Ages 10 to 14

Create with AI: Scratch and Machine Learning

Learn to code with Scratch blocks, train your own machine learning models, and build games and apps that use AI.

6 lessons, about 6 hours, 10-question final quiz

About this course

In this course young creators move from using technology to building it. They learn the basics of coding with Scratch, the free block-based programming language used in schools around the world, then combine it with machine learning.

Using the free Machine Learning for Kids website, they train a model to recognise kind and unkind messages, then plug it into a Scratch project so a character responds intelligently. Along the way they discover why training data matters, how AI can be unfair if examples are missing, and how to test and improve a model like real AI engineers.

The course ends with a creative project of their own design that they can share with family and friends. Every lesson has step-by-step instructions, so parents don't need any coding knowledge to support their child.

By the end you will be able to

  • Build Scratch programs using events, loops, variables and if-then decisions
  • Explain what training data, labels and a machine learning model are
  • Train a text classification model with Machine Learning for Kids
  • Use their own trained model inside a Scratch game or chatbot
  • Test a model, find its mistakes and improve it with better examples
  • Explain how missing or unfair examples can make AI unfair
  • Plan, build and present an original AI-powered project

What you'll need

A computer or laptop with internet (a tablet works for some parts). No coding experience needed. AI Explorers is a nice warm-up but not required.

For parents and guardians

  • You create the account and pay with Mobile Money or card. Your child studies using your login, so we never collect your child's contact details.
  • Lessons are short, with activities away from the screen too. Younger children enjoy it most with a grown-up nearby.
  • Some lessons use free websites such as Teachable Machine, Scratch or Google Colab. We explain each one and when a grown-up should help.
  • When your child passes the final quiz, you type their name and it's printed on their certificate.

Lessons

  1. Meet Scratch: your coding playground Free 25 min
  2. Loops, variables and decisions 30 min
  3. Teach a computer with examples 35 min
  4. Build an AI chatbot in Scratch 35 min
  5. When AI gets it wrong: fair training data 25 min
  6. Project: your own AI-powered creation 45 min
  7. Final quiz and certificate 70% to pass
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