AI Literacy for Educators

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Overview and Purpose

Helping educators build AI literacy enables them to confidently navigate, evaluate, and integrate artificial intelligence tools in their teaching practice. As AI becomes increasingly present in every day life, teachers play a vital role in guiding students to use these tools responsibly, critically, and creatively. My course provides a foundational understanding of how AI works, explores its potential applications and limitations in the classroom, and addresses ethical considerations.

By developing these skills, teachers will be better equipped to prepare students for a world where AI shapes communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, ensuring that learning remains both relevant and focused on the future.

Needs Assessment

This mini-course helps K-12 educators build confidence and understanding in using artificial intelligence responsibly in their teaching.

AI is changing education, but many teachers lack the background knowledge to use it effectively or ethically. This course is designed for educators who may know of AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini but aren't sure how they work or how to apply them meaningfully in the classroom.

Currently, most available training focuses on how to use tools rather than developing deeper AI literacy: understanding how AI functions, recognizing bias, and using it responsibly. This course attempts to fill that gap by helping teachers:

Understand core AI concepts and limitations
Critically evaluate AI-generated content
Integrate AI to enhance teaching and learning
Promote ethical and equitable AI use

Through interactive lessons and reflective activities, participants will gain the skills and mindset to use AI thoughtfully and guide their students in doing the same.

Performance-Based Learning Objectives

After completing this mini-course, participants will be able to design and implement a classroom activity that meaningfully integrates AI tools to enhance students' critical thinking, creativity, and understanding of technology's impact on society.

Explain key principles of AI literacy and their relevance to classroom instruction.
Evaluate AI tools for educational use based on ethical, pedagogical, and practical considerations.
Design and implement an AI-supported classroom activity that enhances student learning.
Reflect on the impact of AI use in education to support responsible and equitable integration.

Participants will demonstrate this by developing an instructional plan that:

aligns AI tool use with content specific learning objectives
scaffolds students' responsible and ethical interaction with AI
includes strategies for reflection and assessment that promote digital literacy and deeper learning

Course Units

This mini-course includes the following units. Click the title of a unit to go to its page.

Unit 1: Foundations of AI Literacy

1. Prerequisite Knowledge

Basic understanding of instructional design and classroom technology integration.
Awareness of current educational technology trends.

2. Learning Content and Activities

Readings and a video on AI concepts (machine learning, generative AI, data ethics).
Interactive module: "What is AI Literacy?" with mini-quizzes.
Discussion: "How is AI already shaping learning in my classroom?"

Unit 2: Evaluating AI tools

1. Prerequisite Knowledge

Understanding of ethical AI principles (bias, transparency, privacy).
Familiarity with examples of AI tools used in education.

2. Learning Content and Activities

What to look for when evaluating AI tools.
Rubric-based activity: Participants use a provided framework to evaluate one AI tool.
Group discussion board comparing evaluations.

Unit 3: Designing with AI

1. Prerequisite Knowledge

Ability to align learning objectives with instructional activities.
Basic comfort using AI tools for lesson planning or creation.

2. Learning Content and Activities

Walk-throughs of lesson design models,
Guided design workshop using a selected AI tool.
Creation of AI-assisted lesson plan.
Peer feedback on draft lesson designs.

Course Resources & References

Akgun, S., Greenhow, C. Artificial intelligence in education: Addressing ethical challenges in K-12 settings. AI Ethics 2, 431–440 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-021-00096-7

Antoniak, M. (2023, June 22). Using large language models with care - AI2 blog. Medium. https://blog.allenai.org/using-large-language-models-with-care-eeb17b0aed27

De Vynck, G. (2023, June 28). ChatGPT maker OpenAI faces a lawsuit over how it used people’s data. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/06/28/openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-class-action/

Dwivedi, Yogesh K. et al. Opinion Paper: “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy, International Journal of Information Management, Volume 71, 2023, 102642,ISSN 0268-4012, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102642

European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data in teaching and learning for educators, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/153756

Frąckiewicz, M. (2023). OpenAI and the Risks of AI Bias: Addressing Stereotypes and Discrimination. TS2 SPACE. https://ts2.space/en/openai-and-the-risks-of-ai-bias-addressing-stereotypes-and-discrimination

Gašević, D., Siemens, G., & Sadiq, S. (2023). Empowering learners for the age of artificial intelligence. Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence, 4, 100130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100130

Sowash, J (2024, September 24) Ai lesson planning with gems from gemini. Chromebook Classroom. https://www.chrmbook.com/ai-lesson-planning-gems/

University of Toronto, Research guides: Artificial intelligence for image research. https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/image-gen-ai

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations, Washington, DC, 2023.

Uzzi, B. (2020, November 4). A simple tactic that could help reduce bias in AI. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/11/a-simple-tactic-that-could-help-reduce-bias-in-ai

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