Artificial Intelligence is exploding! What exactly is Artificial Intelligence and why is it important to students?
What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defined as intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence of humans or animals. In simple terms, AI is the ability for a computer to think and learn.
AI is also a career field which combines computer science and robust datasets to enable problem-solving and learning.
Why is AI important to students?
AI in elementary school helps students build logical thinking. For older students, “AI enhances the performance and functionality of almost every appliance, device and vehicle made today,” according to Intel.com. “When today’s K-12 students join the workforce, now and in coming years, demand will continue to increase for employees with skills in AI, machine learning, data analytics and other computer science specialties. The World Economic Forum anticipates that AI alone could create 97 million new jobs by 2025.”
AI is embedded into today’s 21st century classrooms. Are you consciously incorporating AI concepts and skills into your lessons?
Start the AI discussion!
Start the AI discussion with your students! AI is all around us. Think about how AI is embedded into things that we regularly use.
Examples of AI for kids
- Movie Recommendations: Have you searched to stream a movie on Netflix? After searching or watching a movie, recommendations for similar movies popup.
- Example: If you liked Harry Potter, you may also like The Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings.
- Search Engines: When you do an internet search using Google or another search engine, AI is used to rank websites in your search results.
- Virtual assistants: Siri, Alexa, Hey Google, and other virtual assistants use AI to form their responses.
- Self-driving cars: Driverless cars use machine learning, a type of AI, to identify road signs and other things that is encountered on the road.
- Chatbox: When doing research, have you used the little popup messaging system and to ask your questions or learn more about the product? The popup chatbox is an AI software application used to conduct an online chat conversation via text or text-to-speech, in lieu of talking with a live person.
Engaging, thought-provoking questions
aiEDU website has 180 5-minute thought-provoking warmup questions about AI available as a free download. They are divided by different subjects. Here is one:
Image descriptions and text for the front and back of the Steal a Cow flashcard.
AI curriculum for BLV students
A recent POSB listserv discussion about AI curriculums for students with visual impairments mentioned the new AI training designed for blind and low vision people age 16+.
ORBIT (Object Recognition for Blind Image Training) is launching a series of sessions to introduce AI and how it can help with accessibility. According to their website, the sessions include accessible materials, practical exercises, and interactive activities.
Learn more about the Orbit AI Curriculum here.
If you have been introducing your students to AI, please share your experiences and accessible resources! Contact [email protected]
by Diane Brauner
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