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Accessibility statement
An image to illustrate Generative AI in education
Generative AI is reshaping how we teach, learn and work, making it essential for educators to understand its impact, harness its benefits and manage its risks. This short course outlines current thinking on how to utilise this technology effectively in teaching and learning. You’ll explore key themes that help you make the most of what GenAI offers, while understanding and mitigating its challenges and limitations. Whether you work in business education, schools, or further or higher education, this course provides a clear introduction to GenAI, enabling you and your learners to use it with confidence.
This course is shaped by real-world experience with AI in education and grounded in the latest research, including student and teacher responses to GenAI and a 2024 literature review on its global use. Your study is based around five focused units:
Unit 1: A New Paradigm
The course begins with a look at the changes that have occurred now that generative AI tools are widely available. It explores how this shift is affecting education and wider society, placing GenAI within the broader history of computer technologies. You’ll also consider artificial general intelligence (AGI) as a longer-term goal and reflect on what this may mean for how educators engage with emerging technologies.
Unit 2: The Benefits of GenAI in Education
The second unit continues by examining how generative AI can support teaching and learning. It covers areas such as administrative efficiency, content generation, personalised learning support, inclusivity, and the different roles GenAI can play in learning activities. You’ll consider examples and reflect on how these approaches might apply in your own context.
Unit 3: Navigating the Risks and Ethical Considerations of AI in Education
This unit focuses on the risks and ethical issues associated with the use of GenAI in education. Topics include privacy, data security, bias and fairness, transparency, accountability, intellectual property, plagiarism, and learner autonomy. You’ll explore best practice guidance to support responsible use in your professional setting.
Unit 4: GenAI for Educators
Building on previous studies, this penultimate unit demonstrates how GenAI can be utilised to create customised tools for teaching and learning, without requiring technical expertise. It introduces ways to keep generated content relevant, support learning outcome mapping, and reduce repetitive tasks to save time and effort. In addition, this unit provides a generalised question structure to help you decide whether to use GenAI for a particular task.
Unit 5: GenAI Skills and Work
The course concludes by considering the impact of GenAI on skills, work and employability. It examines how AI may affect job roles, including those of both learners and educators, as well as recruitment and career readiness, and invites reflection on how educators can support learners in preparing for a changing world of work.
Throughout the course, you’ll explore different ideas, have opportunities to practise, and receive guidance to support the effective use of GenAI in your teaching, benefiting both your learners and your organisation. By the end, you’ll have greater confidence in engaging with the technology and a clear sense of why and how it should be used in learning and teaching. While the course does not carry formal credit, you can earn a digital badge by completing the unit quizzes.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
This course is designed to support educators in adapting to a world shaped by AI, incorporating it into their practice, and supporting learners to use it effectively, responsibly, and in support of good academic practice.
Expert, confidential learner support is available when you need it from a learning adviser, who will respond to you directly. Other support is available via the course forum, dedicated website and computing helpdesk
As this course does not carry academic credit, it includes optional activities and assessments designed to support your learning. These activities help you reflect on your progress, generate evidence for continuing professional development (CPD) portfolios, and offer the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge and certificate.
Assessment activities include:
You may attempt quizzes multiple times. Completing all assessment activities is strongly recommended to support learning and demonstrate engagement with the course.
All learning materials, exercises, study support and work-based activity are delivered entirely online.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
There are no entry requirements for this course.
If you'd like to discuss the suitability of the course, please contact us.
The course is delivered online and makes use of a variety of online resources. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in using a computer or the internet you are advised to contact us about support which can be given to meet your needs.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying the course code involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
StartEngland fee
At anytime before 31/07/2026£150
We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.
If this course is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could ask your employer to sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees. Your sponsor just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
The fee information provided here is valid for short courses starting in the 2026/27 academic year. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
You can start this course anytime.
You can start this course anytime.
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