AI is part of our everyday lives and is rapidly transforming industries. It has changed the way we work, the way we communicate and even the way we learn.

With the growing influence of AI in our lives and its expected growth in the future, it is essential to prepare our students for an AI-driven world. AI literacy is increasingly needed to help us prepare our K-12 students for the future, enabling them to develop the skills they need to be prepared to engage and adapt to an AI-driven world.

To this end, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) lessons or activities provide an opportunity to integrate AI learning in a meaningful way. Teachers and educators can use the Five Big Ideas of AI - Perception, Representation & Reasoning, Learning, Natural Interaction and Social Impact - as a foundation to help students understand some of the core concepts of AI.

Perception: AI’s ability to perceive its surroundings.

Machines using AI can perceive and interpret different types of information, such as images, speech and environmental patterns. This ability is made possible by various sensors or input devices. These devices collect data from the machine's environment and convert it into a digital form. This transformation allows the data to be interpreted so that the machine can perform actions or extract information based on the data received.

In the classroom, to help students better understand how AI perception works, teachers can use sensors and a pocket-sized computer, just as micro:bit. This will allow teachers to explore the way a computer or a robot feels and understands what it is around and then can use that information, later on, to have a reaction to it.

Teachers can also take the opportunity to explore with the students how versatile this kind of perception is. To what extent does it mimic humans’ perception.

Representation & Reasoning: The AI’s ability to process the information and use it to make decisions or solve problems.

Representation is AI’s ability to encode information so that computers or machines can understand and use it. There are different types of representation, depending on the information received and the problems to be solved. Choosing the best representation is the most important aspect of designing a successful computer system.

Reasoning is the process of drawing conclusions and making decisions based on the information gathered by the computer or machine. This process is done using algorithms and is only as effective as the quality of the data collected and the algorithms created.

In the classroom, the teacher can show students how Representation & Reasoning works by using an online game, such as a voice assistant that selects music based on preferences, where the AI selects the music based on your preferences. Teachers can also use Scratch to create a game that helps students better understand this Big Idea.

In addition, using decision trees and exploring the ways the machine has to get a response based on the data it gathered and the information that was encoded might also help students to understand how the machine processes the information collected.

Learning: The AI’s ability to improve itself from the data it collects

Machine learning refers to the way in which computers can improve themselves using the data they collect, represent and reason, without having to be programmed.

To learn, machines try to find patterns in the data that they can later use to make predictions or decisions. As the machine is continually updated, its effectiveness and accuracy improve.

For the classroom, the teacher can show "Quick, draw!” This is an online doodling game where the AI tries to guess what you are drawing. AI’s effectiveness is the result of its learning process after millions of uses.

Natural Interaction: the AI’s ability to interact with the surroundings

One of the reasons why AI is so important is that it has the ability to make interaction with computers or machines more natural. An example of this is voice assistants such as Siri or Alexa, which make interacting with technology seem more human than machine like.

Despite all the development in this area, machines are still a long way from being able to replicate human interaction, as it includes features such as facial expressions, emotions, sarcasm and tone that are harder for machines to replicate.

In the classroom, a teacher can ask students to talk to a voice assistant (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant) and ask them simple things like "What's the weather like today?" or "Tell me a joke" and reflect on how the AI understands the question and responds to their voice request.

One other example that might also be explored by the teachers and that can show that AI has, still, some limitations is Copilot. This Microsoft assistant can speak different languages, but it does not show the same effectiveness in all of them. For instance, it is noted that using copilot in Greek is not as effective and using it in English. This might be a way for teachers to show that AI is still being developed and that is also has limitations, in this case when it comes to natural interaction.

Social Impact: The ethical implications of using AI

As AI becomes more and more a part of our lives, we are beginning to realize all the positive aspects of its use: improving the way we work and the way we can support others. However, it is also becoming clearer that there are some concerns about the use of AI that need to be addressed, such as the ethical implications of its use.

This means that we need to be able to understand how the AI systems are making their decisions and what data they are using, so that we can ensure that the data is

not biased or unrealistic. This may be the case if AI systems are trained on data that is not aligned with human values and ethics.

Teachers can discuss these issues with their students to help them become more aware of the situation. They can discuss how, if AI is biased, it can affect the hiring of new people in a company, spread misinformation, and even cause privacy issues.

The benefits of using AI in K-12 classrooms

AI is becoming a common resource for teachers to create content for their lessons. This allows teachers to create a personalized learning experience, as the use of AI-powered tools can tailor educational content so that different students can experience a lesson tailored to their needs.

AI can also make learning more interactive and immersive, increasing student engagement in the classroom and activities.

Using AI and exploring how it works and processes information can develop students' computational thinking and problem-solving skills.

Using AI in the classroom gives teachers the opportunity to reflect with their students on digital citizenship, while discussing the ethical use of technology.

Key challenges of using AI in the classroom

Although AI is present in our everyday lives, its use is not yet available to everyone in the same way, it is not universal. This means that not all schools have the same access to technology and may struggle to implement AI-assisted learning.

Trying to encourage policymakers to invest in the digital infrastructure of schools and in training teachers to use this technology could help bridge this gap.

Another challenge that teachers and schools may face is the misconceptions that some parents and educators may have about the use of AI in the classroom, with some fearing that AI could replace human teachers in the future. Providing the educational community with some training or education on the use of AI as a way to enhance the work of teachers could help to dispel and overcome some misconceptions or fears.

Conclusion: preparing students for the future

AI is changing the way students interact with technology and, ultimately, the way they learn. By integrating AI education into their classrooms through the Five Big Ideas of AI, teachers can help their students develop essential 21st century skills such as computational thinking, problem solving and ethical awareness. To help teachers with this task, they can explore the AI4STEM project, that has created 5 projects that have the aim to help teachers and students better understand how the 5 big ideas and AI are connected in different areas (everyday life, robotics, games & puzzles, vision and speech).

Teachers and educators should look to AI and use it to inspire other generations to innovate and help them understand how they can become not just users of AI, but ethical and informed creators.

If you wish to know more about how to integrate the 5 Big Ideas of AI and a STEM approach, check the AI4STEM website: https://ai4stem.erasmusplus.website/