Course Assistant

A learning companion inside your LMS that spots where students struggle, explains concepts with course context, and produces study materials and low-stakes practice—while helping faculty give faster, more consistent feedback.

In-LMS LTI Tool Context from syllabus, files & modules Rubric-aware feedback assist Privacy-first student view
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At a glance
  • 🧠 Multimodal context: syllabus, pages, PDFs, slides, media
  • 📘 Generates study guides, flashcards, and practice quizzes
  • 🧪 “Check my understanding” self-assessments with hints
  • 📝 Drafts rubric-aligned feedback for faculty review
  • 🔔 Signals to Nudges for proactive outreach on struggle patterns

What it is

An in-course copilot that uses the Common Data Model and multimodal RAG to answer questions with course-specific evidence, generate tailored study materials, and assist instructors with fast, consistent grading workflows.

What it does

Detects struggle points from LMS activity and assessments, explains concepts at varying difficulty levels, creates formative practice, and drafts rubric-based comments—keeping humans in control for final judgment.

Key capabilities

Context-aware explanations
Answers reference assigned readings, slides, and instructor notes; returns citations and page anchors for review.
Study guides & flashcards
Auto-generates summaries, key concepts, and spaced-repetition cards scoped to weekly modules or exam topics.
Low-stakes quizzes
Builds practice quizzes with rationales and targeted hints; difficulty adapts to the learner’s recent outcomes.
Rubric-aligned feedback assist
Drafts feedback mapped to rubric rows and performance levels; instructors approve, edit, and publish.
Accessibility & multilingual
Alternative text for visuals, transcript-aware summaries, and multilingual explanations with consistent terminology.
Signals to support
Flags disengagement or repeated misses to Alerts & Nudges; recommends office hours or tutoring slots via Universal Agent.
Generate a sample study guide See Alerts & Nudges

High-impact use cases

Gateway course support
Supplement high-DFW courses with targeted quizzes and “explain another way” answers.
Preparation for labs & studios
Pre-lab briefings and checklists; quick knowledge checks reduce setup time and errors.
Writing & feedback cycles
Rubric-aware draft feedback accelerates turnarounds and improves consistency across sections.
Make-up & catch-up
Personalized catch-up packs when students miss a week: readings, notes, and targeted practice.
Accessibility refresh
Auto-suggest alt text and glossary entries; simplify text without losing meaning.
Academic integrity guardrails
Encourages learning, not shortcuts: explains steps and asks for reasoning before revealing answers.

Outcomes you can measure

Higher engagement
More check-ins and formative attempts before deadlines.
Reduced DFW in targets
Gateway courses see fewer withdrawals and repeats with proactive practice.
Faster feedback cycles
Draft comments and rubric picks speed grading while keeping faculty in control.
Equity & accessibility
Consistent explanations and supports benefit first-gen and nontraditional learners.

Integrations

Works where learning happens—no new tabs required.

LMS (Canvas, Blackboard)
CDM (content & outcomes)
Doc & media stores
Universal Agent & Nudges
SSO, RBAC, and course/section scoping are enforced by default.

Human-centered and integrity-safe

AI augments—faculty decide
  • Students receive explanations and hints; no auto-completion of graded work
  • Faculty review and publish feedback; draft provenance retained
  • Citations to course materials; “show your steps” prompting by default
Security & privacy
  • PII minimization; encryption in transit/at rest; environment separation
  • RBAC by course/section; audit logs for generated content and feedback
  • FERPA/GDPR aligned; opt-in controls for artifact uploads

Implementation timeline

Week 1
LMS enablement
Install LTI/side panel, connect to courses, and sync content.
Weeks 2–3
Model calibration
Tune explanations and quiz difficulty; set rubric templates.
Week 4
Pilot courses
Launch in 3–5 sections; collect faculty and student feedback.
Week 5+
Scale & learn
Roll out to targeted departments; monitor engagement and DFW.
Pilot Course Assistant Review privacy & security

FAQs

No. It focuses on explanations, hints, and formative practice. Academic integrity controls prevent direct completion of graded tasks.

Yes—faculty can approve, edit, or hide items; version history and provenance are retained for transparency.

Only materials and activity for the enrolled course/section via LMS APIs, governed by SSO and RBAC. No cross-course student data is exposed.

Signals include late/missed submissions, repeated quiz misses, rapid guessing, low page dwell for key readings, and inactivity—combined with course baselines.

No. It reduces repetitive explanations and drafting. Instructors and TAs remain central for coaching, evaluation, and academic judgment.

Ready to boost learning inside every course while saving instructors hours each week?

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