DOL AI Literacy Framework

How Clever Games Aligns with the U.S. Department of Labor AI Literacy Framework

Released in February 2026, the DOL AI Literacy Framework provides voluntary guidance for the workforce and education systems. Clever Games maps directly to all five foundational content areas and all seven delivery principles, giving students practical AI skills through the creative experience of building their own video games.

What Is the DOL AI Literacy Framework?

A federal blueprint for preparing workers, students, and educators for an AI-powered future

The U.S. Department of Labor published the AI Literacy Framework as voluntary, national-level guidance designed to give workers, employers, training providers, educators, and government agencies a shared vocabulary and set of expectations for AI competency. The framework defines AI literacy not as expert-level engineering knowledge, but as a foundational set of competencies that enable individuals to use, evaluate, and engage with AI technologies responsibly.

The framework is organized into two sections: five Foundational Content Areas that describe what every person should know about AI, and seven Effective Delivery Principles that describe how AI training should be structured and delivered for maximum impact. Together, these twelve components form a comprehensive standard for evaluating whether an educational program genuinely prepares learners for the AI economy.

Below, we show exactly how Clever Games addresses each component, with specific, concrete examples from our platform and curriculum.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, AI Literacy Framework (February 2026)

Five Foundational Content Areas

The DOL identifies five core competencies every person needs to participate meaningfully in an AI-augmented world

Understand AI Principles

Students need to grasp what AI is, how it works, and where its strengths and limitations lie. This includes understanding that AI outputs are probabilistic, that training data shapes results, and that "hallucinations" are a natural byproduct of generative models.

Clever Games Alignment: Clever Games introduces AI fundamentals through the curriculum itself. Before generating their first asset, students learn through guided lessons that AI does not "think" like humans. They see firsthand how the same prompt can produce different results, building an intuitive understanding of probability. Our curriculum framework dedicates Step 1 (Concept and Ideation) to teaching these core ideas in age-appropriate language.

Explore AI Uses

Learners should directly explore different AI tools and relevant use cases, understanding how AI can complement human expertise rather than replace it. Exposure to multiple applications builds a well-rounded perspective on AI capabilities.

Clever Games Alignment: Students use AI for image generation (character sprites, backgrounds, UI elements), procedural audio creation, and game logic configuration. They explore how text-to-image models interpret descriptive language, how AI-generated music can match a game mood, and how parameter tuning is a form of AI-directed design. This multi-modal exposure covers visual, auditory, and logical AI applications within a single project.

Direct AI Effectively

This competency focuses on crafting clear, context-rich instructions (prompts) that produce useful, relevant AI outputs. It includes learning how to provide necessary context, iterate on instructions, and guide the system toward better outcomes.

Clever Games Alignment: Prompt engineering is woven into every step of the Clever Games creation process. During the Asset Creation phase (Step 3), students write, test, and refine prompts to generate pixel-art sprites and background scenes. They learn that vague prompts produce generic images, while specific, descriptive prompts generate assets that match their creative vision. This iterative refinement loop is the exact skill the DOL framework identifies as essential.

Evaluate AI Outputs

Individuals should assess AI-generated results for accuracy, relevance, completeness, and logical consistency. This includes recognizing errors, identifying flawed reasoning, and understanding when human judgment must override AI suggestions.

Clever Games Alignment: After every generation step, students review and decide whether to keep, regenerate, or modify their AI-created assets. They evaluate sprite quality, background composition, and audio mood. If a generated character does not match the art style they envisioned, they learn to identify why and adjust. Our instructor dashboard provides a moderation layer where educators can guide students through this evaluation, reinforcing critical thinking skills.

Use AI Responsibly

Responsible AI use means employing tools ethically, safeguarding confidential data, complying with policies, avoiding misuse, and recognizing that humans remain accountable for outcomes produced with AI assistance.

Clever Games Alignment: Clever Games is built from the ground up with responsible AI use at its core. Our generation pipeline includes content moderation that blocks inappropriate prompts before they reach the AI model. Students learn that with creative power comes responsibility. The platform enforces a mandatory instructor review before any game is published (Step 6), teaching students that accountability and oversight are essential components of working with AI, not optional practices.

Seven Effective Delivery Principles

The DOL emphasizes that how AI training is delivered matters just as much as what is taught. These seven principles define best practices.

Enable Experiential Learning

AI literacy training should involve direct, hands-on use of AI tools for real tasks and problems, including critical comparison with human-created work.

How Clever Games Delivers: The entire Clever Games workflow is experiential. Students do not read about AI in a textbook. They use it to build a real, playable video game. Every curriculum step involves direct interaction with AI tools, from writing prompts to evaluating generated assets to tuning game parameters.

Embed Learning in Context

AI training should be integrated into existing processes and tailored to the context of a learner's environment, making it actionable and relevant.

How Clever Games Delivers: Clever Games embeds AI learning within visual and performing arts education, a context students already care about. Students are not learning AI in isolation. They are learning it through game design, art creation, and music selection, subjects that connect to their existing interests and school curriculum requirements.

Build Complementary Human Skills

AI should be taught as a tool that enhances human thinking, judgment, creativity, communication, and problem-solving rather than replacing these abilities.

How Clever Games Delivers: Clever Games deliberately positions AI as a creative partner, not a replacement. Students must conceive the game idea (human creativity), design the world layout (human spatial reasoning), write effective prompts (human communication), evaluate quality (human judgment), and polish the experience (human aesthetic sense). AI accelerates production, but human skills drive the outcome.

Address Prerequisites to AI Literacy

Programs should account for barriers to participation, including varying digital literacy levels, access to broadband, and prior technology experience.

How Clever Games Delivers: Our platform eliminates the coding barrier entirely. Students do not need prior programming experience or access to specialized software. Clever Games runs in any modern web browser, requiring only a standard internet connection. The guided, step-by-step curriculum scaffolds learning for all skill levels, ensuring that a student with zero tech background can succeed alongside more experienced peers.

Create Pathways for Continued Learning

Educators and employers should establish structured progression from foundational AI literacy to more advanced, specialized skill development.

How Clever Games Delivers: Our six-step curriculum framework is inherently a learning pathway. Students progress from ideation to publishing, each step building on the previous one. After completing their first game, students can create additional games with new templates (platformer, tower defense, puzzle, and more), deepening their skills. Our achievement system and leaderboard provide milestones that motivate continued engagement and growth.

Prepare Enabling Roles

Managers, educators, counselors, and administrators need to be equipped to support and guide participants through AI learning effectively.

How Clever Games Delivers: Clever Games provides a full instructor dashboard with class management, student progress tracking by curriculum step, game moderation tools, and per-student analytics. School administrators get aggregated views across classrooms. We support role-based access control (RBAC) with distinct capabilities for students, instructors, school admins, and platform admins, ensuring that every role in the learning ecosystem has the tools it needs.

Design for Agility

Programs should include built-in mechanisms to rapidly update content and delivery as AI capabilities evolve and new tools emerge.

How Clever Games Delivers: Clever Games uses a template-modding architecture that allows new game genres, AI models, and generation capabilities to be added without disrupting the student experience. When new AI capabilities become available, we integrate them into existing templates, giving students access to the latest tools while maintaining the familiar, scaffolded workflow they have already learned.

Why This Matters for Students

AI literacy is not a future requirement. It is a present-day necessity that shapes college readiness, career options, and creative potential.

Workforce Readiness

The DOL framework exists because employers across every industry now expect baseline AI literacy. Students who learn to direct, evaluate, and use AI responsibly today will be better positioned for internships, jobs, and entrepreneurial ventures tomorrow.

College and Career Preparedness

Universities are integrating AI into coursework across disciplines, from journalism to biology to business. Students with hands-on AI experience, especially experience that involves critical evaluation and responsible use, arrive better prepared for higher education.

Creative Confidence

When students build something real, playable, and sharable, they develop creative confidence that extends far beyond the classroom. Clever Games turns abstract AI concepts into tangible creative achievements that students are proud to show.

Standards Alignment

Schools and districts can point to the DOL AI Literacy Framework as federal-level validation that AI-focused programs prepare students for real-world expectations. Clever Games provides the curriculum and platform to deliver on that promise.

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