The how and why of AI: ORISE’s Artificial Intelligence Mini-Academy empowers students to engage with AI

June 18, 2024

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has become a hot topic over the past few years. As this technology becomes more accessible, it’s important to ensure students understand what it is and how to use it responsibly. That was the goal of the Artificial Intelligence Mini-Academy, a two-day program offered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) for middle school students to learn about the different uses of AI. This program was recently held at ORAU in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

“The first year that I taught the program, not a lot of people were talking about AI,” said Lauren Wilmoth, the mini-academy instructor. Wilmoth is a science teacher at Oak Ridge High School. “But when I got slated to teach the mini-academy, I dove into all the educational materials, and I thought ‘wow, AI is already a huge part of our lives.’ Then ChatGPT came out, and now the media is just constantly talking about AI and how it’s going to impact us. So, it has become even more important that we have those discussions with kids. The students are using AI every day whether they know it or not. Even if they’re not using ChatGPT—because there are other forms of AI—they need to know how to use it ethically and responsibly. They need to think about how it can impact our society and their role in that.”

During the mini-academy, students debated the ethics of AI, and discussed when they should and shouldn’t use it. They also trained their own AI programs, creating games that could recognize movements.

“My favorite thing I’ve learned is that Scratch has a hand sensor,” said rising seventh grader Nate. “I like that I can move stuff around with my hand, instead of a mouse.”

Nate created a maze using Scratch, a free educational program. To operate his maze, Nate held his fingers up to his computer’s webcam, rather than using the mouse and cursor. Other students created programs that used pinching or slicing motions.

In addition to teaching students about these applications, Wilmoth’s goal was to educate the students on the fact that AI’s uses expand far beyond ChatGPT or facial filters.

“I hope the students broadened their definition of what AI is. Before the widespread use of ChatGPT, people didn’t think of the tools we were using like Netflix suggestions, or targeted ads as AI,” she said. “So, I think expanding their definition and thinking about how big of an impact these things have on their lives is important. Everything in society, including AI, has pros and cons, and I want them to be able to think critically about how AI can impact them and others.”

The students debated whether it was ethical to use AI to outline school assignments, or if it’s more responsible to use it to manage calendars. They also created hypothetical applications of AI in the workplace, considering the pros, cons and gray areas of these applications.

“AI is a part of everyday life, and I would say students need to make informed decisions as citizens, as individuals, for their health, for the health of others, for our democracy,” said Wilmoth. “STEM and AI encompass every part of our lives, and this generation of students is going to see more and more of it. It’s going to impact them in the workplace, and they need to think critically about its impacts.”

By offering STEM enrichment programs, ORISE hopes to foster an interest in STEM that will follow students throughout their lives. To see other STEM activities for K-12 students, click here.