Introduction to the Blackboard AI Design Assistant
This Spring/Summer 2025 semester, we invited faculty to pilot new generative AI tools in our Blackboard stage/test environment. These tools are designed to support curriculum development and offer capabilities such as redesigning assignments, journal and discussion prompts, generating role plays and conversations, and creating new test bank questions. The pilot helped us gather insights and develop best practices and faculty-facing resources. These tools became available to all faculty in our production environment on August 12, 2025.
Note: The use of Blackboard’s AI features is optional and determined at the discretion of each instructor. These features are only engaged when the AI Generate button is intentionally selected within the available tools.
Before using the Blackboard AI Design Assistant, we recommend reviewing the GVSU AI Policy and visiting the GVSU AI website for guidance on responsible and ethical use of AI in teaching and learning. The Blackboard AI Design Assistant is available within our Learning Management System. Blackboard does not utilize student data or faculty-created instructional materials to train its artificial intelligence models. For additional details regarding Anthology’s commitment to responsible and ethical AI practices, please refer to their official statement: Anthology Trustworthy AI Approach
This tool is designed to support, not replace, faculty expertise. It can assist in updating course content by generating suggestions for:
- Discussion prompts
- Assignment and journal prompts
- Test questions
- Role-play scenarios and conversations
- Suggested document layouts
The AI Design Assistant generates content based on the instructor’s materials and written prompts. Instructors are responsible for reviewing, editing, and approving all output to maintain academic integrity and ensure alignment with course objectives.
We invite you to explore our FAQs, review knowledge base articles in the service portal, and reach out to your eLearning Liaison for personalized support. Additionally, look for opportunities to collaborate with us during a future "Digital Literacy Friday" series this fall semester. Let us know how we can support you in thoughtfully and effectively integrating these tools into your course design.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this spotlight video, Dr. Raymond Higbea shares his experience using Blackboard’s AI Design Assistant to transform his approach to course development.
If I accept a recommendation made by the AI Design Assistant, can I modify that content?
The AI Design Assistant generates its suggestions using context from within the course, such as the course name, and content instructors provide via a description field and customizable settings. Instructors are responsible for reviewing and choosing to utilize any content generated by the AI Design Assistant. Instructors retain complete control and can edit, customize, or delete content as needed. Images cannot be modified directly in Blackboard, but you can remove the image, generate a new image, or replace it with your own image. You can also download the generated image to edit it offline in an image-editing tool, such as Adobe Express.
Why should I use the Blackboard AI Design Assistant instead of an outside generative AI tool?
The Bb Design Assistant is built on Microsoft's OpenAI and follows Anthology's Trustworthy AI framework . Blackboard does not utilize student data or faculty-created instructional materials to train its artificial intelligence models, as it would if it used an outside generative AI tool. Please note that the Blackboard AI Design Assistant is susceptible to the same risks as any use of generative AI. Instructors should be cautious about the accuracy of information generated by the AI Design Assistant and closely verify that the content in rubrics, discussion and journal prompts, and test questions is accurate.
How much does the AI Design Assistant cost?
The AI Design Assistant is free to use. It's a core feature of our Blackboard Learn license.
Why should I use the Blackboard AI Design Assistant instead of an outside generative AI tool?
The Bb Design Assistant is built on Microsoft's OpenAI and follows Anthology's Trustworthy AI framework, Your data is never used to train the AI models, as it would be if you used an outside generative AI tool. Please note that the Blackboard AI Design Assistant is susceptible to the same risks as any use of generative AI. Instructors should be cautious about the accuracy of information generated by the AI Design Assistant and closely verify that the content in rubrics, discussion and journal prompts, and test questions is accurate.
How much does the AI Design Assistant cost?
The AI Design Assistant is free to use. It's a core feature of our Blackboard Learn license.
In this spotlight viideo, Dr. Julia Vandermolen explains how she uses the Bb AI Design Assistant to create assessment questions that align with her course readings.
Learn More
Resources
Blackboard Design Assistant Written Guide created by Anthology
AI Design Assistant Video Overview created by Anthology
Knowledge Base Articles available in our GV Service Portal
AI Assignment Prompts
This Bb resource explains how to use AI Assignment prompts to generate new assignments. Note: Assignment prompts are generated based on the instructor's prompts and their own course context.
AI Conversations
This article explains how to use AI conversations to generate Socratic questioning and role-play activities for students
AI Discussions
This article explains how to use the AI Design Assistant to generate discussions for your course.
AI-Generated Test Banks
This article explains how to generate test bank questions based on defined resources within the course content.
Ally Alt Text Assistant for Image Descriptions
Ally's Alt Text Assistant can generate alt text for images added to documents.
Create Journals Using the AI Design Assistant
Use the AI Design Assistant to generate journal prompts based on the course's title and description.
Create Rubrics Using the AI Design Assistant
Use the AI Design Assistant to generate a rubric based on the assignment instructions, objectives, description, and scoring criteria.
Generate Learning Modules
The Generate Learning Modules tool creates a suggested module structure, but the instructor is responsible for adding and developing the course content.
Suggested Document Layouts
Use the AI Design Assistant to design attractive document layouts with images, knowledge checks, and helpful headings.
Sample AI Curriculum Statement
To promote transparency with students, we recommend including a brief statement in your syllabus if generative AI tools, such as Blackboard’s AI Design Assistant, were used in curriculum development. This helps ensure students know the instructional methods and tools to shape their learning experience.
Sample
In designing this course, I used the Bb AI Design Assistant tool available within Blackboard to support curriculum development. This tool helped generate initial drafts of course components such as rubrics, assignments, discussion prompts, and journal prompts.
All AI-generated materials were thoroughly reviewed and revised to align with the course's specific learning outcomes and academic standards. The AI tool was used solely to support instructional design and faculty productivity, not for grading or evaluating student work.