Brown Practicum 2026
Your guide to using Private Language in Ways to Discover a Good Idea.
You're part of a 22-student cohort exploring structured idea generation across five institutions. Private Language is the platform where you'll capture, develop, and connect your ideas throughout the course. Everything you create here is yours — private by default, shareable when you choose.
What's already set up for you
When you completed the onboarding wizard, three things happened automatically:
- Your personal project was created, seeded with the idea generation challenge you described (your "BIG need"). This is your private workspace.
- You joined the Brown Practicum 2026 team, connecting you to the rest of the cohort.
- You got access to "Idea Generation Sessions", a shared project where the class can exchange ideas.
You can see all of these from your dashboard.
Your first 30 minutes
- Open your personal project from the dashboard
- Go to the Hero Map tab and add your first hero — someone who genuinely shaped how you think. Read the Hero Map guide for what to put in each field.
- Add 2-3 more heroes. The more heroes you have, the richer the brainstorming gets.
- Try the Parking Lot — the lightbulb button in the bottom-left corner. Tap it, type a quick idea, save. More about the Parking Lot.
- Go to the Brainstorm tab and run Hero Lens with one of your heroes. It generates ideas from that hero's perspective on your BIG need. How Brainstorm works.
What's available now vs. later
| When | What | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 (now) | Hero Map, Parking Lot, Brainstorm | Build your hero map, capture ideas, generate new ones |
| Week 3 | Cross-Pollination | Discover connections between your ideas and your classmates' shared ideas |
| Week 7 | Class AI | A knowledge agent built from the course's collective discussions, personalized to your BIG need |
Privacy at a glance
- Hero Maps are private. Only you can see your heroes. Other students and instructors cannot access them.
- The Parking Lot defaults to personal. You choose whether to share each idea — nothing is shared without your explicit action.
- Your data is never used to train AI models. Your knowledge stays yours.
For more details, see the FAQ.
Getting help
- In-app: Use the feedback button to report issues
- Email: Reach out to Stephen or Justine with questions about the platform or the course