{"id":22407,"date":"2026-08-23T06:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/?page_id=22407"},"modified":"2026-08-23T06:12:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:12:27","slug":"blackboard-ai-conversations-quick-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/blackboard-ai-conversations-quick-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackboard AI Conversations: Quick Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n ← Back to Supporting Changes in Digital Learning and AI\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n \r\n For colleagues\r\n <\/span>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n AI Conversations is a Blackboard Ultra activity that lets students take part\r\n in a structured conversation with an AI-generated character or persona.\r\n The activity is designed by the tutor, and the conversation develops\r\n interactively in response to what the student says.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

Two ways to use it<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

\r\n Socratic Questioning<\/strong> - the AI asks questions that encourage\r\n students to explain, justify and reconsider their thinking. This can help students\r\n explore difficult concepts, test assumptions and develop an argument.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n Role-play<\/strong> - the AI adopts a persona or role, and the student\r\n practises interacting with it, for example, as a client, patient, customer,\r\n manager, journalist or other stakeholder.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n Reflection is an important part of the activity. Students can be asked what\r\n they learned and whether the AI produced responses that were inaccurate,\r\n inappropriate or biased.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

Why use AI Conversations?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

\r\n AI Conversations are particularly useful where students benefit from learning\r\n through dialogue or practice. They can provide a low-risk opportunity to:\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n
  • Practise applying knowledge before an assessment or professional situation<\/li>\r\n
  • Explain and defend reasoning<\/li>\r\n
  • Explore alternative viewpoints<\/li>\r\n
  • Rehearse conversations encountered in professional practice<\/li>\r\n
  • Receive questions that challenge initial thinking<\/li>\r\n
  • Develop critical AI literacy by identifying weaknesses, errors or bias in AI responses<\/li>\r\n <\/ul>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n The aim should not normally be for the AI to provide the 'right answer'.\r\n The value comes from the conversation, questioning and subsequent reflection.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    Creating an AI Conversation<\/h2>\r\n\r\n
      \r\n
    1. Go to the location within Course Content where you want the activity to appear.<\/li>\r\n
    2. Select +<\/strong> to add content and choose AI Conversation<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n
    3. Choose either Socratic Questioning<\/strong> or Role-play<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n
    4. Describe the topic, problem or scenario you want students to explore.<\/li>\r\n
    5. For a role-play, define the AI persona and the situation in which the conversation takes place.<\/li>\r\n
    6. Add a reflection question for students to answer after the conversation.<\/li>\r\n
    7. Review the activity carefully before making it available to students.<\/li>\r\n <\/ol>\r\n\r\n
      \r\n Tip:<\/strong> Blackboard's AI Design Assistant can help generate the\r\n title, persona and reflection question and can use selected course materials\r\n as context. Always review AI-generated activities before releasing them to students.\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
      \r\n

      Ideas for using AI Conversations<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n The tool can work across many disciplines. A useful starting question is:\r\n what would it be valuable for a student to practise thinking or talking through?<\/strong>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n
      Subject \/ activity<\/th>\r\n Example<\/th>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n <\/thead>\r\n\r\n
      Business and Management<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Role-play: Managing a difficult employee<\/strong>
      \r\n The AI plays an employee whose performance has declined. The student\r\n conducts a performance conversation and works towards an appropriate way forward.\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n\r\n
      Law<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Role-play: Client interview<\/strong>
      \r\n The AI plays a client describing a legal problem. The student questions\r\n the client to establish relevant facts before identifying possible legal issues.\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n\r\n
      Health and Life Sciences<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Role-play: Explaining information to a patient<\/strong>
      \r\n The AI plays a worried or confused patient. The student practises explaining\r\n information clearly and responding appropriately to questions.\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n\r\n
      Psychology and Social Sciences<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Socratic: Exploring competing explanations<\/strong>
      \r\n The student explains a theory or interpretation and the AI questions its\r\n assumptions, supporting evidence and possible alternative explanations.\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n\r\n
      Computer Science<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Socratic: Debugging and problem solving<\/strong>
      \r\n Rather than giving the solution, the AI questions the student's reasoning:\r\n What should this code do? What evidence suggests where the problem occurs?\r\n What could be tested next?\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n\r\n
      Architecture and the Built Environment<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Role-play: Presenting a proposal to a client<\/strong>
      \r\n The AI acts as a client with particular requirements and concerns.\r\n Students explain and defend design decisions and respond to challenges.\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n\r\n
      Media, Arts and Humanities<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Socratic: Developing an interpretation<\/strong>
      \r\n Students present an interpretation of a text, artwork, event or cultural\r\n phenomenon and the AI challenges them to provide evidence and consider alternatives.\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n\r\n
      Education<\/strong><\/td>\r\n \r\n Role-play: Responding to a student<\/strong>
      \r\n The AI plays a student with a particular misunderstanding or learning difficulty.\r\n The student teacher practises questioning, explanation and appropriate support.\r\n <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n <\/tbody>\r\n <\/table>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
      \r\n

      Designing an effective activity<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n A strong AI Conversation normally has a specific learning purpose, a clearly\r\n defined situation and a meaningful reflection afterwards.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n Instead of:<\/strong> \"Talk to the AI about leadership.\"\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n Try:<\/strong> \"You are a newly appointed team leader. The AI will play\r\n an experienced employee who disagrees with a change you have been asked to introduce.\r\n Explore their concerns, explain your reasoning and try to identify a way forward.\"\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n Possible reflection question:<\/strong> \"What did you learn from the\r\n conversation? Identify one response from the AI that you found useful and one\r\n that you would question or challenge. Explain why.\"\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n

      \r\n Remember:<\/strong> AI responses can be inaccurate, incomplete or biased.\r\n Encourage students to question the AI rather than automatically accept what it says.\r\n Used in this way, AI Conversations can support both subject learning and critical\r\n understanding of generative AI.\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      ← Back to Supporting Changes in Digital Learning and AI For colleagues AI Conversations is a Blackboard Ultra activity that lets students take part in a structured conversation with an AI-generated character or persona. The activity is designed by the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22407","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22407"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22411,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22407\/revisions\/22411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}