Multi-Audience Training

AI for Education and Training

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) offers several graduate programs for educators and education leaders. During my time as a student in one of these programs, Artificial Intelligence (AI) wasn't part of the UMGC curriculum, despite its widespread adoption by educators and learners. To bridge this gap, UMGC engaged me to create a graduate-level module on AI in education.

1. Project Overview
  • Goal
    Introduce learners to the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning
  • ID Approach
    Design Thinking for Educators, ADDIE, Understanding by Design
  • Audience
    Students in three UMGC Education and Teaching graduate programs
  • Tools
    Articulate Rise, ChatGPT, DALL-E, DrawIt, Stable Diffusion, HeyGen
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2. Why This Project?
  • As a capstone in the Learning Design and Technology graduate program, I was tasked with developing an online module for a real client. I was fortunate to collaborate with Dr. Brandie Shatto, Program Director at UMGC, to create a module titled Artificial Intelligence for Education and Training.
3. Needs Analysis
  • Client’s Request
    UMGC needed a module introducing the role of AI in education that could integrate seamlessly into existing graduate programs. The client welcomed experimentation with new eLearning platforms. I responded with a prototype for an asynchronous, instructor-facilitated module built in Articulate Rise.
  • Future Learners
    The content had to resonate with students from diverse educational contexts—K–12, higher ed, corporate L&D, and nonprofit training—while remaining accessible to those with varying levels of tech fluency.
  • Learning Objectives
    After completing the module, students would be able to:
    - Describe how AI technologies can support teaching and learning
    - Identify ethical and privacy considerations in AI use
    - Select and apply relevant AI tools in their work
4. Instructional Design Strategy
  • Module Structure
    I followed UMGC’s standard module format but used constructivist-style titles to emphasize relevance and learner agency.
  • Assessments
    I designed the assignments to allow students to explore current AI tools at their own comfort level and apply them to their professional context.
  • Learner Support
    I included tool suggestions, use cases, and examples for educators and learners alike to support AI exploration.
  • Content Formats
    I balanced familiarity with innovation—retaining the typical UMGC module flow while integrating fresh learning experiences, in line with the client’s openness to experimentation.
4. Instructional Design Strategy
  • Module Structure
    I followed UMGC’s standard module format but used constructivist-style titles to emphasize relevance and learner agency.
  • Assessments
    I designed the assignments to allow students to explore current AI tools at their own comfort level and apply them to their professional context.

  • Learner Support
    I included tool suggestions, use cases, and examples for educators and learners alike to support AI exploration.
  • Content Formats
    I balanced familiarity with innovation—retaining the typical UMGC module flow while integrating fresh learning experiences, in line with the client’s openness to experimentation.
5. Module Development
What’s a module on AI without using AI?
Text
I used ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas and tweak the module content I wrote.

Images
I used images created by DALL-E, an Open AI tool, DrawIt, an AI-based sketch-to-image app, and Stable Diffusion, a generative AI service.
Video
I created the following videos with HeyGen, an AI-based app, where I tried different presentation styles and avatars.
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6. Evaluation and Feedback
Before finalizing the module, I tested the prototype with 10 volunteers (including UMGC students) and received over 20 improvement ideas. Overall, the reviews were very positive:
  • K12 Teacher
    This is a very timely module and could be very helpful to both teachers and students.
  • Instructional Designer
    I really enjoyed the content and activities. Looking forward to seeing the final product - especially the section on use cases for IDs.
  • Higher Education Leader
    The content of this course is so interesting and topical. I found the last lesson especially interesting.
6. Evaluation and Feedback
Before finalizing the module, I tested the prototype with 10 volunteers (including UMGC students) and received over 20 improvement ideas. Overall, the reviews were very positive:
K12 Teacher
This is a very timely module and could be very helpful to both teachers and students.
K12 Teacher
This is a very timely module and could be very helpful to both teachers and students.
Instructional Designer
I really enjoyed the content and activities. Looking forward to seeing the final product - especially the section on use cases for IDs.
Higher Education Leader
The content of this course is so interesting and topical. I found the last lesson especially interesting.
Client Feedback
I put a lot of time and effort into this project, so receiving positive feedback from the client was incredibly gratifying.
I have to tell you that this module is FANTASTIC! I also asked our full-time faculty member to review it. We were incredibly impressed with both the content and the design. If we were hiring and you were a candidate, you'd get the job on the spot!

I love the way that you integrated AI into the design with the AI generated voice, images, and other elements. Such powerful examples. With your permission, we'd love to use this in our courses (giving you credit of course).

When we first met, I had no idea what I was really looking for, but what you have developed fits what we needed so very well.

Kudos on a job well done!
Dr. Brandie Shatto
Professor and Program Director, Educational Technology
University of Maryland Global Campus
7. Project Reflection

As an AI enthusiast, I couldn't have asked for a better capstone project. Time was the main challenge: given more of it, I would’ve explored even more tools and formats. I look forward to revisiting this topic and applying AI tools in my future work.

8. Questions?
I’d be happy to share more about this project or discuss your next eLearning initiative.
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Contact Elena
Photos: Igor Omilaev, DALL-E, DrawIt, Stable Diffusion