Onboarding Mini-Course

This asynchronous onboarding course introduces you to Playlab AI—a no-code platform that puts the power of custom AI directly in your hands. Whether you're building a classroom resource, personalizing student outreach, streamlining an intake process, or improving a daily workflow, Playlab lets you design solutions shaped by your expertise and your community's real needs. No technical background required.

🔑 Before you begin: Set up your Playlab workspacE

You will need to connect to our Playlab workspace first. Use the link below to get set up—it only takes a minute. Note: if you already have a Playlab account, you only need to login once you gain access to your college-specific workspace.
What is Playlab? 
​Playlab is school-safe software for creating and deploying custom AI tools—designed for everyone in educational environments, not just technical users. Think of it as a space where students, faculty, and staff alike can build applications that solve real problems: from personalizing student support in the classroom to streamlining the processes that keep your college running.

👁️ How to Build Your First ApP

​Every great Playlab app starts with a clear problem and a focused prompt. Follow these two steps.
📋 Step 1 — Plan Before You BuildThe most common mistake first-time builders make is jumping straight into prompting. Taking five minutes to define your app's purpose upfront will save you hours of revision later.
Ask yourself:
  1. What specific problem will this solve? Be concrete. Instead of "help with writing," try "give students structured feedback on their thesis statement and argument flow."
  2. Who is the user? Students? Classified staff? Faculty colleagues? Different audiences need different tone and pacing.
  3. What should the AI know? Your subject area, your college's specific resources, a pedagogical approach—what expertise does it need?
  4. How should it interact? Step-by-step and guided? Conversational? Formal or casual?
💡 Not sure what to build? Use the Chatbot Ideainator—built by Scotty James, Professor at Santiago Canyon College—to generate a copy-paste ready prompt with workflows and guardrails, customized to your context.

🛠️ Step 2 — Create Your App

  1. Go to your Playlab Workspace
  2. Click 'Create New App' in the top right corner
  3. Enter a clear, descriptive name for your app
  4. Write a brief description of what the app does—this helps users (and you) stay focused on its purpose
  5. Click 'Create' to open the builder
Watch the video below for a full walkthrough of the creation process.

🎬 Watch
Follow along as we walk through creating a Playlab app from scratch. Pay attention to how the builder, preview, and prompt editor work together.
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🖥️ Understanding the Playlab Interface

​Before you start writing your prompt, get familiar with where everything lives. Here are the six key areas you'll use:
Title Bar
Your app name and basic info. Update this to reflect what your app actually does.
Model Select Bar
Choose which AI model powers your app. Different models have different strengths.
Playlab Builder
Where you write your prompt—the instructions that shape how your AI behaves.
App Preview
Test your app in real time as you build. Use this constantly—don't wait until you're "done."
Builder Toolbar
Access references, settings, and additional features from here.
Publish Button
When you're ready, this makes your app available to share with students or colleagues.

✍️ The 3-Part Prompt Editor

​Playlab's prompt editor has three sections that work together to define how your AI thinks, acts, and stays on task. Think of it as writing a job description for your app.
1️⃣ Background — Who is this AI?The Background section establishes your AI's identity, expertise, and audience. Fill in these three prompts:
  • You are an expert in: The subject, domain, or skill set you want the AI to draw from. (e.g., "language and literacy practices of minoritized youth")
  • Your role is: The core function of the app. (e.g., "to guide students in making connections between readings and field work")
  • You are talking to: Your intended users. (e.g., "students in the undergraduate major in education")

2️⃣ Workflow — What does it do, step by step?The Workflow section is where you guide the AI through the interaction. Think of it as scripting a conversation. Each step tells the AI what to do next based on where the user is.
  • Step 1: What's the first thing the AI should ask or say? (e.g., "Ask the student what program they're interested in transferring into.")
  • Step 2: What happens next based on their response? (e.g., "Based on their answer, surface the top 3 transfer requirements for that program.")
  • Step 3+: Continue building the interaction. You can have as many or as few steps as your use case needs.
Tip: Start simple. Writing a 2–3 step workflow is plenty for your first app. You can always refine after you've tested it.

3️⃣ Guidelines & Guardrails — What are the boundaries?Guardrails keep your app focused, safe, and appropriate for your context. Playlab provides smart defaults—review them and add your own based on your audience and use case.
  • The defaults are a solid starting point—don't delete them without a reason
  • Add guardrails specific to your context (e.g., "Do not provide specific legal or medical advice. Refer students to campus resources.")
  • Think about your most vulnerable users. What do they need the AI to do—or not do?

📎 Adding References
References give your app a personalized knowledge base to draw from. Instead of relying solely on what the AI was trained on, you can ground it in your syllabus, your college's resources, your curriculum—making responses far more accurate and relevant.
How to add references:
  1. Click the 'References' tab in your app editor
  2. Click 'Add reference to app'
  3. Choose your reference type (file, URL, or library resource)
  4. Upload up to 20 files at once (max 30MB each)
  5. Test your app to confirm the references improve outputs
Supported reference types:
📄 Document Files
PDF, DOCX, TXT — syllabi, handouts, course materials, advising guides
📊 Data Files
CSV, JSON, XLSX — student data, assessment results, curriculum maps
🌐 Web Resources
URLs — articles, educational websites, college catalog pages, state standards
📚 Workspace Reference Libraries
Create and manage a central collection of references. shared across multiple apps in your workspace. 

📌 Pro tip: Pin your most important references
When you pin a reference, Playlab loads it into every conversation automatically—so your app never has to "discover" it. This is especially useful for core documents like your syllabus, your college's student handbook, or a policy guide that should always be in context. Learn about pinned references →Links to an external site.
Want to go deeper on how to use references effectively? Leveraging References — Playlab LearnLinks to an external site.

🔍 Additional Resources