We all know that students are using all kinds of AI tools. Employees are using them too. But are we using them in good ways? What does it even look like to use something like ChatGPT responsibly?
A group of experts at VIU decided to take on some of these questions over the summer. This team of librarians worked with employees from across VIU’s Nanaimo campus to collaborate and develop an AI Literacy course to help you answer these questions too. The course is designed to equip everyone at VIU with the essential skills they need to critically engage with AI tools, evaluate AI-generated content and apply this knowledge responsibly in their academic work. It’s primarily designed for students, but the module also provides foundational AI literacy concepts useful for all VIU employees, supporting responsible AI use across our campuses.
How did this project get started?
As a team of employees working across VIU, we had some experience with AI technologies, whether by using them ourselves or seeing students grapple with them in their courses. Librarians felt their effects on library resources and services, described in a recent blog post. In that post, we reached out to the VIU community to better understand the broader needs and assess interest in developing a shared approach. The feedback clearly pointed to a gap that led to this team and course on AI Literacy.
Why did we create a course in VIULearn on AI Literacy?
The need for AI Literacy is growing and AI tools are increasingly shaping – and reshaping - our academic work and professional environments. Building on the foundation of VIU’s academic and best practices guidelines and CIEL's valuable resources for instructors, our team saw an opportunity to create a consistent, institution-wide approach to AI. We know that a consistent approach is needed to help navigate AI in the classroom, in our research and professional work, and in our lives in general. This baseline critical foundation gives instructors and employees something to draw on, while still respecting the discretion of individual instructors in whether they choose to integrate AI into their courses.
We had 3 goals:
to develop a foundational, accessible resource that supports AI literacy efforts across departments
to help all members of the VIU community build essential critical thinking skills to navigate AI tools effectively and ethically
to ensure a balanced approach that weighs opportunities alongside risks
As AI tools continue to evolve, we designed a course that focuses on critical evaluation skills rather than specific interfaces, making sure it remains relevant and adaptable over time. We saw a need to foster metacognitive thinking with interactive, reflective activities grounded in Universal Design for Learning principles, enabling students to apply these skills to emerging AI technologies, no matter how they change.
What approach did we take to AI Literacy?
Our development process for content drew on established AI literacy frameworks, such as those from UNESCO, Open University, and Educause, to shape learning outcomes that balance technical understanding with ethical, social, and cultural considerations. A strong emphasis on equity, diversity and inclusion informed content creation, ensuring that the module addresses issues of representation, bias, and access, helping students to critically engage with AI’s broader impacts.
The module design in VIULearn focused on digestible and interactive content. Our goal was to make the course accessible to everyone, regardless of your level of expertise or interaction with AI, your program or area of study, or your place at VIU.
Where are we in the process?
The first set of modules is available in VIULearn, covering key AI concepts and methods for evaluating AI-generated content. Here’s what’s available so far:
Lesson One: What You Need To Know
Lesson Two: Evaluating Generative AI Tools and Outputs (Partially available)
A short segment on ethics
We’re developing Lessons Three and Four and plan to release them in the coming months. These lessons will cover practical use of generative AI tools in research and explore the broader ethical implications of AI:
Lesson Three: Using Generative AI Tools (Future release)
Lesson Four: Impacts of AI (Future release)
Future iterations will include a teacher’s package with additional guidance and resources to assist instructors in integrating AI literacy into their teaching effectively. There are further reading sections throughout the module to support ongoing learning.
How can you use this course?
Employees and students can access the module as an open course in VIULearn, or upload it directly into individual courses. The open course can be found by clicking on the ‘Discover’ tab in VIULearn, and searching for “AI Literacy Tutorial.” If you wish to embed parts of the module into your own course, you can do so here. We designed the module to be flexible, recognizing that instructors may vary in how they approach AI tool use in their classes. You can use certain sections as you see fit and remove others that are not relevant to your students.
Can I get involved? Are you asking for feedback?
We are definitely interested in your feedback. If you have suggestions for improving the module or ideas for additional content, please share them with us. You can submit feedback through the module’s feedback form or reach out directly (luke.mcleod@viu.ca) to discuss how we can make the module even more effective.
This initiative has been led by librarians Luke McLeod and Natalie Hajduk, together with a cross-campus working group that includes: Joanna Hesketh, KJ Reed, Lucy Kiester, Oscar Ruelas, Peter Farquharson, Caroline Korbel, Anwen Burk, Graham Bevan, Janis Richmond, Jessica Gemella, and Lara Wright.
Stay tuned for upcoming updates as we continue to develop the module in the coming months.
