AI Literacy

EDC and partner community colleges developed Applied AI: Supercharging Your Learning and Your Career, a flexible, modular AI literacy course designed to prepare community college students to be informed, critical, and confident users of AI technologies across multiple fields. The course helps students build foundational AI knowledge, practice critical thinking, analyze ethical implications, understand technical concepts, and apply AI skills to support their learning and career goals. The six-hour course is organized into modular lessons that can be offered in various formats: online, in-person, self-paced, or facilitated, and can also be used as standalone units to supplement other courses or workshops.

  • In Lesson 1, students explore what AI is (and what it isn’t), identifying AI examples in everyday life to build foundational understanding.
  • In Lesson 2, they examine ethics and fairness in AI, using case studies and discussion prompts to reflect on real-world implications.
  • Lessons 3 and 4 focus on technical concepts, with activities like Google’s Quick Draw to explore data and prediction, and experimenting with AI chatbots to uncover unintended consequences.
  • In Lessons 5 and 6, students examine AI’s role across industries and create AI-enhanced cover letters and professional talking points to strengthen their career readiness. Framed through the lens of critical thinking using the IAVES Human-AI Interaction Framework, the course prepares students to engage with AI ethically and effectively.

By centering workforce relevance, it prepares students to enter their careers not just as passive AI users, but as professionals who can help their organizations adopt and use AI responsibly and strategically.

Module 1: What is AI? image

Module 1: What is AI?

AI is rapidly shaping the world around us, influencing everything from the way we work to how we learn and interact with technology. Understanding AI is essential for making informed decisions, using technology responsibly, and staying prepared for the future, as it becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life and various industries. Everyone should have at least a basic knowledge of AI to navigate its opportunities and challenges effectively.

Module 2: Exploring AI Ethics image

Module 2: Exploring AI Ethics

Understanding ethics in AI isn’t just about technology; it is essential for careers, personal lives, and roles as informed citizens. Employers and communities increasingly value people who can spot biases in algorithms, anticipate unintended impacts, and use AI responsibly and sustainably.

Module 3: AI Core Concepts image

Module 3: AI Core Concepts

In this module, you’ll build foundational knowledge of how core AI systems work. You’ll explore relationships between AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Generative AI, including their structures, processes, and real-world applications. By understanding these fundamentals, you’ll be prepared to critically evaluate and use AI technologies across a range of contexts.

Thinking about AI

Module 4: Large Language Models

With the expansion of LLMs across industries, understanding how they work can help us be informed users, creators, and citizens. Throughout Module 4 you will learn how these models are created and what limitations they have based on their development. This material builds on what you have learned about AI in the previous three modules.

Module 5 - LLMs and Careers

Module 5: AI Applications Across Careers

AI is transforming the workforce across every industry; as innovation advances rapidly, understanding how AI is applied in different career paths is essential for staying competitive and adaptable in the job market. Whether you are planning to enter a trade, pursue a degree, or explore a creative field, knowing how AI tools are used and how to work alongside them will help you succeed in your future career.

Throughout this module, you will examine AI’s impact at several levels. First, you will explore broad economic sectors such as healthcare, technology, finance, and manufacturing. Then, you will look at how AI is changing common departments within companies, including human resources, marketing, accounting, and IT. Finally, you will investigate how specific jobs are evolving as AI becomes a part of daily work.

Module 6: Using AI for Learning image

Module 6: Using AI for Learning

AI is not just transforming industries; it is also changing the way we learn. From generating ideas to writing summaries and building presentations, AI tools can support students in tackling everyday academic tasks more efficiently and creatively. By understanding how to use AI for learning, you can enhance your productivity, deepen your understanding of subjects, and build skills that are increasingly valuable in both school and work.

In this module, you will practice using AI to complete codifiable and repeatable tasks—those that can be clearly defined and performed in consistent ways. These tasks include idea generation, writing, quizzing, and presentations. Learning to apply AI tools in these areas can help you work more effectively and support your academic success.