Our daily life and AI
Artificial intelligence is now widespread, and more people are using it regularly at work and in their personal lives. The changes brought about by this technology require us to develop critical thinking skills to remain informed citizens and stay in control of our digital environment. We have been researching learning resources that can help learners understand the presence of artificial intelligence in their daily lives. In a series of workshops held on February 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2026, we invited participants to explore them with us and curate your own collection.
We took a look at learning resources that:
- Enhance our knowledge of how AI works and how to evaluate its outputs
- Expand our capacity to detect images and content produced by AI
- Encourage learners to reflect on the use of AI in their learning journey
These resources include teacher-facing guides, instructions, objectives and/or teaching tips and support instructors to:
- Cover a topic comprehensively.
- Build a series of lessons that flow together.
- Learn content alongside learners rather than feel pressure to be the expert.
Workshop 1: What is AI?
Lessons and activities that help learners understand what AI is and how it works.
- CTRL-F
- Common Sense Education – What is AI? and How is AI trained?
- Khan Academy – What is AI? and How is AI trained?
- Google applied digital skills: Discover AI in Daily Life – Online course
- Code.org Youtube Channel
From Jeremy Marks: We have a deep fake document we developed in 2024 which you can access on our Literacy Link website. However, it is due for further research. https://irp.cdn-website.com/1a9192fe/files/uploaded/Combatting+Deep+Fakes+in+Generative+AI+%282024%29.pdf
From Andy Walton: This is a useful resource for teachers. https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/a-teachers-prompt-guide-to-chatgpt-aligned-with-what-works-best.pdf
Workshop 2: AI and Disinformation
Lessons and activities that help learners develop strategies to verify information in a landscape where AI is used to create content.
- From Tracey Mollins: I did not share the link but I mentioned this.
- Perry Carpenter and FAIK – https://www.thisbookisfaik.com/
- He is selling a book but there are some good articles under the resources tab. This one describes the FAIK framework: The FAIK Factor: Your Shield Against Digital Deception
- It is basically lateral reading and very similar to the SIFT framework that CTRL-F uses but some of the ways he talks about emotional intelligence is interesting.
Workshop 3: AI Ethics and Bias
Lessons and activities that help learners explore ethical questions about using AI and how AI perpetuates biases and
stereotypes.
Workshop 4: AI in the Classroom
Lessons and activities for discussing AI guidelines and using AI to complete tasks.
Links shared in Workshop 4
Links from AI in Daily Life Workshop 4 slides
- AlphaPlus AI resource list
- AI to Create and Manage Learning Activities by Shawn McCusker: 2024 12 AI for Educators
AI and Climate
AI and intellectual property (copyright) transparency
- Citing generative AI – U of Ottawa
- This page is in French but for English speakers, a description of the logos is available in English.
AI Literacy Day
An initiative from MediaSmarts at https://mediasmarts.ca/canada-ai-literacy-day
This resource from AlphaPlus was created by Tracey Mollins after a Learn Together workshop series called AI in daily life: Exploring Learning Resources.
Learn Together
Learn Together workshops cover those topics where, as teachers, we may not be comfortable with our level of content expertise or our ability to stay current with constantly evolving developments. These workshops focus on a learn-together approach where teachers and learners can explore the topic together and expertise may be distributed differently. The teacher remains the expert in how to design the learning experience and curate the most effective resources to support that experience. In Learn Together workshops we explore curriculum resources that include teacher-facing guides, instructions, objectives and/or teaching tips and support instructors to:
- Cover a topic comprehensively.
- Build a series of lessons that flow together.
- Learn content alongside learners rather than feel pressure to be the expert.
Express yourself creatively: Creative Writing (Poetry)
In June 2026 we facilitated a 3-part exploration of how to keep creativity flowing in the literacy classroom. We are going to take a dive into resources, tools and approaches that support creative writing instruction. We
- Explored lesson plans that encourage creative expression, reading and writing.
- Provided opportunities for participants to into your their creativity.
- Expanded participant lists of Open Education Resources.
- Experimented with digital tools that can support writing skills and the development of digital competencies.
We took a look at learning resources that:
- Enhance our knowledge of how AI works and how to evaluate its outputs
- Expand our capacity to detect images and content produced by AI
- Encourage learners to reflect on the use of AI in their learning journey
These resources include teacher-facing guides, instructions, objectives and/or teaching tips and support instructors to:
- Cover a topic comprehensively.
- Build a series of lessons that flow together.
- Learn content alongside learners rather than feel pressure to be the expert.
You can find links to all the resources we used in the workshops in this document.
Workshop 1:
Creating something from something
We explored how we can create poetry even if we have never read or written a poem
before. We looked at
- how creating something from something fosters a growth mindset.
- two resources for learning about what poetry is;
- two forms of found poetry that are a place to start;
Workshop 2:
Quiet observations and form poems
We explored how we can create poetry from our own experiences and our own lives.
We looked at
- a poem created from an observation and a question;
- how that poem inspired action;
- how images can inspire creativity;
- how form poetry can help us start creating;
- and a little on how to find images that we can use.
Workshop 3:
Poetry grows our hearts
We explored how we can learn about poetry by experiencing it in different formats.
We looked at
- how poetry gets in our hearts;
- places to read and hear poems;
- how reading poems, listening to poems, and reading poems out loud help us to understand poetry.
This resource from AlphaPlus was created by Tracey Mollins after a Learn Together workshop series called Resources and tools to support creative writing instruction.
Learn Together
Learn Together workshops cover those topics where, as teachers, we may not be comfortable with our level of content expertise or our ability to stay current with constantly evolving developments. These workshops focus on a learn-together approach where teachers and learners can explore the topic together and expertise may be distributed differently. The teacher remains the expert in how to design the learning experience and curate the most effective resources to support that experience. In Learn Together workshops we explore curriculum resources that include teacher-facing guides, instructions, objectives and/or teaching tips and support instructors to:
- Cover a topic comprehensively.
- Build a series of lessons that flow together.
- Learn content alongside learners rather than feel pressure to be the expert.
Why is it important for us to understand this?
An essential 21st century skill is learning how to distinguish information that is reliable from disinformation, misinformation and fake news. Information literacy requires an understanding of the media landscape and knowledge about how to use our critical thinking skills in this landscape.
If we understand a little about how algorithms shape the attention economy, it helps us analyze and evaluate the media we are consuming and interacting with.
Algorithms and the Attention Economy
Algorithms are sets of rules or series of steps. Today, algorithms are generally understood as processes run by computers that take inputs and produce outputs. Online algorithms collect information from people and websites and apps use that information to decide what to show you. Here are some examples:
- Search engines – like Google – try to show you results it thinks are relevant and useful
- Social media sites use algorithms to recommend what it thinks you will want to look at
- Video streaming services (like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, YouTube, and others) use algorithms to suggest what to watch next.
The attention economy is an online business model in which tech companies compete for people’s attention — while also gathering data about them — to serve them personalized ads.
Building lessons with practitioners
How can we understand how algorithms work and how they shape our online experience?
One place to find lessons to help us learn the skills and knowledge we need is CTRL-F.
In this resource we explore the CTRL-F algorithm lesson.
In this lesson, participants:
- demonstrate an understanding of algorithms
- explain how Google uses algorithms to provide search results
- analyze how algorithms can be manipulated
See all Information Literacy Resources.
Why is it important for us to understand this?
An essential 21st century skill is learning how to distinguish information that is reliable from disinformation, misinformation and fake news. Information literacy requires an understanding of the media landscape and knowledge about how to use our critical thinking skills in this landscape.
If we understand a little about how to verify information, it helps us analyze and evaluate the media we are consuming and interacting with and stops us from spreading misinformation.
Misinformation, disinformation and fake news
- Disinformation is information that is false or distorts reality. It is transmitted by means of mass media or social media. Its aim is to manipulate public opinion.
- Fake news is a publication that has the same structure as a news article, but contains exaggerated, distorted or false information. Fake news is a form of disinformation.
- Misinformation is information transmitted by mass media or social media that is considered to be truthful by the transmitter, but, in reality, distorts facts or is wrong.
Read more here: What is disinformation? (activities to do with learners)
Building lessons with practitioners
How can we verify the information we see online and make sure we are not spreading misinformation?
One place to find lessons to help us learn the skills and knowledge we need is MediaSmarts.
In this resource we explore part of a MediaSmarts lesson called Break the Fake: Verifying Information Online to help us build our resilience to online misinformation.
In this lesson, participants:
- Learn simple steps for verifying online information
- Practice verifying online information
- Understand digital literacy key concepts
- Create a media text
See all Information Literacy Resources.
What are information zones?
Information can be categorized into one of six “zones”: news, opinion, entertainment, advertising, propaganda or raw information.
Each category has a primary purpose: to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to sell, to provoke or to document.
Why is it important for us to understand this?
An essential 21st century skill is learning how to distinguish information that is reliable from disinformation, misinformation and fake news. Information literacy requires an understanding of the media landscape and knowledge about how to use our critical thinking skills in this landscape.
If we understand a little about the purposes of different forms of information, it helps us analyze and evaluate the media we are consuming and interacting with. If we confuse the categories, we can ascribe incorrect purposes to the information we access.
Building lessons with practitioners
In our recent Information Literacy series, we looked at some possibilities for how to combine News Literacy Project and Checkology curriculum resources to create an Information Zones lesson for emergent readers.
The News Literacy Project is a website designed to help teachers make sure that students are skilled in news literacy and develop the knowledge and ability to participate in their communities as well-informed, critical thinkers. Checkology is a virtual classroom from the News Literacy Project. Many of the lessons on this site are presented by working journalists.
See all Information Literacy Resources.
How do journalists and editors decide what news to cover and which stories to promote to readers and news consumers? Why is it important for us to understand this?
An essential 21st century skill is learning how to distinguish information that is reliable from disinformation, misinformation and fake news. Information literacy requires an understanding of the media landscape and knowledge about how to use our critical thinking skills in this landscape. The decisions journalists and editors make are important to all of us as they shape the news media landscape. If we understand a little about how these decisions are made, it helps us analyze and evaluate the media we are consuming and interacting with.
Building curriculum with practitioners
In our recent Information Literacy series, we looked at some possibilities for how to combine News Literacy Project activities and Checkology lessons to create an Understanding Journalism curriculum for emergent readers.
The News Literacy Project is a website designed to help teachers make sure that students are skilled in news literacy and develop the knowledge and ability to participate in their communities as well-informed, critical thinkers. Checkology is a virtual classroom from the News Literacy Project. Many of the lessons on this site are presented by working journalists.
See all Information Literacy Resources.
Our idea that literacy workers might be interested in AI policies and guidelines came from a question that a literacy instructor asked in an Ai for Educators workshop, “I showed a learner how to use AI to get help on a simple task. Now that learner is using AI for everything. I feel that this is hindering them in developing some skills that they will need. How can I get them to stop?”
The facilitator, Shawn McCusker, suggested, “Work with the learner to create guidelines that work for you and that specific learner or group of learners in the specific contexts where they are learning.”
We thought this made sense. AI is so new that there are no great templates for the use of AI in adult literacy classrooms. Literacy instructors work with learners to create guidelines for the ways they will work together and are used to facilitating this process.
Here are three workshops presented by AlphaPlus where we discussed the topic of how to create a set of classroom AI guidelines to determine ways teachers and learners can use AI to support teaching and learning in specific contexts. We kicked off the conversation at a Showcase and took a deeper dive into the particulars and how tos in a series of workshops.
To see more about using AI in educational settings, check out our What is Generative AI? resource.
Virtual Showcase: AI policies, ethics and practices in LBS
“In this Showcase, three guest presenters plus three AlphaPlus staff members (Alan, Guylaine and Tracey) discussed how they are integrating AI into their practice and how they are thinking about AI policies and guidelines for organizations and for classrooms.” (November 2024)
Creating AI Policy with Learners
“This three-workshop series, facilitated by Tom Driscoll, is about what an AI policy for adult learners in literacy could look like. We will look at how to work with learners to create a policy that offers guidance for using AI ethically and safely to do research, make material more accessible and support creativity, communication and collaboration.” On the Padlet board, you can see how literacy instructors responded to the scenarios with thoughtful and well reasoned ideas about when using AI can support learning and when it can hinder developing certain skills and knowledge. (January 2025)
- Workshop 1 Slides and Recording
- Workshop 2 Slides and Recording
- Workshop 3 Slides and Recording and Padlet
AI Policy for Literacy Practitioners and Learners
AlphaPlus was invited by Calgary Learns to expand on part of what we presented at the November 2024 Showcase. Guylaine and Tracey facilitated the discussion. “Generative Ai for teaching and learning is still a relatively new technology. In this workshop, facilitated by AlphaPlus practitioners, we will discuss the why and when of using generative Ai tools in adult education classrooms. As the technology and our practices evolve, so do our questions. We will share some of the questions we have been grappling with and invite participants to add theirs to the conversation.” The stoplight discussion is one way to start the conversation about AI use with colleagues and learners. (Calgary Learns, April 2025)
Stoplight Discussion Template
What’s involved in creating an LBS lesson that flows?
A Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) lesson is a narrow, yet revealing window into the complexities, challenges, and rich opportunities so much a part of teaching adult learners who also are aiming to strengthen their digital skills. Whether you are teaching fully online, delivering instruction through a hybrid model, or are fully back in a physical classroom, planning an engaging lesson where skills are honed, connections are made, and a meaningful use of digital technologies is applied, is likely what you aspire to.
During the session, we shared how the Planning a Lesson (PAL) working group came together and explored the intricacies of lesson planning by considering the on-the-ground realities of teaching LBS learners and integrating technology whenever possible. Learn how we met regularly to discuss and identify the common challenges practitioners face before a lesson begins, during the lesson itself, and after a lesson, and how the insights we shared and the tasks we reflected on became the foundation for co-developing resources aimed at bringing flow and deeper learning into lesson planning.
Some tips and lesson planning resources were shared and a sneak peek into the Planning a Lesson website that houses the PAL resources.
Presenters
With twenty-five years of experience supporting adult learners along their unique learning journeys, Olga led the Planning a Lesson (PAL) project drawing on her skills as a seasoned community-based LBS practitioner, an ESL instructor, a vocational counsellor, and an adult education researcher. Her commitment to good teaching that respects adult learners and the real-world skills they bring to their own learning, coupled with her passion for practitioner collaboration and innovation is what set the stage for the PAL project.
Olga is thrilled to have facilitated the working group discussions which were fertile ground for the co-creation of the PAL suite of resources. The working group’s robust teaching experiences, keen insights, diligence, and thoughtful considerations resulted in the co-development of resources that the LBS field will be able to use in order to enhance digital delivery as they engage learners through the lens of purposeful digital integration.
Georgina has worked in adult education (mostly LBS as well as ESL) since 2010. Prior to that, she was an elementary teacher. Georgina is an LBS Instructor with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. She has designed and taught a variety of courses including employment programs, computer skills and academic upgrading.
Joe is an Ontario Certified Teacher who has experience working in education both in Ontario and Nova Scotia. He has worked as an instructor in the Adult Learning and Skills Development department with the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OSCB) since 2022. Joe has taught computer skills, employment preparation, and life skills and has facilitated a remedial class for learners taking online high school credit courses. He currently delivers the Virtual Academic Upgrading course in the OCSB Adult Learning and Skills Development program and also teaches high school.
When John is not in front of his computer taking care of his adult learners at The Literacy Group (TLG) Cambridge location, he is waiting for the day when he can take his twin granddaughters out for a ride on his motorcycle with their Papa John and then curl up on the couch and watch the New York Giants football game on TV.
Leila is a dedicated educator at PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs with a profound passion for teaching adult learners. With a diverse background spanning several years teaching ESL internationally, she has developed a deep understanding of cross-cultural communication and seeks to empower learners with the skills and confidence to navigate the digital world.
Smita started her teaching career in England in 2009 as an Adult ESL instructor and then continued as a Functional Skills instructor until 2016 where she used technology synchronously in her classes to make the teaching topics more interesting and engaging. As part of her teaching duties, Smita designed Schemes of Work, prepared lesson plans, assessment plans, and assessment activities. Currently, Smita works as an LBS instructor at the Toronto District School Board (since 2017), and also teaches Microsoft Office workshops.
Other resources
What is PAL?
The Planning a Lesson website — PAL for short — is a lesson planning companion that’s a little like a conversation with a teaching peer—a peer who has already thought about planning engaging lessons that flow.
The ideas and materials in this digital space stem from thoughtful questions, robust discussions and the collaborative efforts of the PAL working group. Thus, PAL is a space to engage with the insights from front-line LBS practitioners just like you, and to garner some handy tips.
PAL could also be used as a place to return to for inspiration or to spark discussions around learner-centred approaches and strategies with LBS colleagues.
PAL is
- A new way to look at lesson planning
- An opportunity to reflect on your practice
- A space for front-line insights, tips and resources
You will find a blended-learning lesson planning flow developed for and by literacy practitioners grounded in research and research-in-practice. It is kitchen tested but flexible enough that you can add your own flavour and refine the process to meet the needs of your evolving practice.
PRE-LESSON:
Anticipating challenges
- Challenges to lesson flow present themselves before the lesson even begins. Technology issues and day-to-day class logistics can impact a lesson.
- Consider the most common pre-lesson challenges that can become bottlenecks to flow and try to turn them into learning opportunities.
THE LESSON:
Planning for learning and lesson flow
- Skills are honed not only through discrete tasks, but through active learning strategies and lesson components that build upon each other for connections to be made.
- Take a look at planning a lesson where adult learners work with digital tools and each other by way of activities that are purposefully planned.
POST-LESSON:
Taking the learning beyond the class session
- Taking the learning and newly acquired digital skills into the real world, post-lesson, is a way for adult learners to solidify their learning.
- Explore some simple ways to encourage learners to think about their digital wins and reflect on how to apply their new skills beyond the LBS classroom in a meaningful way.
After searching over 100 resources collections and lists from Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Australia, we have developed a fully vetted collection of workbooks, modules and activities that address a range of instructional topics in our Open Educational Resources and Instructional Materials Collection.
To build the collection, Christine and Guylaine assembled a group of instructors from school boards and community groups, representing urban and rural communities across the province. Members work in program areas ranging from workforce development to academic, with diverse learner groups. They provided guidance to ensure the materials are
- Free and ad-free
- Shareable and reproducible
- Mostly modifiable for use in different formats and to change content
- Ready-to-use with instructional activities
- Accompanied by tips, ideas and strategies for educators to implement.
Take some time to explore the collection. You’re sure to find some gems that you can use right away.