Get Started with AI

AI Tools

AI can help with many teaching and learning tasks, such as building rubrics, drafting assignment prompts and practice questions, giving feedback, summarizing readings, and brainstorming class activities. If your course is in TCU Online (D2L), start with Lumi, which works right inside your course. Copilot Chat is a free option for everything else, and ChatGPT Education and Claude Team are available if you need more. For a full list of all TCU AI tools, see the AI Tools Matrix.

D2L Lumi (in TCU Online)
(Start here if your course is in D2L.)

• Best for: Creating rubrics, assignments, and practice questions, and helping provide feedback on student work, all based on the content already in your course.
• About: AI built into D2L, so it supports course development and teaching right where you already work.
• Data allowed: TCU Public and TCU Private
• Access: Available with your TCU account if you have TCU Online Access. No request needed.
• Cost: Included with your TCU account if you have TCU Online Access.

Copilot Chat
(Free option for everything else.)

• Best for: Drafting syllabus language, assignment directions, announcements, and class activity ideas, especially when your work involves internal TCU information. (Copilot Chat uses a version of ChatGPT.)
• About: Microsoft’s AI assistant, available with your TCU login. It works on its own and does not connect to Word, Outlook, Teams, or other Microsoft apps.
• Data allowed: TCU Public and TCU Private
• Access: Available with your TCU account. No request needed.
• Cost: Included with your TCU account.

ChatGPT Education
(Consider if you need more than Copilot Chat.)

• Best for: A wide range of teaching tasks using public information, such as generating examples and case scenarios, explaining concepts at different levels, and coding or data help for technical courses.
• About: TCU’s version of ChatGPT, accessed with your TCU login.
• Data allowed: TCU Public only
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket. 
• Cost: TCU will cover the seat, but departmental funding will be required for additional credits.

Claude Education
(Consider if you need more than Copilot Chat.)

• Best for: Working with long readings and detailed writing, such as summarizing lengthy articles and revising long documents, using public information.
• About: TCU’s version of Claude, accessed with your TCU login.
• Data allowed: TCU Public only
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket. 
• Cost: TCU will cover the seat, but departmental funding will be required for additional tokens.

Do not enter student names, grades, or other student records into ChatGPT Education or Claude Education, which are approved for TCU Public information only. Not sure which tool fits your course? Request an AI consultation.

Training

Because AI tools and features change frequently, refer to each application's official help and learning resources for the most current guidance:

• D2L Lumi: Koehler Center Lumi Page
• Copilot: Microsoft Copilot Help & Learning
• ChatGPT: OpenAI Help Center
• Claude: Claude Help Center

TCU is also working on additional training and support for the campus community. As these become available, we’ll share them here and in campus communications. In the meantime, if you’d like help getting started, request an AI consultation.

Get Connected

Teaching & Learning AI at TCU

TCU’s interdisciplinary AAC&U team is developing a university-wide approach to AI in teaching and learning, with the goal of strengthening student writing across all majors and disciplines. More details and resources to come.

Neeley AI Forward

A Neeley School of Business initiative to build AI literacy across the school through curriculum, faculty support, research, and industry partnerships. Learn more at Neeley AI Forward.

These platforms are for people who want to build a custom AI tool, run AI models, or need more computing power than the everyday assistants provide. Some research projects need even more, such as large datasets or high-performance computing. For those, contact the Office of Research and Creative Activities or explore TCU's High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources.

Each platform below requires a request, and funding may be needed, so we recommend an AI consultation before submitting a ticket for a specific tool, especially if it is new to you. For a full list of all TCU AI tools, see the AI Tools Matrix.

Dell AI Factory
(Consider for running AI models on TCU's own computing resources.)

• Best for: Projects that need to run AI models on TCU-managed computing resources.
• About: Dell's AI computing infrastructure, available to TCU faculty and staff for advanced projects hosted on-premises.
• Data allowed: TCU Public and TCU Private (TCU Confidential is forthcoming)
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket.
• Cost: Funding may be required.

Amazon Web Services
(Consider for research computing, large-scale data storage, and building AI tools that need more power or flexibility than desktop or Microsoft tools provide.)

• Best for: Running computing work that is too large for a laptop or office server, storing and sharing large research datasets, building and testing AI and machine learning models, and setting up secure environments for sensitive research data.
• About: Amazon’s cloud platform, offering computing power, storage, and AI tools on demand. You pay only for what you use and can scale up or down as needs change. TCU IT sets up and manages accounts so billing, access controls, and security are in place from the start.
  • Secure Research Enclave: A pre-built environment with added logging and approval steps for moving data in and out, supporting research that must meet HIPAA or federal data security standards. It includes Amazon EC2 (virtual servers, including GPUs), S3 (storage), Bedrock (build AI tools with models from Anthropic, Meta, and others), SageMaker AI (custom machine learning), ParallelCluster (high-performance computing), and WorkSpaces (virtual desktops).
• Data allowed: TCU Confidential
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket.
• Cost: Varies based on the amount of storage and computing used.

Need a high-performance computing option? Explore TCU's HPC.
Not sure which platform fits your project? Request an AI consultation.

Enterprise AI Assistants

These general-purpose AI assistants help with writing, brainstorming, and planning projects. Start with Copilot Chat, which is included with your TCU login, and read on to see when another option might fit better. For a full list of all TCU AI tools, see the AI Tools Matrix.

Copilot Chat
(Start here for free.)

• Best for: Everyday writing, summarizing, and brainstorming, especially when your work involves internal TCU information. (Copilot Chat uses a version of ChatGPT.)
• About: Microsoft's AI assistant, available with your TCU login. It works on its own and does not connect to Word, Outlook, Teams, or other Microsoft apps.
• Data allowed: TCU Public and TCU Private
• Access: Available with your TCU account. No request needed.
• Cost: Included with your TCU account.

ChatGPT Education
(Consider if you need more than Copilot Chat.)

• Best for: A wide range of tasks involving public information, including research, analysis, and coding help.
• About: TCU's version of ChatGPT, accessed with your TCU login.
• Data allowed: TCU Public only
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket. 
• Cost: TCU will cover the seat, but departmental funding will be required for additional credits.

Claude Education
(Consider if you need more than Copilot Chat.)

• Best for: Careful analysis and writing, and work with long documents, when public information is involved.
• About: TCU's version of Claude, accessed with your TCU login..
• Data allowed: TCU Public only
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket. 
• Cost: TCU will cover the seat, but departmental funding will be required for additional credits.

ChatGPT Education and Claude Team are best if you've tried Copilot Chat and need something more. Not sure whether you do? Request an AI consultation.

Build & Develop

These tools help you build your own apps, automations, and workflows instead of just chatting with an assistant. Because they connect to other systems and data, check the data type and access details for each one before you start. For a full list of all TCU AI tools, see the AI Tools Matrix.

Microsoft Power Platform 
(Consider for automation, reporting, and building AI tools that work with your Microsoft data.)

• Best for: Automating routine work, turning data into reports and dashboards, building custom AI assistants, and organizing team information in SharePoint.
• About: Microsoft’s suite of tools for automation, data, and AI, used with your TCU login. It connects with Microsoft 365, so you can work with the files, lists, and information you already use. Built-in connectors let these tools link to hundreds of other services, such as Outlook, Teams, Box, and many outside applications, so information can move between systems without manual copying. Key tools include:
  • Power Automate: Automates repetitive tasks and multistep processes so they run on their own. You can build a flow from ready-made templates or by describing what you want in plain language. Common uses include routing forms for approval, sending reminders and notifications, moving files between Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams, and updating lists when something changes.
  • Power BI: Turns spreadsheets, SharePoint lists, and other data sources into interactive reports and dashboards. Reports can refresh automatically as data changes, so your team always sees current numbers without rebuilding anything. You can share dashboards with colleagues or embed them in Teams and SharePoint, and use built-in AI to ask questions about your data in plain language. Power BI can also run on Microsoft Fabric, a larger data platform that brings data from many sources into one place, which helps when your reporting needs outgrow spreadsheets and lists.
  • Copilot Studio: Lets you build your own AI assistants that answer questions or complete tasks using your team’s content, such as a helper that answers common questions from your department’s policies. Copilot Chat (listed above) is a ready-to-use assistant for your own work; Copilot Studio is for creating custom assistants that others can use.
  • SharePoint: Stores and organizes team documents, lists, and sites, and works as a data source for Power Automate, Power BI, and Copilot Studio.
  • Power Apps: Builds simple custom apps, such as forms or trackers, with little or no coding.
  • Power Pages: Builds basic websites, including sites for people outside TCU.
• Data allowed: TCU Confidential
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket.
• Cost: TBD. Discuss in consultation.

Box AI Workflows 
(Consider for automating how documents move through your team.)

• Best for: Automating document routing, reviews, and approvals, and using AI to pull key details from files as they move through a process.
• About: Workflow and AI features in Box, TCU’s file storage and sharing platform. Because it works where your files already live, it’s a good fit for processes built around documents, such as contracts, forms, and requests.
• Data allowed: Data type in review, Confidential expected
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket.
• Cost: No additional charge for departments to use.

Replit
(Consider for building and launching AI-powered apps.)

• Best for: Building AI apps from idea to working prototype, and publishing them so others can use them.
• About: An online coding environment (IDE) where AI can help you write, test, and run code, then host the finished app, all in one place. It works best for people comfortable with some coding.
• Data allowed: TCU Public. TCU Private if granted IT approval. (No TCU Confidential)
• Access: Request through an IT Help Desk ticket
• Cost: TBD but expected. Discuss in consultation.

Not sure which platform fits your project? Request an AI consultation.

Meetings & Communication

These AI features help you capture what was said in meetings and calls by creating transcripts, summaries, and action items. The best choice depends on where your conversation takes place. Please do not use AI transcribing or note-taking when discussing TCU Confidential information. For full details on who can use each tool, what data is allowed, and how to get access, see the AI Tools Matrix.

Zoom AI
(Use for meetings held in Zoom.)

• Best for: Transcripts, summaries, and follow-up items from Zoom meetings.
• About: AI features built into Zoom that can transcribe a meeting and help summarize it.
• Data allowed: TCU Public and TCU Private (no TCU Confidential)
• Access: Available with your TCU account. No request needed.
• Cost: Included with your TCU account.

Teams Meetings AI
(Use for meetings held in Microsoft Teams.)

• Best for: Transcripts, recaps, and follow-up items from Teams meetings.
• About: AI features built into Teams that can transcribe a meeting and help summarize it, so you can stay focused on the conversation.
• Data allowed: TCU Public and TCU Private (no TCU Confidential)
• Access: Available with your TCU account. No request needed.
• Cost: Included with your TCU account.

RingCentral AI: Call Notes
(Use for phone calls made through RingCentral.)

• Best for: Notes and transcripts from phone calls or video meetings.
• About: AI call notes in RingCentral that capture what was discussed on a call.
• Data allowed: TCU Public and TCU Private (no TCU Confidential)
• Access: Available to TCU employees with a RingCentral account. No request needed.
• Cost: Included with your TCU RingCentral account.

Not sure which tool fits your meeting or call? Request an AI consultation.