AI literacy, according to Empowering Learners for the Age of AI: An AI Literacy Framework for Primary and Secondary Education, means:
“the technical knowledge, durable skills, and future ready attitudes required to thrive in a world influenced by AI. It enables learners to engage, create with, manage, and design AI, while critically evaluating its benefits, risks, and ethical implications” (Empowering, 2025 p. 6).
I have been using a definition of AI literacy since it was introduced to me at an ISTE + Intel AI Community Networking group of which I have been a part for the past year. Let’s break down what that means. Our kids will need to develop skills to know what AI is, how it works, and when it’s appropriate to use it. Our kids also need to be able to see what the benefits and risk are, as well as deciding when/how AI impacts our rights as humans and they can do this while engaging with, creating with, managing and designing AI. Check out the AI Literacy Framework here.
Many of us are grappling with really important issues when it comes to AI: bias, hallucinations, cognitive dissonance, and academic integrity. What I think is missing from the narrative, is helping students to create with AI. Creating images using AI can be a powerful addition to any course, but in this post, I’d like to focus on creating with the Google Gemini Canvas tool.
Creating with Gemini’s Canvas can help students to see, in real time that AI is not magic because it creates the code for whatever you are creating. It also allows you to have discussions with the class critiquing the output. In addition, it moves the conversation away from academic integrity and models for students that AI can be a co-creator. Any time I talk about technology it is always with create vs consume lens and using Canvas allows for this conversation to flourish.
I created a quick how-to-video (see below) and have been experimenting with a variety of different ideas. Check out some of my experiments here.
Would love to know what you think and what you create!
