AI in Action.
Finish something real.
Bring one unfinished task. Create it, check it, use it—then do it again on your own.
Free public self-study · Beginner friendly · No enrollment required
Start with something that matters to you.
Choose one practice case below, or use your own small task. These cases include the facts you need, an inspectable finish line, and one change to test your judgment. The scenarios are fictional. Use your actual verified facts before using work in real life.
Ask for a useful answer
Draft a message asking a community center about a beginner computer class.
Open the facts and finish line
- You can attend Saturdays between 9 a.m. and noon.
- You have not enrolled. You do not know the cost or whether space is available.
- You want to ask about cost, availability, and what to bring.
Finished work must show: A respectful message under 80 words with your availability and three clear questions. No invented class date or enrollment confirmation.
Then change one fact: The center says classes meet Wednesday evenings. Revise your request to ask about a future Saturday option without claiming you can attend Wednesday.
Record your task and facts in the workbook ↓Make a plan you can use
Create a three-session study plan for material you already have.
Open the facts and finish line
- You have 20 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
- You need to understand one topic, not finish a whole textbook.
- You can use your lesson as the reference when checking answers.
Finished work must show: Three sessions with one action and one visible check each. At least one session asks you to apply the topic to an example.
Then change one fact: Wednesday is no longer available. Preserve the total 60 minutes using only time you actually have; explain what you moved.
Record your task and facts in the workbook ↓Turn instructions into a checklist
Make a five-item opening checklist for a fictional information desk.
Open the facts and finish line
- The desk opens at 9 a.m. You have 15 minutes to prepare.
- Required tasks: check the public schedule, arrange blank forms, test the phone, clear the visitor area, and confirm who handles questions.
- No visitor records or confidential documents are needed for this exercise.
Finished work must show: A five-item checklist in a practical order, with a way to tell each item is complete. Do not invent policy or pretend you have completed the items.
Then change one fact: The phone fails during setup. Add a clear escalation step and an honest status; do not mark the phone ready.
Record your task and facts in the workbook ↓Make one truthful offer
Draft a short offer for a fictional one-hour plant-watering service.
Open the facts and finish line
- The service waters up to ten indoor plants at one address during one visit.
- The fictional price is $25. Availability is Saturday 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
- The customer must confirm the time and provide watering instructions. No gardening expertise or plant-health guarantee is claimed.
Finished work must show: An offer under 90 words stating the service, scope, fictional price, availability, and how to request a time. Keep this as practice unless adapted to a real service you can provide.
Then change one fact: A customer asks for twenty plants at two addresses. Explain why the original offer does not cover the request and ask for details before making a new commitment.
Record your task and facts in the workbook ↓If reading, technology, or language is a barrier
Work one lesson at a time. Read an instruction aloud, ask a partner to read it with you, or write your answer on paper. Use short sentences and the language you understand best. If you translate a draft, check names, numbers, times, and the requested action against your original facts. Ask a fluent person to review wording you cannot confidently evaluate. You can stop between lessons and return through the six lesson links.
For this course, instruction means the request you give; deliverable means the actual thing you make; evidence means work or observations someone can inspect; unknown means a fact you still need to find out. No coding experience is needed.
One task. Six moves.
Follow the lessons in order the first time. Return directly to any lesson when you need it. You need a small task, your known facts, and somewhere to write. An AI assistant is useful; paper and a learning partner also work.
Completion means: You can show two useful deliverables, explain a correction, and accurately record how you used each one or rehearsed its use. This is free, noncredit self-study; it does not award a degree, license, or job qualification.
Choose one real task
You will leave with: A task you can finish and a clear definition of done.
What have you been talking about doing? Choose the smallest useful action you can finish today. Begin with a real need: write a visit request, organize a study session, prepare a simple offer, or create a work checklist.
Do this now
- Write: “Today I will create ___ for ___ so they can ___.”
- Reduce the task to one deliverable. “Start my career” becomes “prepare three questions and request one school visit.”
- List the facts you already know. Mark missing facts as questions; do not guess.
- Write a finish line you can inspect: who it is for, what it must include, and when you will use it.
Worked example
Goal: I want to explore nail training. Today’s task: Draft a school-visit request. Known facts: I am available Tuesday after 2 p.m. or Thursday before noon. Unknown: Whether either time is available. Done: A message under 80 words that asks for a visit and written program costs, without claiming a confirmed appointment.
Your turn
Choose your own task. If you are stuck, use the school-visit example with fictional availability. Write your task and finish line in the workbook below.
Write in your workbook ↓Check your work before continuing
Can someone tell exactly what you will produce? Can you finish the first version today? Have you separated known facts from unknowns?
Common trap: “Learn everything about AI” has no finish line. Replace it with one thing you will make.
Turn a large ambition into a small action
Take “I want a new career,” “I want to use AI,” or “I want a business.” Write three possible first actions. Choose the smallest one that produces something useful today. Explain why you rejected the other two for this session.
Keep as evidence: One specific deliverable, one reader or user, and one finish line.
What a strong response demonstrates
A useful choice produces a visible result and stays within your available time and authority. “Compare tools” may support a task, but it does not replace a task finish line.
Give clear instructions
You will leave with: One reusable instruction that includes your task, facts, limits, and finish line.
Open an AI assistant you already have access to. Use a free option if available; you do not need a paid plan for these writing exercises. Give it enough information to help with your task. If you do not use AI, give the same instruction to a learning partner or use it as your own writing brief.
Do this now
- State the result and who will use it.
- Provide only facts needed for the task. For practice, replace private names, phone numbers, and records with fictional details.
- Specify the length, tone, and required details.
- Tell it how to handle unknowns: ask a question or leave a marked placeholder.
Worked example
Write a friendly school-visit request under 80 words. Audience: the school’s enrollment team. Facts: I am exploring nail training. I am available Tuesday after 2 p.m. or Thursday before noon. Include: ask whether a visit is possible and request current written costs and program requirements. Do not invent a start date, price, eligibility decision, or confirmed appointment. If something is missing, ask me.
Your turn
Adapt this instruction to your own task. Send it to your chosen assistant, or use it to draft on paper. Keep both the instruction and the first result.
Write in your workbook ↓Check your work before continuing
Does your instruction include the task, audience, facts, limits, and finish line? Could a stranger follow it without inventing facts?
Common trap: “Make this professional” does not explain what the reader needs. Say what the result must accomplish.
Improve a weak instruction
Weak request: “Make my future successful. Find the best school and write something impressive.” Rewrite it into a task you can complete using only your chosen case facts. Ask for a concrete output and identify two things the assistant must not invent.
Keep as evidence: Your revised instruction plus one sentence explaining what makes it better.
What a strong response demonstrates
The revised request should name a deliverable, audience, known facts, length or format, and a rule for unknowns. It should not ask the assistant to decide your future or create unsupported claims.
Make the first useful version
You will leave with: A complete first draft you can inspect.
Create the thing. Do not spend the whole session comparing tools or polishing instructions. One complete draft gives you something real to improve. Keep the scope small enough to finish.
Do this now
- Generate or write one complete draft from your instruction.
- Read it once for the purpose: can the reader take the next step?
- If a required part is missing, request one specific change rather than starting over.
- Save the first draft in your workbook. Keep it separate from the final version so you can see the improvement.
Worked example
Hello, I’m interested in nail training and would like to visit your school. I’m available Tuesday after 2 p.m. or Thursday before noon. Would either time work for your team? Please also share your current written program costs and enrollment requirements. Thank you! This is a draft request, not a confirmed visit. A real message still needs your review and the correct recipient.
Your turn
Create your deliverable now. Choose one: a visit request; a three-session study schedule using your actual available times; a five-item work checklist; or a short offer for a service you are equipped and permitted to provide.
Write in your workbook ↓Check your work before continuing
Is it complete enough to review? Does it contain the next action? Is its length appropriate for the reader?
Common trap: A long explanation about how to write a message is not the message. Ask for the actual deliverable.
Compare two versions, not two tools
Create a short version and a more detailed version of the same deliverable. Compare them against your finish line. Choose the version that makes the reader’s next action clearer, and explain one useful detail you kept or removed.
Keep as evidence: Two versions and a reasoned choice—not just “this one sounds professional.”
What a strong response demonstrates
Longer is not automatically better. A useful version includes the needed facts, avoids invented detail, and makes the next action easy to find.
Check facts. Make it yours.
You will leave with: A revised version with a visible correction and a human review.
You are responsible for what you use. Compare the draft with your original facts line by line. Improve accuracy first, then clarity and voice. For this course, your facts are the reference—not the assistant’s confidence.
Do this now
- Underline every date, time, number, promise, and factual claim. Compare each with your record.
- Remove invented details. For information that must be current, verify it with the responsible source before use or turn it into a question.
- Read it aloud. Shorten sentences that are hard to follow and replace wording you would never say.
- Check the recipient, purpose, required details, and requested next step. Record at least one correction and why it matters.
Worked example
Faulty draft: “I will attend my confirmed visit Tuesday at 2 p.m. and enroll for $2,000.” Problems: the visit is not confirmed; “after 2 p.m.” became exactly 2 p.m.; the price and decision to enroll were invented. Correction: “Would a visit Tuesday after 2 p.m. be possible? Please share your current written costs and enrollment requirements.” Reason: the corrected message asks for information instead of creating false commitments.
Your turn
Review your draft using four questions: Is it accurate? Is it clear? Is it respectful? Does it ask for the right next step? Revise it and write one before-and-after correction.
Write in your workbook ↓Check your work before continuing
Can you support every factual statement? Are any promises beyond your authority? Can the reader understand it on a phone?
Common trap: Asking the same assistant “Is this correct?” is not independent verification. Compare against your record or an appropriate current source.
Audit a plausible mistake
Use the “change one fact” challenge in your selected task case. Update the draft. Then name one sentence that could become misleading if you failed to make the change. Ask a learning partner to find any remaining unsupported claim.
Keep as evidence: The changed fact, the revised sentence, and the reason for the correction.
What a strong response demonstrates
A good revision updates all affected details while preserving facts that did not change. If a claim cannot be verified, remove it, qualify it accurately, or ask a question.
Use it. Observe what happens.
You will leave with: A real action taken, or a clearly labeled rehearsal with a scheduled next step.
Use your reviewed work for its intended purpose. A saved draft is progress; an action taken is the next milestone. You choose whether to send, share, or perform it. This page never sends messages for you.
Do this now
- Check the correct person or destination and review the final version one more time.
- Take the action: send your message, use the checklist, follow the first study session, or present the offer where appropriate.
- Record what you did and when. Separate “sent” from “received a reply” and “requested” from “confirmed.”
- Record the response or obstacle. If you are waiting, choose a reasonable follow-up date and continue another useful task.
Worked example
Action record: I sent my reviewed visit request to the school’s published enrollment contact. Status: Sent; visit not yet confirmed. Result: Waiting for a reply. Next step: Check for a response on my planned follow-up date. If the school suggests another time, compare it with my availability before confirming.
Your turn
Use your deliverable. If a real action is not appropriate today, rehearse with a learning partner, label it “rehearsal,” and choose the exact next action and date. Do not record a rehearsal as a real submission.
Write in your workbook ↓Check your work before continuing
Did you take the action you intended? Is your record accurate about what happened? Do you know the next step?
Common trap: No reply is not proof that you failed. It is a status to track. Change your approach based on what you actually observe.
Separate activity from outcome
Write two records: what you did, and what happened afterward. If the result is still unknown, say so. Identify what new evidence would justify your next decision. Do not turn a request into a confirmation or a single observation into a broad conclusion.
Keep as evidence: An honest action record and a next step tied to evidence.
What a strong response demonstrates
A strong record distinguishes action, status, observation, and next step. “Sent,” “scheduled,” “completed,” and “successful” require different evidence.
Repeat without the example
You will leave with: A second completed task, evidence of review, and one improvement you can explain.
Now prove that the method transfers. Choose a different task and complete the same sequence without copying the school-visit example. AI may help with the draft; your judgment directs the task and decides when it is ready.
Do this now
- Choose a second task with a different audience or format: turn a message into a checklist, a checklist into a schedule, or a schedule into a short offer.
- Write your own instruction. Create, review, and revise the result.
- Use it or complete a labeled rehearsal. Record the actual outcome.
- Compare your two attempts. Name one change that made the second task more useful and one habit you will repeat.
Worked example
Second task: Create a three-session study plan. Facts: I have 20 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I already have a lesson to study. Finish line: Each session has one action and one way to check it. Plan: Monday—read one section and write three questions. Wednesday—answer them from the lesson and correct one misunderstanding. Friday—explain the idea aloud and apply it to one example. Evidence: A completed first session and one correction, not a claim of mastery.
Your turn
Complete your independent task. Keep the instruction, first version, final version, correction, and action record. Use the completion checklist below to decide what still needs work.
Write in your workbook ↓Check your work before continuing
Could you explain the method to someone else? Can you show two deliverables and a real correction? Have you recorded real actions and rehearsals honestly?
Common trap: A checked box is your own progress record, not external verification of skill. If a criterion is missing, return to the relevant lesson and finish it.
Transfer the method under a new constraint
Complete a different task case without copying the worked example. Introduce one realistic constraint: less time, a different audience, a changed schedule, or missing information. Explain what you adapted, then review it with the five-part rubric below.
Keep as evidence: A second deliverable, a constraint you handled, a visible correction, and the completed rubric.
What a strong response demonstrates
Transfer means applying the method to a new situation, not swapping names in an old message. You should be able to explain your choice and revision using facts.
Use evidence to decide what is ready.
Review your two deliverables using the same standard. This is a self-review, not an automated judgment of your writing. Select ratings only after comparing your work with the descriptions. A teacher or partner can use the same rubric and discuss any disagreement.
On a narrow screen, swipe the table sideways. Keyboard users can focus the table region and use the arrow keys.
| Criterion | 0 · Revise | 1 · Developing | 2 · Meets criterion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose & scope | No clear deliverable or next action. | A deliverable exists, but its reader, limits, or finish line is unclear. | The reader, scope, finish line, and next action are specific. |
| Factual accuracy | An invented fact, false status, or unsupported commitment remains. | Some facts are checked, but at least one important detail is unresolved. | Every factual claim matches the record or a checked source; unknowns are questions or marked placeholders. |
| Clarity & usefulness | The intended reader cannot act on it. | The reader can act after unnecessary effort or clarification. | The wording, length, format, and next step fit the reader and task. |
| Review & reasoning | No review or explanation of a correction. | A change is shown, but the reason is vague or does not address the problem. | A before-and-after change is shown and its effect is explained. |
| Application & transfer | No use or labeled rehearsal; no independent second task. | Use or rehearsal is recorded, but the second task or outcome record is incomplete. | Both tasks have honest use or rehearsal records; the second shows independent adaptation. |
Your evidence packet
- 1 · Two completed deliverablesShow what you made and who it serves.
- 2 · The facts and instructionsKeep the source record and the requests you used.
- 3 · One visible correctionShow the earlier wording, the revision, and why it matters.
- 4 · Honest action recordsRecord use or rehearsal, actual status, outcome, and next step.
How to give useful feedback
Ask: “What fact supports this sentence?” “What will the reader do next?” “What changed after your first attempt?” Point to a specific place in the work. Describe the effect on the reader, propose one improvement, and let the learner revise it. Avoid rating the person. Review the work.
If two reviewers disagree, return to the stated facts and finish line. Record the disagreement and resolve it with a source, a clearer instruction, or a reader test. Confidence alone is not evidence.
Keep evidence of your work.
These notes stay in this page while it is open. They are not submitted to DTU or saved automatically. Download them before leaving or refreshing. You may also write on paper. Avoid entering private or sensitive information.
What did you actually finish?
Check each item only when you can show the work. If one is missing, return to that lesson. These checks are a personal record, not a scored exam or verified credential.
0 of 6 completion criteria checked
For a teacher, mentor, or learning partner
Ask the learner to show both deliverables and explain one correction without reading the example. Check the work against the learner’s stated facts and finish line. If a claim is unsupported, ask for its source or have the learner remove it. Judge clarity and usefulness, not the brand of tool. For a rehearsal, ask who would receive the work and what would happen next. Offer one specific improvement, then let the learner make it.
Return in 48 hours. Do one more useful thing.
Without looking at the example, write the six moves from memory. Choose a new small task and begin. Then compare your method with the lesson sequence and correct what you missed. This is a practice invitation, not a scheduled reminder.
If you get stuck: Cannot choose? Return to Lesson 1. Draft is vague? Lesson 2. Nothing produced? Lesson 3. Facts uncertain? Lesson 4. Work unused? Lesson 5. Cannot adapt it? Lesson 6.
Return to the six moves ↑