Digital/AI Literacy

Read more about students’ ability to use technology, including artificial intelligence, to discover, evaluate, and utilize information

Explainer

What Is Digital Literacy?
For educators, digital literacy means much more than learning to read online. Here's a guide to understanding it.
Students engage in an AI robotics lesson in Funda Perez’ 4th grade computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Students engage in an AI robotics lesson in Selver Perez’s 4th grade computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025. The Passaic district is ahead of the curve when it comes to providing AI literacy lessons for students.
Erica S. Lee for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Take These 4 Steps When Rolling Out AI Literacy Lessons: One District's Strategy
Sixth through 12th grade students are learning all about AI in this district.
Lauraine Langreo, November 19, 2025
4 min read
Students in Bentonville public schools’ Ignite program work on projects during class on Nov. 5, 2025, in Bentonville, Ark. The program offer career-pathway training for juniors and seniors in the district.
Instructor Wendy Broughton, seated at left, works with students in the health sciences track of Bentonville public schools’ Ignite program on Nov. 5, 2025, in Bentonville, Ark. The program—which integrates lessons about AI into its curriculum—offers career-pathway training for high school juniors and seniors in the district.
Wesley Hitt for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence ‘What Are You Doing on AI?’: How This District Added It to Career Education
AI literacy instruction is embedded across all 10 of the district's high school career pathways.
Alyson Klein, November 17, 2025
11 min read
AI multi-tool knife. Artificial intelligence, solution, chatbot assistance concept. Leader toolkit.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Artificial Intelligence Parents Need AI Literacy Lessons, Too. A New Toolkit Aims to Help
Two nonprofits teamed up to create a toolkit of resources schools can use to help families.
Alyson Klein, November 17, 2025
2 min read
Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How Schools Are Navigating AI Advances
Join this free virtual event to learn how schools are striking a balance between using AI and avoiding its potentially harmful effects.
November 13, 2025
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Conceptual image of dice with question marks on them with A.I. faded in background.
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence Teachers Worry AI Will Impede Students' Critical Thinking Skills. Many Teens Aren't So Sure
A majority of educators fear students may become dependent on generative AI tools for basic tasks.
Alyson Klein, October 24, 2025
2 min read
Students in Mary Rodgers' 12th grade honors English class use AI to help craft an engaging thesis statement for a college admissions essay on Sept. 23, 2025, at Louisa County High School in Mineral, Va.
Students in Mary Rodgers' 12th grade honors English class use AI to help craft an engaging thesis statement for a college admissions essay on Sept. 23, 2025, at Louisa County High School in Mineral, Va. Her school district is trying to get ahead of the curve on training teachers how to use AI for instruction.
Kirsten Luce for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence From Our Research Center 'Look How Fast This Is Exploding': Inside One District's Approach to AI Training
A Virginia school system is trying to help teachers understand the power and limitations of AI tools.
Alyson Klein, October 20, 2025
11 min read
Collaged image of the pathways and guidelines of AI policy.
Stephanie Dalton Cowan for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence How School Districts Are Crafting AI Policy on the Fly
It's a struggle to create guidelines that keep up with rapid advances in the technology.
8 min read
Floating data particles with an image of Shakespeare's face ascend from an open book, symbolizing technology-driven education, artificial intelligence, and information exchange.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow' Is Now Here: How a Teacher Used AI to Teach 'Macbeth'
An English teacher paired lessons on Shakespeare's classic play with instruction about AI.
Alyson Klein, October 20, 2025
3 min read
Students engage in an AI robotics lesson in Funda Perez’ 4th grade computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Students engage in an AI robotics lesson in Funda Perez’ 4th grade computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Erica S. Lee for Education Week
Special Report AI Is Picking Up Speed. Are Schools Keeping Pace?
See how schools are trying to keep pace with advances in artificial intelligence and use it in meaningful ways.
October 20, 2025
3d rendered image of an AI presence facing itself
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Artificial Intelligence 'AI Helped Us Understand Itself': What Happened When AI Wrote a Course About AI
Careful AI prompting helped a computer science leader design a course about the technology.
Alyson Klein, October 20, 2025
2 min read
Nathali Hernandez, 9, left, and Zoe Estrella Quiroz, 9, center, build a program using commands to make a robot named Dash follow a path on a grid. Students worked together in Funda Perez’s 4th grade computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Nathali Hernandez, left, and Zoe Estrella Quiroz use AI tools to design a program to direct a robot named Dash to follow a path on a grid. The 4th graders worked together in a computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025. A growing number of school districts are emphasizing the development of AI literacy.
Erica S. Lee for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence 'It's Not Magic': How These Schools Are Teaching AI Literacy
Students are building knowledge about the technology that could help them in future jobs.
Lauraine Langreo, October 20, 2025
9 min read
Artificial Intelligence Video How Schools Can Use AI in Smart, Responsible Ways
Use of AI in school brings great opportunity and risk. Here's how educators can find a balance.
Kevin Bushweller & CJ Riculan, October 16, 2025
1 min read
Human and AI robot completing a jigsaw puzzle, the human is holding the right piece
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Opinion AI Is Trained to Avoid These 3 Words That Are Essential to Learning
Chatbots aren’t designed to model the type of thinking we expect from our students.
Sam Wineburg & Nadav Ziv, October 15, 2025
5 min read