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Hi Niamh,
I really enjoyed reading about your lesson. For me one strength of this lesson is the “Imposter Test” activity. Rather than just building a functional AI model and stopping there, you have deliberately designed a moment for the model to fail. Forcing the machine to confront an edge case (like the green apple) makes the students move from passive users of technology into active evaluators of it.
The lesson also supports age-appropriate AI literacy because it makes an invisible, abstract concept very visual. Students between 3rd and 6th class can struggle to comprehend what an “algorithmic dataset” is in theory. After completing this lesson students will realise that AI is not a magical, all-knowing brain, but a system entirely dependent on human inputs.
A critical question that you could ask the students would be
“If we train a model using Google’s Teachable Machine, where do the pictures we took actually go when we close the web browser?
To deepen the assessment and challenge your 5th and 6th class students, turn the “Model Report” into an “AI Patch Upgrade” challenge. Once pupils observe their model failing the Imposter Test, challenge them to “fix” it using data rather than code.Class level: 3rd Class
Curriculum Area: History & Geography ( Trim’s Heritage)
The students will discover how AI can unfairly leave out or minimize important local history because of the data it was trained on. The AI concept being explored is algorithmic bias.
Learning intention:
Students will learn about the history of Trim Castle, while discovering how AI algorithms can show bias by ignoring certain people or perspectives.Omission & Underrepresentation: Students will learn that AI tools only know what they are fed. If the internet data used to train the AI mostly talks about kings and knights, the AI’s algorithm will “predict” that only men built history. It accidentally leaves out the crucial roles played by women, ordinary workers, and local communities.
Short Activity & Discussion Outline:
The one-sided AI story: The students will work in small groups and focus on print outs of a short AI-generated history of Trim Castle. The text heavily praises the famous Norman Lord, Hugh de Lacy, and his son Walter, making it sound like they built the huge castle completely by themselves.
The History Detectives: In small groups, the students are given a “Trim Timeline Toolkit” containing local heritage snippets and historical sketches. Their job is to find the “missing builders.” They will discover that hundreds of ordinary local stonemasons, carpenters, and labourers did the actual heavy lifting, and that Rose de Lacy (Hugh’s wife) played a major role in managing the lands.Class Discussion & Evidence gathering :
Key question to begin discussion:
“Why did the computer only talk about the famous Lord and forget the workers and women?”Critical Question (Bias & Authorship)
“The AI algorithm chose to highlight only one powerful man and left out the hundreds of ordinary people who actually built Trim. If we only use AI to learn about the past, who gets left out of history, and is that fair?”Responsible-Use Consideration;
‘Look for the Missing’ Rule: When using AI to research a topic, I will encourage the students to actively look for bias. They must ask: “Whose voices or stories are missing from this computer screen?” and use local library books or Irish heritage websites to find the hidden details.Supporting Critical Thinking
“Fairness Scales” Worksheet: The students are given a simple drawing of a balancing scale. On one side, they write who the AI focused on (e.g., The rich Norman Lord). On the other side, they write who the AI ignored (e.g., Local stonemasons, women, and cooks). This visual helper shows the students how algorithms create an unbalanced, biased view of reality.
“Include Them!” Poster: For their final task, I would get the students to take the biased AI text and stick it in the middle of a blank A4 sheet. Using a green highlighter, they will draw arrows and write in the missing history.Hi Fiona, I agree with you and think that this demo world would be ideal to use with a senior class. I think that pacing the lesson over a few sessions would also be very beneficial to the student’s learning.
The SPHE curriculum fits perfectly in line with this lesson and I think that how students react to various scenarios in the virtual world could be reenacted using freeze frames ( drama) and this would stimulate discussion around what is happening in the real world e.g can we identify any threats in this freeze frame? Etc.
The Demo world that interested me the most was ” Cybersafe : Bad Connection”.
This is a game about online safety and digital citizenship. It places students in a virtual world where they face everyday, online situations. The students will meet different characters such as strangers and peculiar friends and they must choose who to trust and when to report bad behaviour. The lesson is broken into 3 scenarios – 1) peer pressure & group chats 2) sharing information & 3) threats & blackmail language.
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to know how to block & report & tell a trusted adult. Protect personal details and understand why privacy matters. They will also learn about how online actions leave a permanent digital footprint.
Associated resources include structured presentation slides, printable handouts and a family toolkit.
The lesson links well with SPHE & Wellbeing curriculum on Safety & Protection, where students learn to identify people , places and situations that may be unsafe and develop strategies to cope with unsafe situations.
I would not change this minecraft world because it is highly engaging for the students and because of this they will take the lesson seriously. They will learn so much about online safety by playing this demo world. I would pace the lesson over 3 sessions so as to allow for more discussion after each session.Hi Niamh,
I really enjoyed playing your game and I think it is fantastic that Make Code Arcade have provided an opportunity to code & create as Gaelige.
I love your character’s name Flymo!! Very creative, I loved the sound effects too.Maybe extend the time so that the player has more time to score points.
Game type : Invader Style
Game title: Alien Attack!
Game link: https://makecode.com/_8boY02ekTiLYCurriculum Area and objective: Design an invader-style game prototype that helps students learn about an imagined problem- being attacked by alien invaders.
The game will be an engineering design task where students will need to:
– identify the imagined problem
– consider the needs of the player
-plan their game & possible solution
– create a playable prototype
-test the protype with others
– gather feedback
– refine and improve the gameStudents will be encouraged to create algorithms,test their code, debug errors and improve their solution.
The storyboard is about a character/player called Alex who wants to defend himself against an alien attack by using asteroids to destroy the aliens. The location is in Space. The relevant game elements include the enemy ( aliens) , the projectile ( asteroids) and the goal is to destroy as many aliens as you can to gain a point before losing 3 lives.
Students can develop computational thinking in this challenge through
1) decomposition – breaking their invader game challenge into 6 parts
2)algorithm design- planning, designing, creating and modifying a clear sequence of instructions
3) Debugging – identifying , locating and correcting errors so that their game behaves in an invader style ( I came across this alot while creating the game. I had to debug but the hardest thing was figuring out what the error was!)
4) Iteration: testing their game and modifying the code .I completed the Microbit tutorial, “Dice”. The program is designed to display numbers 1-6. A number is randomly generated and a melody plays on a loop when the “shake” button is pressed.
This is the linkhttps://makecode.microbit.org/_Ei6Uzr2sA699
I think this tutorial would be an excellent coding challenge for students in my SET groups as it supports Stage 3 and Stage 4 of Technology Learning where students can use the microbit to create something purposeful and make the device respond to a challenge that is meaningful to them.( climb the tower!)
The students could create a tower 1m high using tinfoil & tape. Students would have to measure the height of the tower.(plan)
Then the students could create their own character using clothes pegs and art materials. (Do)
The next task would be to create the dice using the microbit so that they can play the game. (Do)
The students would roll the dice & climb the tower, the first to the top wins!
An alternative method would be to start from the top of the tower (100cm) and count backwards to the bottom using the dice.
Another extra challenge would be to use two die and add the total for each turn. ( review)I plan to do this activity with a SET group in September. The students would be embracing integrated STEM learning as the lesson(s) connects their learning across Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths where they can apply their learning to an imagined context( designing & making a tower 1m tall)
More importantly they would be using the following skills while working on the task.
– designing , building & testing
– measuring, comparing and recording
– using technology to create a response
-debugging, improving and explaining their solutions or improvements/enhancementsI completed the Makecode Microbit tutorial, “Dice”. The program is designed to display numbers 1-6. A number is randomly generated and a melody plays on a loop when the “shake” button is pressed.
This is the linkhttps://makecode.microbit.org/_Ei6Uzr2sA699
I think this tutorial would be an excellent coding challenge for students in my SET groups as it supports Stage 3 and Stage 4 of Technology Learning where students can use the microbit to create something purposeful and make the device respond to a challenge that is meaningful to them.( climb the tower!)
The students could create a tower 1m high using tinfoil & tape. Students would have to measure the height of the tower.(plan)
Then the students could create their own character using clothes pegs and art materials. (Do)
The next task would be to create the dice using the microbit so that they can play the game. (Do)
The students would roll the dice & climb the tower, the first to the top wins!
An alternative method would be to start from the top of the tower (100cm) and count backwards to the bottom using the dice.
Another extra challenge would be to use two die and add the total for each turn. ( review)I plan to do this activity with a SET group in September. The students would be embracing integrated STEM learning as the lesson(s) connects their learning across Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths where they can apply their learning to an imagined context( designing & making a tower 1m tall)
More importantly they would be using the following skills while working on the task.
– designing , building & testing
– measuring, comparing and recording
– using technology to create a response
-debugging, improving and explaining their solutions or improvements/enhancementsHi Marie,
I really enjoyed reading about your idea of assigning your class with designing a board game using your microbit dice- it incorporates designing & make with an emphasis on the Arts aswell. This woukd make for an excellent STEM lesson.
I think that the Microbit Dice would be a brilliant tool to use for mental maths, as you already suggested in counting upwards. May I suggest selecting a number and counting backwards too, I find that students especially in senior classes can struggle with counting backwards. Other operations such as multiplying & dividing can also come into play here.
Hi Fiona,
I really enjoyed reading your post. I think that the whole area of assistive technology can sometimes be overwhelming for mainstream teachers and SET teachers especially when assistive technology is constantly evolving. It is important as you say to upskill and share our own knowledge of new ATs with our colleagues throughout the year.
Something that I have come across in the senior classes is that at times some students prefer not to draw attention to themselves with the assistive technology. Therefore we created a “large standing desk/ workstation” in the classroom which has been fantastic for students who regulate & learn better when moving around various stations during the day. Standing while using assistive technology is seen as a novelty to the students.
It also allows for universal learning where all students have the opportunity and the choice to access different forms/ models of where and how they learn best.
The digital learning framework focus that I have chosen is where students reflect on their progress as learners and develop a sense of accountability of their own learning.
As a SET teacher, working in a SET environment has taught me how powerful digital learning can be as a tool for our students with SET. I have seen firsthand that by having the opportunity to access short videos or visuals, students with specific learning needs can access information & create their own projects & portfolios of their learning using PowerPoint or slideshows. By using digital technology they are able to express their opinions & thoughts about topics more easily and their confidence as a learner grows. They begin to take ownership of their learning because they can access the information through technology. I have seen this through tools such as dragon speech, the C -Pen, Seesaw as a platform, visual kahoot quiz for self assessment etc.
An area that I would like to further develop and focus on is computational thinking especially in my numeracy groups. The CT process that I would focus on first would be pattern recognition.
Next I would start with one lesson based on the unplugged activities from this module and set a clear outcome to the group.
Following this I would observe the students as they worked on this activity. I would keep observation notes on each CT lesson as part of my own evaluation but this could also be part of our school’s SSE.
Then I would go one step further by conducting digital reflections ( mini self assessments) for the participating students asking them what they enjoyed, what they found challenging & what they learned, at the end of each unplugged activity.It is evident that there is more awareness around sustainability in my school’s local area. The parents of the community have been working on a bottle recycling scheme both on the school grounds and in the community. There are also parent volunteers who pick litter in the green fields outside the school grounds. There is definitely an increase in electric cars in the staff carpark. There is a designated bottle bank and clothes bank in the community.
In our school we have an excellent green school team that promote sustainability on a daily basis, conducting surveys, making observation notes and highlighting to the other students how we can do better. We installed more bike racks on our school grounds last June and there is an increase in the amount of students walking and cycling to school. We have student volunteers at every yard time who are “litter pickers”. All our students bring home their finished hot lunches to be recycled at home.
This year students were also involved in using recyclable materials to create and design robots, bridges and famous buildings and landmarks as part of their STEM projects.
There is also a new makerspace zone where the STEM ambassadors collect recyclable materials to assist classes with their STEM projects.
What a lovely idea to work alongside the Tidy Towns committee. This would be such an amazing experience for the students aswell as providing pupil voice for the Tidy Towns committee!
I think that it is crucial for us as educators to highlight the importance of the nutrition of seafood and how it is an excellent source of vitamin D, iron and omega 3.
When introducing the topic to the children I think it would be interesting to draw attention to the affects on the human body, when it is deprived of vitamin D and iron. From this I would move on to discussing the brain foods that really help brain development. The children could create sketches of these foods and create a display in the classroom so that they could visualise it every day.
I really like the idea of asking the children to do a reflection on how often their family eats seafood and the various types of seafood they eat.
By incorporating maths and sphe, students would look at the labels associated with seafood nutrition. This could be a groupwork activity where the students have to decipher if the seafood was organically farmed thus encouraging them to think about sustainability and where the food we are eating is coming from.After observing the content from this module and studying the online resources for the ARC, it is clear that Aquaculture education is cross curricular and multidisciplinary. It actually extends beyond the typical and traditional STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths to include history, geography, visual arts, environmental awareness and global citizenship. The online lessons enable the students to engage in 21st century skills, igniting learners curiousity so they can participate in real world problems thus encouraging pupil voice and discussion,developing creative and critical thinking skills which would enable the students to build and apply their knowledge. It enables the students to become responsible citizens as they “feel” involved and play an important role in becoming agents of change.
From a SSE perspective, staff could embed the online resources for the ARC into the 5th or 6th class STEM plan, then secure a visit from a guest speaker from BIM and book the ARC truck experience to visit the school.