In Autumn 2026 the Building Student-Facing AI Agents pilot will explore how assignment-specific and task-specific AI agents can be thoughtfully integrated into your teaching. 

UWIT's Purple Team (Nick Stelzner, Wisdom Senolos, & Jared Reimer) is partnering with colleagues from Student & Educational Technology Services to support intentional, faculty-led experimentation with AI agents in ways that align with sound pedagogy and your students' learning goals.

Time Commitment: Approximately 4–6 hours/week for 8 weeks (six 60-minute meetings + independent design and development work)

What This Pilot Offers

If you have 1-2 specific assignment(s) or tasks in your course where AI could meaningfully support student learning, this pilot provides:

• Technical support and infrastructure to build and deploy an AI agent using Purple, the University of Washington’s generative AI tool.
• Hands-on collaboration with faculty, instructional designers, and technical staff who will think with you through your ideas, concerns, and pedagogical goals
• A community of peers committed to exploring this technology critically and creatively, asking hard questions, and working through challenges

We recognize that AI in teaching raises important questions about academic integrity, equity, student agency, and what meaningful learning looks like. This pilot is a structured space to engage those questions while experimenting with practical applications that support your students and align with your pedagogical values.

What We're Asking

Participants will commit to the following:

Design & Development (Autumn Quarter)

• Attend six weekly 60-minute meetings (Meetings will be online, Thursdays 11-12 on the following dates: Oct. 15, 22, 29; Nov. 12, 19; Dec. 3; meetings will be recorded.)
• Scope, develop, and launch an AI agent that either:
  • Supports a specific assignment, project, or learning activity in your course, OR
  • Helps students practice a skill that is central to your course or program

Implementation & Feedback (Late Autumn or Winter Quarter)

• Implement your agent with students (typically one or two assignments; your design determines the scope)
• Gather feedback from students on their experience using the agent
• Share preliminary results and insights with the pilot team

Continued Collaboration (Ongoing)

• Participate in one or two debrief/iteration sessions to refine your agent based on student feedback and implementation outcomes

Who This Is For

This opportunity is a good match for you if you:

• Teach a course with a specific assignment, project, or task where targeted AI support could help students engage more deeply with content, practice important skills, or receive timely feedback
• Have clear instructional goals and are genuinely curious about whether and how AI agents might serve those goals
• Value your disciplinary expertise and are interested in shaping how AI is responsibly used in higher education
• Are willing to collaborate openly, share what you learn, and discuss what works and what doesn't
• Are at any career stage (early-career faculty through emeritus faculty welcome)

Timeline

• Autumn Quarter: Design and build your AI agent in weekly meetings; begin independent development work
• Late Autumn/Winter Quarter: Share your agent with students; gather feedback and initial results
• Winter/Spring Quarter: Iterate on your agent based on student feedback; share insights with the pilot community

Next Step

If you're interested or would like to learn more, please complete this form.

We're looking forward to collaborating with you and learning from your expertise and experience.