Managing course logistics can be time-consuming, but what if AI could help? The Course Bot (Beta) is an experimental chatbot in Canvas that’s designed to answer common student questions. Early access is limited to 10 courses, and there’s still room for a few more Spring 2025 courses to join.
What is Course Bot (Beta)?
Course Bot is a Canvas integration that provides instant answers to students’ routine questions about course logistics. Available right in the Course Navigation Menu of your Canvas site, it helps with:
- Class schedules and locations
- Assignment deadlines
- Basic syllabus questions
- General Canvas how-to questions
Think of it as a teaching assistant focused solely on handling straightforward logistical questions, freeing up your teaching team for more meaningful interactions.
How It Works
The bot draws information from your:
- Course syllabus
- Real-time Canvas data including published announcements, assignments, course calendar events, discussions, modules, and pages
- Course Overview Tool
It’s designed to be simple and focused – the bot answers basic logistical questions and directs students to the teaching team for anything more complex.
Why Consider Joining?
The bot can help you by taking on the following:
- Responding to routine questions 24/7
- Reducing repetitive emails about deadlines and logistics
- Giving students quick answers to basic questions
- Providing consistent responses about course policies
Join the Experiment
For the Course Bot (Beta) Experiment, we’re currently accepting:
- H4 courses: Full participation available
- Full-semester: Late enrollment possible
As a participating course, you’ll benefit from the following:
- Personal support from our Teaching & Learning Technologies team in STS
- Easy setup process – we handle the technical details
- Opportunity to shape a tool that could benefit future courses
You’ll also help us gather insights throughout the experiment:
- Teaching teams will complete a pre-term survey to assess baseline logistics questions and a post-term survey to measure changes in time spent on them. We’ll also encourage you to share observations, pain points, and ideas throughout the experiment.
- Students will fill out a mid-semester survey to share their perspectives on the new tool.
Getting Started
Interested in learning more about the Course Bot Experiment? Submit a support ticket with:
- Your name and department
- Course number and title for Spring 2025
- A brief note about your interest
Our team will review requests and reach out to discuss next steps.
Meet the Project Team
Our team in Sloan Technology Services (STS) is leading this project in collaboration with the MIT Sloan community:
- Jason Alvarez – Director of Teaching & Learning Technologies
- Shallon Silvestrone – Associate Director of Instructional Technology & Design
- Jillian Rubman – Lead Instructional Designer
- Anna Wright – Lead Instructional Technologist
- Justin Kim – Senior Instructional Technologist
- Joseph Zacher – Instructional Technologist
- Jacob Yoon Zeng Yew – Computational Learning Specialist
Note: This is a test of an experimental tool. While early feedback has been positive, we’re still learning what works best. Join us in exploring how this technology might help streamline course communications at MIT Sloan.
