Week 2 - Group 2 Discussion

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1. Three changes I made with Rise AI:
   
   1. I changed, added, and edited the images in my course using my own style. I did this to increase visual interest and to ensure a consistently uniform use of graphics.
   2. I used different text conversion options to make the text longer, shorter, or more enthusiastic. Length and tone are important for attracting learners.
   3. I added a block with a quote and AI voice at the beginning (a kickoff message from the HR Director). If it were real, it could motivate and encourage learners.
      
      
2. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable 
   
   It's not easy to highlight just one AI feature; nearly all of them are helpful. When working with courses that have been created by AI, the AI block conversion is really useful, because AI doesn't always use the block type I would choose. For both AI-generated and non-AI courses, I very often use the AI image creation feature. It saves a lot of time (and money), because there's no need to search for and buy stock material anymore.
   
   
3. What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted?
   
   

   When creating images, consistency is sometimes a problem (even in terms of style). Additionally, there often is a lack of real diversity in the images – but I think this has improved over the last few weeks.

   Regarding the AI avatar (which I used at the end of chapter 3): the results still look artificial. In my avatar video, the hands are too large, and the movement is excessive and looks artificial in places.

Still working on it, but I am having fun.

https://share.articulate.com/4WdGGtOgEON0j5CfFbDkY

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?

I made several adjustments to improve both the learner experience and overall engagement:

• Simplified and streamlined the content generated by the AI Assistant. While the initial draft provided a strong foundation, I reduced the amount of text to make the content more concise, easier to digest, and less overwhelming for learners.
• Enhanced the visual experience using the AI Image Generator. I created custom images that aligned with a consistent visual style throughout the course, helping maintain a cohesive look and feel while making the content more engaging.
• Leveraged the Instant Convert feature to diversify interactions. I converted content into a variety of block types and interaction formats to create more opportunities for engagement and prevent the course from feeling repetitive.

These changes helped create a more learner-centered experience by improving readability, visual consistency, and interaction variety.

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

The AI Image Generator was the most valuable feature in my workflow. I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the images it produced and how easy it was to generate visuals that aligned with the course content and design aesthetic.

What surprised me most was not only the image quality but also the guidance provided during the image creation process. The tool offered useful prompting recommendations and encouraged downloading assets for use outside of Rise, which made it even more versatile.

The results felt much more polished and practical than I expected.

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

The biggest challenge was determining which AI tool or feature was best suited for a specific task.

With so many powerful capabilities available, there can be a learning curve in knowing when to use each one to achieve the desired outcome efficiently.

That said, as I became more familiar with the tools, I found that I needed to leave Rise far less often to create or source content.

The growing number of AI-powered capabilities within the platform has made the development process more streamlined and reduced my reliance on external tools and assets.

Welcome to Leadership Island: A Practical Guide for New Managers

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 three major changes to improve learner engagement. First, I created a cohesive theme inspired by cozy Nintendo-style games and used AI to generate a custom background, welcome banner, and course images. Second, I created a character and used the Avatar Generator to add brief wrap-up videos at the end of each lesson. Third, I used AI to rewrite content and generate voiceovers that better matched the course theme.

     My goal was to make the course feel more immersive and engaging by incorporating storytelling throughout the learner experience. I also used AI for smaller enhancements like shortening content, changing block types, and emphasizing key information, and even brought in a few external AI tools to show how different AI solutions can work together to quickly bring a course to life.

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

   • The AI Avatar was probably the most valuable feature for me. I loved being able to quickly create themed video content, and I can't wait to see that capability expanded. Beyond that, the Auto Convert feature and Quiz Generator were huge time-savers. They helped reduce rework and provided a solid foundation that I could quickly build on and customize.

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

   • One challenge I ran into was with the Avatar Generator. Sometimes the movements felt a little unnatural, and there wasn't a way to preview the video before generating it. That said, I know the feature is still in testing, so I made sure to provide feedback along the way. I also found that AI struggled more when I provided a lot of constraints or all-or-nothing requirements. There was a bit of a learning curve in figuring out what prompts worked best, but once I understood that, it became much easier to get the results I wanted.

 made three changes to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement.

First, I added more interactive knowledge checks throughout the course instead of placing all assessment questions at the end. I made this change because short, frequent questions help learners confirm their understanding as they move through the content and keep them actively involved.

Second, I improved the visual elements by using AI-generated images and more engaging prompts. I wanted the course to feel more dynamic and visually appealing, rather than text-heavy. The images helped support the learning content and made the course more interesting for the learner.

Third, I revised some of the wording to make the content more conversational and easier to follow. I made this change because clear, learner-friendly language helps reduce confusion and makes the course feel more approachable.

The most valuable AI feature in my workflow was the ability to create an AI image from a prompt. It helped me quickly generate visuals that matched the course topic and improved the overall look and feel of the project. What surprised me was how much the quality of the result depended on the details in the prompt. The more specific I was, the better the image turned out.

One challenge I faced was getting AI to produce exactly what I had in mind. Sometimes the first result was too general or did not match the tone, style, or layout I wanted. I had to revise my prompts several times and be more specific about the audience, purpose, style, and expected output. This helped me learn that working with AI is an iterative process, and clear direction is important to get the best results.

My course: 

https://share.articulate.com/wEqV5t_kfZrBI8osd4-yr

1. Share 3 changes you made to the Rise AI Course Draft to improve learner engagement. 
   - Changed some text blocks around to reorganize the content and make it flow better for learner understanding. 
   - Removed the generated questions from the lessons and added a final quiz to the end as a pass/fail option
   - Removed some of the interactions in the lessons because I find too many interactions can get a little monotonous for the end user
2. Which AI feature or capability was most valuable in your workflow, and why? Did anything about it surprise you?
   - I really like the ai voiceover- it was quick, easy and will save me a lot of time and save my company money when having to go back and make updates to courses (as opposed to paying a professional voiceover talent to re-record sections of audio)
3. What challenges did you face when trying to get AI to produce the results you wanted? 
   - You need to be very specific about your prompts. It is helpful to write a prompt, review the results and then go back to edit the prompt to tailor it with the results you wanted. 

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1. 3 Changes I made: 
   • I converted blocks using AI convert. I made those changes because there were some areas where I wanted better visuals to engage learners.
   • I added a lot of AI generated visuals. The original AI generated content did not include visuals throughout the lessons, and so I added these generated images to make the course more visually appealing.
   • I used AI to help change the tone and style of text that it automatically generated to make it easier to engage and learn the content.
2. The AI generated images was very valuable - it helped me to create images that were related to the content and then keep that same theming throughout my course.
3. I ran into the challenge of losing my custom style prompt when generating images. I think it would be great to have an ability to store these prompts directly in your Rise account that you can pull from at any time. I also ran into the challenge when trying to generate knowledge check questions with it not fully being able to gather content from each lesson to create the question. However, I am sure that is user error and I could have done better prompting.

https://share.articulate.com/IsJL281Pxk-Ccjv7gwuz_ 

1. Share 3 changes you made and why:
   Updated the theme, fonts, and colors; created multiple custom images using AI-generated prompts; added the quiz at the end; changed a process block to a tab block and made the content a bit more detailed; and so on (I was just trying to get basics done. I wasn't trying to make a thing of beauty!).
2. Most valuable AI feature or capability: 
   How easy it is to change the tone of the language and create images. :-) For fun, I asked it to use a casual Bostonian accent and it changed the tone throughout the course. Even the Continue buttons were updated! I also had fun creating a custom image prompt that always includes a Beagle in it. (And no, I wouldn't do this in the real world but it was a fun experiment.)
   I also love the depth and breadth of the voices. Very nice!
   
   
3. Challenges:
   Remembering where to go to be able to do certain things (some things are only accessible at the course level versus the lesson level).
   
   

https://share.articulate.com/ABaJcO2gKjmu_OSKfuLJo

1. 3 Changes to Improve Learner Engagement 🤓
   
   • I used AI to generate engaging intro/hook statements at the start of lessons because attention must be grabbed at the start of every lesson, otherwise we lose the interest and engagement of our learners.
   • I used AI to convert informative instructions into engaging audio narrated stories because a) variety of media content recaptures learner's attention, and b) stories enhance learning and understanding. 
     
     
   • I converted paragraphs of information/instruction into various interactive blocks because a) this meaningfully organizes/chunks the information, and b) directly involves the learner.
     
     
2. Most Valuable AI Capability 🤩
   
   
   • Learning that I can ask AI Assistant to specifically format text/images based on color, style, size, etc. is really valuable to my workflow since it will save me time from needing to manually modify block content to align with brand. Definitely a pleasant surprise!
     
     
3. A Challenge I Faced 🤔
   
   • The AI Assistant-generated Quiz attempted to create select-all-that-apply questions, but in all actuality, these only contained one correct answer - making them merely another multiple-choice-style question. Solution: Adding a New (individual) Quiz Question and using AI Assistant to select the topic and then the type of question produced satisfactory results.

https://share.articulate.com/jiNJRa4wVKUlgL-Tsod0t

3 changes:
- I rewrote the POV to make it story based and first person from the narrator and second person addressing the learner directly. I used AI to do some of that in both the first lesson and the quiz.
- I added vibe coding for an interaction. I used AI outside of Articulate for that, but then added as a code block and edited in Rise.
- I added a bit of humour in the text and audio, and put audio pretty much everywhere. I also created new AI images throughout using a similar style - I tried the Abstract Expressionism style which I liked a lot, although I had to be specific about how it was used in prompts. It also worked really well for the AI avatar at the end of lesson 1, to match to the other graphics. I liked how I was able to create an image for popups in that style (below). Only once did I need to edit an image outside of Articulate Rise. If this was a course for a client I would touch up some of the images and make the story more dramatic.

AI feature I used most:
- I'm really loving the added AI voices and audio capabilities throughout most blocks. I also liked block conversion. I also threw in the survey block at the end of Lesson 1, my only edited lesson and turned on the AI Tutor - both from labs. Pretty cool.

Challenges:
- I used the AI image creation throughout, but it's hard to have consistent images as it's really one at a time. It would be good to be able to add reference images like you can do to build an AI avatar.
- I would like to be able to download images after inserting (other than just save as image). Sometimes I want to do an edit later. Also audio.
- I would like an option to ensure block conversion does not change the text at the same time, e.g., from para block to statement, it likes to rewrite. I may have missed (?) but didn't see a way to do that.