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Feature of the Month: AI-Assistent
The AI assistant is a chatbot that can be integrated directly into ILIAS courses. Instructors and students can use it for learning or for instructional scenarios in classes. AI assistants are easy to set up, can be flexibly configured, and offer great potential for teaching and learning.
You have access to various large language models (LLMs). Models whose names begin with “RZ” and “UFR” are hosted at the University of Freiburg—the data never leaves the university. External models such as ChatGPT or Mistral have a broader general knowledge base. When making your selection, consider whether the model needs to have comprehensive general knowledge or whether smaller models would be suitable for your task.
What can the AI assistant be used for?
The AI assistant opens up new educational possibilities. With a well-formulated system prompt and a clear role definition, you can tailor the assistant precisely to your needs. You can create as many assistants as you like—a separate, custom-configured AI companion for every subject, every project, or every learning task.
Example scenarios:
- Role-playing: The AI assistant takes on a specific role to give students the opportunity to practice skills through conversations with a fictional character (e.g., a patient for medical students).
- AI as a Tutor: The assistant supports learners in a clear, friendly, and pedagogically sound manner. A virtual tutor is available to students at any time to answer individual questions and provides immediate responses. Privacy is guaranteed, as submitted questions remain anonymous.
- Exercise Generator: The AI assistant can be configured with detailed instructions to generate exercises for a chapter of your lecture (e.g., multiple-choice questions with explanations).
Setup and Configuration
You can set this up directly in your ILIAS course by selecting “Add New Object” → “AI Assistant.” You can configure the following settings:
- Model: Selection of the large language model
- Instructions: System prompt including role definition, topic, context, and instructions
- Document Support: Option to specify documents to which the chat conversation should refer
- Introduction: Welcome message for users
- Saving and Sharing: Option to automatically save and share conversations in the ILIAS course
Find complete instructions here (German version)
Additional Information
Before you can use the AI assistant, you must complete the AI Basics Training. This course provides fundamental knowledge about AI, data protection, and the responsible use of generative AI models.
You can find detailed examples and use cases for the AI assistant in the Best Practices Collection in the AI Space. There, you’ll find specific templates for system prompts and educational applications that you can adapt directly for use in your teaching.
Important Note/Please Note:
When using AI in administration, research, teaching, and academic studies, the protection of personal data is crucial to safeguarding one’s own privacy as well as that of the individuals concerned. In an official capacity, only AI systems approved by the University of Freiburg may be used. Entering personally identifiable data or other sensitive information into generative AI systems provided by the University is not permitted.
Questions? Need help?
If you have any questions, please feel free to use the ILIAS Support Forum. That way, others can benefit from the answers as well. Of course, you're also welcome to contact us at ilias@rz.uni-freiburg.de