Using coLearn-AI: From Authoring to Running and Reviewing Activities

This guide walks through the full coLearn-AI workflow: authoring an activity, creating a class and course, adding and previewing activities, enrolling students, running a live session, monitoring progress, and reviewing work afterward.

1) Author an Activity Document (Google Doc)

coLearn-AI activities are authored in a structured plain-text format inside a Google Doc. This keeps authoring simple, versionable, and shareable.

Step A — Create the document

  1. In Google Drive, click New → Google Docs.
  2. Title the doc clearly (example: Chest Pain – Initial Assessment).

Step B — Write in the coLearn-AI authoring format

At minimum, include:

  • a title
  • a short context
  • one or more question groups with questions and response fields

Example skeleton:

\title{Assessing Chest Pain}
\studentlevel{Medical School}
\activitycontext{
Short collaborative activity on initial MI assessment.
}

\questiongroup{Initial Assessment}

\question{
List three history features that increase concern for MI.
}
\textresponse{4}

\endquestiongroupCode language: PHP (php)

Common authoring elements:

  • \questiongroup{...} to organize content into phases/sections
  • \question{...} for prompts
  • \textresponse{N} to size text boxes (N lines)
  • optional metadata for AI use: \sampleresponses{...}, \feedbackprompt{...}

Step C — Copy the document URL

You’ll paste this into coLearn-AI when you add the activity.

2) Share the Document so coLearn-AI Can Read It

coLearn-AI reads documents using a Google service account. If the doc isn’t shared with that service account, preview/run will fail.

Step — Share with the coLearn-AI reader account

  1. Open the Google Doc.
  2. Click Share.
  3. Add the service account email:
    • pogil-sheets-reader@pogil-its.iam.gserviceaccount.com
  4. Set permission to Viewer.
  5. Click Send (or Share depending on Google’s UI).

When you add or edit an activity URL inside coLearn-AI, the system may prompt you with a reminder modal to share the doc if access is denied.

3) Create a Class

A Class is the top-level container (typically a cohort or section). Courses belong to a class.

  1. Go to Manage Classes.
  2. Click Add Class.
  3. Enter the class name (example: Stockholm Demo Class).
  4. Save.

Only users with sufficient privileges (root/creator/instructor) can create classes.

4) Add a Course (inside a Class)

A Course is what students enroll in (by course code). It contains the set of activities you’ll run.

  1. Go to Manage Courses.
  2. Click Add Course.
  3. Select the Class this course belongs to.
  4. Fill in:
    • Course Name (example: Clinical Reasoning Demo)
    • Course Code (example: MED-DEMO-01)
    • Section / Semester / Year (as appropriate)
  5. Save.

5) Add Activities to the Course and Preview Them

Activities are attached to a course and typically point at one Google Doc each.

Step A — Add an activity

  1. Open the course’s Activities page.
  2. Click Add Activity.
  3. Enter:
    • Activity Name
    • Google Doc URL (optional in some setups; a blank URL may be allowed)
  4. Save.

Step B — Preview

  1. Click Preview next to the activity.
  2. coLearn-AI fetches the document and renders it into the interactive activity view.
  3. Confirm formatting:
    • question group headers appear correctly
    • questions render in order
    • response fields are sized correctly

Preview is the fastest way to verify the doc is shared correctly and the markup parses as intended.

6) How Students Sign Up and Enroll

coLearn-AI uses course enrollment so students can access the right activities.

Typical student flow

  1. Student logs in (or creates an account if enabled).
  2. Student opens the Dashboard.
  3. Student enrolls by entering the Course Code (example: MED-DEMO-01).
  4. The course appears on their dashboard.

From the dashboard, students can open the course and see available activities.

7) Instructor Starts an Activity Session

For collaborative activities, the instructor launches the activity and forms groups.

Step A — Start the activity

  1. Open the course’s activity list.
  2. Choose Run (or Launch) on the activity you want to use.
  3. Select who is present (checkbox list).
  4. Click Generate Groups (typical target is 3–4 students per group).

Each group gets its own activity instance, and the system assigns group membership accordingly.

Step B — Student participation

  • Students click Start and go directly into the activity.
  • Within a group, one student is designated the active student at a time.
  • Others can view and discuss but may be read-only.
  • After submission, the system saves group responses and advances to the next section.

This structure supports true collaborative learning while keeping the interface simple and avoiding simultaneous edit conflicts.

8) Instructor Monitoring During the Session

During the run, instructors can monitor progress across groups.

Typical monitoring features:

  • list of groups for the activity
  • which students are connected/present
  • which question group the team is currently working on
  • view each group’s activity instance in read-only mode

This allows instructors to:

  • identify groups that are stuck
  • intervene in real time
  • review the quality of reasoning as it develops

9) Reviewing Afterward (Instructor and Students)

Instructor review

After the session, instructors can return to the activity’s group views and:

  • open each group instance
  • read all submitted responses
  • check progress/completion
  • use the stored responses for debrief or discussion

Student review

Students can revisit completed activities to:

  • see their group’s responses
  • re-read prompts and content sections
  • use the activity as a study artifact

Completed sections remain read-only to preserve the record of what the group submitted during the session.

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