AI and Civic Engagement

Chapter 6:
Building, Inventing, and Making for Civic Good with AI

ISTE Standard: Innovative Designer

This chapter was inspired by the ISTE Innovative Designer standard.

Take a look at the videos below to see this standard in action in real world classroom settings!

Resources for Learning Plan 6.1: Making Voting Places Accessible through Design Thinking with AI

Voting Accessibility. United States Election Assistance Commission (2024).
ADA Checklist for Polling Places. U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (2020).
Report Finds People with Disabilities Continue to Face Outsized Barriers to Voting. PBS News (November 11, 2023).
The Barriers to Voting Faced by Americans with Disabilities. Campaign Legal Center (2024).
Voting Accessibility. MIT Election Lab.
Disability History Museum.
Sample Lessons on Disability History. Emerging America. Collaborative for Educational Services.

Resources for Learning Plan 6.2: Designing for Equity with AI

Design Fails (Non-Inclusive; Non-Accessible Products, Environments, and Experiences)

Understanding Hostile Architecture. The Neighborhood Design Center (October 2, 2023).
'Hostile Architecture': How Public Spaces Keep the Public Out. Winnie Hu, The New York Times (November 14, 2019).
Accessibility Fails -- Ramps. Heather McCain. Living with Disability and Chronic Pain Blog (January 17, 2015).
Greatest Accessibility Fails of All Time. Who is Accessible.com.

Inclusive Design

Inclusive Design. Nielsen Norman Group (2022).
The principles of inclusive design. (They include you.). Design Council.
Inclusive Design: Projects & Tools. Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge.

Making and Inventing

A Muslim Athlete Needed Modest Sportswear. Now She Sells It to Others. Billy Witz, The New York Times, March 6, 2025.
How Fenty Beauty Changed The State Of Play In The Industry. British Vogue (2020).
How This Woman Spearheaded Crayola’s 24 New Colors Representing 40 Global Skin Tones. Forbes (2021).
Behind the Seams: The Impact of Coding on the Fashion Industry. CodeWeek, September 13, 2024.
What is Making? What is a Makerspace? Lakehead University Library (2025).
“Makerspaces and 3D Printing: A Learning-by-Doing Professional Development Model for Preservice and Inservice Teachers”. Torrey Trust, Robert W. Maloy & Sharon Edwards.

Example Student Projects (from College students) for Learning Plan 6.2

Redesigning the Sidewalks and Common Spaces in Lexington, MA - Nadia I.
Inaccessibility at UMass - Tobin Hall - Keira J.
Redesigning the Front Steps for Accessibility & Inclusion - Dylan B.
Redesigning the UMass Pond Bridge - Zoe D.

Resources for Learning Plan 6.3: Redesigning Coins and Currency with AI

Circulating Coin Images: Image Library. United States Mint (June 2, 2025).
U.S. Currency Coins History and Types. CGAA (January 2, 2025).
Money and Coin Collection: Photo Gallery. Economy Museum, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
American Women Quarters Program. U.S. Mint (2025).
Who’s in Your Wallet? [interactive visual tool] The Pudding (2022).
Currencies of the World. Math Is Fun (2023).

Meta AI: "Create an image of 10 different U.S. coins."

A photograph displays five United States coins arranged in a loose circle on a neutral beige background. The coins include a copper-colored penny featuring Abraham Lincoln (1995), a nickel with Thomas Jefferson, a dime with Franklin D. Roosevelt (1995), a quarter with John F. Kennedy (marked 0004), and a half dollar also with Kennedy (1994). Each coin is clearly lit, showing detailed inscriptions and portraits in varying shades of silver and copper.

ChatGPT: "Create an image of 5 different U.S. coins."

An image showing ten U.S. paper bills arranged in a grid-like pattern against a gray background. Each bill features a different historical figure. From the top row, left to right, are the $1 bill with George Washington, the $2 bill with Thomas Jefferson, and the $20 bill with Andrew Jackson. The middle row shows the $10 bill with Alexander Hamilton, the $50 bill with Ulysses S. Grant, and the $500 bill with William McKinley. The bottom row features the $1 bill again, the $100 bill with Benjamin Franklin, and a $500 bill with what appears to be a different person. The bills are slightly overlapping, and some have text that is partially visible.

Gemini: "Generate an image of 10 different types of U.S. paper bills, each one should feature a different person. Make all 10 bills visible."

Resources for Learning Plan 6.4: Creating Usable and Accessible Government Websites with AI

Government Websites

Web Accessibility

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. W3.org, May 6, 2025.
Government Website Inaccessibility and the Future of Accessibility in Information Technology. Kassidy Slaughter. Cornell Undergraduate Research Journal, Vol.2 No.2, 2023.
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities. Federal Register (2024).
Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments. ADA.gov (2024).

Digital Government

Why You Should Be Able to Vote on Your Phone. Bradley Tusk, TED, April 2025.
Digital.gov. U.S. General Services Administration.
Keeping Pace: A Global Survey of Digital-Government Transformation. Hilda Barasa. Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (March 2022).

Additional Learning Plans

Bonus Learning Plan: What Will You Invent? Learning about Invention and Design from the Histories of African Americans and other Diverse Inventors

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