In order to be truly prepared for a 21st century career, students, as we know, will need certain skills and experiences. As STEM industries continue to evolve, those with bolstered skill sets are likely to be rewarded with top career options. Though STEM professions certainly evolve quickly, educators can help students come to know what to expect with some targeted instruction. Whether it's in data science, artificial intelligence, computer systems, or something else, the more experiences they've had, the better. The subject of this week's Rising Resources post, Edsquare is a tool that can help. It's an online platform that's home to a variety of STEM courses for elementary school students to access—and it can be a very valuable educational tool.
The courses within Edsquare are designed largely for students. As they say, however, teachers can also feel free to try them. There are a lot of opportunities for them to learn about contemporary skills and developing technologies. At the moment, there are two main courses available on the Edsquare platform. They focus on artificial intelligence and its role in enabling machine learning. Each of the courses provides students with a fun experience while they're learning about extremely important topics. Though data and AI are complex topics, the courses help make them more understandable and relatable for younger students, enabling them to get started as early on as seven years old.
Starting with Aly's Adventures.
The first of the Edsquare courses is known as Aly's Adventures in AI. This course is for students from 7-12 years old and serves as a fun introduction to both AI and data science. It includes a variety of video and printable resources, allowing educators to integrate the activities efficiently. Though it's in-depth and engaging, there is no actual coding involved in this course. Students only need an Internet-connected computer in order to access the resources as well. The course does have a cost associated with it, but covers some valuable content. Students can learn about AI through puzzles, games, and other unplugged activities, for example.
In this course, students will use a lot of storytelling in order to complete challenges. This helps ensure that they don't become intimidated or overwhelmed by these new experiences. Learning through storytelling often appeals universally to students and helps generate both excitement and a sense of comfortability. The lessons also involve a great deal of continuity and cover many different topics, including machine learning, data, sensors, pattern recognition, and neural networks. Though it seems like a lot, the course is very much beginner-friendly (for both students and teachers).
Purchase of this course includes instructional videos, activity guides, activity sheets, a teaching guide, and a completion certificate. Besides a computer and an Internet connection, all students need is a printer, coloring materials, and basic school supplies, like a ruler, eraser, glue, and scissors. If teachers are printing materials ahead of time, however, students would not need a printer themselves. They may also want to have some cardboard for use in some of the activities. And, if teachers want to avoid printing out too many materials, all of the activities for this course are available in a Google Slides document.
Let's Learn About AI.
Next, we have an Edsquare course that's titled 'Let's Learn About AI.' This course is similar to the first one since it features unplugged lessons and both online and printable materials. It's also beginner-friendly and designed for elementary students. The bite-sized lessons help students discover new elements of AI and machine learning at their own pace. Again, there are video lessons, puzzles, and other activities students can access with the purchase of this course. The content is also more extensive than the Aly's Adventures course and includes multiple lessons on a variety of topics, like machine learning, data, neural networks, applications, and ethics.
There is a downloadable guide for teachers to reference when utilizing this particular course. The content also comes in a comic book version as well as a digital storybook. There are five main parts to this Edsquare course, starting with 'Escape the Den.' This section entails playing a game to help a robot navigate its way through a lion's den. Students will learn about reinforcement learning, which is a type of machine learning, as they go. Next, is the 'Pattern Detective' level. Here, students will learn key skills needed for pattern recognition and why they're important. They'll also get to know another type of machine learning called supervised learning.
Continuing on, the 'Machine, Learn!' section features more information on artificial intelligence tools. Students will have the chance to create a machine learning model that learns from data and remembers key points. Next, we have 'Feel the Emotion.' In this section, students will learn how AI can be used in language. They're tasked with analyzing sentences and trying to guess the emotions that are being conveyed. Finally, the last section is called 'Animals Assemble.' Students are introduced to a type of machine learning known as unsupervised learning. They can see how they can use it to sort animals into groups by identifying common traits among them.
Additional Content on the Edsquare site.
Also, on the Edsquare website, students and teachers can find the 'Nuts About Data' book. This collection serves as an introduction to data science and helps break it down in a way that children and young adults can understand. It's purposefully written to help students learn data science and AI concepts through stories. Rather than incorporating complex language and confusing examples, the storytelling element helps make it more accessible for students. The Edsquare team is also in the process of developing a 'Nuts About Data' board game that will help students learn about data science and AI in more of an interactive way.
To supplement the AI courses, teachers can access various learning resources on the Edsquare site. These include their blog, download library, and various infographics. The first resource (AI Made Simple) also includes a bunch of helpful content for teachers, especially if they are new to this subject matter. They can access digital resources on machine learning basics, succeeding in AI, ethical implications, and a whole lot more. There are also helpful infographics and the opportunity to sign up for updates on the new releases.
If you've been exploring the idea of introducing students to some of the basics of AI and machine learning, Edsquare could be a very valuable resource. To learn more about it and to get started, visit their website. After you've checked it out, stop by our online EdTech store to find more of today's top technologies for learning. We encourage you to explore our own thoughts on artificial intelligence in education as well. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more!