Go from AI-curious to AI-certified — no coding required
NPT AI Academy is the jargon-free certification program that teaches you to use AI confidently at work, in your business, or in your community — through bite-sized lessons you can finish on your phone, starting today.
I built SPARK because the people who need AI the most deserve a program that actually speaks their language — and never makes them feel behind.— Shari Johnson
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Confidently explain what AI is and isn't — in plain language — so you can cut through the hype and make smart decisions at work or in your business
- Write clear, effective AI prompts that get you useful results the first time, without guessing or frustration
- Apply AI tools to real daily tasks — drafting, summarizing, planning, and communicating — and save measurable time every week
- Spot AI errors, hallucinations, and ethical blind spots, and fact-check outputs before you share or publish anything
- Build repeatable AI-powered workflows that your team, staff, or volunteers can actually follow — no technical hand-holding required
- Earn three stackable SPARK Certifications (Essentials, Practitioner, Strategist) that prove your AI leadership to employers, clients, and your community
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
12 modules · 54 lessons
See It — AI Essentials: Understanding AI Without the Hype
Builds foundational AI literacy so learners can confidently explain what AI is, what it isn't, and why it matters to their daily work and life.
- 1.1What AI Actually Is (And Isn't)Included
- 1.2How AI Tools Think: A Simple Mental ModelIncluded
- 1.3The AI Landscape: Tools Worth KnowingIncluded
- 1.4AI Myths vs. RealityIncluded
- 1.5Your AI Readiness CheckIncluded
Prompt It — AI Essentials: Communicate With AI Like a Pro
Teaches the core prompting skills non-technical learners need to get useful, accurate AI outputs on the first try.
- 2.1Why Prompts Are EverythingIncluded
- 2.2The SPARK Prompt FormulaIncluded
- 2.3Your First 50 PromptsIncluded
- 2.4Prompting for Your RoleIncluded
- 2.5When AI Gets It Wrong: Reading the OutputIncluded
Apply It — AI Essentials: AI on the Job, Starting Today
Puts AI tools directly into learners' real daily tasks — drafting, summarizing, planning, and communicating — for immediate time savings.
- 3.1Drafting Faster: Emails, Messages, and DocumentsIncluded
- 3.2Summarize Anything in SecondsIncluded
- 3.3Planning and Brainstorming With AIIncluded
- 3.4AI for Research and LearningIncluded
- 3.5Building Your First AI HabitIncluded
Refine It — AI Essentials: Trust, Truth, and Quality Control
Equips learners to fact-check AI outputs, spot hallucinations, and apply practical ethics before sharing anything publicly.
- 4.1What Is an AI Hallucination — and Why Does It Happen?Included
- 4.2Your AI Fact-Checking ChecklistIncluded
- 4.3Bias, Fairness, and Who Gets Left OutIncluded
- 4.4Privacy, Data, and What Not to Share With AIIncluded
- 4.5Using AI With Integrity in Your Community or BusinessIncluded
Keep Leading — AI Essentials: Earning Your SPARK Certification
Consolidates all five SPARK pillars into a capstone review and prepares learners for the Ignition Exam and their first credential.
- 5.1SPARK in Action: Putting It All TogetherIncluded
- 5.2How to Talk About AI With ConfidenceIncluded
- 5.3Ignition Exam Prep: What to ExpectIncluded
See It & Prompt It — AI Practitioner: Going Deeper With AI
Expands awareness and prompting skills to more advanced, role-specific AI applications and multi-turn conversation strategies.
- 6.1Advanced Prompting: Personas, Constraints, and ContextIncluded
- 6.2Multi-Turn Conversations: Working With AI Over TimeIncluded
- 6.3Prompt Libraries: Build Once, Use ForeverIncluded
- 6.4AI for Visual Content: Images, Slides, and DesignIncluded
- 6.5AI for Audio and Video: The BasicsIncluded
Apply It — AI Practitioner: Real Workflows, Real Results
Builds repeatable AI-powered workflows across marketing, operations, communications, and customer or community engagement.
- 7.1AI-Powered Content CalendarIncluded
- 7.2Automating Repetitive CommunicationsIncluded
- 7.3AI for Customer and Community SupportIncluded
- 7.4AI in Meetings: Before, During, and AfterIncluded
- 7.5Measuring the Impact: Did AI Actually Save You Time?Included
Refine It — AI Practitioner: Quality at Scale
Deepens quality-control and ethics skills so learners can maintain standards as they apply AI more broadly and frequently.
- 8.1Building Your Personal AI Quality StandardIncluded
- 8.2AI and Copyright: What You Need to KnowIncluded
- 8.3When NOT to Use AIIncluded
- 8.4Responsible AI for Nonprofits and MinistriesIncluded
Keep Leading — AI Practitioner: Capstone and Certification
Prepares learners to complete the Flame Project capstone and earn their SPARK Certified: AI Practitioner credential.
- 9.1Designing Your Signature AI WorkflowIncluded
- 9.2Flame Project: Present Your AI WinIncluded
- 9.3Practitioner Exam Prep: Flame Test ReviewIncluded
See It & Apply It — AI Strategist: Leading AI Adoption
Builds strategic vision so learners can assess organizational AI readiness, lead adoption efforts, and design scalable AI integration plans.
- 10.1What AI Strategy Really Means for Small TeamsIncluded
- 10.2AI Readiness Audit: Assessing Your OrganizationIncluded
- 10.3Building an AI Adoption RoadmapIncluded
- 10.4Navigating AI Resistance: People, Change, and TrustIncluded
- 10.5AI Governance: Simple Policies for Small OrganizationsIncluded
Prompt It & Refine It — AI Strategist: Training Others and Raising the Bar
Equips learners to teach AI skills to others, build internal training programs, and uphold quality and ethics at an organizational level.
- 11.1How Adults Learn AI: Andragogy in Plain EnglishIncluded
- 11.2Running Your First Team AI WorkshopIncluded
- 11.3Building a Prompt Library for Your TeamIncluded
- 11.4Coaching Colleagues: From Skeptic to Confident UserIncluded
- 11.5Organizational AI Ethics: Leading by ExampleIncluded
Keep Leading — AI Strategist: Torch Summit and Master Certification
Brings all three levels together through the Torch Summit capstone, preparing learners to earn SPARK Certified: AI Strategist and lead others forward.
- 12.1The AI Strategist's Playbook: Your Signature FrameworkIncluded
- 12.2Torch Summit Capstone: Lead a Live AI InitiativeIncluded
- 12.3Sharing Your Certification: Communicating Your AI LeadershipIncluded
- 12.4What's Next: Staying Current in a Fast-Moving FieldIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
Small Business Owners
Save hours every week by putting AI to work on emails, content, planning, and customer communication — without hiring a tech expert.
Nonprofit & Ministry Leaders
Learn to use AI responsibly with your team, volunteers, and community — including the ethics, privacy, and governance considerations that matter most in mission-driven work.
Office & Admin Professionals
Master AI-powered drafting, summarizing, and meeting support so you can work smarter, handle more, and stand out as the person who knows how to get things done.
Career Changers & Job Seekers
Earn three stackable SPARK Certifications that prove AI fluency to employers — a real edge in any industry, no technical background required.
Team Leads & Managers
Go beyond using AI yourself — learn to run workshops, build shared prompt libraries, and coach your team from skeptical to confident.
Lifelong Learners
Stay current, stay relevant, and finally understand what all the AI conversation is really about — in lessons short enough to finish on your lunch break.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Shari Johnson
If you've ever Googled "how to use AI for my job" and ended up more confused than when you started — I see you. And I built this for you.
Here's what I kept running into: smart, capable, motivated people were being left out of the AI conversation because every resource out there assumed they already spoke the language. Tutorials full of jargon. Courses built for developers. Articles that explained AI by using even more confusing AI terms. Meanwhile, the people who needed these skills the most — the office manager juggling a dozen tasks, the small business owner doing everything herself, the nonprofit director trying to do more with less — were left on the sideline feeling like AI just "wasn't for them."
That's not a personal failing. That's a gap in how AI has been taught. And SPARK AI Academy is my answer to that gap.
Everything in this program is designed around one question: what's actually useful to you, right now? We don't start with theory. We start with your work. You'll learn what AI is and isn't in plain language, write your first effective prompts using the SPARK Prompt Formula, and apply AI to real tasks — drafting, summarizing, planning, communicating — before you're halfway through the first level. Every lesson is short enough to finish on your phone. Every concept comes with an analogy that makes it click. Every assessment asks you to show what you've learned, not just recall it.
And when it comes to the hard stuff — AI errors, hallucinations, privacy risks, ethical blind spots — we don't skip over it or drown you in disclaimers. We give you a practical checklist and a clear framework, because confidence with AI means knowing what to trust and what to question.
I want you to finish this program and feel genuinely different. Not just "I took a course" different — but "I know how to do this, I can explain it to my team, and I have the certification to prove it" different. That's the SPARK promise. And I'd love for you to hold me to it.
Come on in. Let's get you certified.
— Shari Johnson
Start your journey today
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- 12 modules, 54 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed