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Tutorials for Class Specific AI Tools

Build custom AI chatbots, study guides, and teaching assistants tailored specifically to your course content.

How to Create a Syllabus Chatbot

A syllabus chatbot lets students ask natural-language questions about your course about deadlines, grading policies, attendance rules and get answers sourced directly from your syllabus. The main advantage over a general AI is that it only answers from what you give it, eliminating hallucinated or off-topic responses.

Recommended Tool: Google NotebookLM

Why NotebookLM? It is free, requires no student account to use a shared link, and grounds every answer in your uploaded documents. It will not invent information that isn't in your syllabus. Students can ask questions and see exactly which sentence the answer came from.

Steps to Build a Syllabus Chatbot in NotebookLM

  • Step 1 — Create a NotebookLM notebook
    Go to notebooklm.google.com and sign in with a Google account. Click New Notebook and give it a name (e.g., "SOC 1101 Syllabus").
  • Step 2 — Upload your syllabus, course calendar, and policy sheets
    Click Add Source and upload your syllabus as a PDF or paste it as text. You can also add additional documents such as assignment rubrics, course schedules, or policy sheets. NotebookLM supports up to 50 sources per notebook.
  • Step 3 — Test the chatbot
    Use the chat panel on the right to ask questions a student might ask: "When is the first exam?", "What is the late work policy?", "How many absences are allowed?" Verify the answers are accurate and the citations point to the correct passages.
  • Step 4 — Share with students
    Click the Share button and set access to Anyone with the link can view. Post the link in your LMS (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.) or your syllabus itself. Students do not need a Google account to use a shared NotebookLM notebook in viewer mode.
  • Step 5 — Update as needed
    If your syllabus changes mid-semester, simply replace the uploaded source. The chatbot updates automatically.

How to Create a Custom Study Chatbot

A custom study chatbot goes beyond the syllabus. It becomes a virtual teaching assistant that knows your course material, speaks in the voice you define, and guides students through concepts without simply giving them answers. Unlike a generic AI, you control exactly what it knows and how it responds.

Recommended Tool: OpenAI Custom GPT

Why Custom GPT? You can upload course materials (lecture notes, readings, textbook excerpts), write a detailed system prompt that defines the bot's persona and boundaries, and share it via a simple link. Students with a free ChatGPT account can access any shared Custom GPT.

Steps to Build a Custom Study GPT

  • Step 1 — Open the GPT Builder
    Log in at chatgpt.com. In the left sidebar, click Explore GPTs, then Create. You will need a ChatGPT Plus or Team subscription to create a Custom GPT.
  • Step 2 — Name and describe your GPT
    Give it a clear name (e.g., "SOC 1101 Study Assistant") and a short description students will see. Add a profile image if desired.
  • Step 3 — Write the system prompt (Instructions)
    This is the most important step. In the Instructions field, define: the bot's role ("You are a study assistant for Sociology 1101..."), what it should and should not do ("Guide students through the reasoning process — do not provide direct answers to exam questions"), the tone ("Be encouraging but academically rigorous"), and any course-specific rules. A strong system prompt is what separates a useful TA from a generic chatbot.
  • Step 4 — Upload course materials as Knowledge
    Under the Knowledge section, upload PDFs of lecture slides, reading summaries, study guides, or course notes. The GPT will draw on these when answering questions. Avoid uploading copyrighted textbook content in full — use your own notes and summaries instead.
  • Step 5 — Configure capabilities
    Enable or disable web browsing, image generation, and code interpreter depending on your course needs. For most study bots, disabling all three keeps the bot focused on your uploaded materials.
  • Step 6 — Set sharing and publish
    Under Publish, set access to Anyone with the link. Copy the link and post it in your LMS. Students with a free ChatGPT account can use it immediately.
  • Step 7 — Iterate based on student questions
    Review the kinds of questions students ask (visible in your GPT's activity log) and refine the system prompt and uploaded materials accordingly each semester.

Choosing the Right Tool

Both tools serve different purposes. Use this as a quick reference:

  • Use NotebookLM when — your goal is answering factual questions about a specific document (syllabus, reading, policy). Students need verified, cited answers. You want a free solution that requires no student accounts.
  • Use Custom GPT when — you want a persistent teaching assistant persona that guides students through course concepts, not just answers document questions. You need a richer, conversational experience across an entire course.
  • Important limitation for both — neither tool should be used as a replacement for instructor feedback on graded work. Define explicit boundaries in your system prompt so students understand what the bot is and is not designed to do.

Using AI to Solve the Small Problems

Beyond chatbots, AI can help you build lightweight tools that eliminate the small daily frictions of teaching — freeing up time for what actually matters.

  • Student Lookup App
    An app to quickly search course number and section by student name — useful when advising students across multiple sections.
  • BbGbAll
    A Tampermonkey browser script that instantly reveals all rows in the Blackboard gradebook, bypassing the default pagination limit.