Individual workshops
A more flexible format for students who want to explore specific topics without committing to a certificate program. Register for one, two, or all three individual workshops.
All workshops will take place during the Wednesday free blocks, 12:30 to 2:15.
Choose your AI workshop path.
Learn practical, ethical ways to work with generative AI this fall:
- Choose individual workshops
- Join the four-session certificate program (offered twice this fall)
- Or do both for the complete training
AI Certificate
A short, up-to-date program on generative AI, from understanding how it works to using it effectively and ethically. Completing the program earns students an official Champlain certificate signed by the Academic Dean and AI Certificate Coordinator.
Option 1
Three individual AI workshops
These workshops are separate from the short certificate program. Students may attend any number of them without committing to all three.
Wednesday, September 9, 12:30-2:15
How AI 'Thinks' and 'Writes'
Discover how generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini actually work beneath their deceptive chat interfaces. We'll explore how they simulate human thinking, process your questions, generate words, and why their outputs aren't always factually correct. This interactive, visually-rich session will help you understand what's really happening when you chat with AI, empowering you to use these tools more critically and effectively by recognizing their true strengths and limitations.
Identical to certificate Workshop 1Wednesday, September 16, 12:30-2:15
AI as Study Tool
Learn how generative AI can enhance your study process while maintaining academic integrity. We'll clarify College policies on AI use, discuss what's acceptable versus problematic, and help you draw clear lines between using AI to support your learning and using it to complete graded work. You'll share study practices and prompts with your peers, learn effective prompting techniques, and gain access to an extended library of study prompts specifically designed for Champlain students.
Study skillsWednesday, September 23, 12:30-2:15
How to Chat with AI
Develop practical skills for productive, multi-turn conversations with AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. By examining two examples of human-AI chat sessions--one effective and one less so--you'll discover techniques for guiding AI conversations in the direction you want. This hands-on workshop ensures you stay in control of the interaction while getting valuable AI outputs that align with your personal needs and insights.
Hands-on practiceOption 2
Certificate on Generative AI: Ethical Practices and Technical Insights
A short student certificate program built around four consecutive Wednesday workshops and three submissions.
| Workshop 1 | Workshop 2 | Workshop 3 | Workshop 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Sept. 30, 12:30-2:15 | Oct. 7, 12:30-2:15 | Oct. 14, 12:30-2:15 | Oct. 21, 12:30-2:15 |
| Session 2 | Oct. 28, 12:30-2:15 | Nov. 4, 12:30-2:15 | Nov. 11, 12:30-2:15 | Nov. 25, 12:30-2:15 |
Workhop 1: How AI "Thinks" and "Writes"
- Foundational Concepts: Learn how generative AI tools are trained, what they "know," and how they generate content based on patterns in their training data rather than facts or true understanding.
- Understanding AI Limitations: Recognize the limitations of AI in providing reliable facts, while learning why it is important to critically evaluate AI-generated content.
- Active Engagement: Discover how effective AI interactions depend on the user's insights and guidance, which can improve the originality, accuracy, and relevance of AI responses.
Workhop 2: AI Ethics
- Key Ethical Concerns: Explore ethical considerations related to AI, including trust, privacy, intellectual property, environmental impact, transparency, and the risks of misinformation.
- Bias Awareness: Identify how biases in AI outputs can come from both the AI's training data and the user's input, and learn why critical evaluation is essential.
- Practical Ethical Guidelines: Apply practical ethical guidelines, such as crafting neutral prompts to reduce bias, giving clear instructions to improve explainability and verifiability, and providing AI with your own insights.
- Situational AI Assessment: Learn how to analyze a specific situation to determine whether using AI is appropriate and, if so, how it should be used. Consider factors such as potential risks, the sensitivity of the information involved, and the expectations of the intended audience.
Workhop 3: Prompt Engineering
- Original Prompting: Learn how to design ethical prompts that integrate your own insights and data, reducing reliance on patterns in training data that may have been used without consent.
- Prompting Template: Use a structured prompting template to move beyond simplistic prompts. By integrating personal insights, specific context, detailed instructions, and carefully selected data, you can generate AI outputs that are more effective, accurate, and ethically responsible.
- Hands-On Practice: Practice designing, testing, and refining a structured prompt while applying both technical skills and ethical principles.
Workhop 4: AI Ethics and Prompting in Action
- Submission Alignment: Review how your submissions align with the ethical principles, technical insights, and instructions introduced in previous workshops.
- Individualized Support: Receive one-on-one assistance to address specific challenges or questions related to your submissions.