A Triple-A Pedagogical Framework for AI-Era Digital Literacy Education: Awareness, Ability, and Accountability.

Recent advances in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) have changed how digital content is produced, circulated, and evaluated, creating new challenges for digital literacy education. Rather than treating GenAI mainly as a threat to academic integrity, this paper presents a redesign of an introductory digital literacy course that uses GenAI as an instructional entry point for student engagement and critical analysis. The teaching module focuses on four dimensions of AI-era digital literacy: content authenticity evaluation, privacy and security reasoning, digital infrastructure awareness, and responsible communication. Through project-based, student-centered activities, students examine AI-generated images, discuss deepfakes, analyze phishing emails, reflect on privacy-related decision-making, and communicate responsible AI use. Across these activities, the design follows a Triple-A pedagogical logic: Awareness, Ability, and Accountability. This pedagogy guides students to explore AI tools and uses, develop responsible evaluative and technical practices, and undestand the ethical and social consequences of AI-mediated digital participation. The paper offers practical guidance for strengthening students’ foundational competencies in understanding GenAI capabilities, authenticity evaluation, cybersecurity awareness, infrastructure reasoning, and responsible technology use.