Demystifying AI and machine learning with the Code Club AI toolkit

If you work with young people, you might be wondering how to speak to them about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). How do we equip young people to engage with these technologies responsibly and think critically about them?

As part of their biggest programme, Code Club, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has created resources to engage young people in learning about and working with digital technologies, including AI and ML. You might be particularly interested in Code Club’s AI toolkit — a collection of 10 age-appropriate projects that lift the lid on how AI and ML work.

So, if young people in your clubs and programmes are talking about AI and ML, or are curious about how these technologies might affect their lives, take a moment to check out the projects in the toolkit!

Here are a few to whet your appetite:

Dinosaur decision tree

In this paper-based activity, young people make dinosaur-themed decision trees to understand how machine learning models use decision trees to classify data. Not interested in dinosaurs? No problem! You can make decision trees that classify the data you and your young people get excited about.

Apple vs tomato

Train a machine learning model to predict whether you’re holding an apple or tomato, or any other object that takes your fancy. You’ll learn how to use images to train a model that makes predictions about objects you hold in front of your webcam.

Chomp the cheese

This project is a firm favourite of the Code Club team. Using AI-driven face detection technology in Scratch Lab — an experimental version of the block-based coding language Scratch — you’ll learn how to create games that you control with your face. And don’t worry, all of your data will be kept safe. No images from your webcam will be used to train the face detection model, and your webcam images will be stored only locally on your device. Get chomping!

Dance detector (requires a micro:bit V2)

Train a BBC micro:bit V2 to recognise different dance moves! This project is sure to get your young people moving. If dancing isn’t their thing, you could try training the model to recognise different walking styles; a hop, skip, and jump; or even rolling in a wheelchair.

Learn to code, shape the future

Through Code Club, the Raspberry Pi Foundation empowers young people to be digital creators, not just consumers. This involves equipping them with the skills and knowledge to think critically about where and how they use AL and ML tools, giving them opportunities to influence how AI and ML shape their world, and helping them become active participants in their communities.

The Foundation’s selection of over 200 free coding projects and support materials have been designed to help anyone run fun, engaging coding clubs where young people can get creative with code.

Learn more about how your organisation can start a free Code Club by visiting the Code Club website or by contacting the Code Club team at hello@codeclub.org.

Further reading and information:

Many thanks to Rebecca Gracher of Raspberry Pi Foundation for contributing our guest blog post.