“We want to bring this about for all students, staff, and faculty together, so that it’s not just the students who can afford subscriptions to premium services that have access, but rather every single person at Dordt has the same level of access."
Dordt University is embarking on a one-year pilot program with BoodleBox, a collaborative AI platform built for lifelong learning and work with AI.
Dordt students, faculty, and staff will be able to opt in to utilizing BoodleBox, which seeks to empower faculty and students in institutions of higher education to work responsibly with generative AI through private, secure, and affordable access to leading AI models.
Current AI platforms that interested Dordt students, faculty, and staff will have access to through BoodleBox are premium versions of Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and more.
“We want to bring this about for all students, staff, and faculty together, so that it’s not just the students who can afford subscriptions to premium services that have access, but rather every single person at Dordt has the same level of access,” says Rev. Aaron Baart, chief of staff.
BoodleBox provides a variety of opportunities for faculty, students, and staff who are interested in learning more about using AI thoughtfully and ethically. For example, faculty can integrate AI tools into curriculum design to enhance teaching and create more personalized learning pathways to meet individual student needs. Students have the ability to gain access to industry-leading AI models, helping them develop AI literacy skills and responsibly evaluate AI-generated outputs.
Dordt will provide faculty, students, and staff with training as well as an invitation to participate in campuswide conversations on the topic of “Knowing and Being in an AI World.”
Education Professor Dr. Dave Mulder, acclaimed author of Teach Like a Human: Playful Practice and Serious Faith in the Age of AI, will partner with Dean of Chapel Rev. Dr. Justin Bailey on three AI-focused sessions geared toward fostering conversations with students and faculty that extend into the classroom more broadly.
From sketching the shape of current conversations on AI to getting into the basics of what a “large-language model” is and functions to what it means to live creatively in God’s created world, Mulder and Bailey hope that these conversations will complement the critical work that is already going on on Dordt’s campus.
Dr. Erik Hoekstra, president of Dordt University, says it is important for Dordt students and employees to thoughtfully engage with AI. “We as an institution should wrestle with this. There are opportunities to use AI for God’s glory; there are also ways that it can be used to break down God’s Kingdom. I think it’s important for us as faithful Christians to not stand on the sidelines but to exercise responsible Christian stewardship as we go through this one-year pilot program.”
About Dordt University
As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life.
Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt offers undergraduate and graduate programs that help students live their faith in every area of life. Through rigorous learning, meaningful relationships, and whole-person formation, students gain the practical wisdom to serve God and neighbor through their work and in their communities. Dordt has been named among the nation's leading Christian universities by U.S. News & World Report, Niche, and other national publications.
Funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, Dordt University’s Children’s Worship Initiative has spent its first year engaged in research, consultations, training, and partnerships with churches to support children’s participation in worship.
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