AI Commons

An online community learning platform for AI literacy at Harvard Graduate School of Education

RoleUX Research · Product strategy/prototyping
Skills & toolsStakeholder interviews · UI/UX (Figma + Claude Code) · Frontend (Next.js, React, Tailwind)
TimelineJan 2026 – Present
Team & scopeTeam of 3, under the Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives & Analysis — HGSE Dean's Office
The AI Commons forums page

The AI Commons forums · explore the prototype →

01Background

AI is quickly reshaping education — both as a learning tool and by changing what should be taught. In a team of 3 led by the Director of Strategic Initiatives at HGSE, we were tasked with developing a strategy for a new initiative at HGSE in response to the rise of AI in education. In this team I served in a UX and product strategy role, using AI-based prototyping to develop pilot-ready digital infrastructure.

02Need finding

Through interviews with students, faculty, and staff at companies involved in AI and education, two barriers surfaced:

Interview findings
Problem 1

Valuable AI-related work is being created at HGSE, but it is rarely seen by stakeholders.

Effects
Students and company partners are unable to contribute to or collaborate on budding work.
Prospective students and company partners wrongly assume HGSE is not involved in the AI in education field.
Problem 2

AI learning resources at HGSE are minimal and siloed.

Effects
Students and faculty looking to participate lack the underlying foundations of AI literacy.
Diverse perspectives around the AI in education field are not effectively shared.

03Product strategy

After synthesizing interview insights, our team developed a 1-year pilot plan for a new center at HGSE called the AI Commons. We determined that the AI Commons must combine in-person initiatives (events, networking) with digital infrastructure.

I was tasked with determining the product strategy and prototyping this digital infrastructure to support community learning and collaboration:

Product Specifications
Product goals
  • Foster new collaborations and networks among those involved in AI in education
  • Build collective knowledge that contributes meaningfully to current debates around AI in education
Product constraints
  • Engage faculty with limited capacity
  • Operate sustainably with a small team
  • Embed flexibility to adapt with the fast pace of change around AI

04Product Prototyping

Utilizing an AI-augmented design workflow, I prototyped the community learning and collaboration platform — to be piloted with the HGSE community.

Figma + Claude Code Design Workflow

05Product Features

01

Forums

Online forum spaces bring together students, alumni, and faculty into one network. Users can access channels dedicated to finding collaborators, asking questions, and answering weekly prompts.

ForumsView live demo →
02

Library

An open library collects resources and tools, organized by relevant tags around AI in education. Community members can add resources they come across to grow the library.

LibraryView live demo →
03

Projects

Ongoing projects and research around AI in education are compiled into a central database. Users can submit their work to be shown to the rest of the community.

ProjectsView live demo →
04

Alumni Networking

Alumni profiles surface graduates working across AI and education. Alumni can create a profile to be discoverable by the rest of the community.

Alumni NetworkingView live demo →

Please reach out if you would like to hear more about this ongoing work. If you would like a window into the UI design process, check out this prototyping page.