Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices
Sorting objects into 'smart' (can sense and respond) and 'not smart' (just sits there); a toaster vs a smart speaker; introduction to the idea that some machines can sense and respond to the world
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“Could your child explain the difference between a normal light switch and one that turns on automatically when you walk into a room?”
Full guide and materials
- Activity. Sorting objects into 'smart' (can sense and respond) and 'not smart' (just sits there); a toaster vs a smart speaker; introduction to the idea that some machines can sense and respond to the world
What to notice. Sort a set of objects into 'smart' (responds to input) and 'not smart' (does the same thing every time) • Explain what makes a smart speaker different from a regular radio • Give an example of a machine that senses something and responds (automatic door, motion-sensor light)
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Could your child explain the difference between a normal light switch and one that turns on automatically when you walk into a room?
Sorting objects into 'smart' (can sense and respond) and 'not smart' (just sits there); a toaster vs a smart speaker; introduction to the idea that some machines can sense and respond to the world
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Learning resources
Reviewed external links that reinforce this concept. They do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
CS Unplugged · Practice link — not the full lesson
Kidbots
Discussion starter distinguishing devices that follow programmed instructions from ordinary objects. Pair with a home hunt for smart vs not-smart items.
Free · no login · no ads
Review and open practice
Parent T-chart photo: at least three smart and three not-smart items with one reason each from the learner.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Open practice (new tab)Source, access and review notes
Discussion starter distinguishing devices that follow programmed instructions from ordinary objects. Pair with a home hunt for smart vs not-smart items.
Parent T-chart photo: at least three smart and three not-smart items with one reason each from the learner.
Free · no login · no ads
CC BY-SA
Code.org · Practice link — not the full lesson
AI for Oceans
Supplemental: after playing, sort household tools into “uses AI/patterns,” “ordinary machine,” and “not a machine.”
Free · no login required to play · account optional to save · no ads observed
Review and open practice
Save an activity screenshot plus the completed three-column sort list.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Open practice (new tab)Source, access and review notes
Supplemental: after playing, sort household tools into “uses AI/patterns,” “ordinary machine,” and “not a machine.”
Save an activity screenshot plus the completed three-column sort list.
Free · no login required to play · account optional to save · no ads observed
Unknown — link only
Check understanding
- Sort a set of objects into 'smart' (responds to input) and 'not smart' (does the same thing every time)
- Explain what makes a smart speaker different from a regular radio
- Give an example of a machine that senses something and responds (automatic door, motion-sensor light)
“Could your child explain the difference between a normal light switch and one that turns on automatically when you walk into a room?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Computing
- Domain
- Artificial Intelligence
- Age range
- Ages 5–7