Intro to AI
Adult Ed, Polson School District · Fall 2026
Course Overview
Course Objectives
- Learn about AI technology
- Spend time playing with AI technology and exploring AI tools
Meeting Information
When
Mondays from 5:00 to 6:30 PM
Starting October 5
- October 12: Class
- October 19: Class, run by Loga (Connor out of town)
- October 26: No class (Connor out of town)
- November 2: Class
- November 9: Class
- November 16: No class (Connor out of town)
- November 23: Class
Where
Polson High School, Room 205
Instructor Contact
Best way to contact me is via email. My email is hello@connormulvaney.com
AI Tool Use Overview
Never used an AI chatbot? Start here.
- 1No paid subscriptions needed for this class. Don't pay for any AI subscriptions until you feel like you need to. This class is structured so that we can explore with free tools.
- 2Chat naturally. AI chatbots are designed to be conversational. Just type your questions or thoughts as you would in a normal conversation.
- 3Creating an account is helpful. You can use these tools without signing up, but creating an account allows you to view previous conversations and customize your experience.
- 4It's okay to experiment. Try asking questions in different ways. The AI learns from context, so providing details helps you get better responses.
- 5AI isn't always perfect. Chatbots can make mistakes or provide incomplete information. Always use your judgment and verify important facts.
Ready to chat with AI? Here are some that I recommend.
Generally these three AI chatbots perform very similarly. One is not necessarily "better" than the others.
Note: This learning hub was built by Connor without writing any code. He built this website just by telling Claude Code, an AI powered coding tool, what he wanted to build.
Weekly Content
Slides
View the presentation slides below or download them as a PDF.
Independent Work Task/Assignment
Week 1 Independent Work Tasks
Pick one task that feels comfortable, or try more than one. Start wherever feels right. If you finish early, try another. There is no wrong choice, and no one is checking your work. Weird or unhelpful answers from AI are normal. That is part of learning how it works.
Complete the Welcome Survey
Complete this survey to share more about your goals for the course.
Your First AI Conversation
Have your first conversation with an AI chatbot by asking it to help with everyday tasks. This task is highly guided with specific prompts to try.
AI as Your Brainstorming Partner
Use AI to help brainstorm and develop ideas for a real project or challenge in your life. This could be business-related, community-related, or personal.
Teach Your AI Who You Are
Save a short profile in your AI assistant's settings so it knows what you do and how you like answers written. You'll need a free account with at least one AI assistant, a computer (the settings pages are hard to find on a phone), and the two files below.
Slides
View the presentation slides below or download them as a PDF.
Independent Work Task/Assignment
Week 2 Independent Work Tasks
Start with the 5-minute privacy checkup, then pick one task (or try more than one). Based on the survey you filled out, this class falls into four loose groups: Getting comfortable, Creative makers, Work-focused, and Experienced. Each task below is labeled with the group it was built for. The labels are a starting point, not a rule. Pick whatever looks interesting. Weird or wrong answers from AI are normal. Today, catching them is part of the point.
Before You Start: 5-Minute Privacy Checkup
In class we talked about what happens to what you type. This takes about five minutes and works on a phone.
Turn On Your Baloney Detector
In class we talked about how AI predicts the "best" next word, and "best" doesn't always mean correct. In this task you'll ask AI about things you already know well, then use three follow-up questions to check its work. You'll leave knowing when an answer needs a second look and how to check it.
Same Question, Two Responses
In class we talked about big, medium, and small AI models. In this task you'll run three practice prompts through a small, fast model and a big model, then compare the answers. Some prompts show a big difference and some don't. Both are useful to know.
Map Your Workflow
In class I showed the steps I used to build the survey for this class and turn your answers into these tasks. People who get the most out of AI don't usually do it with one perfect prompt. They break a goal into steps and decide where AI fits. In this task you'll do the same for one of your own projects, correct the plan with what you know, and then do step 1.