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I especially like your idea of using photo cards as sort of unplugged activity. The students becoming a form of precursor AI is great too, since they must undergo the same criteria as the AI after them – deciding the two categories. How would you further proceed with the tricky examples, though? Let the students decide or is there a “perfect” solution to this?
For 5th class, I would use the Microsoft Code Green episode “Leaf Long Learners” as a starting point for a Science and Digital Learning lesson. The learning intention would be for pupils to understand how AI can be used to identify patterns and support people in solving real-world problems, while also recognising that AI does not always give correct or unbiased answers.
After watching the clip, pupils could work in small groups with pictures of different leaves and try to sort them into groups based on their own observations. We could then discuss how an AI system might be trained to do something similar and what information it would need. A key question would be: “If an AI system identifies a leaf incorrectly, who should we trust – the AI or our own evidence?”
Responsible use would include checking AI-generated information against reliable sources rather than accepting it automatically. Pupils would be encouraged to explain their reasoning, compare answers and question results. I would gather evidence through group discussions, pupil explanations and a short exit ticket asking pupils to give one useful use of AI and one reason why its answers should be checked.
This link would work best, because many of the students are using online games, such as Minecraft, to meet their friends and other new people on the internet. Using the same platform to convey the message, Be careful who you play with, might be easier to understand for the kids, than any other media.
At the same time it clearly doesn’t demonise video games or online worlds for the students, as it clearly is one itself.
As a next lesson for Coding I would choose the Hour of Code: AI for Good. Many people, including myself, are rather sceptical of the pure benefecial aspect of using AI, since it is often used in a economical, capitalistic way.
Instead, this world shows alternative ways of using data in ecologic disasters, in this case forest fires. Not only do we learn about the three conditions for a fire to burn, but also how wildfires begin and thusly be prevented.
The Minecraft Education Hour of Code: AI for Good lesson connects naturally to the Irish primary curriculum by combining digital learning, problem-solving and real-world issues. Its focus on fire prevention links well with Science and SPHE, while coding and computational thinking develop digital skills. It also encourages collaboration, creativity and responsible citizenship.
I would use the word as it is, but as a follow-up discussion, I would try to shift the focus again on our real world, applying the learnt factors of preventing fires to our own school, to test the students’ new knowledge.
Hi Nicola,
I like your game, since it was close to my own idea (space and mushrooms!) It set my back in my childhood, where we used to mash the space bar to maximize our damage output. The game works really well, especially the sound and visual effects. To increase the effect of inertia I would love to see either an increase in difficulty (could we increase the amount of spawning mushrooms? the speed?) or at least a timer, so that there is a proper ending to the game.
I made the video game called “SpaceTrasher”. As the name suggests it’s located in space. The player is a spaceship (I used the plane model, since it was the closest asset I could find). The objective is collecting/destroying falling debris, while evading a chasing UFO, for which I used the sprite of a mushroom cap. Collecting the space debris gives you a score, however if the UFO touches you – you lose immediately.
You can find the game here:
https://makecode.com/_813PAR4vD4qfThis game deals with the increasing quantity of space junk floating around our atmosphere, due to our increased launches of satellites. Maybe it could sensitize our students for the sheer mass, that is floating around our beautiful earth.
One of the biggest challenge I found in the chase scenario was the speed of the enemy sprite. To be still able to catch the falling trash I had to reduce the speed of the chaser to a minimum of 1 pixel per second, which is still pretty fast. As an alternative I could imagine giving the player 3 lives (if one is lost, the UFO gets destroyed and i replaced by another one), but I wanted to keep the grim dark experience, that is playing with a singular life.
Hi Deirdre,
I like the complexity of this tutorial, as it focus more on the Micro:bit’s function as a sensor. I’m sure there is a lot of potential there to spark the kids creativity to apply different sensors. It also combines the everyday world – what natural “inputs” are there, what could be a digital output to that. Thanks for trying out this more complex tutorial for us!
I used the turorial called dice. It allows me to create a coded version of dice, that could be used for a number of games. If I shake the Micro:bit, I receive a variable between 1 and 6.
https://makecode.microbit.org/_a25Cru5ebUpY
input.onGesture(Gesture.Shake, function () {
basic.showNumber(randint(1, 6))
})Since this is a fairly short code, we could even highlight the differences between visual and written code.
As an short unplugged activity we could use different dice for short games. Not only six sided dice (D6) could be used, but other variants as well – 4 sided dice, 8, 12, 20, 30 or combining two dice to make a D100.
By using code for the dice, we can surpass the physical limits of those fixed numbers. It is very easy to adjust the printed numbers, whithout having the physical limitations. In my opionion this would be a great showcase for removing limitations through technology.
I really like how you have identified the difference between simply using technology and using it in a more meaningful way. I think your strength in keeping pupils engaged through quizzes and collaborative activities is a great starting point for developing this further. Your plan to include one creative or problem-solving digital activity each week also feels very realistic
I particularly like that you have included pupil feedback and discussion with a colleague. I’d love to see a flexible reflection sheet, that the students could use every time, to reduce my workload and at the same time give them the same structure.
One area of the Digital Learning Framework that stood out to me was Computational Thinking (CT). As a primary teacher, I realised that I already use several elements of CT in my teaching, even though I would not necessarily have described them using that terminology before this module. I particularly enjoy using games and situations from the everyday lives of my pupils to make abstract concepts easier to understand. I feel this is one of my strengths, as it helps pupils connect new ideas to something familiar and meaningful.
An area I would like to develop is having a more structured approach to digital learning, so that the learning does not disappear once the lesson is finished. I would like pupils to be able to revisit examples, instructions or resources independently. A lot of our students are struggling with regular attendance, and I feel it to be unfair for them missing out on our content at school.