Extending Assignment Creativity and Capabilities

Jody Ondich

Extending Assignment Creativity and Capabilities

Jody Ondich

Learners as Creators

Open Pedagogy emphasizes student agency by positioning learners as active creators of knowledge rather than passive recipients. This approach encourages the development of student-generated materials that extend learning beyond the classroom and instructor, contributing to a broader educational community.

Example: Museum Pedagogy Project

Goal

The initial goal for this project was to create an assignment for a unit on Islam within a World Religion course. As the interaction with Copilot continued, the project turned into a final project for the whole course, and not just a single unit in the course. I was looking to create an Open Pedagogy-style project, which empowers students to become knowledge creators, producing materials that provide learning outside and beyond anything that they receive in the classroom or from the instructor. This kind of project requires students to research, explore, and assemble materials in a way that helps them absorb while doing, helps them learn by teaching.

How It Was Done

The quality and usefulness of AI-generated materials are directly influenced by the specificity and structure of the prompts provided. Well-crafted and thoughtfully sequenced prompts lead to more relevant, pedagogically sound outputs. This principle became evident in the development of a course assignment using Microsoft Copilot.

The initial prompt was intentionally broad: I asked Copilot to create an assignment for college students focused on Islam. While the prompt identified the general topic and target learner group, it lacked the specificity necessary to yield a highly usable result. Nonetheless, Copilot produced a list of ten assignment ideas, one of which was particularly compelling: “Design a virtual museum exhibit showcasing important artifacts, manuscripts, and artworks from Islamic history. Provide detailed descriptions and historical context for each item.”

Following this, I requested additional structure and detail for that idea. Copilot responded with a comprehensive outline of components that could be included in assignment instructions. At this point, it became clear that the scope of the project was too expansive for a single unit, and I reframed the activity as a potential final project for the course.

Further prompts focused on logistical aspects of the assignment. Copilot identified two free digital platforms suitable for hosting virtual museum exhibits—platforms I was previously unfamiliar with. I requested more information, including video tutorials, and Copilot immediately returned links with brief explanations of each. After exploring the tools myself, I determined that while user-friendly, students would likely require instructional support to use them effectively.

To address this, I asked Copilot to provide step-by-step guidance for setting up accounts and using each platform, along with relevant instructional videos. Copilot delivered detailed instructions and curated YouTube links with accompanying descriptions. Finally, realizing that the visual components of the assignment would benefit from accompanying narrative to contextualize students’ choices, I requested information on how to add descriptive text to images within each platform. Copilot responded with clear guidance and additional training resources.

This iterative process illustrates how strategic prompting can transform a vague idea into a fully developed, instruction-ready assignment—demonstrating AI’s potential as a collaborative tool in instructional design.

Results

At this stage, sufficient instructional materials and content had been generated to begin constructing the final project assignment within the D2L learning management system. The final assignment includes two options: one developed with the assistance of Copilot and another designed independently. The second option, which involves pairing original photography with definitions and descriptions, was based on a previously tested instructional approach. This alternative was intentionally created to accommodate students who may lack access to the necessary technology or feel less comfortable engaging with the digital tools required for the virtual museum exhibit. Offering two distinct project options ensured greater accessibility and inclusivity, aligning the assignment with principles of equitable course design.

End Result Museum Assignment

Considerations

Potential Issues

Time is always an issue! Getting a big, creative project set up takes a lot of time. AI can help, but prompts have to be very specific.
In this example, student comfort with new platforms will vary, so instructions on how to use these was important . It might be wise to have others try the onboarding instructions in order to troubleshoot them for effectiveness.
Tech bandwidth (do students have access to the technology and other resources necessary in order to complete the assignment?) It was important to me to provide an alternative approach to the project, so that students who do not have the tech access or comfort needed can also complete the assignment.

Best Tools for the Job

Copilot was an excellent AI for this project, as brainstorming, drilling down for specifics, and creating instructions are things that Copilot does well. In addition, Copilot protects personal information and copyright, which in this case is useful, as this is a good assignment, and was added to in order to create something really unique for this class.
Both suggested platforms for this project are ones that student can learn to use easily, and allow them to have a good time in creating and researching their project.

About the author

name: Jody Ondich

institution: Lake Superior College

Jody teaches philosophy at Lake Superior College in Duluth, and is part of a faculty development team there. Her focus areas are OER development, digital accessibility, AI use, and online course review programs. She has written 3 OER texts, housed at the University of Minnesota Open Textbook network.

License

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