Learn to Machine Learn Erasmus Project

Project Title

Learn to Machine Learn

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The “Learn to Machine Learn” (LearnML) project is a three-year Strategic Partnership in the field of Education aiming to produce an innovative solution for the teaching and learning of crucial 21st century skills relating to digital literacy, computational thinking, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), so that Europe’s children and teenagers can develop into responsible citizens and insightful thinkers able to navigate the complex digital space and effectively contribute to its design. AI and ML are already ubiquitous in everyday life in fields such as speech and image recognition, personalised information on social media and search engines, and autonomous vehicles. They have the potential to bring unprecedented benefits to society. Concerns have also been raised, though, on the potential pitfalls and dangers regarding the decisions such systems might make, the autonomy of the AI agents, and the values embedded in their design. The new generation has to develop advanced digital literacy skills, to question and critically analyse and interpret data and information, recognise misinformation spread via social media platforms, emerging cultural and social biases embedded in the architecture and design of computer systems, and the ethical and political implications.

To address these challenges, the LearnML project brings state-of-the-art innovation into schools, transfers the notion of AI literacy to primary and secondary education and aims to introduce students to the core principles of AI and ML through a uniquely designed game-based educational toolbox. Specifically, the core objectives of the project are to design an AI and ML framework within the primary and secondary educational context, implement an innovative game-based learning toolbox that realises ML training scenarios (games and game authoring tools), produce relevant and effective training, teaching and learning material for course development based on gameful ML activities, educate teachers to effectively engage students and promote creative reflection on AI ethics, data biases and societal implications, and widely involve students in ML training courses that include playful game-based learning activities so that they become AI literate but most importantly responsible citizens of Europe with regards to the ethics and threats of AI.

To this end, the project brings together a consortium of five distinguished partners from three countries across Europe with extensive expertise and experience in both the technological and the educational aspects of the project: an internationally recognised institute on AI and games (Institute of Digital Games and Faculty of ICT, UM), a distinguished research department within a school (KORAIS), a department within the Ministry for Education and Employment with long experience in game-based learning activities and teacher training in Malta (SC), a University with expertise in AI and machine learning, and serious games development and evaluation (NTUA), and a University with renown work in ICT in education and game based science education in schools (NTNU).

The project sets out by analysing the current research and education framework focusing on key digital literacy and computational thinking skills and competences such as algorithmic thinking, data- analysis and management, coding and educational programming, decision making and problem solving. Within the defined framework, the project implements the LearnML toolbox enabling teaching and learning that foster the development of AI literacy, and also produces teacher training material and content, as well as assets, resources, and educational scenarios to support student learning. This is followed by the training of teachers in the use of the toolbox and the material produced, the corresponding pedagogy, and the game authoring tools that will allow them to develop their own learning scenarios. Finally, the project involves students, through the trained teachers, in the gameful AI and ML activities and content exposing them to core concepts and operation of AI and ML and raising their awareness of ethical, cultural and social implications. Educators are actively involved not only on the piloting and evaluation phases of the effectiveness of the project outcomes, but also on the design of the toolbox and accompanying material and resources, throughout the project, through focus groups, workshops, and dialogue labs, promoting thus a culture of openness and participatory design. The approach and outcomes of the project will be widely disseminated through outreach activities and public events such as Information Days, seminars, conferences, and exhibition fairs.

LearnML provides teachers, students, and the public with not only awareness and knowledge, but also practical tools and ways to envision and bring about positive change in Europe’s education systems and societies, utilising ICT and artificial intelligence as drivers for systemic change.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 448726 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITA TA MALTA & Country: MT

Project Partners

• NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS – NTUA
• NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU
• KORAIS EDUCATIONAL SA
• Science Centre (Department of Curriculum Management)