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ASSIGNMENT
Write a forum post (150 words min) as a Reply to this post reflecting on your experience using Copilot and detail the classroom resource you created, including topic and class level. Also consider
- how AI can support teaching
- One benefit and one limitation
- How you will ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking
Then reply to at least one other participant. Your reply should help extend the discussion by offering encouragement, a practical suggestion or a reflective question.
Throughout, consider how M365 Copilot could be used in School Self-Evaluation (SSE) at your school.
Use of AI Tools: Our facilitators occasionally observe that course reflections may be generated with the assistance of AI tools. While AI can be a helpful support for drafting ideas or exploring different ways to express your thinking, it is essential that your forum posts reflect your own understanding and engagement with the course content. This is in line with the Department of Education and Youth’s Summer Course guidelines.
Before posting to the forum, we encourage you to take a moment to review your contributions and, if necessary, revise them to ensure they are appropriate and authentically your own. -
AI can support teaching by helping to personalise learning, save teacher time, and enhance feedback. For example, AI can generate differentiated resources, provide instant feedback on pupils’ work, and suggest lesson ideas or explanations for different ability levels. This allows us to focus more on interaction and deeper learning.
One benefit – AI can improve efficiency by reducing workload (e.g. planning, correcting, creating resources).
One limitation – AI can produce inaccurate or superficial information, so it needs careful checking and cant replace professional judgement.
I will ensure pupils remain the thinkers by – Using AI as a support tool, not a shortcut (e.g. for prompts, not final answers) – Designing tasks that require reasoning, discussion, and justification rather than just clumps of information – Encouraging pupils to critically evaluate AI stuff rather than accept it blindly – Setting clear expectations that learning comes from their own thinking and effort, not by relying on AI to do it all without any effort from them.
6th Class – History – World War II cloze test
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Hi Mark. I agree with your view of AI in education. I think saving teachers time is a major benefit and I also see the importance of checking AI-generated content before using it in class.
Your 6th Class History cloze test on World War II sounds like a useful resource that could be used for reinforcing key vocabulary and assessing pupils’ understanding. I also liked your point about ensuring pupils remain the ones doing the thinking. I feel encouraging them to question and evaluate AI-generated information is a very important skill that will help develop their critical thinking ability.
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I enjoyed reading your post and agree with your point that AI should be viewed as a support tool rather than a replacement for teaching or learning. Your emphasis on pupils remaining the ones doing the thinking is particularly important. While AI can generate resources and provide useful prompts, the real learning happens when pupils explain their reasoning, ask questions and work through problems themselves.
One practical way to reinforce this is by using AI to create open-ended tasks instead of activities with a single correct answer. This encourages discussion, collaboration and critical thinking while allowing pupils to justify their ideas and evaluate different viewpoints.
I also liked your point about teachers checking AI-generated content carefully. This highlights the importance of professional judgement, as AI is only as useful as the way it is used. Looking ahead, do you think pupils should also be taught how to identify the strengths and limitations of AI so that they become informed and responsible users of these technologies both in school and beyond?
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Hi Mark,
Welcome to the course, I couldn’t agree with you more GenAI has huge potential to support teaching by saving time and helping to create differentiated resources and learning activities. However, as you’ve mooted out, it’s important that teachers critically review AI-generated content, as accuracy and quality can vary instead of taking any output as verbatim. The ‘Human in the loop’ adage.
I particularly like your emphasis on keeping pupils as the thinkers in the learning process. Encouraging children to question, discuss and evaluate AI-generated content is central to responsible GenAI, criticality and digital literacy will only grow in importance as GenAI becomes more and more ubiquitous in our society.
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I thought using Copilot was a positive experience overall. I found it easy enough to use and it created the resource quickly. The first response it gave was good, but I needed to refine my prompts a bit and edit the content to make sure it matched the objectives and was suitable. I think this highlighted the importance of using AI as a support tool rather than relying on it to produce finished resources.
The classroom resource I created was a lesson on the water cycle for 4th Class. Copilot helped me generate a short reading passage, comprehension questions, a sequencing activity, and a simple reflection question to check understanding. I adapted the language slightly, added visual supports to differentiate to meet the needs of children in my class.
I believe AI can support teaching by saving time on lesson planning and creating differentiated materials. One significant benefit is the efficiency it offers. It will allow me to spend more time focusing on teaching and supporting pupils. However, one limitation I found is that AI can produce inaccurate or sometimes overly generic information, so its important to review and fact-check and adapt the content before using it in the classroom.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I would use AI only to support my planning and resource creation, not to replace pupil learning. I would encourage pupils to ask questions, explain their reasoning and solve problems independently. The activities would be designed to promote discussion with AI acting as a tool to enhance learning rather than provide the answers.-
I agree Marguerite about having to refine the prompts in CoPilot. It is similar in teaching sometimes in that you have to be soooo specific about what exactly you need or alter your instructions a little to get exactly what you want. I spose that’s what teaching is too to a certain extent.
One problem I came across too which I haven’t solved yet is that I have CoPilot as a shortcut on my Microsoft Edge browser but don’t have it in my Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. I think it’s a subscription thing. I’m onto IT to try and solve it but it does work in the browser too.
I think doing my fortnightly plans, having coPilot available to fill in lesson objectives and differentiation would be invaluable. -
Hi Marguerite,
Welcome to the group and thanks for engaging with this module.
Your 4th Class water cycle lesson is a great example of using Copilot as a supportive launchpad rather than a finished product, relying on your own expertise to add visual supports and language adaptations. As GenAI becomes more prominent in society, this is a great approach.
I completely agree that while the efficiency of M365 Copilot is a massive benefit for reducing lesson prep time,. I agree that its tendency to produce generic or slightly inaccurate content is a major limitation.
Your strategy of prioritising pupil reasoning and discussion ensures that the cognitive load stays exactly where it belongs—with the children!
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I suppose the main point is that Microsoft 365 Copilot to be a useful tool for supporting planning and resource creation. To explore a bit I used Copilot to create a summer holidays reading comprehension worksheet for my 2nd Class. It generated a short reading passage, comprehension questions, vocabulary activities and a drawing task. This saved time and gave me a solid starting point, which then needed editing to the ability of my students. In hindsight I should have asked it to edit it too and make differentiated passages.
One benefit of AI is that it can reduce the time spent on admin and prepping tasks, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching and supporting pupils. Sometimes only basic idea is needed or sometimes I revert back to my old ideas rather than trying something new which AI can provide.
A drawback, is that AI-generated content is not always accurate and requires reviewing. It’s like an enthusiastic child which needs the teacher (as the adult) to give proper direction!!
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, we need to get students to have questions and requests ready for Copilot so it can be used as an aid rather than as a source of answers. We don’t want to stifle kids problem solving and creative abilities by only using AI to answer all problems.
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Hi Cormac,
Welcome to the course and thanks for engaging with this module.
Your analogy that AI is like an “enthusiastic child” requiring adult direction is absolutely spot-on and a fantastic takeaway. It underscores the vital role of the teacher’s professional judgment in reviewing and editing AI content.
Your approach to pupil autonomy is excellent. Having students prepare questions for Copilot so it acts as an aid rather than a “cheat sheet” is a great way to protect their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and also ensures the teacher maintains control of the AI tool
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Hi Cormac,
Welcome to the course and thanks for engaging with this module.
Your analogy that AI is like an “enthusiastic child” requiring adult direction is absolutely spot-on and a fantastic takeaway. It underscores the vital role of the teacher’s professional judgment in reviewing and editing AI content.
Your approach to pupil autonomy is excellent. Having students prepare questions for Copilot so it acts as an aid rather than a “cheat sheet” is a great way to protect their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and also ensures the teacher maintains control of the AI tool
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Cormac, I really like your point that AI can act as an “enthusiastic child” that still needs teacher guidance. Our experience as teachers shows how Copilot can provide a valuable starting point, while professional teacher judgement is needed to adapt materials for specific learners. One practical suggestion might be to ask Copilot to generate resources at three different levels of difficulty from the outset. This could support differentiation and reduce editing time further.
Your comment about pupils preparing questions for Copilot is also interesting. It raises a reflective question: how can we explicitly teach pupils to write effective prompts so that they use AI to deepen their thinking rather than simply seek answers? Developing these skills could help pupils become more independent, critical users of AI.
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I really like your point about AI being “like an enthusiastic child” that still needs teacher direction – that’s a great way of describing it. I had a similar experience where Copilot produced a very good first draft, but it still needed to be adapted for the needs and abilities of my class. Your point about asking it to differentiate the reading passage is a good reminder that the quality of the output often depends on the prompts we give it. I also agree that its greatest strength is saving time on planning and resource creation, giving us more time to focus on teaching. Like you, I think it’s important that AI supports learning rather than replacing pupils’ own thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills.
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I used AI to create some questions based on chapter 1 of Under The Hawthorn Tree. I differentiated the questions for a particular pupil in my class who has dyslexia and a visual impairment.
Using AI to create lower-order comprehension questions for Under the Hawthorn Tree was a positive experience. It quickly generated clear, age-appropriate questions that focused on key information from Chapter 1. This saved planning time and allowed me to spend more time considering how to adapt the resource for a pupil with a visual impairment and dyslexia. AI can support teaching by helping teachers create differentiated materials, generate questions at different levels of difficulty, and provide ideas for accessible learning activities.
One limitation is that AI does not know my pupils personally and may not always produce questions that perfectly match their individual needs or the exact focus of a lesson. Therefore, teacher judgement remains essential when reviewing and adapting AI-generated resources. I teach in a rural school and often find that some of my lessons have to be adapted to reflect this.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I will use AI as a planning aid rather than a replacement for learning activities. Pupils will still be expected to read, discuss, analyse, and answer questions independently, with AI supporting my preparation rather than completing the learning process for them.
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This is a good example of where AI can save time, but the teacher still very much needs to be the one steering, David. Generating questions for Under the Hawthorn Tree is handy in itself, but the fact that you used ai to cater for a pupil with dyslexia and a visual impairment is the part that really matters. Your point about teaching in a rural school rings true too. Resources nearly always need a bit of tweaking to actually fit the children and their context, and AI won’t catch that unless we tell it to. The next step might be asking it to produce the same questions in a more accessible format, shorter sentences, extra spacing, or a version with fewer on the page. That could be handy for any pupil who needs less visual clutter to deal with.
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Using Microsoft Copilot for the first time has shown me how useful AI can be as a planning assistant rather than a replacement for professional judgement. Producing the first draft of a worksheet took only a few minutes and allowed me to spend more time adapting the material for the needs of my own class.I found that Copilot produced a solid starting point, but it still required careful editing. I simplified some vocabulary, adjusted the questions to suit the curriculum and checked all factual information before using it. This reminded me that teachers remain responsible for ensuring that all resources are accurate and appropriate.I also became more aware of the importance of responsible AI use. I did not use any pupil names or personal information and ensured that all outputs were reviewed before use.
Overall, I see Copilot becoming part of my everyday planning as it reduces workload while still allowing me to maintain high-quality teaching
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Welcome to the course, Colin. I’d certainly agree that Copilot can be a great help when you’re up against it and just need to get a first draft down on the page. The bit about editing it afterwards is so crucial. It’ll give you something to work from, sure, but you’re still the one who knows what your class can handle, spots anything that isn’t quite right, alters the language where it needs it, and makes sure it fits the lesson you actually had in mind. I know a good few teachers are dipping into it for the day-to-day stuff like worksheets, questions, and the odd lesson idea, etc. Handled with a bit of sense, it saves you time and still leaves all the real decisions where they belong, with the teacher.
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<p class=”isselectedend”>I found Microsoft Copilot to be a useful tool for supporting lesson preparation rather than replacing it. To explore its potential, I asked Copilot to help me create a <span style=”font-weight: normal;”>4th Class</span><b> </b>resource on <span style=”font-weight: normal;”>fractions</span>, focusing on equivalent fractions and comparing fractions. It generated a differentiated worksheet, discussion questions and a short real-life problem-solving activity. I adapted the material to match the needs of my class and the Primary Mathematics Curriculum.</p>
<p class=”isselectedend”>One of the greatest benefits of AI is the time it can save teachers. It can quickly generate ideas, draft worksheets, suggest differentiated activities and provide multiple examples of questions. This allows teachers to spend more time planning meaningful learning experiences and responding to pupils’ individual needs.</p>
<p class=”isselectedend”>A limitation is that AI-generated content is not always accurate or age-appropriate. It sometimes uses terminology that is too advanced or includes examples that do not align with the Irish curriculum. For that reason, teachers must carefully review and adapt all materials before using them in class.</p>
<p class=”isselectedend”>It is important that pupils remain the ones doing the thinking. I see Copilot as a planning assistant for teachers, not as a replacement for pupils’ learning. I would use AI to create engaging tasks, but pupils would still be expected to explain their reasoning, solve problems collaboratively, justify their answers and reflect on their learning. Activities that promote discussion, questioning and critical thinking ensure that learning remains active and meaningful.</p>
I can also see considerable potential for Microsoft 365 Copilot in School Self-Evaluation (SSE). It could assist staff in summarising survey responses, identifying patterns in assessment data, drafting improvement plans, preparing meeting notes and creating reports aligned with school priorities. By reducing the administrative workload, Copilot could allow teachers and school leaders to focus more on analysing evidence and implementing improvements that positively impact teaching and learning. -
I found Microsoft Copilot to be a useful tool for supporting lesson preparation rather than replacing it. To explore its potential, I asked Copilot to help me create a 4th Class resource on fractions, focusing on equivalent fractions and comparing fractions. It generated a differentiated worksheet, discussion questions and a short real-life problem-solving activity. I adapted the material to match the needs of my class and the Primary Mathematics Curriculum.
One of the greatest benefits of AI is the time it can save teachers. It can quickly generate idea as, draft worksheets, suggest differentiated activities and provide multiple examples of questions. This allows teachers to spend more time planning meaningful learning experiences and responding to pupils’ individual needs.
A limitation is that AI- generated content is not always accurate or age-appropriate. It sometimes uses terminology that is too advanced or include examples that do not align with the Irish curriculum. For that reason, teachers must carefully review and adapt all materials before using them in class.
It is important that pupils remain the ones doing the thinking. I see Copilot as a planning assistant for teachers, not as a replacement for pupils’ learning. I would use AI to create engaging tasks, but pupils would still be expected to explain their reasoning, solve problems collaboratively, justify their answers and reflect on their learning. Activities that promote discussion, questioning and critical thinking ensure that learning remains active and meaningful.
I can also see considerable potential for Microsoft 365 Copilot in School Self-Evaluation (SSE). It could assist staff in summarising survey responses, identifying patterns in assessment data, drafting improvement plans, preparing meeting notes and creating reports aligned with school priorities. By reducing the administrative workload, Copilot could allow teachers and school leaders to focus more on analysing evidence and implementing improvements that positively impact teaching and learning.
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I think this is a really sensible way to use Copilot Pol. It sounds like it gave you a good starting point for the fractions lesson, but you still did the important part yourself by checking it against your class needs and the Maths Curriculum. I agree with you about needing to check the content carefully though. AI can sound very confident, even when the language is too difficult or the activity doesn’t quite match what we want the children to learn. I liked your point about pupils still doing the thinking. Its important to remember that. Copilot can be so useful for planning, but the children still need to explore, discuss, and work through the maths themselves.
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