AI for School Administration and Non-Teaching Staff

Description

School administration and support staff are at the heart of daily school operations.

Daily activities like writing emails, prepping materials, coordinating communication, and managing projects are all essential tasks.

However, they can often feel time-consuming and overwhelming, especially when combined with the constant pressure to keep pace with new technologies.

This course will introduce participants to practical applications of artificial intelligence designed specifically to simplify and improve the daily work of non-teaching staff, administrators, and school leaders.

Rather than focusing only on abstract concepts, the course will provide step-by-step guidance on how AI can become a concrete and reliable ally for school staff for efficiency, clarity, and stress reduction.

Participants will learn how to use AI to draft professional communication, create documents and presentations, and organize schedules or projects.

Experimenting with hands-on workshops and collaborative activities, participants will explore how AI works, how to write effective prompts, and how to adapt tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Magic School, Gamma, and many others to their own needs.

They will have the chance to practice with real-life everyday tasks, like translating texts, writing emails, and structuring school reports, and they will collaborate in group exercises to solve authentic challenges from their workplace.

They will also look at how AI can help in task organization and project management. Finally, special attention will be given to the importance of an ethical use of AI (its opportunities, risks, privacy concerns, bias, and reliability) and how to develop guidelines for responsible use in their own school contexts.

By the end of the training, they will be able to confidently integrate AI into their daily routines to reduce workload, develop personalized workflows that save time and energy, and contribute to a digitally responsible and efficient school environment that benefits both staff and the wider school community.

Concept by Roberta Begliomini

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Understand what AI is and how to write effective prompts tailored to their own tasks;
• Identify key administrative challenges in their daily work and select the most appropriate AI tool to solve or cope with them;
• Use AI tools to manage routine tasks such as drafting emails, preparing reports, scheduling, or organizing documents;
• Design professional and engaging presentations by applying AI-supported platforms and visual tools;
• Improve school communication with AI-supported writing and translation;
• Learn and apply basic Project Management principles and integrate AI tools to improve project planning and implementation;
• Reflect and discuss risks and ethics in AI adoption in the workplace.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Course introduction

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools.

Getting started with AI in the school office

• What is AI? Understanding the basics and their relevance for school administration;
• Basic AI tools to make office routines more intelligent and efficient: Chat GPT, Gemini, and Copilot;
• Hands-on activity: writing effective prompts for real administrative tasks.

Day 2 – AI for effective communication

• The human element: active listening and assertive communication;
• Optimizing professional emails, reports, and meeting notes with AI;
• Bridging language barriers: translate and adapt your communication effectively with AI;
• Designing clear and engaging presentations with AI tools;
• Hands-on activity option 1: Write and adapt a school communication email into three different languages;
• Hands-on activity option 2: Create a presentation about an important topic you oversee.

Day 3 – AI in project management

• Essentials of project management for school staff;
• AI-powered project tools: explore AI tools for task and project management, from ChatGPT to Trello;
• Hands-on activity: create a work-breakdown structure using your favorite AI/ICT tool;
• Group feedback and discussion on transferability to participants’ workplaces.

Day 4 – Problem-solving with AI tools

• More AI tools for automation: which AI tools can help me with daily office challenges?;
• Hands-on activity part 1: use LEGO to understand participants’ biggest challenge;
• Hands-on activity part 2: applying AI tools to propose solutions to specific everyday issues; Group presentations of solutions and collective debriefing.

Day 5 – Risks, ethics, and responsible AI use

• Ethical considerations in adopting AI at school;
• AI risks: what are they and how to cope with?;
• Hands-on activity: building a “Risk Table” with coping strategies;
• Reflection exercise: creating a personal “AI Mind Map” of lessons learned;
• Final discussion and preparation for implementation.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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