Unit Overview
- Description
In an increasingly digitised world, it is essential for everyone to develop the AI literacy to make effective and ethical use of AI technologies for personal, social, educational, professional and civic purposes. Unlike the digital technologies of the recent past, AI is less a tool than an agent, and this unit will explore how we can balance human and AI agency to build successful human-AI collaborations.
The unit begins with an overview of digital literacies, which are the individual and social skills needed to effectively manage meaning in an era of digitally networked communications. After exploring AI as a posthumanist facilitator of co-intelligence, the unit then zeroes in on the specific skills associated with AI literacy, which is emerging as the key digital literacy of our time. While introducing a range of AI literacy models, the unit is grounded in Tour et al.'s (2025) Sociocultural Model of AI Literacy. Together, we will explore the development of appropriate skills, practices and dispositions associated with each of the model's four core domains: the operational, contextual (encompassing emotional intelligence), critical (encompassing ethics) and creative. In this way, participants will build conceptual understandings of the benefits and risks of AI technologies, operational and contextual understandings of how to employ them effectively for specific purposes in specific contexts, critical perspectives on their educational, social and environmental implications, and creative perspectives on innovating with AI.
During the unit, participants will cultivate effective communication skills for interacting with both human and AI interlocutors across digital networks, as well as engaging in reflective exercises and receiving personalised feedback to enable them to chart their own paths into a future which will be shaped by human-AI collaboration.
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
Availability Location Mode First year of offer Not available in 2026 Online Online only - Outcomes
Students are able to (1) demonstrate a foundational understanding of digital literacies with reference to key frameworks & models; (2) apply these understandings, frameworks and models to own professional (or personal/educational) context; (3) analyse and evaluate current uses of AI technologies, critically assessing their applications in own professional (or personal/educational) context; (4) create a pitch for AI literacy relevant to own professional (or personal/educational) context; (5) employ effective digital communication skills for interacting with both human and AI interlocutors; and (6) reflect on personal learning and design strategies to meet ongoing professional (or personal/educational) development needs in AI literacy.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) AI pitch and (2) AI professional learning network map. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Associate Professor Mark Pegrum and Associate Professor Grace Oakley
- Contact hours
- Asynchronous, volume of learning = 150 hours
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.