AI Microcredentials

CIS Ontario has partnered with Future Design School (FDS) to bring our members this essential professional development opportunity.

This program is fully ONLINE, via Zoom, on your specific Level dates, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. EST

This PD opportunity is ONLY FOR employees of CIS Ontario member schools, and CAIS member schools.

AI Microcredentials Program:
Empowering Independent School Employees with Future-Ready Skills

The AI microcredentials program is a transformative professional development opportunity designed to equip those who work in education with cutting-edge skills and knowledge in artificial intelligence.

Educators:
As technology reshapes education, integrating AI into teaching practices is essential to prepare students for the future. This program offers you a deep dive into AI, its applications in education, and strategies to enhance learning outcomes.

Operations Staff (communications, admissions, finance and more...)
AI can transform your school operations work by streamlining processes, enhancing decision-making, and improving communication. By adopting AI, you can save time, minimize errors, and dedicate more attention to strategic priorities, resulting in a more efficient, responsive, and well-organized school environment.

Key Benefits of the Program:

Delivered through a series of dynamic and engaging 2-hour online sessions, this program empowers you to:

Explore AI Fundamentals:
Gain a clear understanding of key concepts such as machine learning, natural language processing, and data analytics, all within an educational context.
Leverage AI Tools:
Discover how AI can personalize learning, streamline administrative tasks, and provide data-driven insights to enhance teaching strategies.
Enhance Digital Literacy:
Build confidence in integrating AI seamlessly into both your classroom and administrative workflows.
Collaborate with Peers:
Connect with a community of forward-thinking educators to share best practices and explore innovative approaches to AI in education.

Embark on this exciting journey to lead the way in AI-enhanced education, creating a lasting impact on your students' learning experiences and your school's operations.

Each Microcredential Includes:

2 Hours of Interactive, Live Online Learning:
Led by Future Design School’s AI and education experts, these sessions provide engaging and practical insights.
Exclusive Resource Hub:
Access tools, templates, and cheat sheets designed to help you effectively integrate AI into your work.
Connections with CIS Ontario Member School Educators and Staff:
Network with peers across the province who are incorporating AI into their classrooms and work processes.

Program Cost:

Level 1 Microcredential Sessions I–IV
The cost for all four sessions is $1285 per single participant. Schools bringing three or more participants will pay $1215 per participant.

Level 2 Microcredential Sessions V–VI
The cost for these two sessions is $650 per single participant. Schools bringing three or more participants will pay $615 per participant.

Please Note - The total cost of the program will be invoiced directly to each school prior to the first session.

How the Levels Work:

Members who completed Level 1 in 2024–25 are eligible to register for Level 2 this fall.
Members who have not yet completed Level 1 should register for the winter Level 1 sessions. Once you receive your certificate, stay tuned for future Level 2 dates.

Level 1: Microcredential Sessions I–IV (Winter 2026)

MICROCREDENTIAL I: Leveraging Prompt Engineering to Revolutionize Your Work

Wednesday, January 14, 2026 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

Large Language Models (LLMs) like OpenAI ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini are revolutionizing the way we work, learn, and create. This dynamic microcredential equips you with the knowledge and skills to harness their potential, boosting your productivity and unlocking exciting new possibilities. Empower yourself with LLMs to achieve new levels of efficiency, creativity, and success in your work.

Key Takeaways:

Know: What is an LLM and how does it work?
Understand: Learn how to train LLMs to extract more valuable information.
Do: Craft precise prompts that will streamline your work and amplify your impact.

Highlights:

Explore the unique potential of AI and learn essential principles for its effective use.
Engage in practical activities to customize LLMs, master prompt engineering, and apply these skills to real-world scenarios like research, ideation, building, and asking for feedback -- all within the context of your daily work in your school.
Discover the elements of a well-crafted prompt and apply a template to generate creative ideas.
Learn how to guide LLMs through a series of related questions to obtain coherent and focused information.
Use LLMs feedback capabilities to refine your work and ensure it meets your goals.

MICROCREDENTIAL II: Supercharge Your Productivity with LLM-Powered Tools

Wednesday, January 28, 2026 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

A wide range of productivity tools now leverage LLMs to help you write better, create faster, and research more efficiently. In this microcredential, you'll discover the best AI-powered tools available and learn how to integrate them into your workflow to boost your productivity.

Key Takeaways:

Know: Develop strategies and tools for maximizing the impact of AI on your productivity and efficiency.
Understand: That every AI tool has benefits and drawbacks, but most provide similar opportunities to train the models to be tailored to your needs.
Do: Learn how to choose the right tools for your specific needs and tasks through hands-on experience using various LLM-powered tools to enhance your daily work.

Highlights:

Explore a curated selection of AI-powered productivity tools.
Practice using the tools in real-world scenarios and tasks.
Learn from experts how to get the most out of LLM-powered tools.
Get your questions answered and discuss your specific use cases.

Prerequisite:

Completion of Microcredential Session I.

MICROCREDENTIAL III: Harnessing the Power of Custom LLMs

Wednesday, February 11, 2026 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

Large Language Models (LLMs) are powerful tools, but their true potential emerges when customized for your specific needs. In this hands-on microcredential workshop, you’ll learn to fine-tune LLMs using your own data, transforming them into specialized AI assistants tailored to your unique tasks. By mastering the art of training LLMs for education, you can streamline workflows, enhance efficiency, and unlock their full potential to meet your goals.

Key Takeaways:

Know: The concepts of transfer learning, fine-tuning, and curriculum learning for customizing LLMs.
Understand: Strategies for refining fine-tuned LLMs to achieve the best possible results.
Do: Gain hands-on experience training custom chat bots on your own documentation using tools like NotebookLM or Gemini.

Highlights:

Learn how to craft behavioural prompts that guide the fine-tuning process and optimize performance.
Engage in practical exercises to create custom LLMs on your chosen knowledge base.
Dive deeper into crafting prompts that tell your bot how to behave ensuring your LLM learns desired outcomes.
Learn how to assess the performance of your fine-tuned LLM and iteratively improve its capabilities.
Receive support and feedback from experienced facilitators throughout the program, all contextualized within education and personalized to your specific role.

Prerequisite:

Completion of Microcredential Sessions I and II.

MICROCREDENTIAL IV: Multiple Pathways

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

After completing MICROCREDENTIAL I to III, you can choose from the following options for Part IV.

PART IV OPTION A: Crafting AI Tutors for Personalized Learning

Building on the learning from Microcredentials I-III, this microcredential will guide you to harness the power of LLMs to create interactive tutors, writing coaches, and language learning partners. If you are an educator who is interested in leveraging AI to create personalized learning experiences this microcredential is for you.

Key Takeaways:

Know: Techniques for using LLMs to provide real-time feedback, adapt to student progress, and offer targeted support.
Understand: The principles of personalized learning and how LLMs can enhance student engagement and outcomes.
Do: Design and implement AI tutors that cater to diverse learning styles and needs.

Highlights:

Design and prototype AI tutors for various subjects and learning goals.
Explore successful implementations of AI tutors in educational settings.
Discuss the responsible use of AI in education and address potential biases.

PART IV OPTION B: Streamline Your Workflows with Powerful AI Tools

School operations —communications, admissions, finance, and more—work smarter, not harder, with the help of Large Language Models (LLMs). This microcredential provides the knowledge and skills needed to leverage AI for increased efficiency, improved data analysis, and enhanced communication. Discover how AI can save time, streamline tasks, and unlock valuable insights, enabling you to achieve greater impact with less effort.

Key Takeaways:

Know: How LLMs can be used to automate routine tasks like answering frequently asked questions, and generating reports.
Understand: Gain insights into how AI-powered content creation tools can help you generate engaging content for social media posts, websites, or school newsletters.
Do: Build custom voice agents using existing tools to provide 24/7 support to parents and answer their inquiries about admissions, financial aid, or school events.

Highlights:

Explore how AI tools can analyze your existing documents and data (like admissions forms or financial spreadsheets) to identify trends, extract key information, and generate reports.
Build a simple voice agent using a user-friendly platform and explore the capabilities of AI content creation tools.
Discover how other schools are leveraging LLMs to streamline operations and enhance communication.
Discuss your specific needs and challenges, and get expert advice on how AI can help.

Prerequisite:

Completion of Microcredential Sessions I–III.

Level 2: Microcredential Sessions V & IV (Fall 2025)

Educators – MICROCREDENTIAL V: Fostering AI Literacy and Critical Thinking in Students

Monday, November 24, 2025 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

As Artificial Intelligence becomes an integral part of our students' future, empowering them with the skills to navigate and leverage AI responsibly is paramount. This microcredential is specifically designed for educators, guiding you to cultivate essential AI literacy and critical thinking skills with your students.

Key Takeaways:

Know: The concept of "constructive doubt" and its importance in evaluating AI-generated content and information.
Understand: Effective approaches to developing AI literacy and critical thinking skills across various age groups and subject areas.
Do: Develop a practical, actionable plan for integrating AI literacy and critical thinking strategies into your classroom curriculum and daily teaching practices.

Highlights:

Explore pedagogical strategies to encourage students to critically assess AI outputs, question information, and develop healthy skepticism.
Engage in hands-on activities to create lessons and assignments that build students' understanding of how AI works, its capabilities, and its limitations.
Work collaboratively to design a tailored strategy for introducing AI literacy and critical thinking skills, ensuring students are prepared to confidently and responsibly interact with AI at any stage of their learning journey.
Learning will be directly applicable to teachers across K-12, offering relevant examples and discussions.

Prerequisite:

Completion of Microcredential Sessions I–IV is recommended for a foundational understanding of LLMs.

Educators – MICROCREDENTIAL VI: Assessment in the Age of AI

Monday, December 8, 2025 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

The rise of Artificial Intelligence necessitates a re-evaluation of traditional assessment practices. This microcredential empowers educators to design and implement innovative assessment strategies that not only account for AI's presence but also leverage its capabilities to gain deeper insights into student learning. This session is tailored for teachers across all divisions, offering practical, AI-informed approaches to evaluating student progress.

Key Takeaways:

Know: The evolving landscape of assessment in an AI-integrated educational environment, including the potential of AI-powered assessment tools.
Understand: Journey Based Assessment strategies for shifting assessment focus from solely product-based evaluation to a more holistic approach that values the learning process, conversations, and observations.
Do: Redesign existing assessment components or develop new AI-enhanced assessment materials to capture authentic student learning and skill development.

Highlights:

Discover how AI can assist in creating assessments, streamlining your workload while providing richer data.
Learn techniques to evaluate student thinking, problem-solving, and iterative development, rather than just the final output, particularly when AI tools could be used in the learning journey.
Develop methods for incorporating meaningful conversations and observation into your assessment practices, gaining a more comprehensive understanding of student comprehension and application of knowledge.
Tailored Application:
- For Middle and Senior School Teachers: You will walk away with a re-designed assessment for an existing unit of study, integrating AI-informed strategies and focusing on process-based evaluation.
- For Junior School Teachers: This program will provide a dedicated opportunity to consider and explore how to leverage AI to develop robust assessment materials such as rubrics, skill continuums, and checklists for observation/conversation assessments.

Prerequisite:

Completion of Microcredential Session V is recommended for a foundational understanding of LLMs and student use of AI.

Operations Staff – MICROCREDENTIAL V: AI for Data Analytics

Monday, November 24, 2025 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

Elevate your school's operational capabilities from reactive to proactive. This advanced microcredential is designed for school operations leaders and staff (admissions, finance, technology, communications, HR, and senior administration) eager to leverage AI for data analysis and trend forecasting.

Key Takeaways:

Know: The fundamentals of AI analytics and how AI algorithms can forecast future outcomes based on historical operational data.
Understand: How to leverage AI for data analysis to identify trends and enhance decision-making across various departments.
Do: Apply AI-powered tools to generate predictions for your department and interpret data, informing strategic choices.

Highlights:

Discover how AI can analyze large datasets (e.g., admissions inquiries, financial records, facilities usage, communication engagement) to uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and opportunities.
Engage in hands-on exercises tailored to your role, exploring how AI can provide targeted predictions for areas like:
- Admissions: Forecasting applicant numbers and identifying factors influencing enrollment.
- Finance: Predicting budget changes, optimizing spending, and detecting financial trends.
- Communications: Anticipating engagement levels for marketing campaigns and understanding communication effectiveness.
- HR: Predicting staff retention, analyzing recruitment pipelines, and identifying professional development needs.
Engage in discussions about the responsible use of AI for forecasting and data analysis, including navigating data privacy, mitigating algorithmic bias, and ensuring transparency in how insights are generated and applied.

Prerequisite:

Completion of GenAI Microcredentials I-IV is recommended for a foundational understanding of LLMs.

Operations Staff – MICROCREDENTIAL VI: AI for Creating Polished Digital Products & Applications

Monday, December 8, 2025 · 3:45–5:45 p.m. · Online via Zoom

Unlock the power of AI to transform your ideas into professional-grade digital assets. This microcredential is designed for school operations staff (communications, admissions, finance, technology, HR, and administration) who want to leverage AI to create compelling websites, dynamic data visualizations, interactive applications, and more, enhancing your school's digital presence and internal tools.

Key Takeaways:

Know: How AI can serve as a powerful co-creator in developing sophisticated digital products and applications, even without extensive coding experience.
Understand: The basics of reading and making minor adjustments to AI-generated code, empowering you to customize and troubleshoot your digital products.
Do: Gain practical experience in using AI to generate code, make basic edits to AI-produced code for customization, and publish your creations on a simple web platform.

Highlights:

Discover how AI can assist in generating the foundational code and structure for various digital products, such as:
- Engaging Websites: Create simple departmental landing pages, event registration sites, or informational hubs.
- Dynamic Data Visualizations: Turn complex data into interactive charts, graphs, and dashboards for clearer communication.
- Practical Applications: Develop basic internal tools or interactive forms to streamline administrative tasks.
Understand the basics of reading code and making minor adjustments to AI-generated code, empowering you to customize and troubleshoot your digital products.
Get a practical overview of how to publish your AI-created digital assets to a basic web environment, making them accessible to your intended audience.
Explore how these polished digital products can enhance communication with stakeholders, improve data presentation for decision-makers, and streamline various operational processes.

Prerequisite:

Completion of MICROCREDENTIAL V is highly recommended.

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