Build your materials library
Your materials are the files an assistant reads to answer the way you actually teach: your curriculum, worksheets, slides, and notes. You keep them in Materials, grouped into collections, and connect a collection to an assistant so its answers come from your content, not the open internet.
This takes about ten minutes for a first collection. You do not need any technical knowledge.
Before you start
Gather a few files you already use, such as a unit plan, a worksheet, or a reading. You can upload PDFs, Word documents, text files, and images, up to 100 MB each. Decide how you want to group them: by subject, by unit, or by topic. Each group is a collection.
Build your materials library
Work through these steps in order. You can stop after step 2 and connect the collection to an assistant later.
1. Create a collection
Open Materials from the sidebar and click Create. Give the collection a clear name, such as "Biology, Year 9" or "Essay feedback", and confirm with Create. A collection is just a named group of files, so a name that matches a class or a topic makes it easy to find later.
2. Upload your files
Open the collection and click Upload, or drag files straight onto the page. Each file appears under Uploaded files with its size, and you can remove one with the delete icon. Sokra reads each file so an assistant can use it. You can keep adding files to the same collection over time.
3. Connect the collection to an assistant
Files only change an assistant's answers once they are connected to it. Open the assistant you want to improve, go to the Material tab, and attach the collection there. From then on, the assistant answers based on those files. You can connect the same collection to more than one assistant.
4. Keep it current
Treat a collection as living. Add this term's worksheets, remove what is out of date, and the connected assistants use the latest version automatically. One well-kept collection is worth more than several half-filled ones.
Tips
- Name collections the way you think about your teaching, by class or by topic, so the right one is easy to pick when you build an assistant.
- A few focused files beat a large dump. The assistant finds the right answer faster when a collection stays on one subject.
- You can save a document an assistant creates straight into a collection with Into Collection, so good drafts become reusable material.
Data & safety
Files you upload stay in your workspace. A collection changes an assistant's answers only after you connect it, and only the assistants you connect can use it. Uploading a file does not publish it to students; students see an assistant's answers, not your raw files, unless you choose to share a collection. As with any answer, an assistant can be wrong, so check its responses against your materials rather than assuming every file was read perfectly.
Troubleshooting
My assistant ignores a file I uploaded. Uploading is only half the step. Open the assistant, go to the Material tab, and confirm the collection is attached there. A file in Materials that is not connected to an assistant is not used by it.
My upload was rejected. Check the file type and size. You can upload PDFs, Word documents, text files, and images, up to 100 MB each. Files outside those types or above the limit are refused.
I cannot find a collection I made. Open Materials and check the Collections list. If a colleague created it, look under Shared with me.