.webp)
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to influence how we learn, work, create, and make decisions, many conversations about AI literacy focus on what students need to know or what teachers need to do. These are important discussions,but they are only part of the picture.
The evidence increasingly points to a harder truth. AI literacy cannot be solved at the classroom level alone. At Digital Moment, we believe AI literacy is fundamentally a whole-system challenge.
.webp)
If we want learners to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to thrive in an AI-enabled world, we must also consider the conditions that make this possible. Educators need professional learning and support. School leaders need guidance and alignment. School boards and Ministries need coherent policies and infrastructure. Families and communities need opportunities to engage in the conversation.
This is the premise behind Digital Moment's Draft AI Literacy Framework and its unique Whole System Approach.
Rather than viewing AI literacy as a stand-alone initiative, the framework identifies the roles, responsibilities, enabling conditions, and supports required across the educational ecosystem. It recognizes that meaningful and sustainable change happens when policy, leadership, professional learning, ethics, and classroom practice work together.
The framework is anchored by three interconnected pillars:
- Teaching and Learning Foundations, including inquiry, critical thinking, inclusion, and human-centred learning.
- Educator Support and Enabling Conditions, recognizing that successful implementation requires time, learning opportunities, resources, infrastructure, and system alignment.
- Ethics and Society, addressing privacy, transparency, responsible use, sustainability, and public trust.
Together, these pillars position AI literacy not simply as a technology initiative, but as an educational and societal imperative.
Why We're Building This in the Open
No framework can be developed in isolation. Digital Moment is intentionally taking a crowdsourcing approach to its development.
We are inviting educators, school leaders, researchers, system leaders, and partners from across Canada to engage with the framework and help strengthen it. Our goal is to ensure the framework is clear, practical, adaptable, and responsive to the realities of Canadian education.
This premise was tested directly in May 2026 when more than 50 educators from across Canada joined Digital Moment for an interactive workshop hosted with EdCan Network and its Executive Director, Kathleen Lane, to explore the framework and share their perspectives. Participants brought a wide range of viewpoints from excitement about AI's possibilities to genuine concern about ethics, implementation, and impact.
Across this range of perspectives, there was agreement that educators and systems would benefit from a shared framework to guide intentional decision-making around AI Literacy.
What the Feedback Confirms and Where Gaps Remain
1. The Whole-System Premise Holds
Participants consistently valued the framework's effort to connect policy, infrastructure, leadership, and classroom practice. Many affirmed that placing learners at the centre of the ecosystem reflects the ultimate purpose of education, while also appreciating the framework's recognition that learner success depends on coordinated action across the system.
The feedback reinforced a central premise of the framework: AI literacy cannot be achieved through classroom efforts alone.
2. Supporting Educators Is Essential
A recurring theme throughout the workshop was the importance of investing in educators. Participants emphasized that educators need access to a variety of professional learning opportunities, practical resources, and ongoing support. Just as importantly, they highlighted the need for time to learn, experiment, collaborate, and adapt their practice.
Questions about implementation and funding also emerged, reflecting a broader recognition that successful adoption depends on creating the conditions that allow educators to succeed.
3. The Framework Must Keep Evolving
Participants encouraged us to continue refining the framework to reflect diverse educational contexts and emerging realities. Questions were raised about how student perspectives might be more explicitly represented, where technology industry partners fit within the ecosystem, and how the framework can align with existing provincial and board-level policies.
Participants also highlighted the importance of clear definitions, diverse examples, and mechanisms that support ongoing learning and continuous improvement. Taken together, these insights affirm both the value of the framework and the importance of continuing to refine it through dialogue and collaboration.
Where This Goes Next
The development of AI literacy is too important, and too complex, to be shaped by any single organization. If AI literacy is a whole-system challenge, then building an AI Literacy Framework must be a whole-system effort.
Digital Moment invites educators, school leaders, system leaders, students, researchers, policymakers, families, and community partners to review the Draft AI Literacy Framework and share their perspectives.
Feedback can take several forms: written comments on the draft or a specific section (before September 30, 2026), small group discussions, facilitation consultations, classroom pilots, or connecting us with others who should be involved.
Complete this short form to choose an option, or reach out at aiframework@digitalmoment.org.
Building AI Literacy Together is a monthly series by Digital Moment that explores how a whole-system approach can support AI literacy in Canadian elementary and secondary education. Through research, dialogue, and feedback from educators and leaders across the country, this series aims to build a collaborative conversation, and a collective responsibility, for preparing learners to thrive in an AI-enabled world.
About Digital Moment
Recognized as a leader in digital and AI literacy education in Canada, Digital Moment is a national charity dedicated to mobilizing communities to create a better future aligned with sustainable development goals. We are committed to providing inclusive and equitable access to these opportunities, with a focus on underrepresented youth, including girls. Since 2013, we have empowered over 34,400 educators and delivered more than 1 million youth engagements through impactful programs and experiences across the country.
