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 (such as 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 section 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 might 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 see small reference numbers or footnotes. These citations link 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 note 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 has a dedicated deep dive with explanations, worked examples, and questions to make you think.
• Citations to sources: Throughout the topic text, you see 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 questions 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 questions 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 questions 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 questions 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.

Supported file types: Word, PowerPoint, and PDF. Files must be under 100,000 characters. Protected files aren't supported for flashcards.

• 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 come 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 process ensures the flashcards are relevant to your specific content (they aren't 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 – practice 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 quiz uses Microsoft Forms embedded directly in the page:

• Quiz format: The quiz usually contains several questions, such as multiple-choice and open text, that cover key points from all your source content. It's intended to be a brief check of your understanding. For example, a quiz on 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: Microsoft Forms powers the quiz. For OneNote users, it uses the same mechanism as a Forms quiz embedded in OneNote. To modify the quiz, open it in Microsoft Forms to edit questions or add new ones.
• Privacy of results: Quiz results are private. They aren't sent to an instructor or stored in a gradebook. The Study Guide's quiz is solely for your self-assessment. Teachers can't 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. 

The Matching activity tests your ability to connect related concepts by pairing items together. It reinforces your ability to form associations between ideas, which is a key element of deep understanding.

Supported file types: Word, PowerPoint, PDF, OneNote, Excel, and Fluid. Files must be under 100,000 characters. Protected files aren't supported for matching.

How it works:

• Concept connections: Some cards contain terms, concepts, or questions, while others contain definitions, explanations, or answers. For example, you might match anatomical structures to their functions, or historical events to their dates.
• Active recall and association: Matching reinforces your ability to form connections between related ideas. Rather than passively recognizing correct answers, you actively work to pair concepts from memory.
• Works with any subject: Biology terms, history timelines, physics formulas, language vocabulary, or any content where relationships between concepts matter.

How to use Matching: Work through each pair, trying to make the connection from memory before checking. Mark the ones you don't know and revisit them until you feel confident. Matching is especially effective as a quick review exercise to reinforce associations you've been learning. Over time, this active recall practice greatly improves retention of the relationships between concepts in your material.

The Fill in the Blanks activity tests your recall of specific terms and facts by presenting key sentences with critical words removed. It complements the broader understanding tested by quizzes and the rapid recall tested by flashcards.

Supported file types: Word, PowerPoint, and PDF. Files must be under 100,000 characters. Protected files aren't supported for fill in the blanks.

How it works:

• Drawn from key concepts: Sentences come from the important ideas in your study materials, with essential terms or phrases blanked out. For example: "The ____ is the powerhouse of the cell" (answer: mitochondria).
• Reinforces specific recall: This activity is especially effective for subjects with important process ideas that explain how things work or cover a sequence of events.

How to use Fill in the Blanks: Work through each blank, trying to recall the exact term from memory. This is especially useful after reviewing topic explanations to check whether you can recall specific terminology and factual details. Over time, this active recall practice greatly improves retention of key terms and concepts in your material.

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

• Audio overview: You can generate an audio summary of your study materials. This summary is like a short podcast or recorded overview of the content, synthesized by Copilot’s AI voices. Two voices 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 or exercise.

Everything in the Study Guide comes from the materials you provide and credible sources you attach. Copilot organizes and transforms 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.