SceneCraft for Educators
What if students could step inside a question instead of just answering one? Developed by the National Science Foundation-funded EngageAI Institute, SceneCraft is an AI-assisted storytelling platform that lets educators build interactive 3D narratives their students explore in a shared virtual environment. A student might walk through a museum while deciding how a city should spend limited resources, or interview community members after a hurricane to understand competing priorities. The story creates the experience; the learning happens through what students do before, during, and after it.
Our SceneCraft for Educators: Designing Narrative-Driven Learning Experiences self-paced online professional development course teaches you both halves of that work: how to create a SceneCraft story, and how to use it well in your instruction. You’ll follow the same process experienced SceneCraft educators use, starting from a learning goal, designing and refining a story, planning the surrounding lesson, and assessing what students take away. Throughout, you remain the instructional decision-maker. The AI drafts; you decide what stays, what changes, and what gets cut. Students don’t build the stories. You do.
Learn more about the EngageAI Institute.
| Course Available | Open now |
| Course Access Ends | 365 days after you register |
| Certificate Requirements Due | Within 365 days of your registration |
| Registration Closes | October 1, 2026 |
| Duration | 5 sections |
| Cost | Free |
| Primary Audience | K-12 Classroom Educators (Grades 3-12) |
| Certificate of Completion | Yes |
| Professional Development Hours | 3 |
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the purpose of SceneCraft and the Teacher-in-the-Loop model
- Create and publish a SceneCraft story
- Design a narrative that supports a clear learning goal
- Evaluate AI-generated content for instructional quality
- Plan meaningful “before, during, and after” learning experiences
- Design assessments aligned to student thinking and learning
Course Outline
The course is organized around the three phases of working with SceneCraft, plus foundational and implementation sections:
- Welcome to SceneCraft — Why narrative-driven learning works, what the platform does, and the Teacher-in-the-Loop model
- Foundations for Meaningful Story Design — The power of narrative, designing stories worth discussing, and planning before you build
- Phase One: Planning and Prompt Design — Setting up your account, choosing an instructional purpose, and writing your prompt
- Phase Two: Building Your Story — Drafting your story, reviewing the AI’s draft, and publishing
- Phase Three: Experiencing Your Story — Facilitating discussion, assessing beyond completion, and navigating the student environment
- Lessons — AI literacy lessons and exemplars you can adapt
- Checking School and District Policy Compliance — Reviewing local AI, data privacy, and digital tool policies before classroom use
- SceneCraft Resources — Quick Technical Guide, grade-band resource guides (3–5, 6–8, 9–12), the AI Literacy Activity Guide, FAQ, and data policy
Certificate/CEU Information
To earn a certificate for 3 professional development hours, which can be submitted to your local agency with a request for CEUs, you must:
- Complete all three phase sections and the two foundational sections
- Post in the discussion forum in each phase section
- Submit one SceneCraft story you have authored and published
- Complete the end-of-course knowledge check
Learning Experience
The course runs asynchronously through Moodle and combines concept videos, screen-recorded walkthroughs of the authoring tool, and downloadable resources. Each phase pairs short instructional content with a hands-on task, so by the end you’ve moved a story idea from a learning goal all the way to a published narrative and a lesson you’re ready to teach. You’ll have access to exemplar lessons, prompt-writing and story-review templates, grade-band guides, and the full SceneCraft resource library as you work.
How to Register
Before you can register, you’ll need an NC State Brickyard account. If you don’t already have one, you can create one in a few steps:
- Go to the REPORTER registration system landing page at go.ncsu.edu/reporter.
- Click the Create New Account button.
- Enter your email and click Send Email Confirmation.
- Note the code that has been emailed to you and enter it in the Confirmation Code field.
- Enter your First Name, Last Name, and Password.
- Click Create Brickyard Account at the bottom. Your account will be created and you should be redirected to REPORTER to log in.
Ready to register?
Need help?
For screen shots, troubleshooting tips, and step-by-step instructions for creating your Brickyard account or updating your name or email address, see the Brickyard Account Management Guide.
For help with changing your password, visit go.ncsu.edu/brickyard-reset-pw.
Have questions or need additional assistance? Contact Friday Institute Online Professional Learning Support and let us know how we can help.