Kiwi or stoat overview

Caption of the code use in Scratch to create an app that automatically identifies photos kiwi and stoats

In this free e-learning activity, students create an app to automatically classify photos from camera traps, a common tool used for monitoring kiwi birds and introduced predators.

The activity is designed for NZ secondary school and older students and it has three parts:

First, students learn about New Zealand biodiversity and image recognition (20 minutes).
Secondly, students follow a step-by-step guideline to develop an image recognition app (1 hour).
Lastly, the students complete a pop quiz to test their understanding (20 mins).

To run this activity you need to create accounts for you and your students. See how to do this below or email us to do it for you.

Learning outcomes

Environment

New Zealand biodiversity
Predator-prey interactions
Species conservation

Digital technologies

Types of machine learning (ML)
Interpretation of ML results
Common problems of ML

Instructions

1 – Create an educator account

Follow the required steps in machinelearningforkids to create an “unmanaged class account”.

2 – Create accounts for the students

Once you have created your teacher account, you will need to create accounts for your students in two platforms, machinelearningforkids and Wildlife.ai.

Use the “Student management” section of your “Admin page” to create accounts for your students in machinelearningforkids.

You will also need to create accounts for your students in Wildlife.ai. Note, use the same username and password in both platforms.

3 – Prepare the activity

The best way to prepare the activity depends on your class but here are some common preparations for you to consider:

Plan how to share the link to the activity, usernames and passwords with your students.
Print the activity worksheet for each student.
Make sure the student computers have access to internet.
You can propose students to work in pairs to facilitate the learning.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to print the instructions for the students?

We recommend you do. It prevents students from switching tabs back and forth to follow the steps from the activity worksheet. You can also use the hard copy activity worksheets to annotate the username and password of each student.

Alternatively, students can use a tablet to follow the guidelines or you can project the guidelines to the whole class and do the activity together.

Why do I need to create two accounts?

At the moment you need to create two separate accounts for each student. We are working to combine these steps. In the meantime, to facilitate the process we recommend you create the student accounts in machinelearningforkids first and then use the same username and password to create an account in wildlife.ai.

Alternatively, you can email us and we can do it for you.

When is the best time to run this activity with my students?

Anytime is good really. You can align the activity with other environmental or technology events (e.g. conservation week, Techweek, or after a field trip) to provide more context to your students about this resource.

Start the activity