AI Summarizer

I created this assignment for an upper-level "New Media and Society" course for undergraduate students. I wanted to provide students a structured and guided opportunity to use generative AI and to think critically about how the content these tools generate can supplement their own work. In past classes, I have used reading responses or other similar "Summarizer" assignments to check student's understanding of assigned readings while also serving as an opportunity to practice and develop writing skills. For a course specifically about new media, it felt appropriate to adapt that kind of assignment to incorporate new AI technologies.

The assignment is primarily targeted for upper-level undergraduate students (in a 400-level course). However, because the course is cross-listed for graduate students to optionally enroll in, I have also included sections which explain how graduate students should expand upon the base requirements to complete the assignment in a way that better aligns with their credit requirements.

My current institution has contracted with Microsoft to provide a university-specific version of its Copilot AI tool, effectively signaling the university's position that AI tools are an inevitable technology that students will encounter. Accordingly, a class like "New Media and Society" is an ideal setting to introduce students to the tools because the class also encourages students to critically assess how new technologies (like AI) are integrated into other institutions and social settings.

Along with the assignment description, I created an example of what a completed AI Summarizer could look like.

• Use a “new” media technology, while reflecting on the adoption process
• Pay attention to the cultural implications of a new media technology

AI Summarizer Assignment Sheet (PDF, 45 KB)

AI Summarizer Example (PDF, 68 KB)