Empowering Leaders of Technology-enhanced Learning: Revamping a Master Programme Curriculum by Integrating AI Literacy Elements

Master of Science in Technology, Design and Leadership for Learning is the programme formerly known as Master of Science in Information Technology in Education from the Faculty of Education, HKU, which was launched in 2000. Technology, Design and Leadership for Learning is an interdisciplinary field of study which explores theories, learning design principles, emerging technologies, research methodologies, and pedagogical approaches. This programme aims to educate individuals who are interested in career as learning technologists, e-learning specialists, instructional designers and information technology coordinators in schools, higher education and corporate contexts, empowering leaders of technology-enhanced learning with diverse backgrounds, such as multimedia publishers, banks, and corporate training centres, universities, and schools are frequently in need of skilled professionals in applications of digital technology in educational and training contexts. With the growing importance of AI Literacy, the curriculum of this master’s programme has been largely revamping recently for the sake of facilitating students to holistically achieve the related cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning outcomes. Besides revising existing courses, three related courses are developed to address such a curriculum reform: 1) Artificial intelligence literacy: problems, design, and practice; 2) Artificial intelligence-enhanced learning technology; and 3) Advanced topics in learning analytics and artificial intelligence in education. In this presentation, we will present: 1) the theoretical frameworks underpinning this curriculum reform for integrating AI Literacy; 2) the major course content of these courses and the aligned learning outcomes; 3) the major pedagogical characteristics and the rationales behind; 4) the authentic assessment task designs involved; and 5) Initial feedback from students. Various models and frameworks of Artificial intelligence literacy are discussed. We will illustrate how these models and frameworks guide the learning designs of these three emergent master-level courses. These models and frameworks include Digital Education Council (2025), Long & Magerko (2020), Chiu et al. (2024), Ng et al. (2021), and those of OECD, EU, as well as PISA2029 etc. Some practical examples will be discussed, such as the use of AI agents in reading PDF documents and converting the questions in the documents to an auto-marking app.