Artificial Intelligence Education for Children Erasmus Project

Project Title

Artificial Intelligence Education for Children

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; Research and innovation

Project Summary

As the focus in education has been changed from teacher-oriented practices to student-oriented activities under the constructivist theory, more emphasis is placed on the self-learning activities in the construction of the knowledge. This understanding introduced STE(A)M and finally has led to visual coding based programming initiatives, being integrated into the EU educational curriculums under robotics and coding activities. Programming is defined as the 21st-century skill in the “European Commission Strategy Digital Single Market Policies”. And the education system is expected to react to fulfill the need of community’s “825,000 job vacancies” in 2020. And the technological developments now need another skill, i.e. Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy, whose importance is recently underlined in “European Commission Strategy Digital Single Market Policies” with the following points:
– The European Commission puts forward a European approach to artificial intelligence and it deals to boost EU’s research and industrial capacity and to put AI at the service of European citizens and economy.
– Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an area of strategic importance and a key driver of economic development.
– It is essential for the European Union to stay at the forefront of this technological revolution, to ensure competitiveness
It is unarguably observed that there is a growing need to integrate AI concepts into the school education curriculums. China and the USA started to develop AI education materials for children. And the catch-phrase of this project is “AI education for EU children”.

As OECD started to pay attention to AI (http://www.oecd.org/going-digital/ai/), it is time to expect several changes in educational curriculums over the EU. One of the key points that declared in the EU Market Policy is as follows “support digital skills and competencies in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and encourage the Members States to modernize their education and training systems”. It is clear from the above declarations that AI as a big scientific revolution should be integrated into education, NOT ON TERTIARY LEVEL but from EARLY EDUCATION YEARS on. It is declared under HORIZON2020 AI is the new future. The inclusion of AI teaching practices into science education is vital to fulfilling the EU’s need for the future’s economic (See Ka3 FLCPs Objectives for 2019), and scientific development as reports expect machines to take over mundane tasks of human in the next decades while creating new jobs in artificial systems for new generations.

Considering all these facts and the need to start AI today to catch tomorrow, this partnership is composed of partners from Turkey, England and Irelands: “MCBU, CAPTAN (IBM as associated partner), and CCS DIGITAL (Developers)”, Harran University and MEB YEGITEK (Content Producers), Pobalscoil Neasáin(CESI as associated partner)and Genc STEM Associaton (Pilot Practitioners/Schools). This project group was established to “integrate Artificial Intelligence into education plans and applications of EU with pilot school studies and online AI platform”. The project will serve 2 years including 2019-2021 with experts partners who came together to serve at least 2000 students (10-18 aged) in partners with pilot AI activities and an online platform where children from any nation practice core skills required for AI and intelligent coding under STEAM methodology. The partners’ personnel comprise developers, program managers, researchers, teachers and teacher trainers who are committed to introducing AI into educational circles within a well-structured program and guide. Artificial Intelligence and AI education, STEAM, Gamification/E-learning will be embedded in this program and with the collective experience of partners who will develop a complete “AI Education for Children” framework.

The training activities will create efficient discussions about the presentation of materials that will develop the perspectives of the teachers to effectively present the material to students. The possible issues, pedagogical problems and related concerns about AI education will be handled during the activities. The European cooperation will surely develop the mentioned capacities and it will hence drive our teachers’ and students’ motivation positively. The outputs of the project are expected to be as follows:
-Providing AI Education Platform for teachers and students
-Developing AI Education Framework for teachers, schools and interested decision makers
-Making students absorb information with hands-on practices in AI
-Enhancing the attention of children in lessons by letting them build their own programs
-Guiding children to observe the application of AI concepts in real-world
-Enriching programming curriculum with that of AI programming applications
-Developing an enjoyable teaching medium with games and visualizations in AI
-Developing an AI teaching guide for school

Project Website

http://www.cocuklarayapayzeka.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 142846 Eur

Project Coordinator

MANISA CELAL BAYAR UNIVERSITY & Country: TR

Project Partners

• CCS DIGITAL EDUCATION LIMITED
• Cambridge Academy for Professional Training Ltd.
• MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION
• HARRAN UNIVERSITESI
• Genc STEM Egitim ve Arastirma Dernegi
• Pobalscoil Neasáin