Course 1 — The Young Builders

Format: live online · Sessions: 21 × 60 min

The learning path:

Welcome to The Young Builders — your first adventure into AI, data and building real things. Each lesson gives you something to learn, a project to make, and challenges to try. Open any lesson below to see exactly what you'll do.

What the course covers

1. Unit 1 — AI Thinking (Sessions 1–4): what AI is, spotting patterns, and training a computer to recognise pictures.
2. Unit 2 — Data & Problem-Solving (Sessions 5–8): collecting information, reading charts, and solving a real problem with data.
3. Unit 3 — Build Something Real (Sessions 9–12): students turn an idea into a project and present it.
4. Bonus — Generative AI (Sessions 13–14): meeting generative AI and learning to prompt it safely.
5. Unit 4 — Make Games (Sessions 15–18): build real games in Scratch.
6. Unit 5 — Make a Website (Sessions 19–21): build and publish a web page with HTML & CSS.

What students produce

• A trained image model, a small data project, and a build-and-present project.
• A course certificate at the end.

Soft skills — the human side of tech

Coding is only half the job. Every session also carries a Soft skill focus — it names one human skill, gives you a concrete way to grow it during the activity, and ends with a short reflection at the wrap-up. Across the course, students practise all eight of the skills that every tech career needs:

Look for the Soft skill focus box near the top of each session — it tells you which skill to grow that day, and exactly how.

Tools (all free)

Quick, Draw! · Teachable Machine · Google Sheets · Machine Learning for Kids — the exact links you need are in each session's Resources.

How each lesson works

Every lesson follows the same friendly flow: What you'll need → learn it → your turn (do the activity) → check yourself (questions with the answers) → a wrap-up and a try-at-home idea → then Tips & extra challenges, Vocabulary and Resources. Look for the ⚠ Watch out notes — they flag the tricky bits before they trip you up.

Sessions

Unit 1 — AI Thinking

1. Session 1 — What is AI?
2. Session 2 — Patterns Everywhere
3. Session 3 — Teach the Computer
4. Session 4 — Your First AI Project

Unit 2 — Data & Problem-Solving

1. Session 5 — Be a Data Detective
2. Session 6 — Charts & Graphs
3. Session 7 — Data Solves Problems
4. Session 8 — Tell a Data Story

Unit 3 — Build Something Real

1. Session 9 — Think Like an Inventor
2. Session 10 — Build Your Prototype
3. Session 11 — Tell Your Story
4. Session 12 — Showcase Day

Bonus — Generative AI

1. Session 13 — The AI That Creates
2. Session 14 — Prompt Power

Unit 4 — Make Games

1. Session 15 — Make Your First Game
2. Session 16 — Score & Loops
3. Session 17 — Levels & Challenge
4. Session 18 — Design & Showcase Your Game

Unit 5 — Make a Website

1. Session 19 — Your First Web Page
2. Session 20 — Make It Yours
3. Session 21 — Build & Share Your Site

Projects & Assessment

Each unit ends with a hands-on project + grading rubric, and the course finishes with a capstone. Use these to assess students and build their portfolio.

• Unit 1 Project — Train Your Own AI
• Unit 2 Project — Data Detective Report
• Unit 3 Project — Invent & Pitch
• Course Capstone — Build Something That Helps
• Certificate & Assessment Criteria

Ready? Open Session 1 — What is AI?