Generative AI Tutorials
Five interactive tutorialsHelping students use generative AI effectively
I first created these tutorials in 2023 for the University of Arizona Libraries, then completely updated them in the summer of 2026.
Recent studies show that generative AI is now commonplace in higher education. Gallup found that 57 percent of U.S. college students use AI in coursework at least weekly. A Clarivate survey similarly reported nearly universal adoption of AI for academic work.
Given this widespread use, we aimed to help students use it thoughtfully, effectively, and in line with the policies of their instructors. The tutorials include short videos, practice activities, quizzes, tips, and reflection questions.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Generative AI is different from other types of AI. Learn to tell the difference and why that’s important.
This tutorial was first created on May 23, 2023 and completely revised in July of 2026.
Generative AI: risks, limits, and smart use
Recognize key risks of generative AI, including harmful uses, bias, and hallucinated information. Use grounding, source checking, and critical thinking to evaluate AI-generated answers carefully.
This tutorial was created on May 23, 2023 and completely revised in July of 2026.
Creating multimedia with generative AI
Learn the basics of multimedia generation:
- What are some examples of generative AI image, video, music, and speech?
- What are the ethical issues related to bias, copyright, and deepfakes?
- How can we use these tools with human creative skills at the center?
This tutorial was created on May 31, 2024 and revised in July of 2026.
Understand the basics of how the technology works. This will help you use these tools more effectively and give you background for understanding some of the ethical debates.
This tutorial was created on May 23, 2023 and completely revised in July of 2026.
Using generative AI tools effectively
Learn how to use LLMs effectively for your academic work (after checking with your instructor on their policies).
- privacy settings
- prompting and the importance of providing context
- verifying responses
- projects and memory
- transparency and taking responsibility for your work.
- using AI to support learning.
This tutorial was created on May 23, 2023 and completely revised in July of 2026.