When my son began his fourth grade, his teacher provided a thick tied packet of cursive worksheets. She said that completing the packet is optional, but only if students win a “pen license” and move from years of pencil use to the Holy Grail.,ink. You should also acquire AI usage. I made money after becoming AI literacy. Prohibiting the use of AI in university classrooms is a pointless and exhausting effort. Instead, we should learn to become AI literate with our students. Our society has emerged entirely in the AI age, with nearly half of US states releasing AI guidance, California has signed Congress to include AI literacy in its K12 curriculum, and recent guidance on the implementation of education in US educational facilities. It is essential that all of us, students and faculty, as well as in higher education institutions, learn the fundamentals of AI and acquire the right to responsibly use generated AI.
So, what does it mean to be literal of AI? The answer to this question changes daily, but there are many resources that will help our students and us to build awareness, knowledge and skills in AI use. There are online short courses that share many of the same AI literacy basics, including:
- Building awareness of how AI is already being used in a variety of fields, from healthcare to retail and education
- Understanding AI vocabulary and acronyms such as machine learning, deep learning, large-scale language models (LLM), neural networks, and natural language processing (NLP)
- Criticism skills that reveal hallucinations, falsehoods, and prejudices of output;
- Acknowledge privacy, safety and environmental concerns
- Quick engineering skills, and 6. Knowledge and practice in AI is used in a specific context
Together, you can look at many free online options with your students. Below is a short list I discovered for myself and provided to my students.
- The Elements of AI: Online courses by Minnalearn and the University of Helsinki learn AI capabilities through theory and practical exercises.
- For AI 101 teachers: a series of videos, companion guides, AI Foundation for co-partner educators – code.org, Educational Test Services (ETS), International Society for Education (ISTE), and Khan Academy.
- 2024 AI Literacy Canvas Module (Request Form): This AI Literacy Canvas Module is licensed with the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA license, designed by the Centre for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (Rush University's CTEI covers four areas of AI literacy.
Ultimately, learning the basics of AI goes beyond short online courses and requires iterative practice using a variety of AI tools. Knowing the basics can use established frameworks to guide more informed discussions on establishing DOS and DOS for responsible AI use in courses. And yes, perhaps even many people will abuse the privilege of using AI in your class, and you will find a big splatter of blue crossouts and black ink stains, but that's still better than banning pens entirely. Provide a pathway to improving awareness, knowledge and skills in using AI. We all find a collection of ways to manage in the future world where AI is embedded in our work.
Madeline Craig is an associate professor and technical integration coordinator at Molloy University in Rockville Center, New York. In improving her own AI knowledge and skills, she relies on the professional learning networks of LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Iste Connect, playing with a variety of AI tools at the same time.
reference
Klein, A. (September 11, 2024). “A solid start”: The state is creating AI guidance for schools, but there's more to do. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/a-solid-start-states-are-crafting-ai-guidance-for-schools-have-more-todo/2024/09
Lambert, D. (October 4, 2024). California students will quickly learn about AI and media literacy. edsource. https://edsource.org/updates/california-students-to-learn-about-ai-andia-literacy-soon? utm_source = ai-admin.beehii V.com & utm_medium = newsletter & utm_campaign = the-ace-ai-literacy-framework & _bhlid = ffb2ed35f7f7c84088bcb6b4caa5765a8f6854e1
Miao, f. & Cukurova, M. (2024). An AI competency framework for teachers. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/zjte2084
U.S. Department of Education, Department of Education and Technology. (2024). Navigation of artificial intelligence in postsecondary education: Washington, DC, building capacity ahead of roads.
