Best practices
This table explains who benefits from using Study Guide and how.
| Audience | How they might use Study Guide |
|---|---|
| Educators | - Create a shared Study Guide for the class - Review generated content for accuracy before distributing - Use Quiz results patterns (observed informally) to identify concepts that need reteaching |
| Learners | - Generate a personal Study Guide for independent review - Add notes to Topic pages - Use Flashcards for spaced repetition before assessments - List other languages |
| School leaders | - Build Study Guides for professional development materials - Distribute policy training content with built-in knowledge checks |
| System staff | - Onboard new employees with compliance or procedural contentM - Customize Flashcards for certification prep |
Responsible use of Copilot Study Guide
Study Guide is designed as a learning aid, not a replacement for engagement with course content. Encourage learners to treat it as reinforcement after they've gone through lessons, not as a shortcut to avoid reading. The AI-generated content is grounded in the materials provided, but it's important to verify information. Citations are included throughout so learners can trace facts back to original sources. This builds critical thinking skills that transfer to evaluating AI-generated content in any context.
- For guidance on AI literacy and responsible use, visit aka.ms/AILiteracy.
- For IT administrators, detailed deployment and data privacy information is available in Microsoft's support documentation.
How to guide learners
These tips help you guide learners to best use Study Guide.
Tip 1: Frame Study Guide as a study partner, not a shortcut
When introducing Study Guide to learners, emphasize that it works best as reinforcement after engaging with course content—not as a replacement for reading or attending class. A helpful framing: "Study Guide helps you organize and practice what you've already learned. It can't help you learn material you haven't encountered yet." This positions the tool as a complement to their efforts rather than a way to bypass them.
Tip 2: Model the review process
Before asking learners to create their own Study Guides, demonstrate how you review AI-generated content for accuracy. Walk through a Summary or Topic page together, demonstrate how to check a citation against the original source, and discuss what to do if something seems incomplete or unclear. This builds the habit of verification and shows learners that reviewing AI output is a normal part of using the tool responsibly.
Tip 3: Encourage personalization
Remind learners that Study Guide pages are editable. Encourage them to add their own notes, highlight concepts they find challenging, or create additional Flashcards for areas that need extra practice. A Study Guide becomes more valuable when learners make it their own—the act of customizing reinforces learning and creates a resource tailored to their specific needs.
Deployment tips
- Try it first: Generate a Study Guide from course materials before recommending it to learners to best communicate capabilities and limitations.
- Guide learners on what to include: Copilot only works with the content provided. If learners skip certain chapters, those topics won't appear in the guide.
- Consider sharing options: Create a shared Study Guide for the entire class, or have learners generate their own individual guides. Individual guides allow for personalized notes and a private space to practice.