News & Updates

At a recent Warwick AI Show and Tell session, colleagues had the opportunity to see how artificial intelligence can move beyond theory and deliver tangible benefits in everyday work. Digital Learning’s SEM Faculty Consultant, Paul Ottey demonstrated how thoughtfully designed AI tools can solve real operational challenges while saving significant amounts of time.

Paul showcased InkWrite, a Nebula One agent he developed to address a familiar problem faced by anyone who runs workshops. After an event, facilitators are often left with photographs of flip charts, sticky notes, and handwritten contributions that need to be manually transcribed before they can be shared or analysed. This process can be time-consuming, repetitive, and prone to error.

InkWrite streamlines this workflow by converting photographs of handwritten workshop materials directly into a structured Word document. The tool can handle challenging images, including those with awkward angles, shadows, and difficult handwriting, transforming them into organised and usable outputs without the need for manual transcription.

What made the demonstration particularly compelling was not just the result, but the careful prompt engineering that sits behind it. Rather than relying on a simple instruction, Paul developed a comprehensive framework that gives the agent clear guidance on its purpose, workflow, formatting requirements, error handling, and output structure. This attention to detail helps ensure that the tool produces reliable and consistent results across a wide range of workshop materials.

Paul explained how best to use the tool: "Be specific about what you want from each section of your prompt, keep it focused, and cut anything that is not pulling its weight."

The InkWrite agent demonstrates an important principle in effective AI adoption: successful tools are rarely the result of complex technology alone. Instead, they emerge from a deep understanding of a problem, combined with careful design and testing.

The tool is just one example of Paul's wider exploration of AI within the University. Alongside developing InkWrite, he has been working with colleagues across Warwick to support the adoption of AI-powered approaches. This has included consulting on AI tool development, supporting feedback-related initiatives within WMG, sharing prompt design techniques with colleagues in IDG, and developing a range of bespoke tools to support his own work.

These experiments have included an NSS enquiry tool to help interrogate and interpret student feedback data, a mathematics demonstration tool designed to speed up the creation and interpretation of example questions, and a variety of one-off tools developed to support specific research and operational tasks. Paul has also been actively comparing the capabilities of Nebula One and Microsoft Copilot, helping to build a deeper understanding of how different AI platforms can be used effectively within a higher education context.

For colleagues interested in exploring the workshop transcription tool themselves, the InkWrite agent is available within Nebula One and can be found by searching for "InkWrite" in the Agents directory.

Get in touch with us to discuss your ideas, teaching and learning challenges, or opportunities for innovation. We'd love to explore how digital learning and AI can support your work.