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This is a great lesson Sinead. I often notice that students just write down the first thing they see when researching for projects. I like how you question the AI, does it sound right. Another extension to the lesson might be for students to show examples of factual and misinformation and how they proved it. Great lesson and will be looking at incorporating it into the new school year.
Class Stage: 5th & 6th Class (Stage 4)
Curriculum Area & Learning Intention: Science (Living Things / Environment) & Digital Media Literacy. Pupils will learn to explore how science and technology can solve biodiversity problems by training a machine learning model to spot plant nutrient deficiencies (e.g., yellowing leaves from nitrogen deficiency).
AI Concept Being Explored: Machine Learning & Training Data. Computers learn to make decisions by finding patterns in labeled training data rather than following explicit step-by-step programming.
Short Activity / Discussion Outline:
Hook & Research: Watch the episode. Identify local schoolyard plants using tools like PlantNet and research specific nutrient deficiencies using resources like Teagasc.
Data Collection: Collect and label images of both healthy plants and deficient plants (e.g., yellowing leaves).
Model Training & Testing: Upload the labeled image sets into the GenAI Teachable Machine to train an image classification model. Test the model live on actual schoolyard plants to evaluate its predictions.
Critical Question (Bias / Accuracy): “If our training data only includes bright, well-lit studio photos of leaves, how will the AI perform when testing a plant outside in rainy weather or deep shadow?”
Responsible-Use Consideration: Data Quality over AI Blind Trust. Recognise that AI outputs depend entirely on training data quality. Humans must stay in the loop to verify automated diagnoses before taking action (e.g., applying remedies or compost).
How Pupils Will Be Supported to Think Critically: Scaffold testing using an Improvement Loop. When the AI misclassifies a leaf, prompt pupils to ask: “Is the mistake caused by too few training images, bad lighting, or poorly labeled data?” Pupils then add more diverse images to refine accuracy.
Gathering Evidence of Learning:
Digital Artifact: Evaluate the completed GenAI Teachable Machine model to check if it accurately distinguishes healthy leaves from unhealthy ones.
Planning Guide Worksheet: Review the completed Plant AI Model Planning Guide sheet to assess pupil understanding of data collection, labeling, and error correction strategies.Hi Sinead, you make some great points here. I would have to agree with the age range from 11-18. You couldn’t possibly do the same lessons with outer limits of this range.
Although you mentioned the interface being difficult and I tend to agree that it can be hard to navigate. However all the children are guaranteed to have played it at some stage and as I usually notice, can be much better with devices and technology than teachers!
I chose Cybersafe: Bad Connection
What’s the World About?
World Choice: CyberSafe: Bad Connection?
Quick Overview: It’s essentially an interactive story where students encounter online group chats and multiplayer games. They run into sneaky situations like sketchy “friends” asking for personal details, peer pressure, or people trying to isolate them from their real-life pals. The whole goal is teaching them how to spot red flags early.
The Lesson & Resources
The world is split into three story components, like slideshows, student workbooks, and even printable scenario cards for students to work on away from devices.The main goals are:
Spotting when someone is manipulating or tricking you online.
Knowing how to use safety tools like muting, blocking, or reporting.
Learning to go straight to a trusted adult when something feels off.Curriculum Link
This is a tailor-made fit for SPHE under Myself and the Wider World (Media Education). Instead of just the teacher lecturing students on internet safety, it gives them a risk-free space to practice boundary-setting and see the consequences of who they trust online.How I’d Use It with My Class
I definitely wouldn’t just set the kids free and let the game do all the work! The themes get pretty real around peer pressure and tricky online behavior. I’d pause the game between each act to run quick, whole-class check-ins. We’d chat through what happened, decode the tactics together, and finish with a simple circle-time activity where everyone names 2–3 “trusted adults” they can go to in real life if they ever feel unsafe online.Love this idea Irene! What a brilliant way to bring Gaeilge to life for younger classes. Switching the interface to Irish and using terms like cúlra and caractar is such a clever way to build vocabulary without it feeling like a standard Gaeilge lesson. Plus, sneaking in larger numbers through high scores is a brilliant way to encourage counting in larger numbers. Keeping it simple with scaffolded templates is spot on for the little ones, too. It stops them from getting overwhelmed while letting them focus on the fun stuff. Perhaps you could add a timer to the game to make it more challenging for the higher ability pupils
Game Overview
MakeCode Arcade Share Link: https://makecode.com/_RCJMAiYxAEXyGame Type: Timed catch/collect
Game Title: Fuel Dash
Curriculum Integration
Curriculum Area: Maths (Data & Time) / Geography (Energy Sources)Learning Objective: Students will calculate rates of consumption and manage time constraints by collecting resource items within a 30-second window to maximize total score. Discuss energy sources and renewable/non-renewable sources.
Game Storyboard
Location: A multi-lane road background.Player: A car sprite controlled using the D-pad buttons.
Relevant Game Elements:
Collectibles (Positive): Fuel cans (projectiles) spawning and moving down the road.
Score/Time Mechanism: Catching a fuel can grants points to the player.
Win/Lose Condition: The player must collect as much fuel as possible within a 30-second countdown timer. Game Over triggers when the clock hits 0, and the final score represents total fuel gathered.
Computational Thinking Process
Algorithm Design: I used algorithm design to manage the fuel spawning system. I created a step-by-step sequence of instructions:Set a game loop to execute every 2 seconds.
Generate a fuel sprite projectile moving downward across the road.
Set its horizontal position to a random coordinate across the screen width.
Trigger an overlap event so that when the car sprite contacts the fuel projectile, the item disappears, the score increments, and a sound effect plays.
I really enjoyed creating a game and with basic steps in this lesson I created thr above. I can see how this will be a great hit when we return in September!
Hi Rachel, I really enjoyed reading how you’ve thought of brilliant ways to adapt the lesson to suit a junior infant classroom. I think we are all guilty of looking at Microbits and certain devices as just being for the senior end of school but I love how you’ve adapted this lesson to suit your class. I have always looked at ways of getting the students in my 5th and 6th classes to teach coding/technology to younger classes and I will definitely be taking note of your suggestions
I completed the Dice tutorial on MakeCode micro:bit.
How it works: The code uses the micro:bit’s built-in “shake” ability. When shaken, the micro:bit selects a random number between 1 and 6 and displays it on the LED grid, effectively simulating a physical dice.
MakeCode Project Link: https://makecode.microbit.org/_Hrt7Y0U8ocy8
Turning This Into a STEM Lesson:
This simple project can easily be expanded into a rich, cross-curricular STEM lesson for the classroom:Science: Students can explore how sensors work by investigating the micro:bit’s accelerometer and discussing how motion detection is used in real-world technology (like smartphones or smart watches). As an engineering design challenge, pupils could construct a protective casing for their micro:bit “dice” using recycled materials.
Maths: Rather than just rolling for fun, students can use their digital dice to conduct probability experiments. In pairs, they can record 50 to 100 rolls, track the frequencies on a tally chart, and convert the data into bar graphs or spreadsheet charts to analyze whether the micro:bit’s random number generator produces an even probability distribution.
Technology & Coding: To further enhance the lesson, students could add code to adapt to games played during wet breaks or golden time, for example snakes and ladders.
For my reflection, I’m focusing on Learner Experiences, specifically regarding how students use digital technologies to reflect on their learning and engage in collaborative work. Strength in Current Practice: I regularly integrate digital tools like Google Slides and Kahoot to assess student understanding and gather feedback. This has made formative assessment much more interactive, keeping pupils engaged and giving me clear data to adapt my lessons. Area to Develop: While I use technology well to deliver content and assess learning, I want to transition from teacher-led digital instruction to student-led creation. Currently, students are mostly passive consumers of digital content rather than active digital creators or collaborative problem-solvers. Action Plan: To address this, I will aim to assess and gather feedbck through e-Portfolios: students will create digital portfolios (using Padlet/Google Sites), requiring students to select, upload an image, or write a brief reflection on two pieces of work per month. I will also aim to start STEAM lessons with unplugged activities. As mentioned previously, I have been guilty of jumping straight to technology rather than building knowledge and computational thinking.
Linda, I totally agree with the thoughts that including STEAM activities in our plans is a mere tick box element. Even as you pointed out with chromebooks and nearly using them for the sake of it. Having reflected through this lesson, I can also say I am guilty of this. I like how the Dreamspace lessons begin with the unplugged activities rather than jumping straight into devices, computational thinking can be started with unplugged activities. This will be all more important with the upcoming curriculum changes and focus on STEM.