What to ask for
You type a sentence in plain English and it builds the thing. The only skill is knowing how much to ask for at once — so here is the whole skill, and eleven examples you can copy.
01
Two things worth knowing, and only two
- You never say where.
- It already knows which course you have open, and it only ever writes into that one. Naming the course in your request is wasted breath — and if you want to work on a different course, open that course instead.
- Say how much.
- “A quiz” is vague. “A five-question multiple-choice quiz worth 10 points” is a result. Numbers, points, how many, what week — scope is the whole skill, and it is the difference between something you can use and something you have to redo.
Then one reassurance, because it is what makes a first attempt safe: it shows you the plan before it writes anything, and it reads back everything it writes and shows you what changed. You are reviewing, not gambling.
The credit figures below are rough. Before any build begins, it tells you what that particular one looks like it will cost.
02
Start small
About 10 credits · under a minute
Do this one first. Small, fast, and easy to look at afterwards — confidence before ambition.
Create a page called "How to Succeed in This Course" covering study habits, how to reach me, and what to do if you fall behind.
Add a 5-question multiple-choice quiz on [topic] worth 10 points, with feedback explaining each wrong answer.
03
Build a week, or a module
About 25–40 credits
This is the one that saves the afternoon. Note how much scope is in each sentence — the number of items, what each one is, and when it is due.
Build a module called "Week 3: Evaluating Sources" with an overview page, a reading assignment, a 5-question knowledge check, and a discussion prompt. Set due dates for the week of March 10.
Create a "Start Here" orientation module: a welcome page, a syllabus quiz, and an introductions discussion.
04
Assignments and rubrics
About 15–30 credits
Create an assignment for a 3-page argumentative essay worth 100 points, with a rubric covering thesis, evidence, organisation, and mechanics.
Break my final project into four milestone assignments two weeks apart, and write instructions for each one.
Write measurable learning objectives for a unit on [topic] at introductory undergraduate level, using Bloom's taxonomy verbs.
05
Fix and improve what is already there
About 10–35 credits
It reads the course you have open, so it can work on what is in front of it rather than starting from nothing.
Rewrite the instructions on [assignment] so they're clearer — add a checklist of what to submit and how it'll be graded.
Check every page in this course and tell me which images are missing alt text.
Add a 3-question ungraded knowledge check after each reading in this module.
I'm pasting my lecture outline below. Turn it into a student-facing page with headings, a summary, and three review questions.
The alt-text one is worth a second look. Institutions face accessibility obligations under WCAG 2.1 AA by April 2027, and finding the gaps by hand across a full course is a day nobody has.
06
What it cannot do
Said here, early, because finding out later is worse.
- It cannot see student work, grades, rosters or submissions.
- That is a deliberate boundary, not an oversight, and you can run the tests that prove it.
- It does not grade.
- That is a different tool of ours, GradeBrain.
- It cannot change course settings, and it cannot publish the course.
- Publishing stays your decision, made in Canvas.
- It writes into the course you have open.
- Open a different course to work somewhere else.