Begin with the learning you want to see. A program can produce impressive-looking work while leaving unanswered questions about what students understood and which decisions they made. Ask the provider to describe both the experience and the evidence of learning.
Define the outcome
What should students be able to explain or do at the end? Ask for a sample brief, the intended year level and the knowledge or skills students will practice. Connect the proposal to your own curriculum and priorities.
Inspect the learning process
Where do students plan, compare, check, revise and reflect? Ask how the educator will recognize a student who needs help. A polished showcase alone does not show the whole learning process.
Confirm the people and responsibilities
Who designs the curriculum, teaches the sessions and supports students afterwards? Request the actual educator details relevant to your setting. Agree who supervises, who manages accounts and who handles concerns.
Check the tools and access
Ask which tools are required, whether they suit the students' ages, how accounts are managed and which features cost extra. Consider whether students with different devices or access needs can participate in the agreed activities.
Agree the boundaries
Work through your school's privacy, safeguarding, acceptable-use and assessment expectations. Clarify what data will be entered, how work is shared and whether any recordings or public examples are proposed.
Make the offer specific
Confirm format, dates, timezone, group size, resources, support, price and cancellation terms. A scoped proposal should make it possible to compare what is included without relying on broad promises.
Decide how to review it
Agree what evidence you will collect and when the team will review the experience. A focused first program can help you understand what fits before deciding on wider delivery.
Practical next step: Send providers the same short brief and ask them to answer these questions against it. Compare the clarity of the responses as well as the proposed activities.
The OECD's 2026 digital education report (Read the OECD report) distinguishes better performance with AI assistance from lasting learning. This checklist translates that concern into questions for a provider; it is not an OECD assessment instrument.
