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Creating assignments with the AI Reflection Assistant

Last updated
Version: Kora Permissions required: Faculty access to a course in a system where AI is enabled

When a student opens an AI assignment in Digication, they start a conversation with an assistant. This guide shows you how to create that assignment, configure the assistant, and publish it to your course.

Start a new assignment

From your course, open the Assignments area and click Create Assignment.

Faculty course dashboard with the Create Assignment button highlighted in the Assignments area

Select Use AI to enable the AI reflection assistant for this assignment. You have two ways to add an assistant: you can create from scratch, or select an existing assistant.

Assignment creation screen with the Use AI option highlighted and selected, showing the two paths to add an assistant: Based on Existing Assistant and Create From Scratch

Two ways to add an assistant

Based on an existing assistant

If you choose Based on Existing Assistant, you can browse assistants you've created, assistants your colleagues have shared, and any other assistants available in your system. Click View to preview an assistant before using it. When you find one that fits, click Use to add it to the assignment. You can still customize it afterward.

Library of existing AI assistants, including assistants the faculty member created, assistants shared by colleagues, and assistants in the public OAir library, with View and Use buttons on a highlighted assistant

Create from scratch with the AI-Guided Assistant Creator

If you choose Create From Scratch, the AI-Guided Assistant Creator opens. It walks you through building a custom assistant in a short conversation.

AI-Guided Assistant Creator conversation interface, with the faculty member describing assignment goals and the creator responding with suggested name, instructions, and restrictions

When the suggestions look right, click Use Suggestions to apply them. Every setting can still be adjusted in the Assistant Details before you publish.

AI-Guided Assistant Creator showing the full set of suggestions with the Use Suggestions button highlighted

Fine-tune the assistant

The Assistant Details section is where you fine-tune the student experience.

- The instruction tells the assistant how to engage with students.

- The restriction sets limits, like "do not provide final answers."

- You can choose how the assistant interacts with the student.

- The starting prompt is the first message students see when they open the assignment.

Assistant Details section showing instruction field, restriction field, feedback mode toggle, and starting prompt field

Assistants also have a visibility setting. Keep one private, or share it with colleagues in your system so it can be reused across courses.

Assistant Details section showing the visibility setting with options to keep an assistant private or share it with colleagues

Try it before you publish

Before publishing, click Try to preview the assignment from the student's perspective. You can have a short exchange with the assistant yourself to verify that it responds the way you intended. This step is worth taking before students see the assignment.

Assignment creation screen with the Try button highlighted and a short student-perspective conversation visible in the preview

Publish the assignment

When the setup looks right, click Create to publish your assignment.

Assignment creation screen with the Create button highlighted, ready to publish the assignment

Students will see the assignment in their Assignments area. They click Add Work, then Start, to begin the conversation.

Student Assignments area showing the new AI assignment with Add Work and Start buttons in the flow

That's how you create an AI assignment. Students can start their conversation as soon as they open it.