| Course Number: | EDU 5710 S29 |
| Instructor: | Alicia Beth, Ph.D. |
| Location: | Online |
| Dates and Times: | January 12 - April 26, 2026 |
| Credits: | 3 Graduate Credits |
| Tuition: | $1,920 Set by and payable to VT-HEC |
This 3-credit asynchronous course focuses on the implications of artificial intelligence (AI), mis/disinformation, social media, and related topics on equitable participation in a global democracy. Participants will examine the impacts of AI, algorithmic racism and other inequities, and profit-focused surveillance on our capacities to think, teach, and learn. The impacts of social media on child and adolescent mental health will also be explored. Participants will consider how to critically evaluate, use, and limit technologies for instruction and assessment. They will explore potential uses of AI with their students by drafting, revising, and disclosing the use of AI in their own work.
This course encourages participants to evaluate their own paradigms around digital and media literacy – content that is universally relevant regardless of grade level or subject area. Participants will apply content and skills to the age/grade bands and/or subject areas that are most relevant to their own roles and contexts.
Audience: Educators with an earned Bachelor's Degree
Course Goals: Learners will:
Course Objectives: Learners will know and be able to:
Week 1: Introductions | Discussion #1
Create a namebadge at name-coach.com, and add your introduction to the course Padlet. Review course objectives, and explain how we’re meeting one of them this week. Refer to at least 3 sources (readings, videos, podcast episodes). Initial post due Friday, two replies due Sunday.
Week 2: ISTE Standards & Code of Ethics for Educators & Students | Learning Quiz #1
Use the learning quiz in Canvas to guide your exploration of content this week. This quiz covers the SAMR model by Ruben Puentedura, ISTE Standards for Educators and Students, Model Code of Ethics for Educators, and the educational technology channel/playlist you chose to explore. You have the opportunity to provide written responses or record video responses; a link is provided in the quiz to upload videos if you so choose.
Week 3: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) | Discussion #2
Write a brief paragraph that outlines the patterns of strengths and weaknesses you identified from your TPACK survey. How can you use a growth mindset to improve on your weaknesses? Then, write a brief paragraph with an example of a time you think a teacher utilized at least one of the TPACK components well (TK, PK, CK, TPK, TCK, PCK, TPACK). What was missing? What could they have done to strengthen technology integration as illustrated by the TPACK model. Finally, explore William & Mary's TPACK Learning Activity Types. Write one paragraph outlining something you learned or found interesting. This could be about anything -- the foundational documents, resources, or specific learning activity types. Initial post due Friday, two replies due Sunday.
Week 4: Lesson Planning Prep | Learning Quiz #2
Use the learning quiz in Canvas to guide your exploration of content this week. In preparation for creating lessons using AI in the coming weeks, this quiz covers Understanding by Design, the 5-E instructional model, and resources for technology integration. You have the opportunity to provide written responses or record video responses; a link is provided in the quiz to upload videos if you so choose.
Week 5: Equitable Assessment & Educational Technology | Discussion #3
For this week’s discussion, you will post your screencast on the educational technology tool you selected and reply to two peers’ screencasts. Initial post due Friday, two replies due Sunday.
Week 6: Global Digital Citizenship & Mis/Disinformation | Application Task #1
Submit a written, video, or audio response that fully addresses the following prompts:
Week 7: Big Data & Surveillance | Application Task #2
Submit a video reflection on the films, Snowden and The Big Data Robbery. Your reflection will address specific questions (detailed in Canvas) about surveillance capitalism, individual civil liberties, government reach and public security, and unintended consequences.
Week 8: Lesson Planning Using AI | Lesson Plan #1
Develop a lesson plan using AI that demonstrates attention to specific requirements (outlined in detail in Canvas), including real-time (human) edits of machine output. You will submit your lesson, including all human input, machine output, and human edits, along with a brief reflection on what is missing from this process.
Week 9: Accessibility & Assistive Technology | Discussion #4
After reading, watching, and listening to this week’s content, watch the video of Axel, a 12-year-old Autistic child who uses Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Pay attention to the ways in which his ability to demonstrate his academic and social skills have improved as his new school increased his ability to access learning and participate using assistive technology (AT).
Week 10: Computational Thinking | Application Task #3
Submit a written, video, or audio response that fully addresses:
Week 11: Broadening Participation in CS | Learning Quiz #3
Use the learning quiz in Canvas to guide your exploration of content this week. This quiz covers your working definitions of CS and CT, how CS/CT applies to your own discipline or grade band, underrepresentation in CS, and the “human computers” (the first programmers, all Black women). You have the opportunity to provide written responses or record video responses; a link is provided in the quiz to upload videos if you so choose.
Week 12: AI & Equity | Learning Quiz #4
This quiz about AI and equity is an experiment in one of the possibilities for curbing AI misuse among students: “Rather than relying mostly on narrative items as with past quizzes, we're going to try out #1 and see if we can get at some critical thinking skills (higher levels of Bloom's) using those traditional style item types... See what you think and if this accomplishes that. (Of course, one thing that makes this different is that it's open-resource and completed at home, but imagine if it weren't and you had to take it in class with no laptop...) How will you address AI in your classroom?” You have the opportunity to provide written responses or record video responses; a link is provided in the quiz to upload videos if you so choose.
Week 13: Integrating AI & AT in Lesson Planning | Lesson Plan #2
Develop a lesson plan (using AI or not) that demonstrates attention to specific requirements outlined in detail in Canvas. You will submit your lesson along with an explanation of possible accommodations, including one use of assistive technology, (AT) and an explanation of your use of a technological tool for instruction and/or assessment. You will also submit a brief paragraph describing your use/lack of use of AI.
Weeks 14-15: Personal-Professional Philosophy | Application Task #4
Submit a written, video, or audio response that fully addresses your personal and professional takeaways from the course content. Detailed instructions are provided in Canvas.
Alicia Beth, Ph.D. Alicia is the VT-HEC Director of Licensing Programs. She is responsible for the implementation of all pathways to initial licensure and endorsement. Prior to her work with the VT-HEC, Alicia was a faculty member in the Core Education department at Landmark College and evaluation specialist for North Country Supervisory Union.
Before moving to Vermont, she worked for the UTeach Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, supporting 50 universities nationwide to implement high quality STEM educator preparation programs. In her time there, Alicia established the UTeach Computer Science program, which provides equitable access to computing education through a universally designed curriculum and strengths-focused professional learning program and community of practice. As part of that effort, she was invited by the White House to participate in a number of working groups in support of President Obama’s #CSforAll initiative.
Alicia began her career as a middle grades special educator; she maintains licenses in both Texas and Vermont.
Costs for required readings, if any, are not included in the course tuition.
Most course materials are available online at no cost. Those that are not are indicated with an asterisk (*). Materials indicated with a double asterisk (**) have been made unavailable very recently due to shifting political landscapes. I will make every effort to make these materials available to you at no cost, but they may be blocked.
Aiwohi, L. L. (2024, June 14). Equity-focused challenges in CS. Computer Science
Teachers Association. https://csteachers.org/equity-focused-challenges-in-cs/
aliciadbeth. (n.d.). EdTech broadening participation in CS [Video playlist]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNpW07FNZSABUR0Yr7PgF4g6iIyAu13KT
Center for Humane Technology. (2021, June). Ledger of harms [Web resource].
https://ledger.humanetech.com/
Center for Humane Technology. (2024, February 6). Spotlight — Humane Technology
on “60 Minutes” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DshqDzbYAoU
Center for Humane Technology. (n.d.). Policy reforms toolkit.
https://www.humanetech.com/policy-reforms
Ciston, S. (2019). Intersectional artificial intelligence is essential: Polyvocal, multimodal,
experimental methods to save AI. CITAR Journal, 11(2). https://revistas.ucp.pt/index.php/jsta/article/view/7328/7108
Computer Science Teachers Association. (2017). CSTA K-12 Computer Science
Standards: Revised 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2025, from https://csteachers.org/k12standards/
Erdos, K. P. (Director). (2014). The computers: The remarkable story of the ENIAC
programmers [Film]. Vintage Digital Media. [link provided in Canvas]
International Society for Technology in Education. (2024a). ISTE Standards for
Educators. Retrieved October 29, 2025, from https://iste.org/standards/educators
International Society for Technology in Education. (2024b). ISTE Standards: For
Students. Retrieved October 29, 2025, from https://iste.org/standards/students
International Society for Technology in Education. (n.d.). ISTE Standards – YouTube
playlist [Video playlist]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6aVN_9hcQEH6D0zMdylQbDkSrV-MNOwD
K–12 Computer Science Framework Steering Committee. (2016). K–12 computer
science framework [PDF]. http://www.k12cs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/K%E2%80%9312-Computer-Science-Framework.pdf
** Kantayya, S. (Director). (2020). Coded Bias [Film]. 7th Empire Media.
Kaplan, S. (2024). An equity lens on artificial intelligence: Evidence brief — Skills and
work in the digital economy (Evidence brief). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. https://sshrc-crsh.canada.ca/society-societe/community-communite/ifca-iac/evidence_briefs-donnees_probantes/skills_work_digital_economy-competences_travail_economie_numerique/pdf/SSHRC%20KSG%20Evidence%20Brief_Kaplan_Sarah_FinalE.pdf
Kapor Center. (2022, November). Equitable technology policy: Ensuring the
participation and protection of Black, Latinx, & Native communities in the technology economy [Policy brief]. https://www.kaporcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/KaporCenter_Final_TechPolicy2022.pdf
Kapor Center for Social Impact. (n.d.). Pre K–12 — The Leaky Tech Pipeline.
https://leakytechpipeline.com/pipeline/pre-k-12/
Markos, H., & Beth, A. (2024, December 20). Who’s Missing? With Dr. Shelley Moore
[Audio podcast episode]. In NeuroTangents. Vermont Higher Education Collaborative. https://www.neurotangents.org/episodes/whos-missing-with-dr-shelley-moore
Meier, M. (2024, April 12). Equitable CS equals an equitable world. Computer Science
Teachers Association. https://csteachers.org/equitable-cs-equals-an-equitable-world/
Milner, Y., & Traub, A. (2021). Data capitalism + algorithmic racism (Demos & Data for
Black Lives). https://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/Demos_%20D4BL_Data_Capitalism_Algorithmic_Racism.pdf
Moe, L. (2024, March 10). What does ‘CS for All’ truly mean? Computer Science
Teachers Association. https://csteachers.org/what-does-cs-for-all-truly-mean/
National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification. (2023).
Model code of ethics for educators. Retrieved October 29, 2025, from https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.nasdtec.net/resource/resmgr/mcee/mcee_2nd_edition_print_versi.pdf
* Orlowski, J. (Director). (2020). The social dilemma [Film]. Exposure Labs. Netflix.
San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). 5E model of instruction.
https://www.sdcoe.net/ngss/evidence-based-practices/5e-model-of-instruction
Sigal, S. (2022). Why it’s so damn hard to make AI fair and unbiased. Vox.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22916602/ai-bias-fairness-tradeoffs-artificial-intelligence [PDF provided in Canvas]
Smith, S. (Host), & Snowden, E. (Guest). (2016, May 6). State of surveillance (Season
4, Episode 13) [TV series episode]. In VICE on HBO. VICE Media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucRWyGKBVzo
Snowdrop Solution. (2021, September 17). The Big Data Robbery: Documentary on the
age of surveillance capitalism [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIR1H2cKPUI
** Stone, O. (Director). (2016). Snowden [Film]. Open Road Films.
Suresh, H., & Guttag, J. (2021). A framework for understanding sources of harm
throughout the machine learning cycle. Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization ‘21. ACM. [PDF provided in Canvas]
Twarek, B. (2021, May 6). We need to teach data science in grades K–12. Computer
Science Teachers Association. https://csteachers.org/we-need-to-teach-data-science-in-grades-k-12/
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2017, January).
Reimagining the role of technology in education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED577592.pdf
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2022, February).
Factsheet 4: Types of misinformation and disinformation [Factsheet]. https://www.unhcr.org/innovation/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Factsheet-4.pdf
Varsik, S., & Vosberg, L. (2024). The potential impact of artificial intelligence on equity
and inclusion in education (OECD Artificial Intelligence Papers No. 23). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/15df715b-en
Verrilli, A. (2024, February 7). The real reason we should teach computer science.
Computer Science Teachers Association. https://csteachers.org/the-real-reason-we-should-teach-computer-science/
Whittaker, M., Alper, M., Bennett, C. L., Hendren, S., Kaziunas, L., Mills, M., Ringel
Morris, M., Rankin, J., Rogers, E., Salas, M., & West, S. M. (2019, November). Disability, bias, and AI [Report]. AI Now Institute. https://ainowinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/disabilitybiasai-2019.pdf
In addition, you will also need accounts with Magic School AI (or similar), ScreenPal (or similar), and any other educational technology tools you choose to explore. Free accounts are available and sufficient for the purposes of this course.
You will never be asked to subscribe to a media service or email list to access a reading. I provide readings in Canvas as PDF files using PrintFriendlyPDF.
(802) 498-3350
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