ECI 519 - AI in Educational Technology

A culmination of the semester’s coursework, including readings, lectures, and collaboration with tech and market research SMEs, led to an extensive proposal for MerryQuery, an AI-powered learning management system developed by NC State to revolutionize the learning management space.

Requirements:

  1. Educational Content Development:

    • Define educational content for MerryQuery.

    • Include specifications around how the content addresses specific learning objectives and challenges in education.

  2. Design Direction & Features

    • Select one of seven provided generalized design directions and identify the specific design features to be developed.

    • Describe the scenario in which the features will be used and justify why they are effective for the chosen educational content.

  3. Supporting Teaching & Learning

    • Explain how the design features will support both teaching and learning for designed educational content.

    • Highlight ow the features will enhance student engagement, improve understanding and foster interactivity.

  4. Business Case

    • Develop a branding strategy for MerryQuery and optionally propose a new name for the application.

    • Define a target audience and outline data collection strategies to understand user needs.

    • Execute 1+ market research engagement and document findings.

  5. Use of References

    • Integrate references from readings and lectures to support your proposal, including all sources in APA format.

Contributions:

  • Attended all relevant meetings

  • Participation and engagement in project planning and coordination

  • Participated in origination of and evolution of AI design

  • Collaborated with team members on review and refinement activities

  • Wrote Business Case including direction, target audience, messaging etc… for proposal

  • Designed the research portion of the project, built the surveys, sent them to networks, including through LinkedIn and reviewed data analysis

  • Created mockup for proposed AI feature Focus Pocus

  • Wrote pitch headline and head sections of pitch script

  • Updated the market research findings portion of the business case

  • Wrote UI/UX review for the MerryQuery student interface

  • Copy edited the UI/UX review for teacher interface

  • Formatted document to page limit

  • Collaborated Appendix

Supporting Foster Creativity & Innovation in Ed

This paper supports my goal of fostering creativity and innovation in education through personalized, adaptive tools like MerryQuery and my group’s proposed feature, FocusPocus. This feature applies educational theories such as situated learning and culturally relevant pedagogy to reframe academic content into relatable, real-world contexts tailored to students’ interests. By enabling dynamic interactions and real-time feedback, these technologies enhance engagement, critical thinking, and comprehension. Additionally, their adaptability helps educators efficiently deliver personalized, inclusive instruction, promoting creativity, diversity, and innovation.