Just one year after ChatGPT was released to the world, artificial intelligence is officially everywhere.
It’s no longer a far-fetched idea that students will need to understand how to use AI in order to be successful. Today, AI literacy is widely accepted as a necessary skill that students and teachers alike need to develop. However, the question still remains: “What exactly do we need to know about it?”
If you’re a teacher who wants to be prepared for the age of AI, but you aren’t sure where or how to start, we’ve got you covered. We’ve rounded up five free AI training resources for teachers that will bring you up to speed on everything you need to know:
1. AI 101 for Teachers
This 101 course is a free, foundational online series from Code.org that features on-demand videos from various experts in the AI field. You’ll find sessions that cover the fundamentals of AI, how it can be used to transform teaching practices, how to ensure a responsible approach to AI use, and more. Companion guides are also included to supplement most of their sessions, including this Large Language Model (LLM) Prompting Guide, which can help you learn how to get the best possible outputs from LLMs like ChatGPT.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for Teachers
This is a beginner-level course offered by instructors from Macquarie University via Coursera. It is one of the lengthier AI trainings available, clocking in at about 16 hours to complete. That said, nearly 400 reviewers have given it 4.7 stars out of 5, so it’s worth exploring while it’s still free to enroll.
This course will help you increase your general understanding of AI, recognize why it’s important for learners, and identify ways you can embed it into your teaching practice. It’s described as being “designed by teachers, for teachers” and plenty of teachers confirm this in the reviews.
3. Practical AI for Instructors and Students
This free, 5-part series on YouTube comes to you from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Wharton Interactive’s Faculty Director Ethan Mollick and Director of Pedagogy Lilach Mollick give an overview of LLMs and how they can be used to make teaching easier and more effective, with example prompts and guidelines included. They also share how students can use AI themselves to improve their own learning.
4. Empower Educators to Explore the Potential of Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft is the largest corporate investor of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. They’ve also released a bevy of AI tools themselves, so it makes sense that they now provide AI training resources of their own.
This module is quick (less than one hour) which makes it a great option if you’re looking to get caught up ASAP. The units covered will introduce you to the general concepts behind AI before diving further into generative AI and LLMs. One unit focuses on how to leverage AI-powered image generation effectively, which is a unique skill that teachers will likely find valuable for supplementing classroom activities.
5. IBM AI Education
This collection of free, on-demand webinars for K-12 educators covers foundational concepts and also gives example activities that can be incorporated into your curriculum to expose students to AI. You’ll learn everything from basic AI terminology, to the ethical considerations involved in using AI, to AI’s impact on the future of work your students will need to navigate. As a bonus, you can also take a certification quiz to earn an IBM AI Education badge after you complete all nine webinars in this collection.
Keep the learning process going
We say it all the time to students, but it’s worth telling ourselves, too: learning is a lifelong process! Try not to feel discouraged by what you don’t know yet. These AI trainings exist because countless others find themselves in the exact same position. Artificial intelligence has changed so much in just one year, and it’s sure to keep changing, but we’re here to help guide you through it.
Read more about the basics of AI in Education and subscribe to our EdTech Evolved newsletter to keep up on the most important AI news for educators.