Students in the University of San Francisco’s Internet Business Apps course used Assignment Assistant, a new product from Scalable Learning, to plan content for their digital business prototypes. Each Assignment Assistant is an AI coach customized to an individual assignment, with a responsible AI approach. The instructor identifies where students would benefit from guidance and which decisions they should make themselves.
In this pilot, students brought their own business ideas to the conversation. The coach helped them work through three questions: Who is this content for? What do you want that person to do? Why would this format work? One student developing a laundromat booking service planned an interactive map that would let customers compare prices and wait times before deciding where to take their laundry.
Students who responded to the pilot survey gave positive feedback, citing the conversational exchange, help staying on track, and notes they could refer to as they built their prototypes.
The course instructor, Professor JP Allen, commented, “A student can ask ChatGPT or Claude to do all of the thinking. What I like about the Assignment Assistant is that it tests the assumptions underneath each student's proposal with them. That’s the thinking I need my students to do before they start writing.”
