AI in Higher Education · Free courses · Practical, not hype
Most colleges are policing AI. We help you teach it.
Detection-first policy is failing on the evidence. It falsely accuses real students and punishes non-native English writers most. The way forward isn't a better detector. It's teaching with AI, deliberately, without surveillance.
Free, self-paced courses and a free tools guide for faculty and academic leaders, built by someone who spent 21 years inside higher ed, not a technologist who's never graded a paper at 2 a.m. Teach with AI confidently and responsibly, without giving up pedagogy or academic integrity.
The detection trap, in four numbers
The case for teaching with AI isn't ideological. It's evidentiary. Detectors aren't reliable enough to base an accusation on, and institutions are already looking for a different answer.
AI courses, all free
Self-paced, portfolio-driven, and accessible by default: every lesson can be read aloud in six voices and answered out loud. Every course is free with an account at courses.esdesigns.org.
AI Teaching Essentials
The calm starting point for faculty new to teaching with AI: what it is, where it actually helps, and how to bring it into your courses without sacrificing pedagogy or accessibility.
- Self-paced, no prerequisites
- Plain-English foundations, not jargon
- Classroom examples you can use Monday
- Free with an account
Zero to Agent
Maximizing Output with Claude Code. Go from basics to building real agents and workflows you keep using. For faculty, staff, and any knowledge worker. No CS degree required.
- 4 modules, ~8 hours
- Build a working agent, not a slide deck
- Hands-on research, writing & review loops
- Free with an account
AI for Higher Ed Faculty
Teaching Past the Detection Trap. Build a course-level AI policy, redesign assessments with the Two-Lane Model and MAGE framework, and leave with a 30-day plan you can use next semester.
- 9 modules, 22 sections, ~5.5 hours
- 3 assignments + practice-portfolio capstone
- Educate, Enable, Expect, not police
- Certificate of completion
- Free with an account
Teaching With AI: Assignment Redesign
The hands-on follow-on to the faculty course. Diagnose each assignment's AI exposure, pick its lane, and rebuild it: AI-resistant without surveillance, or AI-integrated with MAGE.
- 6 modules, ~3 hours
- Built-in AI sandbox to stress-test assignments
- Redesign co-pilot + rubric stress-tester
- Worked gallery by assignment type
- Free with an account
AI for Higher Ed Administrators
For deans, chairs, and academic leaders setting AI direction. Move from reactive policing to a defensible institutional strategy: policy, equity, faculty support, and the questions to ask before you buy.
- Leadership-level, not technical
- Policy and equity front and center
- Pairs with the faculty course for whole-campus rollout
- Certificate of completion
- Free with an account
AI Tools for Faculty: the living list
A quarterly-updated guide to the categories of faculty AI tools, plus a portable 5-question framework for evaluating any of them.
Tools change every quarter; the way you judge them shouldn't. This is the practical companion to the courses: what's worth your attention right now, organized by what you're actually trying to do (drafting, formative feedback, tutoring, accessibility, research), and how to vet the next new thing on your own.
Accessibility and AI, in one free library
AI you can teach responsibly and documents your students can actually use. Both grounded in pedagogy, both built by a practitioner, and both free to start. The accessibility side covers Title II planning, WCAG 2.2 training, and document remediation.
- Faculty AI literacy & assessment redesign courses
- Administrator AI strategy & policy course
- WCAG 2.2 courses for faculty and staff
- Title II Compliance Roadmap Tool
- AI Website Audit single-page scan
- Document Ally Pro, with free credits at signup
Workshops and done-for-you help are available on request: email bwinchell@esdesigns.org.
The Learning Curve
A short note every other Thursday for people who teach in higher ed: one teaching move you can use this week, one AI story translated for the classroom, and now and then a tool worth a look. No hype.
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