🧭 Module 3: Studio Hour
Option 1: GenAI-Powered ePortfolio Builder
Overview
Students use GenAI as a brainstorming and drafting partner to create or improve one section of their ePortfolio, while maintaining their own voice throughout. The core challenge: the final version must sound like the student, not a chatbot. This activity reinforces responsible GenAI use and connects directly to ePortfolio requirements.
Materials Needed
- Student devices with access to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or CoPilot
- Access to LaGuardia ePortfolio platform
- Students’ existing ePortfolio drafts or notes (ask students to have these open before class begins)
Preparation
Decide in advance which ePortfolio section students will work on based on where students are in their ePortfolio development: About Me, Learning Goals, or a specific reflection. If students have existing drafts, remind them to have those open before the session begins. Review the prompting principles from Module 3 to refresh students’ memory during Step 1.
Lesson Sequence
| Time | Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | The Challenge | Introduce the activity and the core rule: “You can use GenAI to help you start, organize, or get unstuck, but the words you publish must be YOURS.” Select which ePortfolio section the class will work on: Option A: About Me / Introduction; Option B: My Learning Goals for This Semester; Option C: Reflection on a specific assignment or project. |
| 0:05–0:10 | Step 1: Prompt GenAI for Help | Students open their chosen GenAI platform and write a strong prompt using the prompting principles from Module 3. Remind them of the basics from the Instructor Materials. Example prompt for About Me: “I’m creating an About Me section for my college ePortfolio. Here is what I have so far [paste writing]. Can you suggest 3 different ways I could organize these ideas better? What else could I include? How could I make it more interesting? Don’t write it for me: just give me ideas I could use to revise.” |
| 0:10–0:40 | Step 2: Revise Your Own Writing | Students revise their ePortfolio section based on GenAI feedback. Circulate and ask: “Are you making this MORE like you, or more like GenAI? Your voice matters.” Common improvements: adding specific examples or details; replacing vague language with concrete descriptions; making the tone more conversational and natural; cutting anything that sounds too formal or robotic. |
| 0:40–0:45 | Step 3: Publish to ePortfolio | Students add their final version to their LaGuardia ePortfolio. Remind the class: “This is YOUR work. You used GenAI as a tool to brainstorm and get feedback, but the ideas and words are yours.” Recommended: Students add a brief process note — “I used GenAI to help organize my thoughts and get feedback on clarity, but all ideas and final writing are my own.” |
| 0:45–0:47 | Closing Reflection | “In one sentence: How did GenAI help you, and what did YOU still have to do?” Collect 4–5 responses. Listen for: “GenAI helped me organize but I had to add all the specific details”; “It helped me see where I was being too vague”; “It gave me ideas but I wrote everything myself”; “It was good for getting unstuck.” |
Facilitation Notes
The most important facilitation move in this activity is circulating during Step 2 and asking students whether their revision is moving toward their own voice or away from it. Students sometimes default to accepting GenAI’s phrasing — your presence keeps them accountable. The optional process note models responsible GenAI disclosure and is worth making a habit students carry into their other courses.
Variation — Adding Visual Elements
After writing, students can use a GenAI image generator to create a header image for their ePortfolio section. Follow up with discussion: “Does this image represent YOU, or just generic GenAI art? What does that tell us about GenAI and personal identity?”
Differentiation / Accessibility Suggestions
Students who don’t yet have ePortfolio content can write a fresh brainstorm before generating their prompt. Students who are more advanced writers can be challenged to use GenAI only for structural feedback, not content suggestions. Students who are reluctant to share their writing with a chatbot can be offered the option to use fictional or generalized details in their prompt.
Option 2: The GenAI Scavenger Hunt
Overview
Students create a “Student Success Resources” page for their ePortfolio while practicing strategic GenAI prompting and hallucination detection. The activity turns fact-checking into a competitive game. Every GenAI hallucination caught earns a point for the class. This builds the verification habits students need to use GenAI responsibly in academic and professional contexts.
Materials Needed
- Student devices with access to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or CoPilot
- Access to LaGuardia ePortfolio platform
- Access to the LaGuardia website and department pages for fact-checking
- Whiteboard or shared screen for tracking the class hallucination score
Preparation
Set up a visible hallucination tally on the board before class. This is part of what makes the activity feel like a game. Review the LaGuardia resources most likely to come up (Writing Center, library, advisement, tutoring, career services) so you can quickly confirm or correct what students find. Remind yourself of the prompting strategies from Module 3 Instructor Materials, you’ll reference these during Step 2.
Lesson Sequence
| Time | Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | The Challenge | Introduce the activity, the goal (a verified Student Success Resources page for their ePortfolio), and the game mechanic: “GenAI will help you research — but it WILL make mistakes. Your job is to catch them. Every hallucination found = 1 point for the class.” What they’ll create: a polished guide with 5–7 resources or tips, each with a description. |
| 0:05–0:07 | Step 1: Choose Your Topic | Students choose ONE category for their guide: LaGuardia campus resources (tutoring, library, advisement, counseling); study strategies for college success; career prep resources (resume help, LinkedIn, internships); time management and organization tools; free student resources (software, discounts, opportunities). |
| 0:07–0:17 | Step 2: Prompt for Information | Students write a strategic prompt using their prompting skills from Module 3 (see example prompts below). Students test their prompt, read the response carefully. |
| 0:17–0:47 | Step 3: The Scavenger Hunt | Students fact-check every claim in their GenAI output: Are locations real? (Check LaGuardia website and campus map) Are facts accurate? (Search study techniques, verify research claims) Are contact details correct? (Check actual department websites) Is anything missing or incomplete? Students mark errors, find correct information, and add points to the class tally for each hallucination caught. |
| 0:47–0:53 | Publish to ePortfolio | Students add their verified, corrected guide to their LaGuardia ePortfolio. |
| 0:53–0:57 | Class Reveal | Tally the final score: “How many GenAI hallucinations did we catch in total?” Quick reflection: “What was the most surprising — or ridiculous — thing GenAI made up?” |
| 0:57–1:00 | Closing | Reinforce key lessons (see Facilitation Notes). |
Example Prompts
(share with students during Step 2)
For campus resources:
“I’m a student at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, NY. I need to create a guide to campus resources. List 5 key student support services at LaGuardia, including what they offer and how to contact them. Be specific about locations and services.”
For study strategies:
“I’m creating a study guide for college students. Give me 5 research-backed study techniques that help with memory and focus. For each one, explain what it is and how to use it. Include any key research about why it works.”
Facilitation Notes
The game mechanic energizes this activity. Students become more motivated to find errors when there’s a class tally on the board. For LaGuardia-specific resources, be prepared: GenAI frequently invents room numbers, phone numbers, and staff names for campus offices. Those hallucinations make for excellent, memorable teaching moments. Remind students to verify against the actual LaGuardia website, not just general search results.
Key lessons to reinforce at closing:
- “GenAI can be a great starting point for research — but ALWAYS verify before you use or publish anything.”
- “Your critical thinking is what makes GenAI actually useful.”
- “Catching mistakes is a skill. That’s exactly what college is training you to do.”
Differentiation / Accessibility Suggestions
Students who finish early can extend their guide to 8–10 resources or add a “How I verified this” note next to each item. This is a useful model for transparent sourcing. Students who struggle with the verification step can work in pairs, with one student prompting and one fact-checking. For students who are less familiar with LaGuardia’s resources, this activity doubles as a practical orientation to campus support services.
