Module 2 of 16 · Explore: Discover & Understand
How Computers Think: Patterns, Data & Decisions
Discover how your brain finds patterns — and how AI does the same thing!
20 chapters
What this module covers
Before a student can understand how a model learns, they need to know how a computer works with information. This module starts with the pattern-finding the human brain does without thinking, then shows how a computer does the same job with data.
Chapters cover what data is, sorting and organising, following instructions (algorithms), making decisions, how computers count, memory and storage, input and output, and features and attributes. Features are the bridge to machine learning: the measurable properties a model looks at when it decides what something is.
Start with stories! Learn what AI is, see it everywhere, and understand how computers think. No coding needed.
Chapter topics
- Patterns Everywhere
- Your Pattern-Finding Brain
- What is Data?
- Sorting and Organizing
- Following Instructions (Algorithms!)
- Making Decisions
- How Computers Count
- Memory and Storage
- Input and Output
- Features and Attributes
Plus 10 more chapters in the app.
Activities
- Pattern Matching Games
- Sorting Challenges
- Decision Tree Fun
After this module, students can
- Describe data, algorithms, input and output with everyday examples
- Break a decision into a sequence of yes/no questions
- Pick out the features that would help sort a set of objects
Practise it with these tools
Go deeper
Start learning in the app
The first 3 chapters are free, no card needed.