Video summary

1.1.6. SMILE — Your Inquiry Engine

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas / concepts taught

  • SMILE stands for Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment.
  • SMILE is a platform for doing different kinds of assessment activities tied to course modules.
  • Activities appear at the end of modules via a link and run in four modes:
    1. Exam mode
    2. Case mode
    3. Inquiry mode
    4. Open mode (more peer-interaction and stricter cognitive requirements)

Methodology / steps by mode (detailed)

1) Exam mode

  • Open the SMILE activity link from your learning module.
  • Authentication/sign-in
    • Use your Gmail account.
    • Click Sign in with Google (no need to manually fill email/password).
    • Select the Gmail account; you may be prompted to enter Gmail credentials.
  • Start the exam
    • Click Take exam / Start exam.
  • Answering
    • You’ll see a series of questions with answer choices.
    • Read each question, choose an answer, then click Next.
  • Time/finishing requirement
    • Complete the exam within the displayed time limit (example shown: 25 questions in 45 minutes).
  • Submission feedback
    • After completion, the system evaluates answers and provides AI-powered coaching feedback.

2) Case mode

  • From the module, open the SMILE case activity link.
  • Start the case
    • Click Take case activity / Start case activity.
    • If previously attempted, you may disregard the previous attempt and restart.
    • There is a limited number of attempts remaining (example shown: “10 attempts remaining”).
  • Case workflow
    • Read a provided business scenario involving AI models/data/results.
    • The task emphasizes identifying flaws, such as:
      • Problems in a business strategy
      • Issues with methods/models
      • Flaws in AI interpretation of results
  • Writing your response
    • Box 1: Identify and write the key flaws/problems/issues.
    • Box 2: Propose solutions to address the identified problems.
  • Navigation
    • Click Next case to proceed (example pattern: two cases per activity).
  • Time
    • Each case has a time limit (example shown: 20 minutes, but it can vary).

3) Inquiry mode

  • Open the SMILE inquiry-mode link (often you may jump directly to an activity labeled by module number, e.g., “M …”).
  • Start
    • Click Start inquiry.
  • Keyword-based question generation
    • Each inquiry task provides specific keywords (examples mentioned: “vectors” and “satellite imaging”; later “cosine similarity” and “natural language processing”; later “tensors” and “recommendation systems”).
    • You must incorporate the given keywords into every question.
  • Quality requirement (higher-level thinking)
    • Avoid simple recall questions (e.g., definitions/straight facts).
    • Instead, demonstrate:
      • creativity
      • critical thinking
      • understanding
  • Example expectation
    • If the system gives keywords, your question must be more than “what is X?”—it should apply concepts or probe reasoning.
  • Time and number of questions
    • Time limit is set per activity (examples mentioned: 4, 5, or 10 minutes).
    • Generate multiple questions per activity (example: five questions).
  • Iteration
    • You can keep trying until you pass (retry if you fail initially).
  • Move forward
    • Use Next after submitting the question set to proceed.

4) Open mode (relaxed inquiry + peer evaluation)

  • Similar to inquiry mode in that you get keywords, but with extra peer requirements and stricter standards.
  • Additional peer responsibilities (key difference from inquiry mode)
    • You must evaluate peer questions
    • You must respond to peer questions
  • Posting requirements
    • Post three questions.
    • Each question must meet a Bloom’s taxonomy level threshold (video references “Bloom’s level 3.0,” interpreted as needing at least application or higher, not simple recall).
    • Guidance examples:
      • Level 1 (simple recall): “What is the capital city of Kazakhstan?”
      • Higher-level:
        • Reasoning/application: “Why is Astana the capital of Kazakhstan?”
        • Scenario-based: “If China needs to move its capital, which location would be best and why?”
  • AI quality scoring for your questions
    • After entering a question, the AI provides an instant score from 1 to 10.
    • You must score at least 5/10 for your posted questions.
  • Peer ratings requirement
    • Rate at least three peer questions.
    • Rating method: stars from 1 to 5.
  • Peer response requirement
    • You must respond to peer questions (as required for the same set needed to complete the task).
  • Passing the Open mode activity (combined checklist)
    • Post 3 questions at the required cognitive level (Bloom threshold).
    • Each posted question must have AI score ≥ 5/10.
    • Evaluate/rate at least 3 peer questions.
    • Respond to peer questions as required.
    • If all items are completed successfully, you can pass and move on.

Overall purpose / lesson

SMILE activities are designed to help learners exercise and demonstrate understanding of module concepts by:

  • taking exams,
  • analyzing cases,
  • generating inquiry questions (keyword-based, higher-level thinking),
  • and (in open mode) practicing peer evaluation and response with AI-scored quality control.

Speakers / sources featured

  • Single unnamed speaker/teacher (video narrator). No other person or organization is explicitly identified beyond the SMILE acronym expansion: Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment.

Original video