Welcome! Let's get ready to empower young people to use AI for good.
Here’s what you’ll find in this guide:
- Overview of the Student Journey: What students will do, learn, and make as they progress through the AI in Action curriculum
- Roadmap to Classroom Integration: Steps to incorporate AI in Action into your learning environment
- Resource Library: Additional resources and references for teaching about AI and using Technovation materials
- Strategies for Human-Centered AI Learning: Straightforward advice for keeping students and human skills a priority when teaching about AI
- FAQs: Answers to key questions you may have
TL;DR? Jump right into the Technovation Girls competition with this Quick Start Guide for Educators!
Overview of the Student Journey
The AI in Action Curriculum guides students through a robust project-based learning journey where students develop AI-based apps that provide solutions to actual problems they face in their communities.
What Students Will Do:
- Identify & research a problem in their community that they want to help solve
- Learn how to code and train a machine learning model
- Design an app that uses AI to solve the problem
- Evaluate the ethical implications of their AI solution
- Develop an entrepreneurship plan to market their product
- Pitch their ideas to professionals
What Students Will Create:
- AI App that uses AI to solve a problem
- Pitch Video showcasing their ideas
- Technical Video demonstrating how their app works
- User Adoption Plan or Business Canvas outlining how to bring the app to market
- Description & Learning Journeyexplaining ethical considerations and documenting their sources
Roadmap to Classroom Integration
Identify Your Structure
Decide when and how to integrate the curriculum into your classroom
Map Your Timeline
Determine what lessons & activities the students will do during each session
Sign up as a Mentor
Create a free Technovation Mentor account to access more resources
Engage your Students
You're ready to roll out Technovation with your students!
Celebrate and Compete
The journey is only just beginning when the students complete their projects!
1. Identify Your Structure
Identify what structure within your classroom or school day is best suited to this experience. Keep in mind that it typically takes students 40+ hours to complete their projects.
Consider these options:
- Multi-week Unit: Use the AI in Action Curriculum as a stand-alone unit, or integrate as part of an existing unit you teach!
- Tip: If you’re a subject teacher, have your students focus on designing AI solutions around a certain topic, like health, environmental sustainability, historical storytelling, water quality, etc. See our SDG Units for inspiration!
- Stations: Set up a Technovation station where students can work on their projects during rotations or whenever they finish their classwork
- Capstone Project: Have students work on their AI in Action projects throughout the school year as a capstone project
- Enrichment or Support Period: Get a group of students to meet together during your school’s enrichment or support period
- Afterschool Club: Start a new club or integrate into an existing club such as Girls Who Code, Invention Convention, etc.
2. Map Your Curriculum Timeline
Once you’ve determined your structure, map the curriculum over your timeline. Determine what lessons & activities the students will do during each session.
Keep in mind:
- Pick and Choose: Students don’t have to do every single lesson and activity! Pick out the content that you feel will be most helpful for students developing their projects.
- In and Out of Class: The AI in Action journey may involve both in- and out- of class activities. Determine what you expect students to complete during class time and encourage them to work outside of class time to foster ownership
- Project Focus: Keep the emphasis on project development. Help the students see how the different activities connect to their projects.
- Encouragement from Professionals: Plan one or more times mid-project when students can get feedback from visiting professionals from the community or go on a field trip to a local business.
Use the curriculum & map template below to outline your unit!
- AI in Action Student Curriculum
- 20 Week Curriculum Map Template: Make a copy and customize to fit your schedule
- Topical SDG Units: use AI to address the climate, agriculture, health, education and more! Great for subject-specific classrooms.
Sign Up for a Mentor Account
With a free Mentor account on our platform, you can:
- Track your student’s progress as they develop their projects
- Access exclusive resources and PD opportunities
- Connect with our staff & educators around the world to collaborate & get advice
Additionally, if your school or organization anticipates having 15 or more female-identifying students, consider partnering with Technovation to gain additional resources, staff support, and training opportunities.
4. Engage Your Students
Now you’re ready to roll out Technovation with your students! Here are some tips to build energy and set them up for success:
- Inspire your students with examples of other youth solutions in the Technovation App Gallery and from the 2025 Season Finalists
- If appropriate, encourage students to follow Technovation Global on social media for regular inspiration from our global community!
- Have female-identifying students sign up at my.technovationchallenge.org to form teams and connect with virtual industry mentors & coaches
Celebrate & Compete
The journey is only just beginning when the students complete their project!
Feedback & Assessment
Technovation’s rubrics provide a detailed tool for assessing and providing feedback on student projects.
Here are a few ideas for cultivating robust reflection and evaluation:
- Pair groups to use the rubrics to score and give feedback on each other’s projects
- Have students compile a portfolio with their project components along with a self evaluation
- Connect students with professionals in the community to give feedback on their work
Authentic Pitch Opportunities
The AI in Action project-based learning experience is designed to culminate in a pitch competition where students showcase their ideas in an authentic, real-life context.
We encourage teachers and schools to organize a final pitch event or celebratory showcase where students can present their ideas.
Technovation hosts a global competition where teams of female-identifying students can submit their projects for the chance to earn scholarships and a trip to our in-person World Summit Pitch Event.
Technovation prepares students to participate in a variety of competitive experiences. All teams regardless of gender are encouraged to submit their projects to competitions such as the Congressional App Challenge, Invention Convention, Code for Nature Challenge, eCyberMission, 3M Young Scientist Challenge
Tip! Divide student teams in such a way that those who may compete in the Technovation competition are grouped together.
Resource Library
Technovation is committed to providing educators with everything they need to engage students in AI innovation through the AI in Action curriculum. Don’t see what you’re looking for? Let us know at support@technovation.org
Note: some of the resources shared below were built for our Technovation Girls program but can be adapted for the AI in Action curriculum.
Building Excitement
Curriculum & Lesson Planning
AI and Coding
Participating in the Competition
Strategies for Human-Centered AI Learning
As AI changes the world as we know it, it’s crucial that students are equipped to not just be users, but builders of AI who design the future from their uniquely human perspective. Here are some strategies for cultivating an AI learning experience that centers humanity through empathy, curiosity, community, and courage.
1. Start Low-Tech
Preliminary research suggests that the brain makes more connections when it starts brainstorming without AI assistance (see more here). Most of Technovation’s ideation lessons can be completed without technology. When students are first identifying communities and mapping out problems, have them take a first pass with just pen and paper. They can then use tools like ChaptGPT to build on their initial ideas.
2. Facilitate Face-to-Face Interactions
As students design AI solutions, provide opportunities for them to talk to those who may be impacted by the problem and the solution-in-making. Doing target audience interviews and getting user audience feedback builds students’ social emotional skills – plus is a critical part of the design process in the real life innovator’s journey!
3. Welcome Student Backgrounds
We find the most creative tech solutions happen when students tackle an issue that directly impacts them or their community. Remind students that they are the experts on their own experience and encourage them to consider focusing on a challenge that is a part of their story.
4. Build Bias Awareness
Help students recognize bias in AI data and output. This video by code.org explains how the data that is used to train an AI model can cause it to be inaccurate or biased. This lesson plan helps students explore these concepts through a fun hands-on activity. Go deeper with the AI in Action’s lesson on datasets.
5. Integrate Design Ethics
As students develop AI solutions, guide them to consider the ethical implications of their designs. Students can get so excited about their idea they might not be thinking about user privacy, safety, intellectual property, or other dynamics. Check out the Building Responsibly unit of the AI in Action curriculum for activities that challenge students to consider the ethical implications of their AI innovation
FAQs
Is this program just for girls?
All of Technovation’s Curriculum, including the AI in Action Curricula can be used with all students! We are dedicated to supporting educators to equip all students with the knowledge and skills to be responsible leaders in technology. The Technovation Girls competition is reserved for female-identifying students.
Why the focus on girls?
Women continue to be under-represented in the STEM workforce, particularly in computer science. Currently, less than a third of all technology professionals in the world are women. In the US, Women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce, but only 34% of the science and engineering workforce. Technovation’s mission focuses on addressing this disparity by providing empowering tech education opportunities for girls.
Read more:
- Technovation’s Women in AI Report (2024)
- National Girls Collaborative Project
How long does the program take?
It typically takes students 40-60 hours of time total to learn coding and AI, and complete a full Technovation project.
What if I’m short on time?
Kick off with a short introduction through Mini Technovation. AI version is coming soon!
Who can I reach out to for support?
You can reach out to support@technovation.org.
Do I need to be tech savvy to do this in my classroom?
No tech experience is necessary to bring Technovation to your classroom – just a willingness to learn alongside the students! Technovation’s curriculum and resources are designed to walk both students and educators through the learning journey without requiring any background in coding or AI.