AI Literacy Essentials for Adults with Jeff Neill and Cyndy McDonald

The Friday Forum session features Cyndy McDonald and Jeff Neill discussing AI Literacy for adults. Jeff emphasizes the importance of AI literacy for adults in college admissions and counseling, covering topics like professional development, ethical challenges, and the varying policies on AI use in college applications. Emily Pacheco, the founder of the NACAC (National Association for College Admissions Counselors) special interest group, contributes to the discussion.

Jeff discusses AI literacy for adults, highlighting the importance of staying current in college admissions and counseling amidst the rapid development of AI tools. He addresses the challenges of professional development and the opportunities AI offers to reduce repetitive work, improve efficiency, and promote equity.

Concerns about AI's impact on student work are raised, noting the unreliability of AI detectors and the need for responsible AI use. He concludes by discussing the varying policies on AI use in college applications, expressing concern that contradictory rules could create confusion and deter students from applying to certain institutions.

The session concludes with practical insights on using AI tools for college applications and counseling, emphasizing the need for adult AI literacy. Cyndy mentions upcoming AI-focused events she is offering on future Friday Forum sessions.

See Show Notes at: https://www.cyndymcdonald.com/ai-literacy-adults

See other videos on Cyndy McDonald's Channel on the topic of AI in College Planning

Learn more about Cyndy McDonald, The College Counselor's Coach: https://www.cyndymcdonald.com/

1. AI Literacy for Adults

Dr. Jeffrey Neill, EdD - [email protected]

2. Welcome and Framing

t of

QUICK INTRODUCTIONS SESSION GOALS
Name, role, and a yes/no poll-'Have you used Al Define Al literacy and fluency, understand why Al
in your counseling practice this week?’ detectors are unreliable, compare institutional

policies (Common App vs. Yale), identify how
counselors can move from literacy to fluency

BUILDING A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF Al LITERACY AND FLUENCY WILL EMPOWER

COUNSELORS TO NAVIGATE THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF Al IN THEIR PRACTICE.

3. AI Literacy vs. AI Fluency

Al literacy is the knowledge and understanding of Al concepts, risks,
ethics, and policies. In contrast, Al fluency is the ability to actively
integrate and utilize Al in one's daily workflows and practices. Just as
reading about yoga is different from regularly practicing it, Al literacy
involves the conceptual grasp of Al, while Al fluency represents the
fluent application of Al as a tool to enhance one's professional activities.

4. | Why AI Literacy Matters Now

REDUCE REPETITIVE ADMIN WORK

Al can automate and streamline repetitive
administrative tasks, freeing up counselors to focus
on higher-value work.

PROMOTE EQUITY

Leveraging Al can help address inequities in access
to counseling resources, ensuring all students
receive the support they need.

SCALE COMMUNICATIONS

Al-powered tools can help counselors personalize
and deliver communications at scale, ensuring
students receive timely and relevant information.

ENSURE ETHICAL USE

Developing Al literacy is crucial to using these tools
responsibly and ethically, protecting student privacy
and voice.

5. Case Study 1: Al Detectors

O0
A

PEER-REVIEWED STUDIES SHOW
INACCURACY AND BIAS
Al detectors have been found to be
unreliable, with studies demonstrating high
rates of false positives, particularly for non-
native English writers.

&

FALSE POSITIVES AGAINST NON-
NATIVE ENGLISH WRITERS
Existing Al detectors often struggle to
accurately identify Al-generated content, and
disproportionately flag writing by students
who are not native English speakers.

ARMS RACE WITH BYPASS TOOLS

As Al detectors become more sophisticated,
students and writers are developing
increasingly advanced techniques to bypass
and circumvent these detection tools,
undermining their reliability.

6. Case Study 2: Common App Policy

EVERY CA APPLICANT AFFIRMS:
The apleton ether own work, actly ue aná honestly presentes
Submiting A-generoted substantive content iles his afrmain and can conste application

Explicit rule: "Do not use Al software to write your personal essay”

COUNSELOR TAKEAWAYS

Do not assume universities provide clear, consistent Al policies.
Schools should issue their own written guidance for students: Clarify acceptable uses
(e:9, brainstorming, grammar),

Warn against over-eliance or wholesale text generation,

Note that policies will need regular updating (6-12 months).

WHERE UNIS RUN AMOCK
Some universities take the Common App's baseline and expand it without nuance:
Overly broad bans (eg, no Al use of any kind"), even for harmless grammar checks.
Reliance on Al detectors, despite known unreliability and bias
Copy-pasting Common App language without clarification, which creates confusion
rather than guidance.
Misinformation risk: thi

y tools and websites misrepresent schools as having
strict Al bans when they actually don't

WHAT GUIDANCE—FORMAL OR
INFORMAL—HAS YOUR OFFICE
PROVIDED STUDENTS SO FAR?

7. Case Study 2: Common App Policy

Percentage of policies addressing specific Al usage in college applications

AFFIRMING WORK IS
APPLICANT'S OWN

ALLOWING
GRAMMAR/SPELLING
ASSISTANCE

75%

ALLOWING IDEA
GENERATION OR
BRAINSTORMING

100%

PROHIBITING SUBSTANTIVE
AI-GENERATED CONTENT

8. Al policies Specific to College Admission

Georgia Tech

admission gatech edu

Al tools can be powerful and
valuable in the application process
when used thoughtfully, We
believe there isa place for them in
helping you generate ideas, but
your ultimate submission should
be your own.

Caltech

Caltech

Macalester

We believe Al can be a helpful tool
in the writing process. Like any
form of application assistance, we
encourage students to use it
responsibly. I you decide to utlize
programs lke ChatGPT, treat them
lke a teacher

Bucknell University

Tools ike ChatGPT and other AI
se Dose dos ie à

& armen

BYU

Emory University

spptyemory. eds

AL as a Writing Coach, Not a
Creator. (You wil fin the policy
{under the section "Use of Artificial
Inteligence")

bttps/apply.emory.edu/apply/tag
htm

‘Common App

9. REFLECT

What do you spend an inordinate
amount of time on each day
(maybe that keeps you from

doing work that really matters)?

10. From Literacy to Fluency: Building Habits

ESTABLISH A DAILY Al PRACTICE BUILD A PROMPT LIBRARY
‘Adopt a habit of incorporating Al into a Curate a collection of effective prompts Encourage your team to regularly discuss
different component of the work that you and templates that you can reuse and their Al experiences, share learnings, and
do on a daily basis. iterate on, making it easier to integrate Al explore ways to continuously improve

into your daily work. their Al fluency.

11. Closing & Resources

e KEY TAKEAWAY
Al literacy is knowing the words; Al fluency is
speaking the language. Building habits and
integrating Al into daily workflows is key to moving
beyond mere literacy and becoming fluent in the use
of Al in counseling practices

+ UNIVERSITY Al POLICIES
Padlet of policies from various universities regarding
the use of Al in college applications and admissions

SAMPLE COUNSELING OFFICE
GUIDANCE

Templates and examples of how counseling offices
can provide clear guidance to students and families
on the use of Al.

+ PROMPT LIBRARIES
Collection of prompts and prompt engineering
strategies to help counselors effectively integrate Al
into their daily workflows.

+ RECOMMENDED TOOLS
List of Al-powered tools and applications that can
assist counselors in their practice, with notes on use
cases and ethical considerations.

INVITATION TO NEXT SESSION
Al Literacy for Students - October 24, 2025
Register here!

12. Q&A / Open Discussion

“Ox

CURRENT CHALLENGES WITH Al ETHICAL DILEMMAS FEELING

Discuss any issues or roadblocks Encourage participants to share any ethical Invite participants to share where they feel

Participants are facing in integrating Al into concerns or questions they have about the they are on the spectrum of Al literacy and
their counseling practices use of Al in counseling fluency, and what might be holding them

back from greater fluency

THIS OPEN DISCUSSION WILL HELP IDENTIFY COMMON PAIN POINTS AND GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF

FUTURE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES FOR COUNSELORS TO PROGRESS FROM Al LITERACY TO FLUENCY.