Artificial intelligence is such a huge topic right now. It is having an impact on so much of our world, both good and bad. Whether, why, and how it could or should be integrated into education is part of that discussion. Working at a progressive education institution, a tenet of our mission is to educate students for the world in which they live and to be active participants in their education. I have been trying to find ways to integrate AI with my younger students in ways that are developmentally appropriate and in ways that they can actively engage with the tool. With my first graders, developing a connection with a larger project seemed like a perfect way to build their knowledge of how machine learning and AI work.
First graders are doing a larger project weaving in research, design, iteration, and building and making. They learned about the plastic trash that ends up in waterways and oceans. Students read books and researched how trash ends up in the ocean and the large collections that have formed, including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. First graders discussed how this plastic trash is harmful to the ocean ecosystem. Ocean animals are harmed by the plastic that is damaging their homes, and sometimes the ocean animals ingest the trash or get caught up in it,resulting in the animals getting sick or even dying.
Students then learned about some great organizations that are working to clean up the ocean, including the Ocean Cleanup organization. This group is using several different types of technology to help clean up the ocean,including AI. The Ocean Cleanup developed AI-enabled cameras to identify and track trash in the ocean. The cameras are mounted on ships traveling all over the world and are equipped with AI technology to determine whether objects are plastic or trash and not ocean animals or sea life, take a picture of the object, and mark the location where it was spotted. All of that data is collected and submitted to the scientists working for the organization to better track trash in the ocean and send ships to the right locations for cleanup. The data also helps to track the progress of reducing the plastic and trash in the ocean and share the data with governments and other groups to advocate for laws that will help reduce the plastic in our water systems.
Next, students talked about the AI project we did in kindergarten. We discussed the tools we used and how the AI tools helped us to make a mascot for each classroom and write a collaborative story including all of the ideas of our classmates. Then we discussed how an AI machine learns and what machine learning means. Students made connections with the coding they were doing in Scratch Jr, giving instructions using coding language,and how that is different from machine learning, responding to prompts and questions, interacting with a user, and learning from those interactions.
Then, using the site Machine Learning for Kids, students explored a simple way to train and test a machine. The first step was showing students how we trained a machine to determine if a picture was of a human or an animal. We showed students how we uploaded images to the train section. We talked about how we picked pictures of all different kinds of animals so the machine could learn to recognize all different animals—animals with fur or without, small and large animals. We also showed all the different images of humans. We talked about how humans all look different—older and younger, different skin tones and hair types. We wanted the machine to learn to see all different types of animals and humans. Then we tested the machine. Each student had a different picture of a human or an animal to see if it could correctly identify what the picture showed. We tracked how many times the machine was correct or incorrect. The more we tested the machine, the more accurate it became, and we talked about how the machine was learning more and more. With each class that tested, the machine got better and better at identifying the pictures correctly. We also talked about how we only trained the machine on a small number of images and that the more images we provided to the machine, the better the machine would be at learning and correctly identifying the images.
Now it was time for the students to be the teachers of the machine! Making connections with what students learned about the AI cameras used by the Ocean Cleanup project, we challenged the students to train an AI machine to correctly identify images of ocean animals and trash. The first step was gathering images to teach the machine. We talked about how the better and more accurate images we provided to the machine, the better the learning model would be. If we trained the machine on inaccurate images or poor information, the machine would not learn what it needed to learn. Students went around the school building to take images of trash they found in different places and spaces, especially after lunchtime! They focused on empty water and drink bottles, takeaway containers, and empty chip and snack wrappers. Then we sorted through the images to find the best quality images to train the machine. The students uploaded over 500 images of trash to train the machine. We also found about 150 images of ocean animals. Then students put their training model to the test. Each student showed the machine a picture of an ocean animal and one of trash to see if the machine had learned enough to identify the image correctly. The machine was able to correctly identify the trash every time but was incorrect about the ocean animal about ten times.
After reflecting on teaching the machine, students determined that if they uploaded more images of ocean animals—maybe the same as the trash, about 500—the machine would have been better able to identify the ocean animals. They also made connections with how important it is to train a machine with accurate, good information. Just like when a teacher makes sure to give students good, accurate information, that is also important when teaching a machine. If the machine gets the wrong information or poor quality information, the machine is not that smart and produces inaccurate information. The hope is that students will build on their knowledge of how AI machines work and learn and think about this as they get older and start to use AI more independently. Students should understand and think about how to use an AI source, look into and think about how the machine works and was trained, and be critical about the information that the AI responds to prompts with.
The other aspect of this project was for students to think about how artificial intelligence can be used to help. As students are moving on in their school and learning journey, we want them to develop a mindset about how technology can be a tool to help. Students should think critically about how they are using technology in their lives and how that technology is impacting the world around them. Our goal is to help them develop a mindset of seeing technology as one tool in their lives and how to use it as a tool that can help our world.
This project was a good hands on experience for students on how machine learning is trained. It also was a way to have engaging conversations with first graders about artificial intelligence and how it can be a positive tool. The project also helped students to develop an understanding that AI is only as good as humans train it to be and this will be an important pieces of information for students to continue to think about as they grow and develop a deeper understanding about AI.
Artificial Intelligence is a topic that so many people are trying to understand and to understand how, when and if to use at all. AI is being discussed in all sectors of our society, business, law, government and especially education. Many educators are wrestling with when and if to allow students to use AI and how to present this tool to students. In my practice I have been thinking about AI and when to share it with students. Over the current school year, I have introduced the AI tool in Canva to fourth and fifth grade students to integrate in a project, but how might I introduce and share AI with younger students?
Several years ago, I attended a presentation at SXSW about robotics and younger learners. The presenter, a professor from the University of Wisconsin, shared that it was essential to introduce robots and robotics to the youngest learners and start to have conversations about how they might be used. Her theory was that if you wait till students could understand all the complexities of a concept it is too late. Educators need to start having developmentally appropriate conversations about complex technology at a young age so that students can build their understanding about a technology that has the potential to have a great impact on their lives and on society. When thinking about AI it has the same potential to have a positive impact or negative impact on society and it is essential to start introducing the technology to young students, so as they grow and are able to more deeply understand the potential and pitfalls of AI they are better equipped to have those conversations.
I set out to design a project that made connections for my younger students, in this case kindergarten, that introduced AI and was an opportunity for students to learn about this technology, engage in a project with their classmates and start to build the understanding about AI and how this tool might be used.
I started the project out with my kindergarten students by reading some books that would lead to a conversation about machine learning. We read The Hug Machine by Scott Campbell. The book follows a boy who pretends to be a hug machine and gives hugs to everyone and everything he sees, until he meets a porcupine and the usual way of hugging does not work. The hug machine needs to learn a new way to hug a porcupine. After reading the book, we talked about how people learn and try new things and we made connections with how a machine learns. Kindergarten students had spent time learning to code different robots. They were given different challenges to make the robot move to different spaces using the direction code. They learned that if the robot did not get to where it needed to go, students had to change the code to try again. We talked about how in the book the machine learned how to change and hug a different animal but the robots they coded could not learn what was wrong with the code and try a different way, the human needed to enter new code.
Next, we talked about machine learning and introduced the term artificial intelligence. We talked about how artificial intelligence is a type of computer that can learn. We shared a short simple video for young learners that was a simple explanation of machine learning. We talked about how different machines/devices that have AI are able to learn from the information that is collected, and students made connections with having an Alexa or Google Hub at home.
During the next session, we did an “experiment.” I introduced the Canva AI image generator and talked about how a user can describe what they want the picture to look like and explained how AI machine learning would try and create it for the user.
Students brainstormed together and gave Canva AI the name of an animal, a piece of clothing, and a type of food. We typed in the description of what we wanted the computer to make a picture of (for example: a dog wearing a dress and eating an ice cream cone). In some cases the AI was able to generate a great picture of what we were looking for, in other cases, the machine could not, and we had to give it a simpler idea, or describe what we wanted in a different way. These activities showed students some of the ways AI can produce something we are looking for, but also, how there are limitations with using AI.
Then, during the next class I read the book What If… by Samantha Berger. The descriptive picture book explores the idea of using your imagination and creativity. Kindergartners thought about making or creating something new. Then, we talked about students using their imaginations to make a creature. We brainstormed what it might look like: its head, ears, eyes, what would it be wearing, etc. Students used the kid pix app to draw a sketch of their idea. I then asked each student to pick the part of their creature they liked the best. I collected one idea from each student. Then, we used the AI program ChatGPT to input all of the descriptions of the creature. ChatGPT produced an image of that creature. The first time the creature was not exactly what the class wanted, so we added new descriptions and instructions to ChatGPT to help it make a cool new creature and mascot for each kindergarten class.
Then our new creature needed a name. Each student nominated a name and the whole class voted on the first, middle and last name for their class’s creature. Students had a fun time coming up with silly, fun names for their creatures. The final three names for each class: Lovey Pickle Seaweed, Sparkle Gribble Bill and Rosie Rocket Mega-Dave.
The final step in this project was to create a story about our new creatures that incorporated ideas from each student. Again, we went around the room and each student offered a hobby, activity, or something our creature likes to do. We asked ChatGPT to write a story about our creature that included all of the activities. Students also asked that our character be kind and funny and help others. Then, we imputed all of that data and the picture of our creature into ChatGPT. Each class had a fun story about their character that included one of their suggestions.
As a way to share this project with students and families, I had buttons and stickers made with each class’s character. Each student received a sticker and button in a little bag. I also included a QR code that linked to a website, sharing all about the project and the connections students made and the stories they wrote with ChatGPT. The website and stickers and buttons were also shared with the classroom teachers so they could see the work students had been engaging in during their library time.
I think that this project was a good start to introducing and making connections with AI for young learners. They are not able to completely understand how AI works and the ethical and larger implications it can and will have on our society but I think it is essential to start the conversation even with our youngest students so as they grow their understanding can grow. The hope is that they will be better prepared to tackle the complexity of this topic because they have a good understanding and foundation. The project also made connections with books and research resources. It connected previous learning and projects to build understanding. The project also met many of the collaboration goals. Students made connections with other learners (Leaner III.A.2). Kindergarteners actively contributed to group discussions (Learner III.D.1).
The goal in the coming years is to continue to build on the knowledge kindergarteners gained this year and grow their understanding of AI as they grow as learners.
When planning projects for my kindergarteners I always look for themes that are of high interest with that age group, and have lots of books and research resources about the topic and ways to integrate technology and building projects. The goal is for this to be a months-long project. For the first several months of the school year, the several times a week I see kindergarten the focus will be on this theme and projects. In the past, I have focused on the solar system, oceans and habitats. This year the idea was cities! I was hoping the topic of cities and breaking down the systems of cities would help to build a foundation for my younger students to understand all the components of a city and how essential a well designed and throughout city can be a benefit to the people who live there. This project has become one of my favorites and the students had so much fun, retained so much information and made so many great connections.
The project started by introducing the idea of cities as a system and thinking about all the different parts and systems that connect to make a city function and work together for the people who live in the city. Students would dive deep into different systems in the city, read books and do research on the different systems and then engage in a building project about that system. This format allowed for the exploration of different types of research materials and information gathering and then for students to take what they learned and make and create something new.
In the story studio of my library there is a large bulletin board that takes up almost a full wall. This wall was where I collected all of our information and added visual images of the different systems that students learned about. I started by adding green paper on the bottom half for land and blue paper on the top for the sky. I then added a large “Welcome to SK City” sign. When students entered the library on the first day they saw the sign and were super excited and curious about what they would be learning about.
Transportation:
Transportation was the first system that we explored. We started the project by reading a variety of books that featured different types of transportation. Students talked about all the different types of transportation they are familiar with and see around the city in their daily lives. We then took a walking "field trip" to the city street just outside the doors of the library. During this short walk out our front door and around the corner, students were able to identify dozens of parts of a transportation system. Students pointed out cars, buses, scooters, taxies, delivery trucks, parking meters, cross walks, stop systems, stop lights, and more. We took lots of pictures of a;; the parts of the systems that students identified. I printed out the pictures of the different parts and added them to the bulletin board along with roads, train tracks and sidewalks.
After reading The Last Stop on Market Street, students thought about the public transportation system and buses. We talked about public transportation systems in our city. Students talked about the CTA buses and the “L” train system. Then they imagined different buses they would design. Students brainstormed different bus designs and then drew out their plans for their buses. Some of their bus ideas included: a library bus so riders had books to read, a double decker bus with a glass dome and plants so people could enjoy nature on their ride, and a stuffy bus filled with stuffed animals to cuddle during the ride. The pictures of students’ buses were added to the wall. Images of CTA buses and trains and different train stations in the city were also added to our bulletin board. Students also mentioned other transportation parts to add, water taxis on the Chicago river, airplanes and O’Hare and MIdway airports, divvy bikes and scooters as well as cars.
After making connections with the transportation systems they viewed in our own neighborhood and thinking about buses they would design, senior kindergarteners worked on mapping out a transportation system using robots. Working in small groups, students had a large sheet of paper, markers and miniature traffic signs. Students talked about the different systems they needed to add when planning their transportation map. They used markers to draw out the different paths and added miniature signs to mark cross streets and add bike paths. Then they tested out their systems with Ozobot robots. The miniature robots follow the path of the markers and move around their transportation maps to test if traffic could keep flowing.
Housing:
Next students looked at housing. We talked about and learned about the different types of housing we see in the city of Chicago, including apartment buildings and houses. We shared that housing is an essential system because everyone needs a safe place to live. We read two books. The first book, Going Up, is a book about all the neighbors in an apartment building coming together to celebrate a birthday in the community. Then we read If I Built a House, a silly story about a character named Jack and the amazing, creative over-the-top house he would build. We added images of different types of houses in Chicago to our SK City board.
Parks:
Next, kindergarteners explored parks! Students started with reading two books. The first book was Water at the Park, a delightful story about all the people and animals that use the park on a hot summer day. Students noticed the families with dogs there early in the morning to get exercise, the families with young children there in the morning to play, adults on lunch breaks getting some sun and fresh air. Students also enjoyed the part in the book where families went back to the park after dinner for some play and exercise before bed, and one last visit from the dogs before the city went to sleep. The second book, Chalk, is a wordless picture book about children using their imaginations and using chalk at the playground to create amazing images that come to life. Students then shared their experiences at parks, parks around our school, parks in their neighborhoods, what they love to do at the park, and talked about why parks are important to a city or community. They made connections with the need for parks so people have open spaces to spend time in nature, places for children to play, and green spaces for animals.
The next step, students looked at images of innovative parks around the world. They explored pictures of a pirate themed park in London, England and a Godzilla themed one in Tokyo, Japan. Then, I shared a short video tour of Maggie Daley Park right here in Chicago. Students talked about how different materials were used to make fun and imaginative spaces for kids to play.
Next, students took a virtual field trip to Millennium Park in Chicago. I found 360 virtual reality videos tours of Millennium Park including the famous Bean statue and ice skating on the ribbon in Maggie Daley Park. The videos were short and students used the Google VR viewers for a short period of time. This was a fun and new experience for kindergarten students to gather information and learn about a park and to take a field trip, something we would not have been able to do physically.
After exploring and learning about existing parks in Chicago and around the world. Kindergarteners took on the challenge of designing the parks of the future! Working in small groups, students planned, designed and built prototypes for new parks. They collaborated and used all different materials, from cardboard to egg cartons, pipe cleaners to streamers to build amazing prototypes of parks that had climbing walls, ropes, water features, and more for kids to play. They also designed rest spaces for people to take a break and plenty of green spaces and trees for all the animals that live in the city. The park prototype designs were put on display in the library for people to see.
Business:
Students explored businesses and how important businesses and services are to a community. I started by reading three books. The first book, Top Job, follows the story of classmates sharing the jobs their grownups have, including one child whose parent changes the light bulbs at the top of the Empire State Building. The next book, All Through the Night: Important Jobs that Happen at Night, shares the story of all the jobs that happen when many of us are sleeping, and how those jobs are essential to keep a city working. The final book, How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? A Story of Food, follows items in a lunchbox from farm to factory to store, and all the jobs and people that are necessary to fill up our lunchbox. Senior Kindergarteners kept a list of all the jobs they noticed in the books and then added to it to all of the jobs their family members have, all the different jobs they notice at the school, and jobs they see in their neighborhood.
Next, students thought about what job they would have in SK City. Students drew pictures of their job in the city. I found images based on each student's job. Then, using the green screen and the green screen app Do Ink, each student recorded a short video sharing where they work. Pictures of SK students and QR code links to their videos were also added to the SK CIty bulletin board in the Story studio.
Schools and Libraries:
Kindergarteners explored libraries and schools next. We started with reading two books: No Cats in the Library and Splat the Cat. In the first book, a cat finds its way into the library and keeps getting sent back outside. Soon the librarian realizes that the cat is a wonderful listener and is invited to stay and be the library cat. The next book follows the story of Splat the cat who is very nervous for his first day of school, but soon learns so many amazing things and has such a fun day at school that he cannot wait to go back.
Students then talked about why libraries and schools are important for communities. They shared that libraries are important places to get books and learn new things. Students pointed out that schools help students learn math and reading. They also shared that both schools and libraries are places to meet new people and share ideas.
Students used the coding app Scratch Jr to create stories about schools and libraries. They coded characters to start in a classroom and then coded characters to move to the library to find new books. During this project Kers built on their knowledge of coding. They learned new blocks including how to send messages between characters to trigger new code, how to make characters disappear and reappear, and how to use end blocks to move from one scene to the next. Students learned how to add multiple lines of code on one character and how to add code loops. This was a great way for students to make connections with what they read about and make connections with new code blocks.
City Planning and Map Making:
The final step of this project was city planning! Now that senior kindergarteners spent months thinking about cities and systems that cities need to be healthy, safe and welcoming spaces for people, it was time for them to be city planners.
I started with reading the book Mapping Penny's World. In the book, the main character learns all about the different maps and the different parts of a map, including the map key.
After reading the book, students did a short map making activity. Working with a partner, students spread out in the library ro make simple maps with a key to different spaces in the library.
After reading the book and practicing their skills with map making, students worked in small groups to map out and create their neighborhood in SK City. They started with roads, sidewalks, train tracks, water and parks. Then using different colored cardboard cylinders for the different buildings, students created wonderful SK City maps. All of the neighborhoods were placed together and are on display in the Story Studio in the library for everyone to enjoy.
This project went so well and made so many great connections. Kindergarteners were able to think more deeply about the world around them and understand how systems work and need to work together. They were also able to think about how to think about how systems need to work for the people living in cities and how they can design with other in mind. This project also made great connections with books, databases, virtual reality and other resources as way to learn and collect new information. Students were also given many opportunities to learn with and from each other. They made connections with what their classmates said during discussions and then in many of the small group building and designing opportunities in this project. Technology was woven into many parts of this project. The stages and steps of the project were shared with the larger community through displays in the library as well as website that was shared with parents. So many of the AASL collaboration standards were woven into this months long project with great success.
