# Instructor Pilot Guide

## Purpose

Ram Ready Digital Literacy teaches the file, communication, research, privacy, security, and AI habits college
and work expect — rather than prescribing one official policy. It is an independent, open-source pilot, not
official Angelo State University credit or policy.

## Intended audience

First-year Angelo State University students, while remaining openly accessible to the public.

## Learning outcomes

By the end of University Digital Literacy Foundations, a learner should be able to: build a working course
folder structure and naming convention; verify a submission was received; write a professor-ready email;
evaluate a source's authority and relevance; separate quotes from paraphrase while researching; enable
multi-factor authentication and recognize phishing; handle an official document through an approved channel;
and recover professionally from a technology failure. See `docs/CURRICULUM_MAP.md` for the full
episode-by-episode and quest-by-quest mapping.

By the end of AI Digital Literacy Quest, a learner should be able to: explain why generative AI output requires
verification; build and evaluate a prompt; sort an AI use into a green/yellow/red permission zone; write a
specific AI disclosure statement; verify a synthetic-media claim; review AI-generated code before use; and
identify appropriate permission boundaries for an AI agent.

## Suggested uses

- First-year seminar supplement
- New-student orientation module
- Library instruction session
- Writing-center or academic-advising resource
- Career-services digital-readiness module
- IT and cybersecurity awareness training
- Faculty AI-policy preparation discussion

## Assigning individual episodes and quests

EdNotebook integrations must use `data/ednotebook-course-manifest.json` as the canonical catalog contract. The manifest exposes IDs, titles, sequence, and stable deep links only; lesson content remains owned and versioned in this repository. When the course is embedded by the authorized EdNotebook origin, completed unit IDs and stars are posted back to the parent screen so EdNotebook can record professor-assigned progress without copying the course.

Every Foundations episode and AI quest is available without prerequisite completion. Progress, stars, and
achievements remain tracked, but they do not control access. Use the maps to browse all items, or assign a
stable direct URL. Add `generic=1` when a learner should receive assignment-safe second-person wording without
completing onboarding.

- Foundations: `foundations.html?ep=ep01&generic=1` through `foundations.html?ep=ep20&generic=1`
- AI Quest: `ai-quest.html?q=q01&generic=1` through `ai-quest.html?q=q20&generic=1`

## Facilitation questions

- What is one tradeoff (not a universal answer) this episode/quest presented?
- What would you want to verify with an official source or your own instructor before acting on this in real
  life?
- Where does this episode/quest explicitly say "check your syllabus" or "check your instructor's rule" instead
  of prescribing one universal answer?

## Accessibility

See `docs/ACCESSIBILITY.md`. The course supports full keyboard navigation, screen readers, reduced motion, and
a non-visual list alternative to the story/quest maps.

## Source-review process

See `docs/SOURCE_POLICY.md` and `docs/SOURCE_REVIEW_CHECKLIST.md`.

## Limits of the simulation

All simulation variables (file organization, account security, research confidence, etc.) are simplified
teaching constructs, not a formal evaluation of a person's intelligence, employability, or academic standing.
No setback is an irreversible dead end — every scenario includes a recovery path.

## Independent-pilot disclaimer

This course is an independent open-source educational pilot, not an official Angelo State University course,
policy, credential, website, or AI-use policy, and is not connected to Angelo State single sign-on. See
`disclaimer.html`.

## Reporting errors

File a "Curriculum Review," "Source Correction," or "Accessibility Review" issue using the templates in
`.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/`.

## Discussing digital access inequity without shaming students

Not every student has an unlimited-storage laptop, high-speed home internet, or paid software. Avoid framing
file organization, device choice, or software access as a personal-discipline issue alone; pair any
individual-habit discussion with acknowledgment of what a student's device and connectivity situation does and
does not control.

## Distinguishing best practice from official university policy

Course content presents best practices (e.g., file naming, MFA, phishing recognition) that are broadly
applicable, but it does not set official university policy. When a specific campus system, portal, or IT
requirement differs from what's shown here, the official university source always controls.

## Distinguishing AI literacy from AI promotion

This course does not endorse or sell a specific AI platform. It teaches how generative AI works, its
limitations, and responsible use patterns — not which specific commercial product to buy or subscribe to.

## Pilot feedback questions

1. Did students report the pacing (four acts / four tiers) worked for a semester-long or shorter timeline?
2. Which episodes or quests generated the most classroom discussion?
3. Did any source link need correction?
4. Did the accessibility features meet the needs of your students?
5. Would your unit want deeper coordination with Angelo State University on a future, official version?

## Recommended sequence into Ram Ready Financial Futures

After completing this course, direct students to Ram Ready Financial Futures
(https://brexatlas.github.io/Financial-Literacy-Course/) — see `docs/FINANCIAL_COURSE_HANDOFF.md`.