Patty Hendricks
Instructional Designer,
Virginia Commonwealth University
Designing AI Assistants: Accessibility, Feedback, and Student Learning
Thursday, October 01, 2026 | 4:15PM–5:00PM MT
Session Type:
Breakout Session
Delivery Format:
Presentation
Customizable AI assistants can enhance teaching and learning processes. At our Learning Experience Design Studio (LED studio), we test and implement AI tools for higher education. However, our collaborations with faculty revealed unmet needs. This led us to develop three customizable AI assistants. This session demonstrates these use cases and provides a blueprint for helping faculty create their own AI assistants .Our use cases—generating accessible alt text and long descriptions, producing formative grading feedback, and providing early-stage feedback to students on project ideas—progress from universal instructional needs to more complex pedagogical applications. This progression illustrates how AI assistants can scale in both sophistication and instructional impact. Finally, we will model how campus support teams can guide faculty in creating their own AI assistants. The session emphasizes human-centered, ethical design strategies and offers practical frameworks, workflow patterns, and design considerations that participants can take back to their institutions.
