Life inside an algorithm

Time Needed: 30 minutes

Supplies Needed:

A knowledge of several interests of your learners.

Learning Goal: Learners will demonstrate understanding the limitations of algorithms by sorting themselves into groups, then discovering the diversity of opinion within and outside of those groups.

Activate (3 minutes):

• Explain that an algorithm is a set of instructions that will give a result, such as a recipe or even Lego kit instructions.
• Explain the purpose of the exercise is to understand that computers do not “think”, they merely follow instructions, even though the instructions are more complicated than in this activity. Computers have instructions to follow for millions of possible actions, but only the learner themselves can actually think independently and connect with other people.

Acquire (9 minutes):

• Tell the class you’re going to divide them into groups, based on their interests.
• Begin with about three interests you know are prevalent in your group, and designate a spot in the classroom for each group to meet. Examples at this stage may be “kids who have a pet”, or “kids who take the bus to school” or “kids who have a younger sibling”. Student who don’t belong in any of these groups will be in their own designated spot.
• Once students are in their groups, ask them to share about what they have in common. For example, the name and type of their pet, or the age of their sibling. Once they’ve all shared, they should decide on two or more groups they can further divide into, for example “kids who have dogs” and “kids who have cats”.
• During this time, the group that originally didn’t fit into one of the first three categories should be working to find things they have in common.
• When all the groups are re-sorted, they should share what they came up with.
• Explain that when an algorithm sorts people into groups, it can leave out important details about who we are. It also prevents us from learning about things that may be outside of our group.

Apply (18 minutes):

• Repeat this exercise, using suggestions from the students. Illuminate to them that they are now defining their own algorithms based on their own interests, instead of the ones provided by the teacher.
• Reflect on how much the students now know from one another, vs how much they would have learned if they were only confined to their groups and only allowed to discuss one topic as defined by a teacher. Relate this to how algorithms limit what we see and experience.
• Repeat as often as you like. This is an excellent ice-breaker activity and helps students develop pro-social behaviours around common interests across many different social groups and demographics.