As a part of a research study I am running, MIT App Inventor will be hosting remote workshops about AI and Outer Space 🚀 the first two Saturdays in December (Dec 4th and 11th) for 7th and 8th graders. MIT App Inventor is an MIT initiative to help teach Computer Science concepts to kids of all ages. In the workshops we will teach students how to program Amazon Alexa in App Inventor and introduce them to Artificial Intelligence and real life AI problems. In the study, we will be investigating how we can teach AI concepts better, as well as how people perceive conversational agents, like Alexa or Siri. The workshops will run from 12-3pm, and we ask students to sign up only if they can attend both sessions. At the end of the workshops students will receive a certificate of completion!

The events will be held over a video call (e.g., Zoom) and will involve learning about AI, learning about space, programming Alexa Skills on a special interface in MIT App Inventor, having group discussions, and creating final projects. The only necessary equipment is a computer. For the study, participants will fill out questionnaires and speak with the App Inventor team. Note that the video call will be recorded and the data will be stored on a secure MIT computer. All identifiable information will be anonymized, and aggregated if published, and participation in the study is completely voluntary. 

If any of your students are interested, they can sign up and get more information here. If you have any questions, let me know! 

Best, 

Liz (xxxxxx@mit.edu)