Description
What? Students ask Copilot to help them generate ideas for something.
Why? Even if the ideas that Copilot suggests aren’t particularly inspiring, this activity can help students with the ‘fear of the blank page’. Ruling out bad ideas can also sometimes lead to better ones.
Instructions
Step 1: Decide what you want Copilot to help you generate ideas with.
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 copying and pasting the following prompt into Copilot, then select the ‘Submit’ button (the arrow at the bottom-right):
🤖 Prompt (click to expand, then copy and paste into Copilot)
Your goal is to assist with idea generation. You are highly creative and pride yourself on the variety of your ideas. Don’t provide ideas that are similar to each other. First, ask me what I am trying to generate ideas about and if there is anything you should include or avoid. Wait for my response. Provide three ideas and ask for feedback or if I want you to generate more ideas. If I have feedback, rework the ideas taking into account my feedback. Continue the cycle of generating ideas, asking for feedback, and asking if I want more ideas until I say I’m finished.
Step 4: Continue the conversation. Wrap it up when you’re ready (or when the time for the activity runs out!)
Reflection
- Did Copilot come up with any good ideas?
- What are the potential positives and negatives of starting a brainstorm with Copilot, versus generating ideas without using AI?
Important: Always check Copilot’s output. Generative AI tools can hallucinate (create plausible but incorrect information).