NEW FEATURE: Bible Study Builder

It would be great I you could combine this tool with the translation tool!

Ali, thanks for this update. 

This first bullet should be stated at the top, otherwise users go straight to Logos and start searching for this feature, only to get frustrated not finding it.   

• This feature requires a license to access it. Please join this Faithlife group if you'd like to participate in testing Bible Study Builder.

• But for our new members to Logos you have skipped several steps for more visual learners.  Simply type in a Bible reference Where?  Where does one type this?  Seems obvious but new Logos users may not know where to click to start typing.  

Thanks for your help.

I've been using the Bible Study Builder for a few weeks, and found it to be useful. I'll probably move my old Bible study writing workflow across.

There are a couple of things that would be nice to have:

1. Use of templates. Similar to a sermon, I have categories of questions I use each time. For the moment I have set up a Bible Study called template that I copy and paste.
2. The ability to add subquestions. I have a question then might want to follow up afterwards. Being able to nest questions under others would make that work easier. Currently I add them as a note under the question.

Excited to see where this goes!

PS - will there be a nicer way of viewing the finished documents on a mobile device? Currently opening in edit mode means the text is small and potential to overwrite things is high!

Dru Lattin said:

I love the concept, and plan to use it!

Major red flag: Most of the questions come from published works (not AI), yet I can't find any citations for the questions. It seems like this new tool is not merely enabling plagiarism, but actively encouraging it, and making it difficult to avoid. 

Am I missing something? 

If not, is there any way footnotes with sources could be added to the bottom? There's such an epidemic of plagiarism in Biblical study and sermons, I'd love to see Logos pushing back!

One example of how this can be done: When I copy and paste from a commentary or Scripture into the BSB, it includes citation. Why not include this in questions? Again, I think it'd be better as an endnote, but it'd be a start. 

Yasmin Stephen said:

Dru Lattin said:

Major red flag: Most of the questions come from published works (not AI), yet I can't find any citations for the questions. It seems like this new tool is not merely enabling plagiarism, but actively encouraging it, and making it difficult to avoid.

M.J. had posted similar concerns but no response yet from Logos.

Thanks! I've followed up on that thread as well. 

Kyle G. Anderson said:

Mark Smith said:

Is there a list of the books that have been indexed for the question database?

I can provide something like that. Right now there are about 1000 resources so it might be distributed as a publicly available Google doc.

Has the document with the list of 1000 resources indexed for use with the Bible Study Builder been made available? Thanks.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BR-y2nTRhWMQWDAkQ79yvYWDX2p7cQj5ZQru6Yqqw0A/edit?gid=0#gid=0 

Kyle G. Anderson said:

Here is a list of the Logos resources included in the Bible Study Builder dataset. It currently sits at 1052 resources.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BR-y2nTRhWMQWDAkQ79yvYWDX2p7cQj5ZQru6Yqqw0A/edit?gid=0#gid=0 

Thank you Kyle I sent you a few more suggestions via chat if interested 

Dru Lattin said:

Major red flag: Most of the questions come from published works (not AI), yet I can't find an

To use the expression "Generate Questions" with the AI icon implies to the user that generative AI is being used to create questions. This is a misleading description of what the tool is doing. In fact, the tool appears to be harvesting questions from various Logos resources. Perhaps "Search for Questions" would be a more accurate description.

Suggestions:

1. If a particular question is generated by a generative AI tool, this should be distinguished from questions that are harvested by a search. Perhaps AI icon that Logos uses elsewhere could be used. Alternatively, the AI generated questions could be grouped as a separate "source" from those that come from a resource.
2. Suggestion: If the questions come from a source, it would be helpful to be able to click on a question and view the original source. Context often matters.

Justin Gatlin said:

Are you sure? I think the generated questions are AI and the ones above that are the ones from resources. If you click the name of the book, it opens up to show the context.

Thanks for pointing that out. I saw the "Generate" button and when I clicked on it and bunch of questions appeared. So, I assumed that all of the questions were generated by AI based on the books listed. I now see now that the first few batches of questions are taken from the listed sources and then there is a batch of questions generated by AI. So, I withdraw my first suggestion, since it seems Logos already does this.

Perhaps it would be clearer what is happening if the AI Generate button were on the panel toolbar, since the button disappears quickly as the list of questions is populated from the resources.

I would still like to see my second suggestion implemented. I would like to be able to click on a quote and see it in the source in context.

I am sorry for being hasty in my comment.

MJ. Smith said:

click on the title of the question and your wishes are implemented.

That is interesting. I see that clicking on the blue text goes to the section of the original resource.

This raises the question of why the tool picks certain questions and skips others. For example, if I use 1 Corinthians 13:4, my first resource is Bible Study Questions (formerly called Adult Questions for LESSONmaker). The list of questions skips the first question in this resource, then it picks the second question and paraphrases the third question. Then it skips the next 11 questions and then grabs the remaining questions in the passage.

If I create a new Bible Study with the same verse, I get a different set of questions from the same resource. It still skips some questions, but they are different questions that it skipped the last time. 

Even though this is not generative AI, it still acts like an AI in its unpredictability.

I'm still trying to figure out this tool.

Thanks for your help.

Harry Hahne said:

So, the results are different this time than they were the last time. I am not sure why it is inconsistent.

A random thought worth eliminating, at either time you were running the Bible Study Builder, was your library indexing?  I don't know the ins and outs of this tool and indexing possible relationship to it but just had he thought as I was going to try and test the scenario then thought, hey my library is currently indexing, and the result might be impacted.

Stephan Thelen said:

I'm honest: I didn't read the whole thread, but I used this tool today for the first time to prepare our bible study group in the evening. Here are my remarks:

1. It would be desirable if questions were easier to add (e.g. at the end with + symbol or with shortcuts)
2. Bullet points in the notes
3. It is difficult to delete a block again. Why is there no right-click or three-point menu?
4. A color design would help to better differentiate the individual blocks in the lecture (see sermon tool)
5. It would be nice if the tab key were supported in a more meaningful way, e.g. indenting the notes
6. I can't find any help in the Help Center under the German term Kleingruppen-Tool or under Bible Study.
7. When I enter a verse, it is inserted as a Bible text that starts with the passage. Why is my entry not deleted? Otherwise it is always there twice!
8. Why can't I find my notes in the Bible passage assistant when I call up the passage?

Maybe my remarks are now in the false thread, but I would appreciate when I got a logos response.

9. on iPad it is also difficult to add text to the last question when the screen is full. The keyboard is on the way.