AI Classroom Activity: Facial Recognition

This assignment, by Matthew Scadding, from Ravenswood School for Girls in Sydney‘s North Shore, invites students to use unplugged strategies to identify Disney princesses. While this activity as written was used with Year 6 students, it can be easily adapted to other levels.

The summary from the site explains:

The facial recognition task was an unplugged activity in which students act out the algorithm physically in a game, without the use of a computer or robot. The task is as follows: given a person’s photo, name the person inside the photo. This is the type of facial recognition technology behind automatic photo tagging in Facebook.

Key Features of This Assignment

Ethical Considerations
The assignment emphasizes the importance of discussing and understanding the ethical implications of facial recognition technology, encouraging students to think critically about privacy, consent, and bias issues.
Technological Literacy
Students gain practical knowledge of how facial recognition systems work, including the technical aspects of image processing and machine learning algorithms, enhancing their technological literacy.
Interactive Engagement
The assignment involves interactive activities where students can experiment with facial recognition software, fostering hands-on learning and deeper engagement with the subject matter.