Artificial intelligence (AI) is already shaping how students learn, work, and live. At Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), we see AI literacy as an essential skill. Just as important as critical thinking, academic writing, or conducting (literature) research.
The VU Education Lab, part of the VU Centre for Teaching & Learning (VU CTL), aims to support teachers by offering a free book on AI literacy. It is written specifically for students and provides a broad foundation that degree programmes can build upon for their own teaching.
Each faculty or programme can decide whether to use the book (or selected chapters) in their courses. It was designed as open educational material that can be reused and adapted. Our hope is that the book will offer a solid foundation for AI literacy, so that every programme doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel.
Contents
This book takes students step by step into the world of generative AI. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect. In this way, we hope teachers and students can build a strong basis for engaging with AI effectively, creatively and critically.
Students start with the basics: what exactly is artificial intelligence, and what can you broadly do with it? They then learn how to work with it in practice through effective prompting (formulating clear questions or tasks so the system responds better). After that, they get a peek behind the scenes of how AI models work. The book also explores environmental impact, with tips and tools to encourage conscious and structured reflection on sustainability.
The book also includes examples of how students can use generative tools effectively in research or dataprocessing. Later, the focus shifts to broader questions: what does this technology mean for work, society, and power dynamics? The book concludes with personal reflection: how do I want to engage with AI?
Each chapter combines theory, examples, and exercises, so students not only read about AI but also get to try things out themselves.
The book is also available in a sample Canvas course at VU Amsterdam, which includes examples, videos, assignments, and discussion options. These can, of course, be reused, expanded, or adapted as needed.
Regular updates
AI technology and our thinking about it are evolving rapidly. That’s why an updated version will be released periodically. A teachers’ edition is also in development.
Download v1.1 of the AI Literacy Companion now or go to the corresponding AI Literacy course on Canvas.