12 Assignment planning

Alexandra Poradowska, Postgraduate Student, Digital Education, United Kingdom 

As a first-year postgraduate student of the online digital education course, I was required to submit a plan of my assignment for the module “Artificial Intelligence and Education”. Having consulted the assessment brief provided by my tutor and the supplementary guidance on the university webpage, I learned about two different planning techniques: mind maps and linear (list) plans. At the time of my search, I felt I needed to find specific examples of both visual methods that could help me plan my writing. Having experimented with different AI tools as an educator myself, I decided to leverage them to support my learning as a student for the first time. It is true that I could have considered using a standard search engine to explore planning techniques further; however, I thought the conversational tone of AI assistants could make the process of finding information more engaging and interactive. My preferred choice of AI tool was Microsoft Copilot, because my access to an institutional account gives me some reassurance and peace of mind (in terms of privacy and security concerns) as my data is not going to be used for AI training. It is important to note that I only wanted to learn how to structure my plan, but I did not want the tool to generate specific content for my chosen topic. 

My initial prompt included a link to the university guidelines on how to create a plan and requested a visual method to generate ideas for my writing. With a friendly tone, Copilot suggested using a mind map and provided instructions as well as an example on how to create one. At the end of the response, it offered further support. Although the information was relevant and useful, I wanted to find out more about the second planning technique suggested by the university. Therefore, I added a new prompt expecting to get a similar detailed output as the previous one. The second output presented step by step instructions on how to create a linear plan with subheadings including the title of the topic, introduction, main points and conclusion. Each subheading provided bullet points with a brief description of what should be included. An example on the topic ‘The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture’ was also generated. Even though the example was clear, it did not illustrate all the tips from the university guidelines. So, for a more thorough linear plan, I added a new prompt with the relevant statements from my guidance. The third response was really useful as it incorporated the university’s recommendations when creating an assignment plan. I later learned that Copilot has some limitations when it is given websites to consider in its outputs, and it can only cope with up to two forward slashes (Microsoft, 2025b). The URL I had provided exceeded the number of sub-paths. 

Considering the amount of energy and other resources such tools need to generate responses; I would recommend fellow students to use them responsibly and appropriately.

Having reviewed the responses generated by Copilot, I made my own decisions on which approach would cater for my needs: I found the structure of the linear plan more convenient as it is easier for me to visualise my planning with bullet points rather than mind maps or spider diagrams. After my three prompts, Copilot generated relevant descriptions and examples of two planning techniques incorporating the university guidelines in a well-structured format. Although the example provided was on a field outside my knowledge, I could apply this type of technique to my subject area by using the same structure as a template to create my assignment plan. Even with its limitation of not considering the link I had provided, Copilot showed me in practice what a linear plan would look like, and it helped me start writing down my ideas in an organised fashion. The suggested linear approach also allowed me to think of potential references for my assignment, and it served as a starting point to later structure my writing into well-defined paragraphs. It has been a few weeks since I submitted my plan. While revisiting the university webpage on ‘planning your writing’, I noticed it had been updated with clear specific examples of both planning techniques. I would not have needed Copilot, should these had been provided when I first accessed the website. Considering the amount of energy and other resources such tools need to generate responses; I would recommend fellow students to use them responsibly and appropriately.

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