Cutting through the Framework Fog

In today’s post, our guest authors, Angela Gunder and Claire Renaud, unpack what this fog means for institutions and how to cut through the haze to move past confusion and build strategies that best serve their communities. Thank you both for this post.

Enjoy the read,
Lindsey Downs, Editor, WCET Frontiers

---

Since artificial intelligence (AI) burst onto the scene a couple of years ago, higher education institutions, along with many other organizations, have been grappling with which generative AI tools to adopt and what guidance to provide for their use. In particular, there has been a rapid proliferation of AI literacy frameworks seeking to elucidate which practices are needed for faculty, staff, administrators, and learners to use AI within educational contexts. Each framework brings its own set of definitions, competencies, and guiding perspectives. On the one hand, this multitude of frameworks indicates that organizations recognize the importance of understanding how Generative AI, and AI more broadly, impacts their work. On the other hand, for anyone looking for a starting point, the sheer number of frameworks has created a state where countless individuals and institutions are feeling overwhelmed by choice, what WCET’s AI Working Group calls a “framework fog.”

What is the framework fog?

Why a fog? With framework after framework appearing on the horizon, yet no one clearly stands out to guide the way, it can feel as if a heavy fog has settled in. Just as fog obscures surroundings and makes it hard to see barriers or landmarks, the framework fog overwhelms with too many perspectives and choices. For those who want to build on what already exists rather than start from scratch, this creates confusion and discouragement, leaving them unsure of which direction to take. In other words, they may feel stranded on the side of the road, uncertain where to take the first step.

The problem deepens when frameworks define literacy differently. Too often, literacy is treated as a simple on/off switch: either “literate” or “illiterate,” “ready” or “not ready.” While easy to grasp, this framing ignores the social and organizational contexts in which tools are used. It oversimplifies the complexity of how people in specific roles, within unique institutional cultures, actually engage with AI. And sadly, this binary has been used historically to marginalize populations of learners, dictating who has the ability to become literate and who does not.

A grounded approach is to think in terms of AI literacies-plural. AI literacies are not a final destination but an evolving set of practices that shift with role, context, and culture. What works in one environment may be a poor fit, or even counterproductive, in another. And as AI continues to evolve, along with our perspectives on it and our actions related to it, a pluralistic approach to AI literacies allows us to keep pace with the rapid changes in AI and how it is impactfully and ethically used in educational contexts. As AI adapts, our literacies also adapt, allowing us to move forward rather than remaining fixed in place, and ultimately left behind.

Cutting through the fog

When you’re standing in a dense fog, you don’t wait for it to lift completely before moving forward. You find your bearings, lean on what you know, and take intentional and deliberate steps forward into the unknown.

The same applies here: you don’t need to find the perfect framework before acting. In fact, finding one framework to rule over all others is an impossible task. Instead, you must use your organization’s values, culture, and needs as your guide.

Here are some practical ways to cut through the framework fog:

• Turn on your headlights: Just as headlights reveal the road immediately ahead, begin by clarifying your immediate context. Examine your institution’s mission, values, culture, and most pressing needs around AI, as well as where you have strengths that can be applied. These act as your headlights, illuminating which aspects of any framework will actually serve your community and which you can safely ignore.
• Use a compass, not a map: In thick fog, even the best map is hard to follow; you can’t see the landmarks it references. A compass, however, always points true north. Let your institutional values serve as that compass, guiding you to select and adapt elements from multiple frameworks rather than following any single one completely. Review what’s available, remix the elements that align with your direction, and leave behind anything that leads off course.
• Travel in convoy: Navigating fog alone is risky, other drivers may spot obstacles you miss. Form a diverse group including faculty, staff, administrators, and students. Their perspectives will help you see through different patches of fog at once.

By approaching existing frameworks this way, you can begin to construct an AI literacies framework that genuinely supports your community over time, rather than trying to shoehorn your context into a one-size-fits-all model that won’t grow towards the vision and mission of your institution.

Conclusion

The framework fog isn’t going away overnight. But that doesn’t mean we have to be lost in it. WCET will soon share a report that evaluates existing AI literacies frameworks, offering practical guidance for remixing to your distinct institutional contexts. The report highlights how each framework, each one openly licensed and available for adaptation and re-contextualization, aligns to the three dimensions of the WCET AI Policy and Practice framework (Governance, Operations, and Pedagogy), and recognizes that a holistic approach to institutional strategy for AI is necessary to maintain impact over time, and to ensure that AI benefits rather than disadvantages those it seeks to serve. In addition to the WCET Report on AI literacies frameworks, a more detailed toolkit will follow for WCET members, offering insights into how to apply the findings of the report across different contexts and roles. Together, these resources will provide guideposts to help institutions navigate through the framework fog and chart a course that fits their unique landscape, leading them to their intended destinations with confidence and clarity.

This post was written by Angela Gunder and Claire Renaud

---