The University of Auckland Business School’s initiative, led by Inna Piven, Dr Shahper Richter, and Patrick Dodd, is a bold example of Gen-AI integration into higher education. In their tech-infused courses like MKTG 304: Digital Marketing and BUSMAN722: Digital Branding & Advertising, they are shaping a curriculum that aims to prepare students for an AI-centric future.
AI-integrated curriculum
The digital marketing curriculum is crafted with a clear recognition of AI’s unique learning curve. It’s not a uniform process; it’s specialised. Generative AI is woven into the fabric of teaching to mirror the industry’s heavy reliance on these technologies. While this may diverge from relational pedagogies, it’s vital for preparing students for a profession dominated by digital technologies. The focus is on hands-on experience with the tools shaping the digital marketing landscape, ensuring graduates are industry-ready.
The teaching staff have therefore carefully curated course activities to align with the pulse of the industry and the intended learning outcomes. The selection of AI tools used in teaching is tailored to the specific needs of each course.
In action, students get their hands dirty with actual digital marketing campaigns, employing AI for everything from content creation to crunching numbers. Tools like SEMrush come into play for exercises like digital audits and search engine optimisation, while Hubspot aids in crafting social media strategies and Google Ads. Visuals spring to life with DALL-E 2 and Adobe Firefly in team projects. For an in-depth look at these—e.g., the Buyer Persona activity in BUSMAN 722, which integrates multiple AI tools—explore the Notion board.
This practical approach is the cornerstone of the courses, resting on three pillars: nurturing AI literacy, hands-on application, and preparing students for a future where AI is ubiquitous.
Inna presents the team’s resources for teaching digital marketing with AI
The SACRAD ethics framework
There is no question that addressing the ethical and responsible use of AI can be challenging due to the technology’s newness and the absence of comprehensive guidelines, yet it remains essential.
The teaching team developed their own framework as a means to instil a strong foundation in AI ethics among students. SACRAD, standing for Specificity, Accuracy, Clarity, Relevance, Appropriateness, and Depth, empowers students to critically analyse AI-generated content, helping them spot biases and ensure accuracy.
For example, students from the MKTG 304: Digital Marketing course are asked to apply SACRAD to assess ChatGPT-generated questions for an upcoming client consultation.
Walk the talk
The teaching staff also utilise AI tools in their own work, reflecting the practices they teach. They communicate course content and engage students using digital avatars and videos, providing a firsthand look at AI capability in action.
While not the epitome of relational pedagogies—and, hopefully, not heralding the end of the human element in teaching—this introductory video offers students an insightful peek into the digital marketing industry’s brave new world. It’s important to clarify that you’re not seeing the real Inna Piven. Instead, the video shows a digital twin of her, generated using the HeyGen platform for instant avatar creation. Additionally, the voiceover was produced using ElevenLabs, a text-to-speech platform. Inna explains that, while using AI to create digital twins and synthetic voices is not yet common, incorporating this technology into the video helps illustrate the potential and relevance of AI in marketing, providing students with a firsthand look at the innovative tools they might encounter in their careers.
Inna’s digital avatar introduces a mini-lecture on digital branding.
View the transcript
Welcome to the Digital Branding and Advertising course. Get ready to explore the exciting world of branding in the digital age.
This mini lecture builds an understanding of crucial branding concepts and discusses the difference between branding and marketing.
Although branding and marketing share overarching goals, each has distinct roles. It’s also important to have a close look at the impact of generative AI on branding. Let’s dive in and unlock the potential of digital branding together.
Get your questions ready for our meeting in class.
Innovative AI assessments
The courses showcase innovative evaluation methods, including AI-enhanced assignments and Interactive Oral Assessments (if you’re unfamiliar with IOAs, head to our page for a general guide). Skills in using AI for tasks like content creation and data analysis are put to the test. Additionally, the courses prepare students for effective interaction with AI, where their ability to craft precise prompts and critically assess AI-generated content is evaluated.
“Here’s the scary bit”
Patrick admitted that the path of innovation isn’t smooth, and can be both scary and exciting. The real challenge for the team lies in embodying the very principles they teach, which includes navigating the uncertainties of a new technology. For instance, in Patrick’s course, students engage with GPT 3.5 to develop prompts as part of their work with real-life clients. He then uses the prompts to build a custom GPT model to assess their relevance. It’s a leap into the unknown, as even experienced teachers like Patrick are crafting parts of the assignment without a clear vision of the end result.
First feedback and feed-forward
The courses have sparked positive reactions, with students valuing the real-world skills. The team’s focus is now on incorporating diverse feedback—from clients to colleagues—to solidify the course structure and make sure their assessment design is robust.
With predictions that AI could help generate 90% of online content by 2025, the urgency for education to keep pace is clear. Inna, Shahper and Patrick are fine-tuning their approach with fresh feedback and are keen to share their findings and resources, hoping to inspire others.
Hats off to the team for their bold moves in this space.
Resources
- Watch Inna, Shahper and Patrick’s video presentation at Learning Futures CoI session on 18 April 2024.
- Explore their presentation resources on Notion board. Initally created for the University of Auckland Business School’s Teaching Forum 2024, the site is continously updated with new resources. Those include two research papers (under review at the time of publishing this case) that detail the initial findings from the team’s AI-focused teaching and learning initiatives.