(s)

Jay Scholz

Faster, Better and Cheaper: Refactoring Course Search & Enroll
2026-05-29 13:00 - 13:30
Virtual
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In this presentation, we plan to share how we migrated the CS&E from a manually provisioned infrastructure into an environment provisioned with Infrastructure as Code. In the process, we reduced AWS infrastructure costs by 35% (nearly $3.5K/month) and improved performance and reliability. This included replacing Apache/Shibboleth with Cloudfront/OIDC and replacing several containerized applications with lambda functions.

Presenter(s)

Brian Hill
Lyle Hanson
Ben Nylund
Nuwan Kumarasiri

So, you need an Accessible web interface?
2026-05-29 13:00 - 13:30
Virtual
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A triptych through recent additions to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in the last 10 years that are useful for improving a bespoke or legacy web application, which may not have been designed with accessibility in mind and predates some of the more advanced features that are now built into every modern web browser.
Examples:

Building a bespoke web app framework (like Django, Dancer, or Mojolicious) to separate server code from presentation while retaining as much of the legacy code base and structure as possible to avoid needing to rewrite the world
Use of the HTML5 elements such as and ;

, , and ; text fields with client-side regex validation using the pattern attribute, as well as accessibility using elements and title attributes.
Use of JavaScript document.querySelectorAll() to add interactivity efficiently using high-performance CSS selectors
Use of ARIA aria-live and role attributes to notify a sighted or non-sighted user of changes to the page caused by interactive elements

We’ve spent time learning how to improve our web UIs to be more usable and accessible, and we can get the most value out of our learnings by sharing them with the community.

Presenter(s)

Mark Tinberg

It’s not you, it’s… just time: How to break up well with Advanced Custom Fields
2026-05-29 13:00 - 13:30
Virtual
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Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) has been a mainstay for custom WordPress development since it arrived on the scene. It’s still a great plugin.
But, is it time to move away from ACF and start using what WordPress core gives you in custom block development?
In this talk, we’ll go over:

The ACF data model, and why it can slow down your site at scale
Dynamic vs. Static blocks and when to use each
Custom block development options in PHP and JS
How and when to use attributes or post meta for your custom block
Removing legacy ACF rows in your database

Come find out if you should break up with ACF, and thank it for its years of faithful support. You’ll always have the memories!

Presenter(s)

Nate Finch

The surprisingly simple tech behind digital cinema
2026-05-29 13:40 - 14:10
Virtual
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An extra nerdy dive into the presentation hardware, file formats, distribution systems, and other technologies that make modern cinematic presentations happen.

Presenter(s)

Pete Sengstock

Achieving Transparency in Organizational Culture Using No-Cost Automations
2026-05-29 13:40 - 14:10
Virtual
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In the ever-shifting waters of continuing education, knowing when paddling is progress—and when it’s just spinning—is essential. This session shares how IT and Organizational Development leaders partnered with generative AI to automate workflows and steer their division toward insight and connection. Using three free tools—an AI assistant, Google Workspace, and DoIT’s Custom Google Groups—they built systems for weekly pulse surveys and personalized outreach, reducing manual effort, improving data visibility, and reinforcing belonging. Participants will leave with replicable workflows, collaboration strategies, and a framework for navigating change.

Presenter(s)

Sarah Korpi
Alan Ng

Resume building in modern days (cancelled)
2026-05-29 13:40 - 14:10
This session has been cancelled.

In today’s fast-evolving job market, building an effective resume involves more than listing experiences—it requires understanding strategies, tools, and approaches that effectively convey your professional story. This session will explore how IT professionals leverage modern technologies and platforms to showcase their skills, accomplishments, and career aspirations while enhancing visibility and opportunities.
Attendees will gain insights into how networking, certifications, and professional communities influence their career path. The presentation will also highlight how AI and other modern tools can support professionals in refining resumes, identifying opportunities, and approaching job searches more strategically.

Presenter(s)

Mehrnaz Ahmadi Joobaneh
Manda Johnson
