Teachable Machine Classroom Projects

Teachable Machine is a browser-based Google tool for creating simple machine-learning models without writing code. Its current site describes image, sound and pose projects and a three-part workflow: gather examples, train a model and test new inputs. Students can see how labeled examples affect classification, then export a model for other projects. This is a hands-on introduction, not a full course on how modern AI systems are trained or deployed. Choose a classroom question with visible, safe examples. An image project might sort recyclable materials; an audio project could distinguish a clap from a snap; a pose project might recognize a few static positions. Define categories before collecting data and make them distinguishable. Gather varied examples for every class, train the model and test it on examples that were not used during training. Record errors instead of hiding them, then change one part of the dataset and compare results. Students should investigate why a model fails. Lighting, background, microphone distance, room noise, camera angle or unbalanced examples may affect results. A small classroom set cannot prove the model will work for all people or settings. Ask what data is missing and whether a mistake could exclude or mislabel someone. Avoid face or voice data unless the school has approved its use and appropriate consent; nonpersonal objects make safer starting projects. Google states that Teachable Machine can be used entirely on-device, but users may choose to save projects or export them in different ways. Do not assume every workflow has identical data handling. Review the current tool guidance, school policies and account settings before class. Keep the activity focused on problem formulation, data choices, testing and reflection—not on claiming the classifier understands its categories like a person.