Hour of AI Lesson Plan with micro:bit & CreateAI
Lesson Overview
This activity will consist of students using a micro:bit and CreateAI to train their own machine learning model on a waving action. Students explore how machine learning models can exhibit bias depending on the data they’re trained on.
This hands-on activity helps to illustrate abstract AI literacy topics in a tangible way, and can be completed in 1 hour.
Teacher Guide
- Lesson Plan Steps
- Learning Objectives
- Required Materials
- Discussion Prompts
- Extension Ideas
Prepare
The following items are used throughout this activity:
- 1x micro:bit V2 per student or group
- At least 1x Computer with access to CreateAI or Microsoft MakeCode
- At least 1x micro USB cable
- Optional: 1x CHARGE per micro:bit
What Is Hour of AI?
Hour of AI is a global initiative designed to help students spend just one hour learning the fundamentals of artificial intelligence. Much like Hour of Code, it focuses on accessible and approachable activities that don’t require prior experience with programming or AI.
This Hour of AI activity helps build a foundational understanding of key AI literacy topics and empowers students to think critically about AI technology shaping their world.
Key Takeaways – Why AI Literacy Matters
AI is already present in the tools students use every day: search engines, recommendation systems, translation features, and even the apps on their phones. But many students (and adults!) still see AI as a mysterious “black box.”
Hour of AI Activities like this can help students:
- Become responsible creators and users of technology
- Understand how AI models learn from data
- Recognize that AI systems can make mistakes
- Spot bias and unfairness in automated decisions
- Think critically about AI outputs instead of accepting them at face value
Standard Alignment
This activity aligns with national standards, including CSTA (data, algorithms, machine learning), ISTE (computational thinking and digital citizenship), and NGSS practices related to data collection, analysis, and real-world problem-solving.
For more Standard alignment, see our Crosswalk Document.
More Hour of AI Resources
- Hour of AI Activities: more activities like this, including digital and game-based activities
- Register Your Event: If you are running an Hour of AI event, help track the global impact of CSEdWeek!