Microsoft Active Learning is a new capability in private preview that aims to convert any passive learning content into a set of engaging activities. The first activity is flashcards.
Flashcards are generated by AI and are based on grounded content provided by the activity creators, which is then transformed into a set of cards including a question, answer and potential hint. Once generated, the creator can modify cards as needed, view the source citation of those cards, add images from uploaded files or Bing images. Once happy with the result, the creator can choose to practice the flashcards and/or share them with other people in their tenant.
Each person practicing the flashcards can review their practice time and progress. Educators sharing flashcards with students can also review students' engagement with the flashcards.
How does flashcards generation work?
Flashcards generation is built on a machine learning model called GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer). The model is trained on a vast number of publicly available text samples. As a result, GPT advanced models generates flashcards in English that look like they were written by a human.
To minimize the risk of model-generated inappropriate content, the response is passed through multiple validators and content moderation filtering steps.
How should creators use flashcards generation?
Flashcards creators can use the flashcards on their own, or share it with their colleagues and students. It is the creator's responsibility to review and edit the content for appropriateness and accuracy before sharing with others. While we employ various filters and safeguards to limit questionable or inappropriate content, the underlying technology is AI that has been trained on a wide range of internet sources, so we rely on creators to confirm the appropriateness and correctness of the final activity.
Flashcards are designed to enhance the effectiveness and engagement of the learning process, but may not cover the entirety of the learning material so they should be used alongside the study material.
What safeguards are employed while generating the passage?
- Flashcards creators are instructed to review and approve the flashcards content before using it and before sharing it with others (e.g. their students).
- The flashcards are based on the learning content uploaded by the activity creator.
- Content moderation is employed on the flashcards before it is presented to the creator.
Model limitations
- Flashcards generation is currently limited to learning contents in English only.
- The model only uses textual input to create the activity, any images and other objects included in the input will be ignored by the model. Code and math expressions are not being handled properly as well.
- Flashcards are generated based on texts with a minimum of 240 characters and up to 20,000 characters. In case longer text is provided the first 20,000 characters will only be used as input
- There is currently no guarantee as to the full coverage of the text provided in the flashcards. It is advised to use those to enhance the learning alongside the learning of the source content.