Microsoft says AI agent helps Bar-Ilan students catch up on lectures
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According to Microsoft, Bar-Ilan University in Israel began piloting an AI agent on its Moodle platform in February. Developed by KPMG and OpenApp with Microsoft Copilot Studio and powered by Azure AI Services, the agent uses only materials uploaded by teaching staff, including recordings, transcripts, presentations and articles. Students can ask natural-language questions, request summaries and take quizzes in Hebrew, Arabic or English. The pilot covered 71 courses and about 2,400 students; the tool is set to expand to another 100 courses in the first semester of the 2026/27 academic year, within a secure Microsoft Azure environment.
Microsoft reports that student Yarden Shay now uses the agent for active study and reduced her daily study time after lectures from five or six hours to about three. Lecturer Eliyahu Biton helped test the system and revised materials so it could serve as a teaching assistant rather than replace the instructor.
Why it matters · editorial interpretation
The pilot suggests how an agent integrated into Moodle could support content catch-up and studying across multiple languages, using only materials supplied by instructors. It also highlights that preparing those materials and involving teachers remain central to using it as a teaching assistant.
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