At this year’s Digifest, we held our second in-person AI in FE community meetup, centred around the theme of AI literacy for learners. We invited delegates from across the sector to join us in the community hub to discuss some of the key questions emerging around supporting learners with AI literacy.
We asked:
- What does it mean for a learner to be ‘AI literate’?
- What challenges do students face when learning about AI, and how can we support them?
- How do we engage learners who have no interest in AI at all?
- What misconceptions might learners have about AI, and how do we address them?
- What real-world AI applications are most relevant to our learner’s lives and future careers?
- How can we integrate AI literacy across different subject areas rather than treating it as a standalone topic?
Attendees were quick to dive into these issues and shared their collective answers through the post-it wall. Thank you to all who came along and shared their thoughts with us.
We’ve digitised the wall to share their insights further, you can access the wall through this Padlet.
We’re pleased to share a summary of the discussions below and are also leaving the Padlet open to new posts, we encourage those who couldn’t attend in person to leave their thoughts and answers to the questions too.
Insights from the session
1. What does it mean for a learner to be ‘AI literate’?
AI literacy has been difficult to define, and attendees expressed how different contexts affect what learners need to know. A clear understanding of what we mean by the term AI and the technologies it includes, as well as how to use it effectively were considered essential to being AI literate. The importance of general critical thinking skills and media/information literacy to understanding AI fully was emphasised. Prompting was also discussed as a key skill, though there was some debate about the importance of learners being able to craft their own prompts.
2. What challenges do students and learners face when learning about AI, and how can we support them?
A particular challenge raised was that differing levels of AI adoption within institutions can create inconsistent messaging around AI, creating confusion among learners about what they are allowed to do with it.
Students also expressed concerns about ethical issues, particularly the environmental and social impacts of AI, which made many hesitant to engage with the technology. Additionally, financial costs and poor accessibility were frequently cited as barriers that hinder students and learners from using AI tools.
3. How do we engage learners who have no interest in AI at all?
Responses included trying to engage learners by highlighting specific benefits of AI technology that are directly relevant to them. Uses to support accessibility and inclusion were suggested as good starting points for those conversations.
Others highlighted that there are many reasons learners may be uninterested in or even against the use of AI technologies. It was emphasised that gaining an understanding of learner’s perspectives is essential.
4. What misconceptions might learners have about AI, and how do we address them?
Many misconceptions discussed revolved around the capabilities of AI tools. Largely that learners may think that AI can automate the majority of their work and that outputs from AI tools can be used ‘as is’ without further refinement. It was felt that the primary way to address misconceptions was by beginning with robust AI literacy for staff members which could cascade down to learners.
5. What real-world AI applications are most relevant to our learner’s lives and future careers?
Attendees contributed a range of AI uses here across different industries, from healthcare applications to navigation systems. Notably, several mentioned AI writing support to be most relevant, referencing the use of such tools to write reports and emails. Another frequent answer was code generation and the use of AI in software development.
6. How can we integrate AI literacy across different subject areas rather than treating it as a standalone topic?
This question received the most attention from our group. Many contributors noted that individuals in creative fields tended to be more critical of AI, largely due to concerns about its potential negative impact on creative industries. This could be difficult to address, though finding common ground between subject areas could help.
Other suggestions included holding focus groups with staff and learners to support understanding of differing opinions on AI. As well as encouraging the sharing of ideas, such as through peer-to-peer schemes and AI ‘champions’. Involving library services to help build a holistic approach to AI policy and guidance was also recommended.
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Our next AI in FE group meeting will take place online next week. If you’ve yet to sign up for the FE community meet-ups, you can do so by completing this form. Sessions are open to all Jisc members.
Find out more by visiting our Artificial Intelligence page to view publications and resources, join us for events and discover what AI has to offer through our range of interactive online demos.
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Get in touch with the team directly at AI@jisc.ac.uk