2026 CSI Summer Conference: Teach Together

This presentation will discuss how artificial intelligence acted as a partner to adapt open educational resources into an interactive teaching tool to design and build a physical, illuminated brain model paired with a custom control box. Online design tools such as Tinkercad were used to refine and customize 3D components.
Throughout the project, AI tools supported problem-solving, debugging, and design decisions rather than automating the work itself. The emphasis of this session is not on the technical build alone, but on the process of learning with AI and open resources. The project demonstrates how AI can help educators interpret documentation, troubleshoot constraints, and remix open materials, lowering barriers while maintaining transparency and ethical use.
This work serves as an example of open pedagogy in practice: reusable designs, modifiable code, and a learning artifact that can be adapted across disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, engineering, and instructional design. Participants will leave with practical insights into using AI to scaffold project-based learning, strategies for modeling responsible AI use with students, and ideas for incorporating open, hands-on builds into teaching and learning contexts.