Create a Document in Markdown with GitHub Copilot

Objective

The objective of this activity is to give students the skills to use GitHub Copilot for creating and formatting a markdown document by leveraging Copilot's smart suggestions and real-time guidance.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot enabled
• GitHub Copilot extension(s) installed
• Ensure markdown is enabled in GitHub Copilot Settings
• Active GitHub Copilot subscription

Steps

Step 1: Project setup

• Ask GitHub Copilot Chat to scaffold a new Markdown project

@workspace /new empty workspace named Markdown with a README.md

Step 2: Begin Creating the README

• Open the default README.md and clear any existing content
• Open GitHub Copilot Chat and start a new chat
• Ask for markdown assistance to use as a cheat sheet

Show some common techniques of styling in markdown

Step 3: Let GitHub Copilot Create Your Learning Objectives

• Add a comment at the top of the file

<!--
This document provides the learning objectives for a 3-hour "Introduction to GitHub Copilot" workshop.
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• Press Tab and Enter to accept the generated text, line by line; or, press Alt + ] or Alt + [ to see the next or previous suggestion. You can also press Ctrl + Enter to open a new tab showing multiple suggestions. To accept a suggestion, below the suggestion, click Accept suggestion NUMBER. To reject all suggestions, close the tab.
• Press Esc once the agenda has been created
• Press Ctrl + Shift + V to view the markdown

Step 4: Create Your Agenda

• Add a comment at the bottom of the file

<!--
Add a sample agenda without detail
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• Accept any interesting content

Step 5: Make the Agenda More Interesting

• Press Ctrl + I and Ask Copilot

Make the Agenda sound more exciting

• Accept any interesting content and make any other edits

Step 6: Create Your Outline

• Add a comment at the bottom of the file

<!--
Add a sample outline with detail
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• Accept any interesting content and make any other edits

Step 7: Add celebrity endorsements

• Add a comment at the bottom of the file

<!--
Add a few endorsements for this training course by well-known AI thought leaders. Use actual names.
-->

• Accept any interesting content and make any other edits

Step 8: (Optional) Save Your Document

• Save your document

Summary

In this activity, you learned how to use GitHub Copilot to efficiently create and format a Markdown document with AI-generated suggestions and real-time guidance. You explored Copilot's capabilities to scaffold projects, generate learning objectives, refine agendas, create outlines, and add creative content, making the document creation process smoother and more productive.