Digital History Business Model Assignment

Noa Yaari’s assignment challenges students to create a digital history business model and design its logo, using generative AI tools to foster creativity, critical reflection, and practical skills in digital history and entrepreneurship.

Noa Yaari

Communication Instructor, Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP), Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, UTSG

Objectives

A learning objective for HIS393 (Digital History, Fall 2023) course was that students develop the ability to conceptualize a new business in the field of digital history, challenging them to think creatively and entrepreneurially in relation to real-world problems. In this assessment, Dr. Yaari guided students to develop a comprehensive business model; as part of this, they created a logo for their proposed business, and were allowed to use generative AI tools in a way that inspired critical reflection on the design process. This project aims to boost creativity, capitalize on historical knowledge and technological skills, and develop communication abilities. The assessment emphasizes realistic creativity, research skills, and the ability to articulate ideas clearly in both textual and visual format.

Process

Project Initiation: Students form teams of up to 3 members or work individually
Research and Conceptualization: Identify and analyze at least two existing digital history projects, and use this to conceptualize a new business in digital history
Business Model Development: Students complete a business model template, addressing key components, including: problem identification; customer segment analysis; unique value proposition, solution details, and revenue streams, among other categories.
Logo Creation (GenAI Use): Students are tasked with designing a logo for their proposed digital history business, with the option to utilize AI applications for this purpose. If opting for AI-assisted design, students must provide the full prompt or input used, describe the entire creation process in detail, and critically reflect on their experience with the AI-assisted design. This approach encourages transparency in AI use while inspiring critical thinking about the role of AI in creative processes. See examples of impressive logos that students have created with AI tools.
Formatting and Presentation: Students ensure proper layout and multimedia integration.

Future-Focused Skill Development

This assignment aligns well with the University of Calgary’s STRIVE model for designing assessments that incorporate generative AI. It exemplifies student-centredness by encouraging direct interaction with AI tools for logo creation, allowing students to critically evaluate AI-generated content. The multi-component nature of the assignment, combining written analysis with AI-assisted visual design, ensures a comprehensive and valid assessment of students’ skills. In addition, by encouraging AI use for logo creation, the assignment provides equitable opportunities for all students to engage and develop their creativity and critical thinking skills, regardless of their graphic design abilities. As a whole, this assignment promotes multimodal engagement, reflective analysis, and the development of AI literacy skills.

Student Feedback

One students from the course, Hanne Gilbert Sandoval (Sofi) reflects on her Business Model, including the use of GenAI, in a 3-minute video she created for the final assessment in the course, the ePortfolio. As Sofi explains in the video, using text-to-image tools enabled her to move faster and more accurately toward communicating her vision, and eventually, ponder the potential new technology brings to History.

Dr. Yaari shares: “By incorporating AI into the logo design process, students not only learned about digital history and business concepts but also gained hands-on experience with emerging technologies that are likely to play a significant role in their future work environments.”

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