Intro to Artificial Intelligence (STEPS Cohort)

About

An interactive, 4-week online introductory instruction program focused on fundamental competency and assistive utilization of AI presented by Cedar Learning Academy. The course will be provided utilizing the Moodle Learning Management System (Moodle LMS) and Open-Source Learning Resources.

Appointment-based live tutoring sessions will be offered to provide students with extra support and in-depth assistance with course material. Small class sizes (12-15 participants) will be emphasized to facilitate 1-on-1, personalized support.

Dates: November 3 to 26, 2026. 
Time: Mondays & Wednesdays | 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm PST.

Open to all MNBC citizens. No prerequisites other than a desire to learn about Artificial Intelligence.

Course Overview

Below is the curriculum for beginners, focused entirely on hands-on, practical activities. Each session includes a clear title and two activities designed for active skill-building and real-world application. All sessions avoid discussions or final presentations and emphasize direct practice.

 Session Information

Sessions
1 & 2

Course Introduction + Exploration of AI in Daily Life
  • List and categorize AI-powered apps and devices you use in a typical day.
  • Complete a scavenger hunt to identify AI features in common online services (e.g., autocomplete, recommendations). 

Session 3

Getting Started with ChatGPT
  • Complete guided prompts to generate responses using ChatGPT.
  • Edit and improve ChatGPT outputs for clarity or tone.

Session 4

Practicing with Google Suite AI Features
  • Use Smart Compose and Smart Reply in Gmail to draft and edit emails.
  • Apply Google Docs’ AI-powered suggestions to improve a sample document.
Session 5

Using Microsoft CoPilot

  • Generate summaries and outlines in Word using Microsoft CoPilot.
Session 6Summarizing with AI
  • Use any AI translation tool to translate short texts between languages.
  • Summarize an article or document using AI-powered summarization tools
Session 7Identifying AI in Media
  • Use an AI tool to generate music or sound effects.
  • Compare AI-generated media with human-created examples using a checklist
Session 8Practicing AI Ethics and Safety
  • Complete a quiz identifying ethical vs. unethical AI scenarios.
  • Use an online simulator to detect and correct AI bias in sample datasets

 

Each session will include: 

  • Live sessions with detailed demonstrations of assignments
  • Comprehensive learning objectives
  • Single-skill development activities and practice
  • Combined-skill development activities
  • Interactive quizzes
  • Individualized feedback and assessment throughout

REGISTER HERE

 

 

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