AI Conversation tool
- ellen bell
The AI Conversation tool is a student-facing chatbot. It allows students to participate in discussions with an AI persona. You select the type of conversation for the students to engage in: socratic questioning or role-play, then define a topic/ scenario and persona.
In Socratic Questioning, the AI persona encourages students to think critically through continuous questioning, whereas the Role-play option allows students to play out a scenario with the AI persona.
Always check AI-generated content for accuracy or bias, test out the converstaion before making it visible to students.
To set up an AI Conversation …
In Course Content choose the plus icon and select Create from the drop-down menu.
This brings up the Create Items menu, scroll down to Participation and Engagement and select AI Conversation.
This brings up the AI conversation editor (note it is a formative assessment). You need to complete three steps to set up your Socratic questioning or Role-play conversations.
Step 1: Select the conversation type:
Socratic questioning or Role-play
Step 2: Student instructions for Socratic questioning
Enter the key question you wish to discuss, make it clear and open-ended. Then click Next
Step 2: Student instructions for Role play.
Enter a scenario for your role-play; state clearly the role of the student, the role of the AI persona and the aim of the role-play, then click Next.
Step 3: Define your AI persona
You can be specific and use a historical figure or enter more general traits for the persona. You have the option to edit the image, change the name, describe the persona’s personality, occupation even mood.
Choose the complexity of responses (scale runs undergraduate to PhD), then click Save
NB If you are choosing role-play, make sure your character reflects the persona and scenario described in step 2 :
Then Preview chat to check the conversation is working as expected:
Enter dummy student responses to test the conversation, then reset the chat
Give the Conversation an appropriate name then use the cog to adjust the settings, it is a formative assessment by default, so you can assign points, due dates etc.
When you are happy with the settings and functionality, make the conversation visible to students. It will be listed in Course content with the AI conversation icon.
Students can then start interacting with the AI persona:
Socratic Questioning student view
Role-play student view
Find out more about Blackboard AI tools
Links
Related content
Centre for Digital Learning Enhancement
ulster.ac.uk/learningengancement/cdle