Learn with Vertech AcademyA simple, 2-hour course that teaches you how to understand AI and use Microsoft Copilot.
"my group project drafts went from rough to polished super fast" — Chris, Marketing
“Act as my AP Biology coach and quiz me 1 step at a time on the light-dependent reactions”Why Prompt B prevents exam blank-outs: By asking the AI to quiz you 1 step at a time with guided hints instead of dumping the full answer, your brain builds the exact recall pathways needed on test day.
Most people ignore Microsoft Copilot because it feels like just another corporate add-on. But if your university forces you to use Office 365, or if you're on a Windows machine, knowing how to leverage Copilot actually saves a lot of context-switching.
This guide skips the enterprise jargon and looks at what Copilot is actually good for. We cover how to use it directly inside the Edge browser to read and pull data from massive, heavily-formatted PDFs without the file-size limits you hit on free ChatGPT.
Because Copilot defaults to searching the live web via Bing, we also focus heavily on web grounding—forcing the model to cite specific URLs and verify claims so you don't end up submitting hallucinated facts in your assignments.
Why use Copilot over ChatGPT?
Access and ecosystem. Copilot gives you GPT-4 capabilities and live internet access for free. More importantly, it can read whatever tab you currently have open in Edge, which is invaluable for quickly parsing dense academic journals.
We'll show you the exact workflows to pull key arguments out of dense documents and format them into usable study material. It's a pragmatic look at using Microsoft's toolset to get your reading and research done faster, without paying for a premium AI subscription.
Skills you'll build:
Requirements:
It's an educational platform that offers both free and paid content. We teach you how to use AI properly, ranging from open-access starter guides to a full premium professional certification.
We will be adding new features, tools, and materials in the coming weeks.
Most people ignore Microsoft Copilot. I'll show you how to use it to read PDFs, draft emails, and research with real sources without paying a subscription.
Learn how to use Copilot to access advanced AI models and browse the internet without paying for a subscription.
Open documents directly in your browser and ask Copilot to summarize the key points.
Draft emails, summarize text, and create outlines inside Microsoft Office programs.
Use AI to break down difficult topics, explain graphs, and help you prepare for exams.
Use Copilot's internet access to find up-to-date information and links you can use for your research.
Here's exactly what we'll cover in this program. 4 modules. 2 hours. Go at your own pace — there's no deadline.
Learn why Copilot is the easiest way to access GPT-5.5 for free without paying a subscription.
Use Copilot to search the live internet and automatically cite its sources.
Use the Edge Sidebar to instantly summarize massive PDFs without needing to upload them.
No! The core techniques we teach rely on the completely free version of Copilot available on the web and inside the Edge browser.
A simple, 2-hour course that teaches you how to understand AI and use ChatGPT.
Keep LearningLearn how to turn PDFs, class notes, videos, and links into grounded study guides, audio overviews, and clear answers.
Keep LearningLearn how to use Copilot to parse long PDFs, draft emails, and verify claims with live web access. Most people ignore Microsoft Copilot because it feels like just another corporate add-on. But if your university forces you to use Office 365, or if you're on a Windows machine, knowing how to leverage Copilot actually saves a lot of context-switching.
| Module # | Module Title | Lessons | Skills Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Module 1 | Getting started with Copilot | Module Intro: Accessing Premium Models, What is Microsoft Copilot?, Native App vs Web App vs. Edge Sidebar | OS Integration |
| Module 2 | Live Research & Sourcing | Module Intro: Breaking the Cutoff Date, How Copilot Searches the Web, Verifying Citations and Footnotes, Switching Conversation Styles (Creative vs Precise) | Web Grounding |
| Module 3 | Reading Long Documents | Module Intro: The Integrated Sidebar, Reading Active Web Pages, Summarizing Local PDFs, Extracting Data from Tables | Office 365 Basics |
| Module 4 | What next? | Module Intro: The Microsoft Ecosystem, Free vs. Paid (Microsoft 365 Copilot), Course Review, Improving Your Salary and Career Potential with AI | Turn your new knowledge of the Edge Sidebar into reliable daily workflows. |
Most people ignore Microsoft Copilot because it feels like just another corporate add-on. But if your university forces you to use Office 365, or if you're on a Windows machine, knowing how to leverage Copilot actually saves a lot of context-switching.
This guide skips the enterprise jargon and looks at what Copilot is actually good for. We cover how to use it directly inside the Edge browser to read and pull data from massive, heavily-formatted PDFs without the file-size limits you hit on free ChatGPT.
Because Copilot defaults to searching the live web via Bing, we also focus heavily on web grounding—forcing the model to cite specific URLs and verify claims so you don't end up submitting hallucinated facts in your assignments.
Learn why Copilot is the easiest way to access GPT-5.5 for free without paying a subscription.
Use Copilot to search the live internet and automatically cite its sources.
Use the Edge Sidebar to instantly summarize massive PDFs without needing to upload them.
Turn your new knowledge of the Edge Sidebar into reliable daily workflows.