Week 2 - Group 2 Discussion

This discussion will be open on August 3!

I completed mine early due to PTO (I completed the requirements in the first lesson but didn't revamp entire course). This was a great hands-on learning opportunity and well worth my time. 

https://share.articulate.com/Vb5255h_ng5vsh9xio1e6

1. Share 3 changes you made to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. Why did you make those changes to your project? Be specific!

1. Used AI image creation to create similar style photos
2. Bolded key words to help learner see important points
3. AI summary helps learner quickly recap what learned in lesson

1. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?
1. Like the ability to not only get suggested wording edits but you can do certain actions (ex. have it bold key words and change their color). That saves so much time instead of manually making those changes.
2. Really like that you can give it additional prompts beyond the suggested ones. I thought you were limited to the drop-down options (make it longer, shorter, etc). You are limited by your creativity in the prompts.

1. What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?
1. Sometimes it can be challenging to get the image you envision. This has improved since the feature was first launched and better prompting helps.
2. The most challenging part is not knowing what all is possible. The AI features have enhanced quite a bit in the past months, and I look forward to testing them out more.

I've attached my Quick Share link below for review.

https://share.articulate.com/tdPkxN8MvSqy84r23Uczp

1. Share 3 changes you made to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. Why did you make those changes to your project? Be specific!

1. Eliminated redundant content. Sometimes with AI-generated content can sometimes present the same information in multiple blocks using slightly different wording.
2. Added realistic healthcare scenarios to help learners apply patient safety concepts to situations they may encounter in their daily work.
3. Replaced a few images with relevant illustrations that better aligned with the content.

2. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?

The AI-generated content was the most valuable feature because it provided a starting point for development.

I was surprised by the Instant Convert feature and the variety of layout options it offered.

3. What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?

One challenge I encountered was with the avatar voices. The voice options were somewhat limited, and in some cases the available voices did not seem to align well with the avatars.

https://share.articulate.com/NkYxzr23FSNaSp9uzcXg2

3 Changes: 

• Added interactive elements
• Inserted a visual divider using Statement B
• Replaced text content with audio where possible

Why: honestly, because that was required for certification :)

Valuable AI-Feature: Rise offers a strong suite of AI tools. I have started using the in-line text AI-editing features more frequently—before, I mostly used the top-listed options like "Improve Writing."

Challenges: Custom blocks are not my preferred workflow as they feel reminiscent of Articulate Storyline. Designing the custom layout took some extra effort; when I need custom styling, I typically rely on the code-block function and vibe-code it (see gap text in the course).

https://share.articulate.com/oZNReE9vpR-IaEeF2qEXl 

1. Share 3 changes you made to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. Why did you make those changes to your project? Be specific!
   1. I created an AI generated summary to ensure an end cap to the course and review material accordingly.
   2. I changed the tone of the words with AI to make it more conversational as it is important to balance the professional, but also not overly intimidate new managers.
   3. After developing the AI voice recording, I used the transcript to help develop an accompanying AI generated photo, so it not only made the audio, but the transcript became my new input instantly, which was super cool!
2. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?
   1. The AI feature I appreciated the most was truly the course outline development. Like Alyssa said in the recording, we have 80% of the course done at that point and we refine the rest, but to have that 80% made in minutes, realistically less time than I spent picking out a color for the theme, is going to save me so much time moving forward to have a strong jumping off point.
3. What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?
   1. I think the photo generation is something I'm going to want to spend more time with. I appreciate the perspective of adding the scene in a sentence and then the subjects too - it's just refining the level of detail I want to work on moving forward.

https://share.articulate.com/4T3GdBav2x-hbNfNYjQt4 

1. Share 3 changes you madeto the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. Why did you make those changes to your project? Be specific!
   1. I added the AI scenario at the start, with a related image, to bring the idea to life.
   2. I bolded key words in one area and colored and underlined them to draw attention to them.
   3. I added the AI video to explain the objectives. 

2. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?
   1. All of them!!
   2. I think syncing text to audio narration will be useful to me when I’m creating material from slideshows that others have provided. It will help viewers by drawing their attention to a particular moment in the module.

3. What challengesdid you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?
   1. As others have noted, images. I may not know exactly what I want in an image, but I know when AI generates something that doesn’t work for me! I then have to figure out how to re-prompt so that my image is created as I want it to be.
   2. Knowing how to word any prompt. Some of the sample prompts used in ‘Tips and Tricks’ are amazing, I wish I’d have thought of them. Is there a library of them somewhere that we could draw from to use?

Here's my course: https://share.articulate.com/w-DsdGPAevO5Wkrukuph- (sorry y'all, my trackpad won't let me turn off guestbook. I'll try to fix it when I get home to my mouse)

Share 3 changes you made to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. Why did you make those changes to your project?

I made some stylistic theme changes throughout to create more structure around the content. In terms of the AI Assistant features, I've done a few audio blocks, did a custom image style throughout while also highlighting text to generate AI image prompts, and created a hook to the opening paragraph. I also generated a quiz for the end. I also ended up adding a lot of continue buttons to chunk the content lol. Ultimately, I made the changes to create a cohesive brand or experience.

Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?

I really played with the custom image style to see if I could get it to match our brand or colors. I think what's most valuable is the audio narration, and creating a mini podcast of sections that people can listen to instead of reading. Having done a ton of voiceover work on my own courses over the years, this is a godsend.

What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?

Sometimes with images, I had to generate more than once, to get a "seamless" image for the section. I didn't want hard edges and said so in my custom prompt. Also if I asked it to have a certain hexcode for the background, it'd get close occasionally but not exact.

https://share.articulate.com/eIYc34aGUpGOINXOlmury

1. Share 3 changes you made to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. Why did you make those changes to your project? Be specific!

I made several changes to make the course feel more interactive and learner-centered rather than just informational.

• Added scenario-based knowledge checks. Instead of only presenting information, I incorporated realistic workplace scenarios that require learners to apply what they just learned. This helps reinforce decision-making and improves knowledge retention.
• Broke long sections into smaller, digestible chunks. I reorganized content into shorter lessons with clear headings and visuals to reduce cognitive overload and keep learners engaged throughout the course.
• Improved the tone and flow of the content. I rewrote sections to be more conversational and action-oriented, replacing dense text with concise language, bullet points, and learner-focused prompts. This makes the course easier to follow and more enjoyable to complete.

I made these changes because my goal was to create a course that encourages active participation instead of passive reading. As an instructional designer, I want learners to leave feeling confident that they can apply what they've learned on the job.

2. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?

The most valuable capability was using AI as a collaborative instructional design partner. It helped me quickly generate ideas for scenarios, knowledge checks, learning objectives, and ways to restructure content for better engagement. Rather than starting from a blank page, I was able to iterate much faster and spend more time refining the learner experience.

What surprised me most was how much the quality of the output depended on the quality of my prompts. The more context and direction I provided, the more tailored and useful the responses became. It reinforced that AI works best as a collaborator that amplifies expertise rather than replacing it.

3. What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?

The biggest challenge was getting AI to match the tone, level of detail, and instructional intent I was looking for. My first responses were often too generic or didn't fully align with my audience. I found that I had to be very specific about the learner, the business context, the desired outcome, and even the writing style.

Another challenge was knowing when to stop accepting AI's suggestions and apply my own instructional design experience. AI generated excellent starting points, but I still needed to validate the content, ensure accuracy, and make sure every interaction supported the learning objectives. That balance between efficiency and professional judgment was one of the biggest takeaways from this project.

https://share.articulate.com/x55aG5gr_urci_AjJNABR

I only made modifications to the Cover page and first lesson in the course, as well as creating the AI quiz. 

1. Share 3 changes you made to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. Why did you make those changes to your project? Be specific!

1. Used AI created image with various different types of styles as well as a custom style to match the material but also our work environment so that it would connect more.
2. I used AI prompt to give me scenarios related to the various concepts so that it could reinforce the material and then created AI Audio with it to give teammates an auditory outlet to understand.
3. I used AI Block Tools to convert information into various types of formatting, like tabs, image with text that I used AI to bold key words and create a table to review the concepts before an AI created knowledge check on those concepts. 

1. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?
1. The AI prompts I didn't realize there were so many choices to help you improve, so they acted almost like a prompt to my creativity where I could put multiple together or use AI to help me design what I wanted to include.  It was neat to realize you could give it a specific increase or decrease in writing instead of just make shorter/longer.  Nice to know if I can give percentages of how much more text I want. 

1. What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?
1. When it comes to text it seems to do very well overall, but the images can sometimes be very difficult in producing what you want.  Like if I am trying to show team collaboration in a truck yard, I had to specifically tell the prompt do not include tables or whiteboards because it would keep putting it in even without that information in the prompt and all the information of what the truck yard looks like.  For images in the future I just have to make sure to be very clear, and sometimes that means saying what I don't want in there.  

1. How I Enhanced the AI-Generated Rise Course

I made three significant refinements to the AI-generated course draft to improve learner engagement and increase instructional effectiveness.

• Implemented AI-generated knowledge synthesis and course closure. Rather than ending abruptly, I used AI to generate a structured lesson summary that reinforces key concepts and improves retention. From an AI engineering perspective, this demonstrates how large language models can be used not only for content generation but also for intelligent content consolidation.
• Applied AI-assisted tone optimization. I leveraged AI to transform the content from formal and directive language into a more conversational and approachable style. This is particularly valuable when designing learning experiences for new managers, where psychological safety and learner confidence are critical adoption factors.
• Created a multimodal learning experience. After generating AI narration, I repurposed the transcript as a prompt for image generation, creating visual assets aligned to the audio content. This effectively turned a single AI-generated artifact into multiple learning assets, demonstrating the power of multimodal AI workflows.

2. Most Valuable AI Capability

The most transformative capability was undoubtedly the AI-powered course outline and initial lesson generation.

From a productivity standpoint, AI eliminated much of the "blank page problem" by producing a structured learning framework within minutes. What traditionally required several hours of analysis, organization, and drafting was reduced to a rapid first-pass prototype that was immediately reviewable and editable.

From an engineering perspective, the real value isn't that AI creates the final product. It's that it dramatically compresses the time required to move from ideation to iteration. AI shifts instructional designers from content creators to content architects.

3. AI-Powered Engagement Enhancements

Additional changes included:

• Introducing an AI-generated opening scenario to contextualize learning and create relevance from the outset.
• Using AI-generated visual assets to establish stronger emotional and cognitive connections with the subject matter.
• Incorporating AI-generated video and narration to support multiple learning modalities and improve accessibility.
• Applying visual emphasis techniques such as highlighting, color-coding, and keyword reinforcement to guide learner attention and reduce cognitive load.

4. Challenges and Lessons Learned

The most interesting challenge was prompt engineering for image generation.

The model was capable of producing high-quality visuals, but achieving alignment between the intended learning outcome and the generated image required increasingly precise prompts. This reinforced an important AI engineering principle:

The quality of AI outputs is often constrained less by the model and more by the specificity and structure of the instructions provided.

Similarly, effective prompt design emerged as a skill in its own right. Small changes in context, role assignment, constraints, or desired outcomes frequently produced dramatically different results.

Final Reflection

What excites me most about AI in Rise 360 is that it is evolving from a content-generation assistant into a co-creation platform. The real innovation isn't simply generating text, images, narration, or video independently. It's the ability to orchestrate these capabilities into a connected workflow where one AI-generated asset becomes the input for the next.

From an AI engineering perspective, that's where the future lies: not individual AI features, but intelligent, multimodal content generation pipelines that accelerate learning design while preserving human oversight and judgment.

All the best to everyone in their L&D journey leveraging human-centered AI responsibly!