AI Conversation
What is AI Conversation?
AI Conversation is a new interactive activity within Blackboard designed to enhance student engagement and improve learning outcomes through personalised AI-driven interactions. This feature enables instructors to create dynamic, conversational learning experiences as a formative learning task.
You can:
- Define specific topics and scenarios
- Craft AI personas with distinct personality traits
- Adjust the complexity of AI responses to match the learning outcomes for the module
- Integrate with Gradebook: provide a snapshot of student interaction with the AI Conversation along with a customisable reflective question (free text area for your students) to reflect on their understanding
Please note that AI-generated content may contain bias, inaccuracies, and potential unsuitable output. AI Conversations have no defined end point and may continue indefinitely. Extended conversations may experience 'drift', where the AI gradually moves away from the original topic or purpose. Please test your AI Conversation thoroughly using Student Preview mode before making it available to students, and ensure students understand they should not request output beyond the intended activity or functionality.
Data Protection and Trustworthy AI Policy
All data generated through AI Conversation remains secure within the Blackboard module site and is not used to train the underlying AI system, ensuring student privacy and institutional data protection. Blackboard utilises Azure OpenAI technology, which has been specifically trained to minimise illegal or harmful content, making it particularly suitable for sensitive academic discussions. Read Anthology's Trustworthy AI policy in regard to AI Conversation.
AI Conversation Options
There are currently two AI Conversation modes available in Blackboard. Socratic Questioning and Role-play
Socratic Questioning: Developing Critical Thinking and Active Participation
Socratic questioning employs continuous, probing questions designed to guide students through reasoning through an issue set by the module leader. It encourages students to examine their assumptions, consider alternative perspectives, and build logical reasoning skills. This continuous questioning format creates a scaffolded learning approach where each response builds upon the previous answer, developing self-monitoring and evaluation skills.
This approach transforms passive learning into active participation by maintaining student attention through thought-provoking questions. The private, one-on-one nature creates a safe space for exploration, particularly benefiting students who may struggle to speak up in traditional taught sessions. Students can work at their own pace without fear of peer judgment.
Role-play: Supporting Experiential and Immersive Learning
Role-play scenarios provide students with opportunities to practice essential communication skills, decision-making processes, and problem-solving techniques within a controlled environment. The academic sets the context of the Role-play ahead of time then AI implements it with each individual student.
The immersive nature of role-play can connect theoretical concepts to practical applications, allowing students to experience real-world situations in a safe learning environment. This interactive approach has the potential to provide an active, hands-on learning experience that bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.
Post-Task Reflection
Following each AI conversation, students are asked to write a reflection to help them process their learning experiences. This component encourages students to evaluate their understanding, identify knowledge gaps, and consolidate their learning through reflective practice.
Implementation Recommendations
When implementing AI Conversation in your modules, consider starting with clearly defined learning objectives and appropriate complexity levels for your student cohort. Begin with shorter interactions to allow students to familiarise themselves with the technology before progressing to more complex scenarios.
Regular monitoring of conversation transcripts will help you identify common misconceptions, adjust AI personas as needed, and ensure that learning objectives are being met effectively.
Practice Examples
Practice examples for AI Conversation can be found in this Padlet page.
How to Set Up an AI Conversation in Blackboard
Please watch this introduction video on using AI Conversation in Blackboard.
Getting Started
- Navigate in your Blackboard site to the place you wish to add the AI Conversation to.
- Hover your mouse over the horizontal separator line, it will turn purple. Click the Add Content (+) icon and select Create.
- Choose AI Conversation (found under Participation and Engagement section). A new window appears. Please follow the steps below to configure the AI Conversation.
Step 1: Choose the Conversation Type
There are two conversation modes to choose from: Socratic questioning or Role Play (described above).
Step 2: Student Instructions
This step is dependent on the conversation mode selected.
Socratic Questioning
Provide an open-ended question for your students. Use clear language in your question. If you have multiple questions, use the list function to lay them out. The AI conversation will not be prompting students for each question but will direct their thought process and responses within the scope of the questions asked.
A good open-ended starting question invites debate or exploration, rather than requiring a factual answer.
Role Play
Enter the scenario, roles for the student and AI persona, and the desired scenario outcome. Be specific about what students should achieve through the interaction.
Step 3: AI Persona Configuration
Both conversation types require you to set up an AI persona:
- Click AI persona to begin configuration
- Edit image: You can provide your own image, use Unsplash, or generate an image for the persona's avatar
- Enter the persona name: If using a historical figure, use their actual name
- Describe personality traits: Briefly outline the persona's key characteristics. These traits significantly shape interactions, so choose carefully to avoid bias or inappropriate content
- Adjust complexity: Use the sliding scale to set the appropriate complexity level for your students and task. We recommend experimenting with this setting
- Click Save
You can preview the AI Conversation as a student would experience it by selecting Preview chat.