Concordia launches learning modules to guide students in responsible AI use
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools are reshaping how students approach coursework, research, and writing. While these technologies offer opportunities for enriched learning and productivity, they also raise challenges around ethical use, academic integrity, and the cultivation of critical thinking skills.
Recognizing both the potential and the pitfalls, experts from departments at Concordia and McGill collaborated with eConcordia to create GenAI Quickstart for Students, a unified resource to help students navigate this evolving landscape. The project reflects a shared commitment to provide students with a trustworthy, central place to seek advice on how and when to use GenAI tools — and when not to.
“We know students are using GenAI, and we know they want to use it responsibly,” says Jennifer Banton, a learning strategist at Concordia’s Student Success Centre. “We see an eagerness to leverage GenAI tools combined with confusion or concern around its ethical use.”
A central resource for students
The project is designed to be a starting point for students to engage responsibly with GenAI – and when to conclude not to use it – throughout their academic journeys. It offers five interactive modules designed to help students align their use of AI with learning goals and ethical practices. Each module is about 15 minutes long, can be completed in any order and revisited as needed.
The modules cover key topics: choosing the right GenAI tool for different contexts, learning, graduate research, academic integrity, and professor expectations. The first module focusses on selecting the right tool for the right task, using realistic scenarios and dilemmas to show students how GenAI can support learning while prompting critical thinking about accuracy, reliability and bias.
Rather than passive instruction, the module design encourages participation through quizzes, videos and peer-style examples, making the lessons practical and immediately useful for coursework and research.
“Having a unified space to explore these tools brings clarity to a fast-moving area of technology, showing students how to use GenAI in ways that genuinely support their learning, not just as a shortcut that compromises the integrity of their work,” Banton explains.
Building AI literacy
Megan Fitzgibbons, associate university librarian for planning and community engagement at Concordia, views the modules as contributing to an evolving and critical aspect of the Library’s mission.
“The Library is committed to empowering the Concordia community to think critically about information and navigate digital landscapes. The GenAI modules build on this foundation by advancing information literacy and extending it to AI literacy,” she says.
“Students can evaluate different AI tools, examine considerations around accuracy and biases, and understand common academic integrity pitfalls in relation to GenAI. These approaches to thinking critically about AI can be applied to any academic or future workplace context.”
By engaging with these resources, students can develop the skills to use AI responsibly, keeping learning, integrity and thoughtful analysis at the heart of their success.
Explore the interactive modules on the GenAI Quickstart for Students project page.
