Artificial intelligence tools are rapidly becoming part of the digital environment our students work in. One tool that is already widely available across UAL is Microsoft Copilot Chat. For tutors working in creative arts education, Copilot Chat can support ideation, research, writing, and reflection, while also providing opportunities to discuss the role of AI in contemporary creative practice.
This post is aimed at tutors who may be curious, cautious, or unsure where to begin with AI. It assumes no prior technical knowledge and focuses on practical, low-risk ways to explore Copilot in everyday teaching contexts.
What is Copilot Chat?
Microsoft Copilot Chat is an AI assistant available in Office 365. It uses large language models to generate text, summarise information, support research, and help structure ideas.
In practical terms, Copilot Chat can:
- Generate written content from prompts
- Summarise articles, notes, or research material
- Help structure essays, presentations, or project proposals
- Suggest ideas or alternative perspectives
- Assist with editing and refining text
For creative arts students, Copilot Chat is less about producing finished work and more about supporting the early stages of creative thinking and communication.
It can act as a research assistant, brainstorming partner, and reflective tool.
How to access Copilot Chat
Step-by-step guide:
- Open a web browser (Chrome or Edge recommended).
- Go to https://www.office.com
- Select Sign in.
- When prompted, enter your UAL email address.
- Enter your UAL password.
- Once signed in, access Copilot from the Office 365 dashboard.
Important: You must sign in with your UAL email and password. This will give you ‘protected status’. Protected status ensures that your chat history is not stored, and your data is not used for AI training, thus providing enhanced privacy and security.
A short practical exercise:
This activity is designed to help you understand how the prompt (the question you are asking), critical review, and refinement are central to meaningful use of AI.
Step 1: Choose a course or module you are teaching or have recently taught
Identify a real teaching situation that you created with your students, such as:
- Preparing a workshop
- Designing a new brief
- Supporting student research
- Giving formative feedback
Step 2: Enter a prompt into Copilot
Enter a prompt such as:
“Suggest three ways Copilot could support my students during an introductory workshop on sustainable materials.”
or
“Draft a short explanation of reflective practice suitable for my first-year students.”
Step 3: Review and critique the output
Evaluate Copilot’s response:
- What is useful or time‑saving?
- What feels generic or needs refinement?
- What would you adjust to suit your teaching style or discipline?
Step 4: Refine the prompt
Try one follow‑up prompt to improve the output, such as:
“Make the explanation more visual-arts focused and suitable for international students.”
or
“Provide three alternative workshop structures that encourage active learning.”
Step 5: Reflect and share
Once you have had a go at steps 1 to 4 let’s reflect on the following questions:
- How could Copilot genuinely support your teaching practice?
- Where are the limitations or risks?
- How might you incorporate AI literacy into student learning?
- What guidance would students need to use Copilot responsibly and transparently?
Final thoughts
Microsoft Copilot can be a useful tool in creative arts education when positioned as a support for thinking, research, and reflection rather than a shortcut to finished work.
By integrating AI tools into studio teaching and encouraging critical engagement, we can help our students to develop the skills needed to work thoughtfully with emerging technologies in their creative practice.
Explore this topic in more detail: Go to the Moodle course “Artificial Imagination: Integrating AI in Art Education” – Part 1. Using AI: Text“.
In the next post in this series, we will look at using Adobe Firefly in Creative Arts Education.
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