Mash Matters - The One About AI

👋 Welcome to 'Mash Matters'!

Are you ready to make your classroom more engaging and dynamic while lightening your load? 'Mash Matters' is here to help. Each week, we’ll explore how Purple Mash can bring creativity and technology into your teaching. Think of us as your go-to guide for practical tools and tips to make your lessons come alive.

🔦 This Week's Highlight: Why Digital Skills Matter Before AI

AI is transforming industries—including education—but where do we start? Before learners jump into AI, it’s important to build key digital skills like problem-solving, structure, and critical thinking. Just like you wouldn’t let someone fly a plane without learning to read a map, learners need foundational skills to navigate the complex world of AI.

Interestingly, the term artificial intelligence was first coined by John McCarthy in 1956 during a conference at Dartmouth College. Back then, programs like ELIZA mimicked conversations with humans—laying the groundwork for today’s AI chatbots. Since then, AI has evolved through periods of optimism ('AI summers') and downturns ('AI winters'), but it’s now reshaping education by offering tools for personalized learning and task automation.

However, with these advancements come questions:

• How do we use AI effectively in the classroom?
• What are the ethical implications of AI in education?

While AI can automate repetitive tasks and offer personalized learning paths, learners first need a solid foundation in structure, planning, and discernment. These digital skills help ensure they don’t just use AI passively but understand how it works and how to interact with it responsibly.

🚀 Creative Ideas with Purple Mash:

1. Younger Grades – AI Problem-Solving Challenge with 2Go

For younger learners, 2Go offers an exciting introduction to problem-solving and sequencing. Here’s a creative challenge:

Set up a "Robot Adventure" game! Have learners use 2Go to program a robot on a grid to reach a treasure chest. The twist? They can only give a limited number of commands, so they need to carefully plan the robot's movements in advance. If the robot goes off course, they need to troubleshoot and debug the commands to find the solution.

This activity teaches learners basic planning, sequencing, and trial-and-error thinking, all while keeping it fun and engaging. By learning how to adjust commands and solve problems, they’re building the critical thinking skills needed to interact with AI in the future.

2. Older Grades – AI "Chatbot Builder" project with 2Code

For older learners, Create a "Chatbot Builder" project. Have learners design a simple chatbot using 2Code, where they can program responses based on inputs. For example, they can create a bot that answers questions about a topic they’re studying, like animals or planets. The chatbot will respond differently depending on how the learner interacts with it.

With 2Code, learners can explore the basics of understanding how user input leads to a response. This concept is a key building block in artificial intelligence, where machines learn to react based on data they receive.

While 2Code doesn't directly teach AI, it gives learners a solid foundation in these principles, making it a great starting point for those interested in the tech of tomorrow.

This project encourages learners to think about logic, cause-and-effect, and how computers "learn" from user input. Plus, it’s a hands-on way to explore how AI-powered systems work while introducing text-based coding.

🎙️ Listen to this 3 minute talk on AI in the classroom!

We also created a short talk that explores AI in the classroom, breaking down the basics and sharing real-life examples of lessons - watch below! In this talk, we cover ethical considerations of AI, how it's used in classrooms, and how you can incorporate AI-related projects to excite your learners.

🔮 What’s Coming Next?

In the coming weeks, we’re going to dive into the exciting work we’ve been doing to get Purple Mash ready for teachers to start using the new coding and robotics curriculum from January. We’ll share resources and tips to help you incorporate these important skills into your classroom seamlessly.

Cheers,

From Tim & The 2Simple Team.