The AI & Metaliteracy OER Toolkit is the primary deliverable of the SUNY Innovative Instructional Technology Grant (IITG) funded project Metaliteracy and AI: A Framework for Ethical Integration Across the Curriculum. This initiative responds to the rapid expansion of generative AI tools in higher education by providing a research-informed framework that helps faculty and students engage with AI critically, ethically, and creatively. Grounded in the established metaliteracy model, the project integrates cognitive, affective, behavioral, and metacognitive dimensions of learning to support students as both ethical producers and informed consumers of AI-generated content. By emphasizing learner roles such as producer, collaborator, and researcher, the framework prepares students to participate responsibly in an evolving digital knowledge environment.
Development of the toolkit draws on pilot implementations within the Digital Media Arts program at SUNY Empire State University, which provides an exemplar context for integrating AI and metaliteracy within courses. Several assignments and learning activities included in this toolkit are drawn directly from the Digital Media Arts curriculum, where students engage with AI tools in relation to digital storytelling, media production, and creative practice while examining the ethical implications of AI integration in knowledge environments and the arts. To broaden the disciplinary scope of the project, the toolkit also incorporates selected assignments and examples from Communication and Writing courses. Together, these areas illustrate how the metaliteracy framework can support ethical AI engagement across multiple forms of knowledge production, including creative media, scholarly communication, and academic writing.
The AI & Metaliteracy Toolkit is implemented as a structured Brightspace resource designed using the same pedagogical principles that guide course development at SUNY Empire State University, a longstanding leader in online and distance education. Within this environment, faculty and instructional designers can explore scaffolded learning modules, adaptable assignment templates, assessment rubrics aligned with metaliteracy learning domains, and implementation guides that illustrate practical strategies for integrating AI into coursework. The toolkit also provides contextual examples from the pilot courses to demonstrate how the framework can be adapted across disciplines and learning contexts.
The project combines resource development with curriculum integration and faculty engagement. Pilot courses at Empire State University and SUNY Brockport are testing the materials in undergraduate courses, providing formative insights that inform ongoing refinement of the toolkit. The initiative also supports broader dissemination through faculty development workshops, webinars, and conference presentations, with the long-term goal of establishing a SUNY-wide community of practice focused on developing metaliterate learners who use AI responsibly. By making these resources openly available and adaptable, the AI & Metaliteracy Toolkit is designed to support sustained adoption across disciplines and institutions while contributing to ongoing conversations about responsible AI use in higher education.
Co-principle investigators:
Nicola Marae Allain, Ph. D. and Thomas P. Mackey, Ph. D.,
Professors, Arts & Media Department
SUNY Empire State University