The Five AI Pillars
What Real AI Literacy Looks Like
AI literacy is more than writing prompts. It's understanding how it works, where it gets things wrong, and how to think critically about its outputs.
Critical Thinking
Building systems teaches students to ask "why did it do that?" They learn a confident output is not a correct one.
Students as Creators
Hands-on making shifts students from AI consumers to AI creators, building agency and career skills.
Prompting and Iteration
Crafting instructions for a physical system builds habits that transfer to every AI tool students will ever use.
Understanding Bias
Students train models and discover firsthand why training data quality and diversity shape outcomes.
Ethics of Automation
When students build a system that makes decisions, questions of accountability and fairness come naturally.
AI Coding Assistant
Meet MicroChat
Your AI Coding Assistant for micro:bit
MicroChat turns student ideas into working micro:bit code with guided support that helps them understand how it works. It is a closed, classroom-safe AI system built specifically for hands-on coding projects. No coding experience required.
Guided Code Creation
Students describe their idea and MicroChat generates the code in seconds, then prompts them to explain how it works.
Classroom Management
Teachers create a session with a pin. No student logins needed. Full visibility into every student conversation in real time.
School Safe AI Exploration
Guardrails keep students focused on micro:bit projects. No student data collected. Educators control reading level and coding difficulty.
MicroChat Lesson Activities
Ready-to-use MicroChat activities let students practice AI-assisted coding from day one.
CreateAI + Machine Learning
Train Real AI Models in the Classroom
CreateAI lets students collect data with a micro:bit, train a machine learning model, and watch it respond to real-world inputs. From gesture recognition to sensor data, students build AI systems they can hold, test, and improve.
Grant Program
Computer Science and AI Literacy Grant with MicroChat
Equip every educator in your region with hands-on AI literacy tools. One grant can prepare dozens of educators across your entire service area, valued at $1,000 or more in software licenses and professional development.
Your Regional Impact
One grant. One region. A ripple that reaches every classroom.
15–30+
Coaches, specialists, and leaders trained
Hundreds
of teachers and educators reached
Thousands
of students impacted
Your Organization
1 Grant
Coaches and Specialists
15–30+
Teachers and Educators
Hundreds
Students
Thousands
What Your Organization Receives
1-Year of MicroChat
Full site licensing for your organization, valued at $200 per license.
Virtual Staff Training
Live virtual training session for your team, led by the Forward Education team.
Educator Resources
Ready-to-use presentation materials and AI literacy lesson plans.
Event Promotion
Your workshop highlighted to 10,000+ educators in the Forward Education network.
Who Can Apply?
RESAs and Regional Education Agencies serving multiple districts are given priority consideration. School districts planning educator PD, CS or STEM nonprofits, and colleges of education with pre-service programs are also eligible.
Ready to Bring AI Literacy to Your Classroom?
We're ready to help. Let's connect on best practices and how educators like you are already using AI with their students.
