Before using this tool ensure you have familiarised yourself with the practical and ethical considerations in the ‘Getting starting with Blackboard AI Design Assistant‘ guide
- What are AI Journals and Discussions?
- Tips for effective use
- How do I create AI Journals and Discussions?
What are AI Journal and Discussions?
Journals and Discussions are in-built Blackboard tools that allow students to individually reflect or collaboratively discuss a given topic. The Blackboard AI Design Assistant lets you quickly generate these activities and their accompanying instructions (example below), based your course’s title and description. The output can be tailored by selecting specific course content or adding a description prompt. The generated journal or discussion is editable, and will only be added to your course if you choose to ‘Save’ it.
Tips for effective use
For the best results, be specific. You can select course content to generate relevant outputs, and use the description field to add additional prompting.
We recommend using this tool for inspiration, when looking for ideas to create authentic and engaging assessments or learning activities. If you decide to use the output, you will need to edit the generated text to mitigate the following:
- Look out for activity bloat, whereby the suggested task/s may be time-consuming to achieve or require careful scaffolding (for example, the generated journal may include the instruction to ‘create a podcast’ or ‘design an infographic,’ which presents technical production skills that may be unfamiliar to students).
- The outputs may or may not suggest timings that align to your planned task (for example, when or how often to post in a forum or make a journal entry).
- Outputs do not include advice about how to approach writing reflectively or discursively, for example length, tone, etiquette or number of entries/replies.
How do I create AI Journals and Discussions?
To add a Journal or Discussion go to the + Create > Participation and Engagement and select the Learning activity you wish to add.
Set up the Activity as you would normally, with a title and student engagement settings.
Auto-generate Discussion or Auto-generate Journal
Select the Auto-generate button for your journal or discussion, the next steps are the same for either.
An initial generation will take place based on the course title. Review any of the generated content for possibilities. To create a more tailored next generation use the setting panel (For more detail, please see our guide – Blackboard AI Design Assistant – General settings) :
- Description field (See how to write effective prompts for Blackboard AI Design Assistant – AI Prompt writing)
- Select a course item (or multiple)
- Set the type of activity you wish students to do – apply, create, analyse or evaluate, or simply let the system inspire you.
- Set the desired complexity scale
- Decide whether you wish a title to be created as well. This will replace your previous title.
- Finally Generate options
Select and Add the one you wish to choose or Generate new options.
One you have selected the content, you are then able to edit the instructions before clicking Save.
Guide last updated on July 4, 2025