AI for Middle School: How to Get Started
AI, or artificial intelligence, is a field with ever-growing popularity. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that these days, students as young as middle school are passionate about learning more about the fields of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computer science as a whole. However, due to age, experience, and other circumstances, middle school students may find it difficult to find opportunities that can help them get started with their interests.
Addressing this particular issue, this blog covers various programs involving AI for middle school students globally to participate in and grow their interests.
Inspirit AI Creators
Grades: 5-7
Cost: $1200
Type: Online
Recommended Prerequisites: None
The Inspirit AI Creators program is an introductory course in AI for middle school students and late elementary school students. During the 25 hours of the online program, students learn to work with basic machine learning models such as Teachable Machine by Google. Additionally, students will train and deploy their very own machine-learning model by the end of the program with real-life applications like automated vehicles, smart chatbots, disease classification, and object detection.
Additionally, middle school students participating in the AI Creators program will learn simple block-based programming through Scratch and Thunkable, valuable knowledge that can be transferred to the Inspirit AI Pioneers program and/or Inspirit AI Scholars program. Students have a lot of one-on-one time with their mentors, with the ratio of instructor to students being on average 5:1. They will also have the opportunity to work together with their equally passionate peers while discussing AI ethics, creating their own machine learning models, and understanding the principles of programming.
Codecademy AI Courses
Grades: All
Cost: Varies
Type: Online
Recommended Prerequisites: Varies
The 40+ courses in AI for middle school students to select from the Codecademy AI courses let them both hone in on specific interests within AI as well as explore the various subsections within AI. Additionally, with courses being asynchronous and online, students can pace themselves out and customize their learning path.
MIT’s Daily-AI
Grades: 6-8
Cost: Free
Type: Online
Recommended Prerequisites: None
Developed by MIT educators, the MIT Daily-AI program consists of both hands-on and interactive methods for learning the basics of AI, the social impact of AI, and how AI can impact our future. Students will create and apply machine learning models to make predictions, study bias, and understand the real-world applications of AI.
Being an asynchronous course, AI-enthusiastic middle school students can choose how much time they want to spend on each concept, from deepfakes to AI art to ethical matrices to even a game based on generative adversarial networks (GANs). Students who complete this AI program will leave with newfound knowledge on the construction, ethical constraints, and future applications of AI models.
AIClub’s Research Program
Grades: 6-12
Cost: Not specified
Type: Online
Recommended Prerequisites: Able to program a basic machine learning model with some guidance
Want to conduct novel research within the sphere of AI as a middle school student? If so, the AIClub Research Program is perfect for you!
Middle school students can choose to perform research in any area of AII they desire and will be paired with a mentor to provide them with 1:1 support and guidance throughout the process. Mentors are professionals with much experience in fields like computer science and artificial intelligence, with a majority of them holding PhDs in their appropriate fields of study.
The program is student-driven, meaning that mentors will meet with students based on the student’s schedule and availability. Projects may include anything from creating an original app to building hardware that works based on AI that you develop. You will leave this program with a novel research project and research paper to submit to science fairs, research conferences, research journals, and so much more.
If the AIClub Research Program may seem too advanced for you, consider checking out the other AIClub programs for middle schoolers interested in AI.
Adventure AI Summer Camp
Ages: 9-18
Cost: $500
Type: Online
Recommended Prerequisites: None
Apply AI to fields that you are interested in, including games and art, through the Adventure AI Summer Camp. This program was built specifically to address current world applications of AI and middle school students’ interests at the same time. Some of the previous projects created as part of this AI program include websites and games backed by GPT-4 software, as well as novel AI artwork and engineering diagrams.
The AI expert mentor and passionate peers that students get to work with help them grow their knowledge while also making valuable connections in a rapidly growing field. With the program having a small group setting of just five students per mentor, the community developed becomes like a second family for students who participate in Adventure AI summer camps.
FIRST Tech Challenge
Grades: 7-12
Cost: $295 registration fee per team
Type: In-Person
Recommended Prerequisites: Java programming knowledge
If you want to challenge yourself by looking into artificial intelligence and computer science from the lens of robotics, consider joining a local FIRST Tech Challenge team.
Every September, FIRST, the parent organization running this challenge, puts out a robotics challenge based on their selected theme for teams of five to 15 students to solve. The challenge involves a robot game. The first 30 seconds are an autonomous period in which the robot runs based on preprogrammed instructions, often involving the use of artificial intelligence such as convolutional neural networks for object detection. The programming, including the parts involving AI, can be done by middle school students, generally those from seventh grade onwards.
The teams that perform best and also make a positive impact on their community move on to the regional/state level, and eventually the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship.
MehtA + Machine Learning Bootcamp
Grades: 8-12
Cost: Not specified
Type: Virtual
Recommended Prerequisites: None
The MehtA+ Machine Learning Bootcamp is a summer program available to students all across the world, specifically in grades eight and above. College-level AI concepts are covered in the program, including not just programming machine learning models but also data visualization and the real-life implementation of this AI to a plethora of disciples, from digital humanities to economics.
After attending the daily sessions and completing the related mini-projects, students will have the opportunity to work on a research project in collaboration with their peers and receive guidance from members of some of the most prestigious universities. The entire program lasts six weeks over the summer, with a four-hour commitment each weekday.
Some of the topics covered in this program include web development, Python programming, Latex, RNNs/LSTMs, GPT-3, support vector machines (SVMs), k-means, collaborative filtering, and DALL-E 2. Guest lectures are also offered for students who want to gain further knowledge on AI.
This program is perfect for those who want to dive in-depth into AI as middle school or high school students
Inspirit AI Pioneers
Grades: 7-8
Cost: $1200
Type: Online
Recommended Prerequisites: Inspirit AI Creators
A little more advanced than the Inspirit AI Creators program, the Inspirit AI Pioneers program is meant for students in their upper grades of middle school interested in AI. The course covers topics like natural language processing (NLP); COVID-19 detection and aid; autonomous driving; and programming in languages such as RunDexter and Python, all within the sphere of AI.
By the end of the 25 hours, students will have not only developed their very own machine learning models based on real-world datasets but also will have deployed their AI models via a novel web app they create.
For anyone interested in AI during middle school, whether it be the programming, ethics, or careers, and/or anyone wanting to work and learn in a small group setting of just five students per instructor, the AI Pioneers program is for you.
Conclusion
In conclusion, middle school is a great time for students to explore their interests in fields like artificial intelligence. Fortunately, there are multiple programs and courses focused on AI that middle school students can participate in, including:
Inspirit AI Creators
Codecademy AI courses
MIT’s Daily-AI
AIClub’s Research Program
Adventure AI Summer Camp
FIRST Tech Challenge
MehtA + Machine Learning Bootcamp
Inspirit AI Pioneers
Whether looking for a quick crash course in Python programming, a free asynchronous way to learn about AI ethics, or the opportunity to conduct university-level research, the variety in AI programs aimed toward middle schoolers allows students to truly work on what interests them most and ultimately discover their passions.
About Inspirit AI
AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.
