SIDLIT 2026

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) avatars—digital representations of human instructors driven by synthesized speech, natural language processing, and advanced kinematic video generation—represent a structural shift in how asynchronous educational content is designed, delivered, and consumed. This session will provide introductory material for the design, implementation and sources for generating these technologies in higher ed.

This session explores how instructors can use Microsoft Copilot to re/design course assignments and rubrics to better align with course- and program-level learning outcomes and increase student autonomy; we will also discuss using Copilot in creating and revising rubrics. Drawing on examples from undergraduate psychology courses, we will consider and practice how to use Copilot to create or revise SLO-driven assignments while maintaining flexibility and supporting student autonomy.
 
Participants will work through examples of assignment revision using Copilot and see how those changes shape the development of clearer, better aligned rubrics. By looking at concrete before-and-after examples, we will explore how small adjustments in assignment design (i.e., language, weight, adding examples and models) can improve student understanding of expectations and help make assessment more straightforward, which can also increase student performance.
 
This session focuses on practical uses of Copilot, and by the end, participants will have had the opportunity to redesign an assignment or rubric implemented in their own courses using Copilot. The focus is not on adding more work, but on using Copilot as support that helps instructors create assignments and rubrics that fit more strategically and intentionally within the course arc.