Syllabus & Course Outline

Course description

Understanding AI, using it effectively, and evaluating it responsibly. A hands-on high-school introduction to artificial intelligence. The first half of the course builds academic skills — how AI works, how to prompt it, and how to use it for studying, research, and writing without letting it do your thinking. The second half turns those same skills toward careers: brainstorming what to do after graduation, and using AI through a real job search. No technical background required.

Course framing

• AI should assist thinking, not replace it.
• The most important skills are asking good questions, checking answers, and using human judgment.
• You should leave with practical skills you can apply in school, work, and everyday life.
• Before any AI task, run the Seven-Question Check below — it is the operational version of the first bullet.

By the end of the course you should be able to:

1. Explain what AI is — and isn’t — in plain language, including why it produces confident nonsense.
2. Write clear prompts and improve weak AI output through iteration.
3. Use AI productively as a tutor, research assistant, and writing support.
4. Verify AI claims against reliable sources and catch hallucinated citations.
5. Apply a shared ethics framework (the Seven-Question Check) to academic and personal decisions.
6. Use AI to explore career options and support a job search — honestly.

Core reference: The Seven-Question AI Check

Adapted from Curtis D. Fry’s “Should I Use AI? A Visual Guide for the Appropriate Use of Artificial Intelligence” (the diagram lives on the Resources page). Follow the tree: if you cannot answer YES at any point, skip AI for the task.

#	Question	Student-facing version	Taught in depth
1	Do I have a clear purpose?	I can name which step AI helps with, and why	Classes 1, 3
2	Is it allowed?	I’ve read the assignment rules / school policy	Class 6
3	Will it support, not replace, learning?	I can explain the result without AI	Classes 4, 6
4	Can I ensure it’s accurate?	I can fact-check what it gives me	Classes 2, 9
5	Am I being ethical?	No private data, credit where due, no harm	Class 6
6	Does it provide real value?	It improves the work, not just speeds it up	Classes 3, 7
7	Will I own the outcome?	I’d stand behind this as my own work	Class 10

Note

Usage rule for the course: every prompt-log entry opens with which questions mattered for that task. Question 7 is the closest match to the capstone question — it is the course touchstone.

The 10-class schedule

Each class runs 60 minutes. Class pages in the sidebar carry the detailed outline. The schedule is the plan, not a contract — session notes pages become the record of what we actually covered.

Phase 1 — Academics

#	Session	Draws on	Cut from original
1	What AI is + first hands-on use	M1	AGI deep-dive, NPCs (mention only)
2	Why AI lies confidently; fact-checking core	M2 + M6	Context-window minutiae
3	Prompting, practiced on real homework	M4	—
4	AI as tutor: “learn it, then explain it without AI”	M5 + M7	Coding, language-learning use cases
5	AI as research/writing assistant; source-hallucination drill	M5 + M6	—
6	Academic integrity + when NOT to use AI	M3 + M10	Copyright/art/music ethics, environment

Phase 2 — Careers

#	Session	Notes
7	Brainstorming careers with AI	“Interview me about my interests…” — callback to Class 3’s ask-questions-first prompt skill. Output: 3 candidate careers with pay, training path, day-in-the-life
8	Job-search toolkit	Resume drafting, cover letters, LinkedIn summary; honesty boundary: AI polishes real experience, never invents it; practice on a fictional student bio
9	Career research: verify the AI version	Fact-check an AI career profile against the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook; build a career-talk question list. Absorbs tool-types as “which tool for which job-search task”

Wrap-up

#	Session	Notes
10	Final Challenge presentations	Process over product; career-track option: “run a full mock job search with AI and document it”

If we run out of time, in order: (1) shrink Class 9’s verification drill to a demo plus homework, (2) trim Class 1’s theory to 15 minutes, (3) drop the “predict the next word” game, (4) convert Class 6’s debate to a case-study show of hands, (5) don’t resurrect tool comparison stations. Keep regardless: “learn it then explain it without AI,” the scenario sort, the Seven-Question Check, and the Final Challenge.

Assessment

Component	Weight	What it is
Prompt log	40%	Weekly entries (Classes 3–9): the task, your first prompt, how it changed, what you verified, and which of the Seven Questions mattered. Judged on honesty and iteration, not polish.
Class participation	20%	In-class activities and the weekly 5-minute “weird AI thing I saw” warm-up
Final Challenge	40%	Presentation of process — see Class 10 for the rubric list

Logistics

Term	TODO: fill in
Meetings	TODO: day/time, 60 min
Location	TODO: room
Devices & AI access	TODO: school-approved tools + account model (13+/18+ age gates apply)
School AI policy	TODO: paste the actual policy here — Class 6 uses it

Policies

• AI use in this class: encouraged inside guided activities, logged in the prompt log, and never for making decisions the rubric says you must do yourself (reflection, verification, presentation).
• Privacy: no real names of students or anyone else in prompts; we practice on fictional bios.
• Academic integrity elsewhere: this course teaches the school’s policy, it doesn’t override other teachers’. When in doubt: Question 2.