Using the Copilot Notebook Study Guide

The Summary provides a high-level overview of all your compiled content. It typically includes:

• Overview: A few paragraphs describing the overall topic of your materials in a clear, concise way. For example, if your references include several chapters about human anatomy, the summary might explain the subject (e.g. the structure and function of the heart) in plain language, capturing the essence of each chapter.

• Why it matters: A short note on why the topic is important or how it relates to real-world scenarios. This helps motivate your learning by connecting the content to practical applications or next steps (for example, “Understanding the heart’s anatomy is crucial for studies in healthcare and medicine.”).

• Key topics: A list of the major topics derived from your sources. Each item may have a brief description.

• Glossary: A selection of critical terms or concepts and their definitions. Key vocabulary might be listed on the summary page to give you a quick reference to important terms before diving deeper.

• Common misconceptions: A list of common myths and misconceptions about the key concepts in the Study Guide.

• Citations to sources: Throughout the topic text, you’ll notice small reference numbers or footnotes. These are citations linking back to your original documents, showing where Copilot got each fact. Clicking a citation lets you view the source content, ensuring transparency and allowing you to verify the information – an essential part of responsible AI use.

How to use the Summary: Start here to get an overall sense of your study material. Read the summary to refresh your memory on the content’s main points. Use the topic list to know the key topics for the content. Review any glossary terms to ensure you understand key definitions upfront. The Summary page essentially sets the stage, so you know what to expect from the rest of the guide.

 
 

For each major topic identified in your content, Copilot generates a Topic page that delves into that specific area in detail. These pages are like mini-chapters of your study guide, and they typically contain:

• Overview: A detailed explanation or exposition of the topic, synthesized from all relevant sources you provided. This explanation is usually a few paragraphs long. It highlights important facts, provides context, and may include examples to clarify complex points. It also includes a list of the sub-topics for the topic at hand.

• Why it matters: A short note on why the topic is important or how it relates to real-world scenarios. This helps motivate your learning by connecting the content to practical applications or next steps.

• Glossary: A selection of critical terms or concepts and their definitions.

• Sub-topic deep dive sections: Each sub-topic will have a dedicated deep dive with explanations, worked examples, and questions to make you think.

• Citations to sources: Throughout the topic text, you’ll notice small reference numbers or footnotes. These are citations linking back to your original documents, showing where Copilot got each fact. Clicking a citation lets you view the source content, ensuring transparency and allowing you to verify the information – an essential part of responsible AI use.

• Questions to make you think: To encourage deeper learning, the Study Guide inserts occasional open-ended questions in the topic pages. These are open-ended prompts related to the content (for example, “Why do you think this process is important in real life?” after a section on the heart’s function). These aren’t test questions to turn in; instead, they serve as cognitive checks for you to pause and consider the material critically. You can think about the answers, discuss them in a study group, or even write your thoughts down in the notebook as part of your learning process.

• Exercise: At the end of each Topic page is a short exercise of key questions on the topic. These are usually just a few quick checks. For a more robust quiz experience, see the dedicated Quiz page.

How to use Topic Pages: Work through each topic page after reviewing the summary. Read the explanations carefully and try to answer the inline questions as you go – these will help reinforce your understanding and connect ideas. Because the content is drawn from your own materials, monitor the citations: if something is unclear, click the citation to read the original passage in context. You are encouraged to annotate the pages: highlight key points. Treat each Topic Page as both a learning resource and a space to interact with the content.

Active recall is a proven technique for learning, and the Flashcards page is built for that purpose. A set of flashcards is generated based on the key facts, definitions, and Q&A pairs from your material:

• Flashcards appear as interactive Q&A cards. One side of each card features a question or term, and the other side reveals the answer or explanation. For example, if your content is about the human heart, a flashcard’s front might ask “What is the function of the heart valves?” and the back would state the answer from your notes “To prevent blood from flowing backward, ensuring one-way circulation.”

• These questions are derived from the important points in your study materials. The AI identifies key facts or vocabulary that you need to memorize, often aligning with the information emphasized in the Summary and Topic pages. This ensures the flashcards are relevant to your specific content (they are not generic flashcards from the internet – they’re grounded in your sources).

• The flashcard interface allows you to click on a card to “flip” it – showing the answer – just like physical flashcards. You can use them for self-quizzing: try to recall the answer before you select to reveal it, and then see if you were correct. You can also get a hint before you reveal the answer.

• You can edit or customize flashcards. Perhaps you want to rephrase a question or add a new card with a concept you feel is missing. The Study Guide links into Microsoft’s Learning Activities application (the Flashcard app) to allow you to modify the card set. When you click to edit, you might be taken to a specialized view or app where you can add cards or change wording; any changes you make sync back to your Study Guide page when you refresh the Flashcard set.

• You can create Flashcards using references that have these file formats: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote pages, Copilot pages.

How to use Flashcards: Incorporate the flashcards into your regular study routine for spaced repetition – practicing them daily or every few days to strengthen your memory of the material. Read the question on each card, answer it from memory, then flip the card to check yourself. Mark the ones you don’t know and revisit them until you feel confident. Remember, you can modify the cards if needed: for instance, if a question is too easy, you could make it more specific, or add additional context to an answer. The goal is to make the flashcards serve you best. Over time, this active recall practice greatly improves retention of the information.
 

The Study Guide can include an auto-generated Quiz to test your knowledge on the collected materials. This uses Microsoft Forms embedded directly in the page:

• Quiz format: The quiz usually contains several questions – such as multiple-choice and open text– covering key points from all your source content. It’s intended to be a brief check of your understanding. For example, a quiz on our heart anatomy materials might ask a question like “Which chamber of the heart pumps oxygenated blood to the body? a) Left ventricle, b) Right ventricle, c) Left atrium, d) Right atrium.”  You can select your answer directly on the page.

• Review and edit options: The quiz is powered by Forms (for OneNote users, it uses the same mechanism as a Forms quiz embedded in OneNote), which means if you want to modify the quiz, you can open it in Microsoft Forms to edit questions or add new ones.

• Privacy of results: Quiz results are private – they are not sent to an instructor or stored in a gradebook; the Study Guide’s quiz is solely for your self-assessment. Teachers cannot automatically see a student’s quiz answers. This design ensures the Study Guide is a safe space to make mistakes and learn without impacting formal grades.

How to use the Quiz: Take the quiz after reviewing the summary and topic pages, to gauge your mastery of the material. Answer each question and submit the quiz to get back right and wrong questions along with explanations for multiple-choice questions. For any questions you missed, review the correct answer and the explanation (which may reference the original source). Quizzes are created with Word, PowerPoint and PDF reference formats. Use the results to identify areas you should revisit – for example, if you got questions about “Topic X” wrong, go back to that Topic Page and study it again. You can retake the quiz if you want, or edit it to add more questions for practice. 

 

Additional Features

Apart from the core pages above, Copilot Notebooks include other features that can enhance your study experience:

• Audio Overview: You have the option to generate an audio summary of your study materials. This is like a short podcast or recorded overview of the content, synthesized by Copilot’s AI voices. Two voices will conversationally discuss the key points of your materials for a few minutes. Audio overviews are great for auditory learners or for using study time during commutes/exercise.

Everything in the Study Guide is derived from your provided materials and credible sources you attach. Copilot’s job is to organize and transform that content into a learner-friendly format. Thanks to the built-in citations, you can always trace any piece of information back to its source. This transparency is intentional – it helps you trust the content and verify facts, reinforcing good study habits and critical thinking.