Content
AI tools developed specifically to generate various media (audio, video, images personalized bots, etc.) or resources (proofreading, syllabus or rubric generation, quizzes, etc.) have become available in recent years, many of which can be helpful for both instructors and students in higher education. Although instructors need to discourage misuse of AI to maintain academic integrity within college courses, it’s important to acknowledge that there are also valuable uses of this technology. It can be a balancing act, but with appropriate research and testing, instructors can discover ways that AI can enhance their pedagogies.
Please note that Microsoft Copilot and Adobe Firefly are the only university-supported AI tools, but we mention others here in case anyone wants to explore a wider array of tools. Before using AI tools for teaching or other work-related purposes, it is highly recommended that you complete the NU Generative AI Cybersecurity Awareness Training to ensure that all AI use complies with FERPA and university data privacy regulations.
AI-Forms
Audio:
Suno AI: This resource specializes in AI song generation. It offers a range of different genres (jazz, hip hop, pop, country, etc.) and realistic vocals to create fun projects for your classes. Examples for how this tool could be used: students (and the instructor) create a song to introduce themselves to their classmates instead of writing an “introduce yourself” discussion post, or the instructor could create a fun topic-based song to introduce content to students. This resource offers free daily “credits,” which would be enough for students to create 1-2 songs and revise without any paywall.
Examples: Symphonies and Stories is a jazzy piece that teaches about the lives of famous classical composers and their works. Bugged Out Education, a 1980’s pop inspired tune, is about using gamification to teach forensic entomology!
NotebookLM: Google Notebook can be used to generate podcasts based on content prompts. This provides a way to create small podcasts to embed in your course or as options for student assignments.
GPTs-Specialized-Bots-or-Agents
GPTs (Specialized Bots or Agents):
AI bots can be created through a number of different AI tools to target specialized areas. These bots “personalize” user experience a step beyond general generative AI in that they are “trained” to have different personalities and interact on certain topic areas. For example, an instructor might create a bot that can talk with students about literature or biology, or can help guide through solving a math problem.
When designing tutoring bots, it is important to ensure they are designed to support student learning rather than encouraging cognitive offloading. While some studies have found higher performance for students using chat bots, others have found that they can negatively impact exam performance by creating overconfidence. What matters is whether the bots are helping students learn for themselves or just giving them answers to questions. The former mimics how good teachers and tutors function while the latter results in cognitive offloading, which negatively impacts learning. It can be very challenging to get some AI tools to guide students without giving them answers, so it is recommended that any tutor bots you use are rigorously tested.
Example: Meddie Bot is a cute, friendly Bot fly that provides guidance and tips for self-care, such as meditation resources, for UNL entomology students, faculty, and staff. Try asking general questions about stress relief, meditation practices, and self-care. Specifically, ask it to play the Meddie bot song and see what comes up!
AI-Image-Generation
Image Generation
AI is well known for its image generation capabilities. From memes to caricatures to complicated illustrations, this has amazing possibilities. It can be used to create images to supplement assignments or teaching materials and provides a great way for students to express themselves in a fun way. On the flip side, AI images can be time-consuming; they often get prompts incorrect and require several attempts to reach the image the user is looking for (e.g., taking several tries to generate an image where an insect has six legs instead of 8 or 10)
Examples (many more!): Gemini, ChatGPT, CoPilot, Midjourney, Stability AI, Adobe Firefly
Most of these tools offer a free version, but for more advanced options, you may need a subscription. Note that UNL has access to the newest version of Copilot under its Microsoft license, and students and faculty can also request access to Adobe Firefly.
Step-By-Step AI Image Creation
Initial Prompt and Image
Initial prompt: Develop a cute, endearing insect character that will represent an AI Twin used as a self-care bot for entomology students, staff, and faculty. Call it Meddie bot and make it an adult bot fly.
You can see it generated a cute image, but to those who know insects, the anatomy is wrong...there are four wings (instead of two) and four legs (instead of six).
Further Developing Output
So now we need to tweak the prompt to bring it more to what we want.
Next prompt: Love it! But it should only have two wings and should have six legs.
Further Developing Image After Issues Encountered
You can see it still doesn’t have 6 legs. So I added the prompt: Add one more leg to left side.
It gave me this!! Now it has 8 legs.
Using an Image as a Reference to Further Assist
I had to go through many iterations of the prompts to finally get it to have the correct features. Then, I wanted it to look “more fuzzy” like a bot fly, so I gave it this prompt:
Final Product
Finally, after several tries, I got what I wanted. It does require some patience and a willingness to keep adjusting the prompts to reach the images you want. Testing the images generated by different AI tools could also be worth exploring.
AI-Games
Games:
Certain AI tools can generate small games, which can be useful for developing quick interactive activities that can be embedded into a course. Such mini games can be used to engage students in fun, formative knowledge checks for material that has been discussed.
Example: Claude
After registering with and logging into Claude, users can use its “Artifacts” feature to define content, game type (i.e., matching), and theme to create simple educational games. For example, Xenoentomology is a simple, sci-fi themed game where students have to match insect orders and species/common names.
AI-Editing-Proofreading-Tools
Editing/Proofreading Tools:
AI can be useful as a proofreader/editor for papers and other publications. This emphasizes its use as a tool that can help students review their work once they’ve written it (as opposed to using it to write their papers for them). Encouraging this type of use in the classroom can allow students to express that they have learned the content while helping them feel more confident about the writing they submit.
Example: Grammarly
This tool has free and paid versions that, once installed, evaluates writing in Word, PowerPoint, email, and other programs for grammatical and writing errors in real time.
Either during or after the writing process, the writer can open the Grammarly icon, and it will display any errors and suggest potential solutions to improve or correct the writing. This is a tool that is helpful for anyone, including students or instructors, who want to proofread and edit their writing. Please note that the paid version offers more extensive writing/rewriting abilities, so the free version may be better suited to educational assignments. If this is of concern, you may prefer to steer students toward the Writing Center or other real-life proofreading services that can provide that guidance.
AI-Teacher-Materials
Teacher Materials:
Creating course syllabi, rubrics, quizzes, or assignments through AI can help jump-start your course development process. By using very specific and detailed prompts, you can quickly create documents that are a good starting point for your teaching-related materials. However, please keep in mind that YOU know your content, so don’t trust that AI will be completely accurate. Don’t take the output at face value. It certainly can provide a time saver by giving you a framework or template to work with, but you should always review and revise the content before finalizing it for your course.
Example: CoPilot,
Say you would like to create a syllabus for your forensic entomology course.
In Microsoft Copilot, you give it this prompt:
Create a syllabus for my Forensic Entomology course. It should include these learning objectives: This course is your guide to understanding how insects can aid in legal investigations. Here's what you'll learn:
- Identification: Recognize and identify insects of forensic importance at crime scenes.
- Decomposition: Understand the stages and processes of decomposition and the succession of insect species on corpses.
- Evidence Collection: Describe the techniques for collecting, preserving, and rearing insects.
- PMI Calculation: Calculate the post-mortem interval (PMI) and determine if a body has been moved.
- Forensic Application: Explain the role and importance of insects in urban, stored-product, and medico-criminal entomology
- Case Studies: Apply forensic entomology techniques to fictional crime scene scenarios.
It also should include quiz on each objective, a final report about fictional crime scene scenarios, reflection assignments, and a PMI calculation assignment.
The output provides a syllabus broken up by modules and where assessments might be placed within this format. You may then further revise the Syllabus within CoPilot (or any other AI) to add other elements you want, such as grade breakdown, descriptions of assignments, etc., and finally save it as a Word file you can then edit for accuracy and final formatting.
AI-Video-Resource
Video:
AI can create informational, funny, or realistic short and long videos using prompts. Many of these are used as humorous social media posts, but there is potential for educational uses, such as students creating creative videos to demonstrate their knowledge about content they have learned. It is important to emphasize that students should be sensitive when creating videos using AI; certain material could be offensive or triggering for some individuals, even if made in jest. Encourage students to have fun with their creations but focus on the educational material they are discussing.
Explore-AI-Attribute
Assistance in Developing Course Material
If you would like help developing and revising your assessments or assistance with anything else related to AI in your course, please reach out to instructional designers designated for your college.
If you have any feedback about the content of this page or ideas for additional content to include, please reach out to the page developer Erin Bauer (EBauer2@UNL.edu)