AI Ready: New Features and Updates to Bb AI Tools

Welcome to the Fordham Faculty AI Interest Group Blog, where we explore the evolving world of Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI in education, fostering dialogue, experimentation, and research to enhance teaching, learning, and collaboration across disciplines..

Note: Features may change with future updates.

Blackboard is enhancing its suite of AI tools to help instructors create more engaging, accessible, and personalized learning experiences. From the new AI Alternative Text Assistant in Anthology Ally, which helps streamline alt text creation for images, to the AI Conversation feature that fosters student critical thinking through guided discussions, these tools are designed to support faculty in delivering dynamic and inclusive courses. Additionally, the AI Design Assistant simplifies course creation, making it faster and more efficient to develop well-structured classes. Keep an eye out for future improvements as Blackboard continues to enhance its AI-driven tools for education.

Maximizing Accessibility with AI:
Alt Text Suggestions in Anthology Ally

One of the most common accessibility gaps in online course content is the lack of descriptive text for images, a challenge for both instructors and learners. Anthology® Ally now offers a solution with its new AI Alternative Text Assistant, designed to streamline the process of creating alt text. This AI tool generates image description suggestions through the Instructor Feedback Panel, allowing educators to click the “Auto-generate description” button to receive suggested alt text. Instructors maintain full control, reviewing and modifying the AI suggestions for accuracy, ensuring a “humans in control” approach to accessibility.

This feature not only saves valuable time but also enhances content accessibility, reducing the number of images marked as decorative and creating a more inclusive experience for learners. With built-in tracking capabilities, institutions can monitor AI-assisted alt text generation, helping to meet accessibility standards more effectively.

See Harnessing the Power of AI to Maximize Efficiency: Introducing Alternative Text Suggestions in Anthology Ally’s Instructor Feedback for more information

More information about Alt Text Bb Mailbag: Making Your Course Images Accessible With Alt Text

Enhancing Student Engagement with Blackboard’s New AI Conversation Tool

In large courses, it’s often challenging for instructors to have meaningful one-on-one discussions with every student. Some educators have turned to external AI tools to engage students in topic-related activities, but managing these varied services can make it difficult to ensure consistency and visibility of student progress. To address this, Blackboard is introducing a new feature called AI Conversation, designed to support instructors in facilitating deeper learning experiences.

This tool offers a Socratic-style questioning exercise, where AI guides students through an exploration of their thoughts on a given topic. By integrating AI Conversation directly into the learning environment, instructors gain better oversight of students’ critical thinking while maintaining a consistent, course-aligned experience for all learners.

There are two elements to the activity:

AI Conversation: This lets students think critically about the topic that the instructor designs.

Reflection question: This asks the student to share their thoughts on the activity. The reflection question also lets the student flag any bias or errors from the AI as part of our Trustworthy AI Approach. Reflection helps students understand the responsible use of AI services.

Instructors have the following configuration options:

A topic for the AI Conversation
An AI persona including a name, avatar (can be uploaded or generated), and personality trait
Complexity level of responses
Edit the reflection question, guiding the student on how best to reflect on this activity

On submission, the instructor can review the AI conversation transcript and the student’s reflection. The AI Conversation is a formative assessment by default, but you’re not restricted to this option.
Visit the Bb Instructor Guide on AI Conversation for more information

Streamlining Course Creation with Blackboard’s AI Design Assistant

The AI Design Assistant is a game-changer for faculty looking to efficiently build and structure their courses in Blackboard. By leveraging AI, this tool simplifies the course creation process, helping instructors save time while designing engaging and well-organized classes.

In this recording, Kanchan Thaokar, Senior Manager of Enterprise Learning Systems, guides you through how to access and use the AI Design Assistant, sharing best practices for maximizing its capabilities. Whether you’re new to Blackboard or a seasoned pro, this video will help you seamlessly integrate AI into your course design workflow, enhancing both efficiency and course quality.

Visit the Bb Instructor guide on AI Design Assistant for more information or click on one of these links for a specific topic