On October 28, 2026, Mary Beth McKee and Leigha Wright presented "Watching with Purpose: How AI Can Help Assess Student Skill Videos" at the UNC CAUSE Conference, which brings together the 16 campuses of the University of North Carolina System to promote collaboration and information exchange in technology. The presentation highlighted a new AI Assistant tool developed for Veterinary Technology students. The optional tool allows students to perform a self-check on their skill videos before submitting them for grading in their clinicals course. Students simply upload the video transcript along with the rubric for that skill and click "analyze" to receive instant feedback.
Because the tool was built in-house by the ITS systems team using Azure OpenAI, student privacy is a top priority. Unlike public AI tools, Azure AI operates within the university's own private cloud environment, meaning student content is never shared publicly or used to train public AI models. No transcripts or rubrics are stored. When a student uses the AI Assistant, their content is sent to the Azure OpenAI resource, processed in real time to generate feedback, and then immediately discarded.
The AI Assistant is not intended to replace faculty evaluation of submitted skill videos. Instead, it serves as a 24/7 resource students can turn to for optional feedback as they prepare their work for submission.
Mary Beth McKee and Leigha Wright presenting at UNC Cause 2026 conference
Mary Beth McKee and Leigha Wright presenting at UNC Cause 2026 conference