The CIEL initiated a two-part Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) challenge this Fall. The first part, The Not-So-Scary Gen AI Image Competition, wrapped up last month. Now, for Part 2 of the GenAI Challenge, we invite you to share how you’ve integrated Generative AI into your teaching. Submit a teaching artifact that demonstrates your innovative use of AI or your efforts to enhance AI literacy in your learning environment. This could include an assignment, rubric, course outline, or any other written artifact that highlights your journey with AI this semester. The aim of the Generative AI showcase is to prompt faculty to experiment with a variety of AI tools to enhance student learning and foster critical thinking. Additionally, the showcase aims to encourage conversations about the benefits and challenges of AI implementation across disciplines.
You’re Invited: Join the GenAI Showcase
To submit a teaching artifact to the GenAI showcase, please upload your written artifact to this Microsoft Form (Word, Excel, PPT, or PDF) by Friday, December 13. The CIEL will compile submissions into a crowdsourced document celebrating insights and ideas on the potential uses of GenAI to create new opportunities for learning, teaching, and assessment.
Insights from Part 1: The Not-So-Scary GenAI Image Competition
Mary Anne Oxendale’s submission was voted the favorite Halloween themed Gen AI image in Part One of the GenAI Challenge: The Not-So-Scary Gen AI Image Competition. Mary Anne shared how AI is impacting teaching and learning in their context.
“In my role overseeing accommodated exams, I’ve found generative AI to be an invaluable tool. It’s like having a collaborative partner to bounce ideas off of. We work together to design Excel functions for tracking stats, shape data into meaningful narratives, and model different text structures. I also use it to craft scenarios for training role plays and discussions about challenging situations my team might encounter when working with students. Plus, I love generating engaging questions for students who visit our Exam Centre table at Rock VIU—it really sparks great conversations! The best part is how it helps me refine my ideas through a back-and-forth dialogue. This approach not only enhances my work but also creates a more supportive environment for both students and instructors, making our interactions more engaging and productive” (Mary Anne Oxendale, Accommodated Exam Specialist, Assessment and Exam Service).
Bronwen Russell also contributed a favorite image for the GenAI competition, highlighting how generative AI is being integrated into learning design to enhance student’s digital literacy. “I have 3 assignments that use GenAI. With visual assignments, like infographics, GenAI has helped learners create high quality images that showcase learner creativity. To explore the limitations of GenAI written output, learners fact-checked short biographies of public figures. And for an assignment on web design, GenAI assisted in writing, debugging, and explaining the design code” (Bronwen Russell, Professor, Management and Law, Faculty of Management).
How might AI tools support student learning?
The table below presents various disciplines, ways AI tools can enhance student learning, and examples of AI tools that could be useful. Please note that some of these tools may not be compliant under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FIPPA). For more information about FIPPA and how to stay compliant please email FIPPA@viu.ca or visit VIU’s Access and Privacy webpage. Proceed with caution. You may need to take precautions to protect students’ and faculty’s privacy and data; and or put agreements in place to permit use.
| Discipline | How can AI tools help students learn? | Which AI tools could be useful? |
| Most | Individual Tutoring | Multipurpose AI tools like Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT, and specialized tools like AI Tutor Pro. |
| Business, legal | Negotiation simulation | ChatGPT can be prompted to act as business or legal negotiating counterpart. |
| Hospitality management | Event planning simulation | AI chatbots can be prompted to simulate the planning and execution of an event, incorporating common issues that arise. |
| Healthcare | Patient interaction simulation | PCS allows students to practice opposite an avatar of a patient, and view themselves from a patient’s perspective. |
| ESL | Conversation practice simulation | Quizlet’s Q-chat can act as a conversation partner or quizmaster. |
| Trades | HVAC installation, repair, and maintenance simulation | Among others, SkillCat has AI simulations on dozens of tasks from changing an air filter to wiring a compressor. |
| Indigenous language learning | Pronunciation and conversation practice | Rongo evaluates and corrects pronunciation of Maori learners, and several other apps are in development for Indigenous languages in Canada. |
| Technology | Cyberattack response | AI chatbots can produce detailed and iterative simulations of cyberattacks. |
| Business | Pitching a business plan simulation | Shark Tank AI offers a fun and engaging way of getting detailed feedback on a business plan. |
| Most | Practice Question Generator | Quizgecko and Testportal are two examples |
| Most | Analogies and Examples | Multipurpose AI tools like Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT |
| Most | Reading and Research (used as an enhancement to a traditional research process rather than a replacement) | Multipurpose AI tools can be used to assist summarizing a text or passage, scanning for content on a theme, adapting a text to a student’s reading levelm as a time-saver for students, allowing them to quickly focus their research, cast a wider net, and allocate significant time to analysis and writing. Consensus and Elicit are designed to assist with making comparisons, takeaways, and strengths and weaknesses. Tools like ExplainPaper and SciSpace are useful for students with disabilities and low language levels |
| Most | Writing Skills Development | MyEssayFeedback to give formative feedback on an early draft. Include information about how AI tools may incorporate submissions into their training data unless the data collection setting is turned off. |
| Tools for Accessiblity | speech-to-text: Dragon NaturallySpeaking, AudioPen and NVDA. Writing tools like Ghotit can offer reading and writing support to students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other learning disabilities. | |
| To search for AI tools for a https://theresanaiforthat.com/. “There’s an AI for That” is a platform to explore tools suited to different needs and contexts. |
Third Party Tools
Students cannot be required to register for tools that fall outside the VIU suite of software. When presenting students with a third-party tool (including GenAI tools) instructors must disclose what the tool is, why it is being used, what data is collected through using the tool, how this data will be used, and what students can do to opt out of their data being collected. Equivalent alternative assignments must be available for students who opt out of registering for third-party tools. If students cannot opt out of the tool without penalty (eg. the activity is graded, or no alternative is available), a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is required. For more information, see Access and Privacy at VIU.
Recommended Reads
- Introducing GenAI in Teaching and Learning Toolkit
- Teaching with Generative AI: Resources for Faculty
- 101 Creative Ideas to Use AI in Education
- Prompts for Educators
- AI Prompts for Teaching
If you have any questions about the GenAI showcase, please send an email to learnsupport@viu.ca.