# Authoring from materials

Generate a course outline from Knowledge materials, refine in chat, preview, publish inactive, then release to students.

Authoring turns indexed **course materials** into a draft outline: modules with lessons, quizzes, and Socratic discussions. Nothing is student-visible until you **Release**.

You stay in charge. SOL drafts. You edit, publish inactive, and release.

## Prerequisites

1. Join a section for the course (faculty enrolment code)
2. Upload or link materials under **Materials** and wait until status is **Ready** ([Course materials](/docs/professor-materials))

## Flow

1. Open **Authoring** and pick a course
2. Optionally add a short brief, then **Generate from materials**
3. Select an item to preview. Use **Refine in chat** to edit (or edit via Agent Access MCP tools with `authoring:write`)
4. **Publish (inactive)** creates a hidden quiz, discussion, or lesson (with flashcards) assigned to your sections. Quiz questions keep **concept tags** from generation for [Analytics](/docs/professor-analytics)
5. **Release to students** flips visibility on. Students see lessons under **My Lessons** and can study flashcards

## Tips

- Prefer clear syllabi and notes over dense scanned PDFs
- Generate once, then refine; re-generating archives the previous current outline for that course
- Hand-built quizzes under **Assignments** still work; tag them if you want them in concept analytics. Authoring can also draft **INTERACTIVE** items (fill blanks, drag words, accordion).
- Short-answer grading may use indexed materials only to clarify terminology; the reference answer remains the scoring standard

## Related guides

- [Course materials](/docs/professor-materials)
- [Grading and Attention](/docs/professor-grading)
- [Course analytics](/docs/professor-analytics)
- [Lessons and flashcards](/docs/student-lessons) (what students see)