DigCompEdu Competence Area(s)

Professional engagement, Empowering learners, Facilitating learners’ digital competence

Target groups

Educator Training

Participants (Educators) will be able to:

• Articulate at least three potential benefits of using digital/AI tools for enhancing the learning experience and outcomes of adult migrants.
• Identify at least three key risks or limitations of using these tools, particularly in contexts involving vulnerable learners.
• Apply a simple “Purpose-First” questioning framework to a teaching scenario to make an initial judgment on whether a digital/AI tool is an appropriate solution.

• Gather Vignettes: Create concise, one-paragraph summaries of 3-4 key learner profiles, highlighting their goals and challenges.
• Prepare Contrasting Examples: Find or create clear examples where AI succeeds and fails. Example: A well-leveled reading text versus a translation that misses cultural nuance.
• Set the Room: Arrange chairs for small group work. Prepare a central whiteboard or flipchart with a giant T-Chart titled “Our Hopes / Our Concerns.”

• (Total: 90 mins)
• Part 1: Grounding in Reality – The Learners’ Needs (20 mins)
• Silent Reflection (5 mins): Begin by projecting names of diverse learner profiles (Use the AI Cookbook Personas). Ask: “What is the single biggest barrier each one faces?” Participants jot thoughts on sticky notes.
• Small Group Discussion (10 mins): In groups, participants share their reflections. They then receive a Learner Vignette. Their task: List 2-3 concrete ways they currently try to help this learner overcome their barrier.
• Brief Share (5 mins): Groups share one key barrier and one current teaching strategy. The facilitator notes that technology is just another potential “strategy” in our toolkit.
• Part 2: The Promise and The Peril – Exploring Why & Why Not (50 mins)
• Brainstorm: The “Why” (20 mins):
• Pose the question: “How could digital/AI tools potentially help us address the barriers we just discussed?”
• Participants brainstorm in groups, using the “Why” side of their T-Chart. Prompt with ideas: Personalization? 24/7 practice? Reducing teacher administration?
• Groups post top ideas on the “Our Hopes” side of the central board. Facilitator clusters themes (e.g., Efficiency, Accessibility, Engagement).
• Critical Dialogue: The “Why Not” (25 mins):
• Shift tone: “What worries you, or what should we be cautious about, when considering these tools for our learners?”
• Introduce the three Sample Tool Prompts. Show the good output, then the problematic ones. Ask: “What if a vulnerable learner only saw the biased one?”
• Groups brainstorm risks on the “Why Not” side of their T-Charts. Guide them beyond “it can be wrong” to ethical issues: Data privacy, digital divide, dehumanization, algorithmic bias.
• Groups post concerns on the “Our Concerns” side of the central board.
• Synthesis (5 mins): Facilitator draws a circle around the central board. “Our job is not to choose a side, but to navigate this entire space with our learners’ best interests at the centre.”
• Part 3: A Framework for Moving Forward – The “Purpose-First” Mindset (20 mins)
• Introduce the Decision Card (10 mins): Distribute the “Purpose-First” Decision Card. Walk through its three core questions, explaining each is a filter.
• Scenario Practice (10 mins): Present a short scenario: “You want to help a learner practice for job interviews. You’re considering using an AI chatbot to conduct mock interviews.”
• In pairs, educators use the card to discuss: What’s the pedagogical purpose? What’s the human oversight plan? What are the access/risk checks?
• Briefly share insights. You are not looking for a yes/no answer, but to practice asking the right questions.

• For tech-enthusiasts: Channel their energy into analysing the “Why Not” column deeply. Challenge them to find the strongest counter-argument to their favourite tool.
• For tech-sceptics: Validate their concerns as professional and ethical. Frame the session as building a shared set of safety guidelines that will make any future tech use more secure and effective.
• Environment: Use think-pair-share and small groups to ensure quieter voices are heard before whole-group discussion.

DigCompEdu Framework: Highlight Area 1 (Professional Engagement) and Area 5 (Empowering Learners). https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/digcompedu_en
UNESCO Guidance on AI in Education: For high-level ethical principles.  https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/guidance-generative-ai-education-and-research
“Why/Why Not” T-Chart & “Purpose-First” Decision Card: (Provided in session).