[Rachel Harte]

Thanks for your help Sinéad!

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by Rachel Harte.

[Rachel Harte]

Thank you for the longer coding Neeve – it’s really appreciated and will be used 🙂

[Rachel Harte]

To give me a bit of a hand with this assignment, I googled common AI errors, but didn’t get useful anything to help me. I then asked for ‘ai error lessons for children’ and got the following statement:
‘Teaching children that AI is fallible turns technology into an interactive playground for critical thinking rather than a definitive authority.’

I really love this sentence – an interactive playground, makes it sound fun and full of exploration rather than negative and invasive. So with this sentence in mind, I set about creating my lesson:
Class stage: 2nd/3rd class
Curriculum area and learning intention: History: Famous Figures – Myth or Fact
AI concept being explored: Pupils can make judgements about the reliability and credibility of information sources, and consider safe and responsible use of digital technologies.
Short activity or discussion outline: Teacher to create 6 bios for the class with the help of AI – eg. Tom Crean, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, Jane Goodall, Grace O’Malley. Some bios to be factually correct, others to contain errors. Pupils to work in groups of 3 to a)discuss their thoughts on each character before even touching a computer keyboard, b)sort the bios into true and false, c) present their sorted bios to the class, stating their reasons as to why. Teacher keeps a note of each group’s answers at this point. d) groups to research the bios on the laptops, keeping a note of the websites they have used for verification and noting the ‘facts’ that are incorrect e) pupils present their findings. f) class discussion around their findings. Which websites did they find the most useful? Did they find any clashing information? Why do they think some websites contain incorrect information?
One critical question about bias, accuracy, authorship or misinformation: How can we know or find out if the information on these people is correct?
One responsible-use consideration: Before the pupils go online to research, their list of ‘safe’ websites will be discussed and research limited to these. (We have Senso in our school and I can either limit the pupils’ browsing ability or display their screens on the interactive panel – this I have found to be a great deterrent for wandering searches)
How pupils will be supported to think critically: When they are discussing the characters, prior to researching, they will be looking for inconsistencies or facts that don’t make sense.
How you would gather evidence of learning: From their presentation of facts at the end of the lesson and their discussion afterwards.

For a follow-up lesson, I would ask the pupils to research 2 other characters and present their findings (either as a poster or on Slides), however, they are to include one piece of fake news in each character’s information page. Can the other groups spot the errors?

While researching for this lesson, I discovered that Webwise, Twinkl and Tes all have packs to teach the lessons I was searching for, but I didn’t go down that rabbit-hole. I would however give them a visit when the time comes to teach this type of lesson.

[Rachel Harte]

Hi G,

I really liked your AI lesson about the AI generated wildlife poster.  You incorporated observation skills, team work and creativity in your Nature & DT lesson.   Inaccuracy and misinformation is rife in AI materials, so teaching the pupils this as part of a Geography lesson is a great idea – so much learning wrapped up in one lesson (my favourite kind!).

You have linked the lesson to the age of the children, their curriculum, and encouraged them to look critically at the information that they are being shown, a perfect level for your age-group.  Your evidence of learning is a lovely ending to the lesson, especially the error finding and how they discovered it – children are quick to spot errors, however, checking validity and correcting isn’t automatic, so it is good for them to have this ability and to regularly use it.

I love your critical question – there is no definitive answer, so the question itself is teaching the children that not everything is black and white and not everything can be answered.  That question is a lesson/research project in itself.

My question: How do you propose to ensure that the pupils only use selected AI-generated material or visit only teacher approved sites?  Is it by the honour method or does your school have a system in place for monitoring/limiting the websites that they use?

Perhaps, as an activity for the beginning of your next lesson, you could consider pooling the insights that the pupils have gained by asking them via menti meter or similar, how they can ascertain if AI information is accurate – their answers could form a word cloud and thus give you a poster of ideas/rules/suggestions for the class.  It should also show you what they understood from your lesson.

I enjoyed reading your lesson, and shall be using it in my own class this coming year, thank you.

 

 

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Dean,

I was deciding between Bad Connection and Home Sweet Home for my assignment.  Having chosen Bad Connection, I thought that looking at your review would be a good idea.

Based on your summary, I feel that this lesson would have been a better one for me to try as a first lesson with younger pupils.  It is possibly a step before the online gaming world of Bad Connection.  Protecting the pupils before they go into a multi-player game or even just when they are online is so important. Each of the challenges you have mentioned in your outline is an important piece of the jigsaw needed to protect the pupils’ safety.  I will definitely try this lesson with my pupils next year.

Along with the SPHE or STEM curriculum, this lesson would link very nicely with the Languages and creative Arts curriculum.  After completing the online scenarios, the pupils could write out a series of instructions on how to create a secure password recognise phishing or recognising online scams (procedural writing).  They could turn these into posters/slogans or even act out the phishing/scams in a real-life scenario.

[Rachel Harte]

Demo Lesson:  Bad Connection

This lesson is about how to stay safe online.  It brings the pupils through a few scenarios, some are safe, others slowly bring the pupils into an unsafe situation.  While asking ages may seem ok, when it is by an unknown/online meet, then then it is not as innocent as it may seem.

The pupils learn that it is ok to report suspicious interactions or annoying/bullying ones.  They also learn how to do this.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• How to spot red flags in unsafe online interactions and what to do about it
• Build confidence in reporting concerns and supporting peers who may be at risk
• Understand that online actions have permanent consequences (digital footprint)

 

Support Materials:

There is an Educator Guide, a Student Activities Workbook, Scenario Cards (offline) Parent/Guardian Letter, Localised Support Materials (in many languages), Presentation Slides to introduce the lesson before the pupils even get to touch a keyboard, Exit Ticket templates for after lesson discussion, Pre and Post Knowledge Check, Standards Mapping Doc (with LOs clearly outlined to Texan curriculum, but very helpful nonetheless), a Family Toolkit with information and activities for home, along with shortened teacher notes to kickstart you running the lesson.
There is a lot of information in these materials, but it is needed to guide teachers taking their first steps into Minecraft, however, it is well laid out and easy to navigate.

For me, the learning objective that I would be pushing in my class is the permanent consequences of online actions – I have noticed that children really don’t seem to internalise this.

When teaching this lesson, I would keep the world the same but slow down the delivery completely, Taking time to introduce the concepts offline first (I have 2nd class, so feel that tis would work better for them).  Then we would work through the scenarios individually on different days – allowing the pupils time to think, talk and formulate their own ideas.  I consider pre and post discussion in small groups and as a class to be vital for the success of this lesson and also assigning some home work/discussion as well.

 

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by Rachel Harte.

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Ellen,

I liked your Paddington game.  It is very appropriate for the younger age-group and catching Marmalade fits in perfectly with Paddington’s marmalade sandwiches.

Your curriculum objective of counting and comparing works perfectly in this game.  A 15 second game keeps the scores low and makes it easier for younger pupils.

I was wondering whether or not you would consider either changing the game yourself or challenging the pupils to change it – to make it longer so the counting could go higher.  Maybe they could add up in 2s, 3s or 5s and therefore would need to change how much each jar of marmalade was worth?

[Rachel Harte]

Name:   Ducky!

Link: https://arcade.makecode.com/S00526-21160-21346-21390

Game type:   Catch and Collect  (I will be teaching 2nd class this year, so thought this would be the best game for me to try.)

Curriculum area and objective: Mathematics

Data and Number.   That the pupils learn to count upwards in 5s

Pattern: that the pupils identify a pattern when they are watching their scores rise or when they compare their scores with other pupils.

Simple storyboard:
Ducky is on his pond enjoying the day.  It starts raining love-hearts, so happy Ducky tries to collect as many as he can in 30 seconds.  He collects 5 points for every heart he collects.

Computational thinking: Algorithm design.  De-bugging

There is a lot in creating this game for younger pupils.  Before computational thinking even comes into play, the pupils will need strong listening skills and a good ability to follow directions.   Depending on the class, I might consider pairing up the pupils so that they can support each other (either two creating one game or two allowed to compare & help while creating their own game)

The step-by-step logic in creating this game is so important across the curriculum: first, next then…. Reminding the pupils of why they are putting in certain elements and then working out where these elements are needed. It could be used after you have shown them the ‘Making a Sandwich’ video which shows in a humorous way why specific directions and order matters -https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=j-6N3bLgYyQ

‘Debugging’ is my new favourite word for error finding and I will be using it across the curriculum – it is a positive word for the children, it empowers and encourages them to search for a solution rather than just seeing a mistake as ‘wrong’ and possibly unfixable.

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Jennifer,

 

I will also be teaching 2nd class this year and really like your dice project.  You are right, we use dice a lot in class – both shop-bought and home-made –  this is a great chance for the children to digitally make their own dice as well.

I liked the way you would carefully scaffold their learning and start with something a little simpler and more achievable, thus ensuring success and drawing the pupils in to the world of coding gently and carefully.

Once the children have mastered the dice tutorial, they could challenge each other to a dice challenge, using addition or subtraction.  It could be a team effort to see which team generates the highest number when added together.  They could also try to guess which number will be rolled next – this would slowly introduce them to the concept of chance.  Could they run an investigation to the randomness of real life dice rolling versus digital dice rolling?  As their confidence grows, the children themselves will most likely suggest other ideas for their dice program.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Rachel Harte.

[Rachel Harte]

Name of Tutorial:  Countdown

My code counts down from 3 to 1 emitting a short beep with each number.  Then, when 1 is reached, a higher and longer tone is emitted and the word GO! Is displayed on the screen

Link: https://makecode.microbit.org/S41427-20282-75923-37789

The pupils could be challenged to change the code around to create steps in the sounds, introduce new sounds, count up, count higher/lower – could they add flashing lights, a character?

Reflection afterwards: What use is this code?  Have the pupils brainstorm different ideas and explore different ways that this would be useful – would anything need to be changed to make it more useful in everyday life – both in school and outside school? Could this code be part of a larger picture – what other codes might be needed to be added to make something different, or do they know of something where this type of code is integral to the design? ( Looking around us, seeing the smaller parts of the bigger picture.)

[Rachel Harte]

One strength in my current practice:

Instead of me spoon-feeding my pupils, I prefer to introduce a topic briefly, then task the boys with researching the information for themselves – depending on the topic, they can note-take, use a word document or create a brief presentation.  This is done in groups/pairs or individually, depending on the outcome I am looking for.  I have also tried jigsaw teaching where each group delves deeper into their topic, then teach each other in small groups with an ‘expert’ from each topic.  Feedback is usually via 2 stars and a wish, by pupils and/or myself.

Sometimes we brainstorm questions first, then cluster the similar questions for research.

Emphasis is always on the source of the information.  Each year, I used to ask my pupils to research the Tree Octopus – this was a great lesson on fake websites, however, this year my lesson was scuppered at the very start – ai informed the pupils that this was a fake website.  We still had the discussion, but I felt that some of the impact had been lost…

 

One area I would like to develop:

I would like to broaden my use of digital technologies throughout the subjects, without losing the traditional forms of learning as well.  I find it easy to bring tech into science, history, geography, English and Irish, but PE, music, and the arts is more of a challenge, and I find that I am less likely to use technology in these areas, if at all.

 

Two or three specific, measurable actions:

At the start of the year, brainstorm with the pupils as to how they envisage tech being used in the above subjects or beyond what they are already used to.

At least once a month, present a lesson where the children use Digital Technology to support and stretch their learning in P.E., Music, Drama, or Art.

Collect feedback on these lessons from the pupils – to inform and guide future lessons.

[Rachel Harte]

There are SO many songs, poems and art to connect us with the night sky, that the class library could be turned over to just that topic
and the walls lined with pictures for a month.
It would also be a great research question for the pupils. We pair the senior pupils with the junior pupils for reading – this would be a lovely way to introduce the Night Sky and Biodiversity to the younger classes. The older boys could select materials to bring to the younger classes and start the discussion with their reading buddy. It would also give the older boys a certain amount of responsibility too.

BOOKS:
Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?
How High is the Sky
The Light in the Night
Little Red Hen (falling sky)
Why is the Sky Blue
Good Night Moon
Full Moon and the Napping House
Peace at Last
Owl Moon
When the Moon Forgot
The Star that Fell
Indian/Celtic/Dreamtime stories of how the stars, moon and skies were made

POEMS
Twinkle, Twinkle
Star Light, Star Bright
Ah Moon …and Star! E.Dickinson
Catch A Falling Star
Night Dreams
The Wishing Star
Fireflies in the Garden
Christmas Star
When You Wish Upon a Star
Like Catching A Falling Star

ART
Starry Night and Starry Night over the Rhone – Van Gogh
Starry Night – Munch
Moonlight – Homer
Nocturn in Black & Gold – Whistler
Fishermen at Sea – Turner
Moonlit Shipwreck a Sea – Moran
Starlight Night – G.O’Keeffe

[Rachel Harte]

How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.

We have a garden attached to the school that we can access, therefore, that would be a good place to begin exploring biodiversity.
I think that I might bring the pupils out with me to observe the environment around and to note the different life forms in the garden. Then when we come back into the class, we could share our information, pool it together, and then explore the meaning of biodiversity.
The conversation would be opened as to whether our concept of biodiversity has changed or not and whether we need to revisit the garden with a sharper focus and a broader understanding.
We have a large no-mow area, but I question its usefulness – there hasn’t been anything done to encourage or invite mini-beasts. I would challenge the boys to re-invent the no-mow area and/or to re-design the broken down bug hotel that lurks in the garden. What bugs did they see? What bugs are missing? Can they figure out a reason why? What do we need to do to invite into our garden?
For light pollution, the pupils could investigate the lighting around the school. They could consider a night camera (explore which one is most suitable, cost it out etc.) and investigate why a night camera might be beneficial to us.
We have a few raised planters and a sensory garden which are falling into disrepair, perhaps the class might like to take one of these on a their project – again making it a worthy place for biodiversity.
Once the investigations have taken place, we could then present our findings to the principal and request permission to start on our chosen project.
This project would be regularly monitored to assess the impact it was having and to guide our further efforts.

David Attenborough: What is Biodiversity

David Attenborough: Why is Biodiversity important

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Sarah,

That’s a great plan.  I like the choice that is included, it allows for students of different abilities and talents to get stuck in.

It would be lovely to encourage the pupils to bring their findings/ideas to other classes or to the student council and maybe even present it to the principal or request that their ideas/suggestions for a particular project be brought to the  Board.

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Tara,

 

I’ve just been looking at the David Attenborough video on What is Biodiversity and then Why it is important.  They’re a great find.   I’ve bookmarked them for use with my 6th class next year.  Thank you.

 

I agree with you – starting from the beginning, and just finding out what biodiversity exists already in you school is a very worthwhile and eye-opening exercise.  It is a great start to the discussion and as the pupils become more familiar with what is around them during the day, it won’t be such a huge step to bring their thoughts to the nocturnal world.

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