COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Students at Pikes Peak State College are using artificial intelligence to brainstorm ideas, create assignments and practice real-world scenarios after the college launched a free AI platform this fall semester.
Hope Scippio turned to the technology when she hit writer's block on a research assignment connecting Black Panther to the Civil Rights movement. She asked the AI platform how the superhero would be useful in the movement.
"It gave me a lot of information, like using the resource vibranium," said Scippio.
The AI-generated suggestions helped her develop ideas for the project, though the final work remained her own.
Katie Wheeler, assistant professor of communication, said students become excited when they see how much material the AI provides to build upon. But the technology is also changing how instructors design coursework.
Susan Moineau, a part-time instructor, used the platform to create a station activity requiring students to produce five different documents. Wheeler built a bot that simulates a common classroom problem, the group project member who doesn't contribute.
"You can see how excited it gets students because it gives them so much more to work with," said Wheeler.
The college partnered with BoodleBox, an AI education company that recently moved its headquarters to Colorado Springs. Founder and CEO France Hoang said the platform allows professors to monitor how students use AI while setting boundaries.
"For professors, we returned control of the classroom to them. You can see how students use AI for assignments and also create guardrails," said Hoang.
Students and faculty stress the importance of using AI ethically. Scippio said maintaining standards remains crucial, while Wheeler emphasized the difference between AI-assisted and AI-generated work.
Wheeler compared the technology to a calculator, explaining that while AI helps complete tasks faster, students still need to understand the underlying concepts and formulas.
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