Description
What? Students ask Copilot to explain a concept related to something on your course.
Why? Doing this kind of activity with your students could show them how Copilot can help them revise, at the same time as raising awareness of AI’s strengths (instant answers, personalization) and weaknesses (superficial answers, hallucination).
Instructions
Step 1: Decide what concept you’ll ask Copilot about.
Step 2: Go to Copilot (office.com/chat) and sign in with your Coventry account. If you’re already using Copilot, just select the ‘New chat’ button at the top right.
Step 3: Start the conversation by asking Copilot to explain the concept you chose, then select the ‘Submit’ button (the arrow at the bottom-right):
Explain [e.g. the zone of proximal development].
Step 4: Ask follow-up questions to explore how Copilot can personalize its explanation. For example:
- Give me a one paragraph summary.
- Simplify the explanation.
- Give me a metaphor about … that helps to explain this concept.
- Tell me more about …
- I don’t understand the part about …
- Give me a real-world application of this concept.
- What’s the difference between … and …
- You said that … but this is incorrect because …
Reflection
- How effectively did Copilot explain the concept and answer your questions?
- Do you think that it gave you any false information or missed anything important?
- What sources did Copilot reference for its explanations? Were they suitable for academic purposes?
Important: Always check Copilot’s output. Generative AI tools can hallucinate (create plausible but incorrect information).