Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future concept—it’s here, embedded in the daily lives of our students and transforming higher education. At Georgian College, faculty like Donald Phillips are leading the way by embracing GenAI (Generative AI) not just as a tool for efficiency, but as a partner in pedagogy.

From Blackboard simulations to content-focused podcasts, Donald is using AI to support learning that is personalized, interactive, and deeply engaging—and he’s encouraging others to take the leap, too. 

Innovating Pedagogy with GenAI 

Donald’s teaching toolbox has expanded significantly thanks to GenAI. In his Risk Management course, he uses tools like Blackboard AI Roleplay to simulate real-life scenarios, from planning a wedding to managing incidents at major events.

Through AI-powered roleplay, students engage with an AI persona created by Donald, which can be modeled after guest speakers or renowned figures like Chris Hadfield. This allows them to rehearse decision-making, reflect on outcomes, and deepen their learning beyond traditional methods.

Some creative practices Donald has used: 

• Explain Like I’m 5 (ELI5): Students prompt AI to simplify complex ideas like “risk controls” to the level of a child, promoting deep comprehension.
• Real-time Simulations: AI-driven scenarios, with incidents and accidents happening, challenge students to respond to unexpected events in the moment.
• Roleplay as Reflection: AI personas guide students in reflecting on group dynamics, personal contributions, and applying concepts to real-life or career scenarios, offering insights and uncovering overlooked perspectives. 

Conversations with AI are saved for review, giving Donald a clear snapshot of where each student is at in applying the concepts.

“AI gives us a chance to scaffold and layer learning in a way that adapts to the student, not the schedule.” 

Recently, Donald co-hosted the Bb Ultra Skillshop with the Blackboard team in the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Check out the Bb Ultra Skillshop Recap - FreshForward - YouTube (45:30) below!

Redesigning Assessment for an AI-Era

Assessment in Donald’s class is shifting from simple outputs to evidence of critical thinking.

He openly talks with students about “hallucinations”—times when AI gets it wrong—and uses this as a teaching tool to emphasize iteration, critical evaluation, and responsible prompting.

For example, students are asked to:

• Use AI to draft inputs to a risk management plan.
• Share their prompts and resulting outputs.
• Edit the AI-generated content and reflect on where it failed or succeeded. 

Ethical and Transparent AI Use

A key aspect of Donald's approach is teaching students to use AI ethically and transparently. By providing guardrails and fostering a culture of ethical AI use, Donald helps students navigate the digital landscape confidently.  

They’re also building key digital literacy skills, like:

• Recognizing good vs. bad sources (e.g., evaluating tools like Perplexity for academic reliability)
• Practicing responsible prompting
• Understanding bias and misinformation in GenAI outputs

“Garbage in, garbage stays. AI builds on what you feed it. So teach students to feed it right.”

Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence - Tip Sheet for Faculty - Georgian College CTL 

AI in Course Design and Assessment

AI has become invaluable to Donald, allowing him to create study guides, podcasts, and even multiple-choice questions with ease. This not only saves time but also enhances the consistency and quality of his assessments.  

To help promote critical thinking, Donald assigns activities where students must edit and critique AI-generated risk management plans—and then reflect on the process.

“Many didn’t even think to prompt again,” he says. “It showed me how important it is to practice iterating, prompting well, and questioning the results. That’s where real learning happens.”

Tools like NotebookLM have also become classroom staples. Donald uses it to:

• Turn course notes into podcasts
• Generate study guides and FAQs with citations or short answer essay questions
• Create large quantity of multiple-choice questions, with scenarios, that provide faculty with references in the source content that they have provided
• Help students build confidence—knowing it only uses the resources that were loaded 

Lessons Learned and Future Directions 

Donald's journey with AI has not been without challenges. Grading remains an area for improvement, and he hopes for more consistent and effective AI tools in the future. However, his transparency about AI's limitations has fostered a deeper appreciation among students, sparking conversations about AI literacy and critical thinking.

Donald’s journey is about more than using tools—it's about fostering a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and shared learning. 

Written by: Donald Phillips, Kelly Fox, Amy Goruk and Ashley Priest. Inspiration provided by Co-Pilot and ChatGPT.

Ready to explore AI in your teaching practice?

The Centre for Teaching and Learning offers workshops, resources, and 1:1 consultations to help you confidently integrate AI into your classroom.

📧 Contact us at ctl@georgiancollege.ca to get started.
🖥️ Visit our Artificial Intelligence in Teaching page for guides, sample activities, and more.

Online Self-paced course: Generative AI Foundations for Faculty **New Winter 2025**