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Class stage: 3rd class
Curriculum areas: Science, English, Visual Arts, Digital learning
Learning intentions:
– Use existing knowledge about an animal to critically evaluate AI generated information.
– Identify inaccuracies, explain why information is incorrect and understand the importance of checking information provided by AI sources with reliable sources.AI concept being explored – AI information and accuracy – how AI can produce information that sounds extremely convincing but yet contains inaccuracies and misinformation.
Short activity or discussion outline:
For this lesson I will use the knowledge the pupils have already acquired. Last year, my class focused on one animal in pairs. They created habitat shoeboxes in art and science and they created reports on that animal in English. By using a number of different curricular areas, the class became immersed in learning and became experts in regards their chosen animal. Using the knowledge they have already acquired in their projects, the pupils will become AI fact checkers.
Short pieces of information will be generated based on their animal using AI. The information will contain a mixture of accurate facts and several inaccuracies. For example, if a pair has researched penguins, the AI-generated text might incorrectly state that all penguins live in the Arctic or that penguins can fly.In their pairs, pupils will compare the AI-generated information with their own research, reports and habitat models. They will highlight information they believe is incorrect and explain why. The class will then discuss how AI can produce an answer that sounds believable even when some of the information is wrong.
One critical question which could be posed to the class after the completion of the is if AI gives us information that sounds correct, how can we know whether it is actually accurate? Also what is the impact of using and sharing information which is incorrect.
Responsible-Use consideration –
Pupils will discuss how they should check their information using trusted sources before using and sharing information gathered through AI.How pupils will be supported to think critically?
Pupils are encouraged through this activity to use the knowledge they have already gained rather than accepting the content provided by AI sources. I will model how to question the AI responses through an initial example on the board and post the activity I would encourage them to provide evidence for their decisions.How you would gather evidence of learning?
I would gather evidence of learning through the pair and class discussions. The pairs will also record the inaccuracies which they have located and provide explanations for why it is inaccurate. At the end of the lesson, I would also ask the class to record one thing they have learned from using AI in the lesson.Hi Fiona,
I really like this activity, particularly because it is so relevant to the world pupils are growing up in today. We are increasingly presented with AI-generated images and content, particularly on social media, and it is important that children develop the habit of questioning whether what they see is real rather than automatically believing it. I think this is a strong way of developing age-appropriate AI literacy as it encourages pupils to question, discuss and look for evidence rather than simply accepting digital content at face value.
I also think there is a really strong link here with SPHE and digital safety. It could open up discussion about how AI-generated images or information could potentially be used to embarrass or bully someone, impersonate someone, or even form part of an online scam. How might we help pupils recognise when AI-generated content could be being used in a harmful or deceptive way, and what should they do if they encounter it?
As an extension, pupils could be given a few age-appropriate examples of online scenarios and work in groups to decide whether they should trust, question, check or report the content. This could provide a practical way of assessing whether pupils can apply what they have learned about responsible AI use to real-life digital situations
Apologies, I had a read a number of other replies where other participants had chosen other worlds and I presumed we could explore any contained in the library along with the ones which were highlighted.
Demo World: Bad Connection
Overview: Within this game, the pupils explore the people they may come to to interact with through online gaming. They learn to decipher who to trust and who not to trust online. It teaches them how to recognise and deal with inappropriate behaviour through their interactions and by blocking and reporting players. It also reinforces telling a trusted adult.
Learning Objectives:
– Identify and respond to unsafe online interactions through guided practice.
– Normalise open conversations about digital safety, reducing fear and stigma.
– Spot red flags in unsafe online interactions.
– Build confidence in reporting concerns and supporting peers who may be at risk
– Evaluate online relationships by asking verification questions.
– Understand that online actions have permanent consequences.
Numerous helpful resources are provided – educators guide, student activities workbook, scenario cards, parent/guardian letter.
Irish curriculum/Focus of learning:
This game naturally links in well with the SPHE curriculum – keeping themselves safe, making responsible decisions, communicating their feelings and seeking help when they are worried or uncomfortable.
Modifications:
I would incorporate this game into other lessons in SPHE curriculum. Before using the game I would complete the Stay Safe lessons, in particular the ones regarding cyber bullying. In the 4th class Stay Safe lesson, there is a suggested video to show the class regarding a person interacting with a child through social media pretending to be their age and gathering information on them through their profile. The video is now a little dated but it does hammer home the message about personal information they put online, interacting with strangers and how to deal with inappropriate behaviour online. By subsequently completing this game, it should take this message another step further through a more up to date means which the children may be more familiar with. The lesson also links in well with the content of the Webwise lessons which I also complete with my class. The use of the game will naturally lead into lots of follow up discussions where the pupils may share their experiences of online gaming.
Demo World: Movie Build Challenge
Overview: Within this Minecraft world, pupils are provided with the challenge of building a scene that they would love to see in a Minecraft movie. They create the setting and design the scene. Subsequently, they use the camera to take screenshots of their build, linking them together to create their story using the book and quill.
Learning Objectives:
– Developing imaginative and creative ideas.
– Developing their understanding of narrative writing and its main components.
– Developing their narrative writing skills.
– Communicating their ideas through visual design and construction.
– Presenting their narratives to the class.
– Developing their collaborative and communication skills.Irish Curriculum Link / Focus of Learning:
The strongest link would obviously be to the English curriculum, particularly the areas of writing and oral language, as the lesson heavily focuses on storytelling, script writing, developing characters and settings, and presenting their ideas.
Within our school, we follow the Seven Steps to Teaching a Genre. Our English policy sets out the genres which are focused on in each class grouping. Currently, I am teaching 3rd Class, and narrative writing is one of our main genres, while persuasive writing is a revision genre. I could use the game to teach both genres sequentially, focusing on narrative writing first to create the story and then moving on to persuasive writing, where the class could create a persuasive movie poster and trailer to encourage others to watch their movie.
The lesson could also naturally incorporate the Art curriculum through creating the scenes in Minecraft and designing the movie poster. This would provide pupils with an opportunity to combine their literacy skills with visual creativity and design.
Modifications:
I would not launch straight into using this game. Following the Seven Steps to Teaching a Genre, I would first familiarise the class with the narrative genre. The game could then be introduced at the collaborative stage of teaching the genre, allowing the pupils to apply what they have learned in a practical and creative way.
Before using the game, I would have the class use a planning template to plot out their story. This would give them an opportunity to develop their characters, setting and storyline before beginning the building process in Minecraft. I think this would provide more structure and ensure that the focus remains on developing their narrative writing skills, rather than on the building aspect of the game.
Hi Lucy,
The demo world you have chosen sounds like a great choice. This game provides a very meaningful STEM learning experience as it includes many aspects of STEM – science, technology, engineering, maths and creativity. I also think the challenge of designing something will really motivate the pupils.
Another area of the curriculum which sprang to mind when I was reading your review was history. The class could explore this mode of transport through the ages prior to completing this lessons, looking at the changes and developments to in the world of aviation over time through the use of simple timeline activity. After they made their Minecraft airplane, they could also compare it to early aircrafts, highlighting how their features have developed and the reasons for their changes. They could also complete projects on famous people associated with the world of aviation which then could also incorporate aspects of creative writing. I think by incorporating as many aspects of the curriculum as possible when looking at particular topic really creates a rich learning environment for the class.
Hi Niamh,
I really like your Catch the Healthy Food game. It ties in really well with both the Science curriculum and the SPHE curriculum objectives. I also like that you gave the healthy items a score of +1 and the unhealthy items -1, as this increases the challenge for the players.
To enhance the game even further, you could add a greater variety of healthy and unhealthy food items. I learned from creating my own game that this can be done quite easily by duplicating the code blocks for an existing healthy or unhealthy item and then changing the sprite’s name and image.
If you were studying the food pyramid as part of your lessons, you could also assign different point values to the foods depending on where they are placed on the food pyramid. This would make the game even more educational while adding an extra level of challenge.
Game type: Timed catch/collect
Game title: Bronze Age Survival
The game includes:
– gathering food
– collecting wood
– surviving in the natural environment
– dangers from wild animals
This supports objectives from the history curriculum such as:
– exploring how people lived in the past
– identifying similarities and differences between life then and now
– using evidence to represent historical life creatively.Main objective:
Pupils will design and create an interactive Bronze Age survival game using Microsoft MakeCode Arcade that demonstrates their understanding of Bronze Age life while applying computational thinking skills such as sequencing, variables, conditionals and debugging.The player is located in a wood setting. The main player has 30 seconds to collect survival items such as food, axe and wood through which they will acquire points. However, they must try to avoid a Bronze Age Predator – a bear who is in hot pursuit. If they clash with the bear the game is over.
Game link – https://makecode.com/_HJmX9eJpJ6RX
Tutorial – Traffic Logger
Code Name – Transport Logger
I followed the transport logger tutorial but altered the column criteria to create a transport logger where vehicles, walker and cyclists/scooters are recorded.Project – https://makecode.microbit.org/_efcW5LhV26aV
I created this logger in order to integrate into lessons based on global warming and the effects of transport on global warming while also connecting it to our annual Green schools initiative. Each year we have our walk to school from the town park initiative. The logger could be used to record the mode of transport taken by pupils on a normal school day and on the day of the Green Schools’ initiative. The information gathered could be then converted into graphs in maths and then shared with the other classes along with project work based on the effect of transport on global warming in an effort to encourage pupils to walk/scoot/cycle to school. This information could then be subsequently displayed on the Green Schools information board.
Tutorial – Traffic Logger
Code Name – Transport Logger
I followed the transport logger tutorial but altered the column criteria to create a transport logger where vehicles, walker and cyclists/scooters are recorded.Project – https://makecode.microbit.org/_efcW5LhV26aV
I created this logger in order to integrate into lessons based on global warming and the effects of transport on global warming while also connecting it to our annual Green schools initiative. Each year we have out walk to school from the town park initiative. The logger can be used to record the mode of transport taken by pupils on a normal school day and on the day of the Green Schools’ initiative. The information gathered could be then converted into graphs in maths and then shared with the other classes and subsequently on the Green School information board.
- Comment on how their tutorial could support coding or computational thinking
- Suggest one way to strengthen the integrated STEM link
- Offer one practical support, extension or assessment idea
Hi Brona,
I really like how you chose this Solar Panel Experiment tutorial in view of your class’ experience of using data logging projects to progress their ability further and how you intend to make it a meaningful exercise as it will help them identify the best area for their solar powered smore ovens. It gives students a real reason to collect and use data. It highlights the pattern element of computational thinking. The class could examine the data collected further using it not only to choose the right location but also examine the best time in which they should place their solar powered ovens outside. This in turn can be linked back to maths in terms of data collection and time. The information they gather could also be used in other lessons, like looking at the best places to grow plants based on sunlight. It could even lead to discussions about global warming and how changing weather patterns might affect plants and the environment.
I really like Louise’s use of ePortfolios and the idea of recording the pupils while they read. We had an incidental two years ago and the inspector informed us that we should listen to all the children reading individually on a daily basis. This is practically impossible when the class sizes are 30+ with no extra classroom support. However, recording the pupils reading would make this possible and it would provide evidence shared with parents where necessary at meetings and used to compared their ability throughout the year and after reading interventions like guided reading. I also like how you use questionnaires at the beginning of modules to assess prior knowledge. These same questionnaires could also be used at the end of lessons, I think the pupils would be more motivated to fill in digital questionnaires than the traditional KWL charts. Pupils with differentiated needs also have the option to use speech to text tools.
Strength: When planning out my lessons, I try my best to find and use a variety of different teaching approaches and create lessons where the pupils are active within their learning. Lessons are thematic across a number of different subjects throughout the week and are based over a number of weeks in order to provide pupils with the opportunity to fully develop their understanding. One such example of this would be where the class explored habitats in science this year. In pairs they chose a particular animal and over the course of four weeks, they created a habitat on a shoebox of that animal. The project incorporated other subject areas such as art, maths and English. The class used iPads to research information based on their animals exploring their habitats, create reports and learn how to draw and/or create their animals and their habitats out of different materials.
Area of development: My area of development focuses on the standard in the LAOS document Pupils enjoy their learning, are motivated to learn and expect to achieve as learners. While I aim for a high level of engagement through the content and focus of the lessons, one of the main stumbling blocks I find for some of my pupils is the ability to work collaboratively which in turn impacts on their engagement, enjoyment and achievement with the activities. Personality clashes often impede some pupils’ ability to develop their collaborative skills. Some pupils try to dominate the group while others are happy to sit back while others do the majority of the work. This does not occur among all pupils, however it does occur with a select few which in turn has an effect on the work of the whole group.
Action 1: Aim to create a focus among the pupils’ on their own learning and contribution. Place a focus on teaching the core elements of computational thinking. Explicitly teach each core component through unplugged activities. Complete the activities independently or pair groupings so the focus remains on their development of their computational skills. Once the skills are explicitly taught and learned the focus will remain on them as the pupils begin to work in groups.
Action 2: Use google forms at the end of activities to get the pupils to self assess their own contribution and learning during the activities.