The Role of AI in Education
Using AI in Education: A Broad Perspective
The advancement of capabilities of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools witnessed with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT had a cascading effect across industries, disrupting various written fields. In education, the tool was seen as a gateway for students to cheat and for teachers to outsource their entire curriculum to an AI.
However, AI is far from being an obstacle in education. AI can potentially disrupt the industry with solutions to transform teaching, enhance student learning, and accelerate progress to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 - Quality Education. Integrating AI into the classroom will transform learning, working, and thinking. It will have a substantial and lasting change in how educational content is delivered, personalized, and experienced by young learners.
The growing relevance of AI in education can be further highlighted by UNESCO’s amplification of efforts to encourage educators to adapt to technological advancements by issuing guidelines on ‘Guidance on Generative AI in Education and Research’ for integrating technology in education, emphasizing inclusivity, equity, and ethical use. They advocate for technology to bridge educational gaps, enhance learning quality, and support lifelong learning opportunities. The ethical considerations of using such technologies, such as privacy and data protection, are also being evaluated and addressed.
AI for teachers: Strategies and AI tools for education
Personalized learning
AI plays a crucial role in personalizing education and tailoring learning experiences to each student's unique needs and abilities. AI systems can create customized learning plans by analyzing data on student performance and learning styles, allowing students to progress at their own pace. ‘Intelligent tutoring systems’ are designed to understand students' needs, constraints, and preferences that help them personalize learning activities. These AI models utilize knowledge tracing and machine learning techniques to dynamically modify the difficulty level and offer tailored hints or guidance based on each student's strengths and weaknesses. This approach ensures that learning is not a one-size-fits-all process but is adapted to the individual, potentially leading to improved engagement and better academic outcomes. AI tools like Knewton and Dreambox are adaptive learning platforms that personalize educational content based on individual student’s learning styles, performance, and engagement.
Interactive and engaging learning environments
AI contributes significantly to the development of interactive and engaging learning environments. It enables the creation of dynamic educational content, such as virtual simulations and gamified learning experiences, which make learning more immersive and enjoyable. AI-driven tools can adapt to the responses and interactions of students, providing a more personalized and effective learning journey. Interactivity and immersion enhance student engagement and deepen their understanding of complex concepts. Some examples include Kahoot, a game-based learning platform that uses AI to create engaging quizzes and interactive learning games in seconds.
Learning environments can be equipped with virtual AI assistants and avatars to help students break down complex topics and always be available to answer queries, even when a teacher is not. EON Reality's AI and extended reality (XR) educational tools offer immersive and interactive learning experiences whereby educators can integrate their existing lesson plans into the AI-driven platform, which then creates comprehensive learning materials through interactive texts, videos, quizzes, and 3D simulations.
AI in assessment and feedback
AI automates the grading process, especially for objective, standardized tests, saving educators significant time and effort. Beyond grading, AI can provide detailed, personalized feedback to students, identifying areas of strength and those needing improvement. This ability streamlines the evaluation process and provides students with insights that can guide their learning process, making feedback more meaningful and actionable. For instance, teachers can ask students to use AI chatbots like ChatGPT to get feedback on the format and structure of essays and written assignments. Alternatively, in computer science, students can use generative AI tools to identify errors in lines of programming code.
Teaching students to use AI tools
To encourage students to build digital literacy skills and work with AI tools, educators must:
Use AI along with students: Educators must involve students while using AI tools in the classroom. Teachers can also encourage students to experiment with AI tools to generate answers to questions while asking them to document the process and their experience using the platforms, which students can then share with the class.
Teach students how to use AI tools: Students must master AI tools like ChatGPT to understand how questions are asked and what these questions should be. This practice will excite students, getting them into the habit of using the tool and answering or asking follow-up questions.
Using AI tools to spark imagination: Educators must create assignments that push students to think critically without directly generating quick and simple answers with tools like ChatGPT. Teachers must challenge students with questions that ignite higher-level thinking. While AI tools can present basic ideas, students must think imaginatively.
Implementing AI in Educational Institutions: A Guide
We’ve listed a few steps on how to integrate AI technologies in educational settings:
Assessment of needs and goals: Evaluate how AI can enhance educational priorities, such as adaptivity in learning resources and automated support for teaching.
Infrastructure and resource allocation: Ensure the necessary technological infrastructure, like reliable internet and adequate hardware, is in place for AI integration. Allocate resources for acquiring and maintaining AI tools, considering the long-term investment in technology.
Staff training and development: Educators should focus on developing specific skills such as understanding AI tools and their functionalities, applications of AI in education, and integrating AI into teaching a curriculum. Exploring AI training and workshops organized by local governments, skills training organizations, and UNESCO can provide valuable insights and hands-on experience, enhancing educators' ability to leverage AI in educational settings.
Selecting Appropriate AI Tools: Teachers must choose AI tools in education that align with the institution's goals, ensuring they are user-friendly, scalable, and secure. For instance, Bing Chat, an AI chatbot using OpenAI's GPT-4, offers internet connectivity for current information, assistance in writing, math, and coding, and efficient information retrieval with direct responses. Quizlet is another study tool with AI-enhanced features like Q-Chat for interactive learning, diverse study methods including flashcards, and comprehensive learning aids like Magic Notes and Memory Score.
Data privacy and ethical considerations: Establish clear policies for data privacy and ethical use of AI, adhering to legal standards and best practices like GDPR and HIPPA.
Evaluation and scaling: Regularly assess the effectiveness of AI tools in achieving educational objectives. Based on evaluation results, make necessary adjustments and scale the implementation to benefit a broader student population.
Challenges and barriers to the adoption of AI in education
Privacy and security: As AI systems handle sensitive student and teacher data, robust measures must be in place to prevent misuse and protect against data breaches. Educators and pupils must avoid publicly sharing protected information and data with AI tools.
Ethical challenges: Educators must be cautious of AI-generated decisions as they can be biased and stereotypical. Teachers and students must be aware of these possibilities and be critical of the decisions suggested by AI tools or language generated by them.
Equitable access: Ensuring all students, regardless of background, have access to AI resources is essential not to exacerbate existing educational disparities. Factors like the cost of subscriptions, access to computers, internet connection, geographic restrictions, language compatibility, and other accessibility factors for disabled students must be looked into before integrating these tools into a curriculum.
The Future of AI in Education: Trends and Predictions
Immersive learning with AR and VR: Creating immersive and interactive learning using technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) combined with AI will make complex subjects more accessible and engaging. A study by PwC found that learners trained with VR were up to four times more focused than their e-learning peers and showed a 275% confidence boost in applying skills learned.
Predictive analytics for student welfare: AI-driven predictive analytics in educational tools are revolutionizing how educators identify and support students at risk of falling behind. By collecting and analyzing data from students' activities and performances, these tools use machine learning to recognize patterns indicating potential struggles. Educators receive timely alerts about students needing extra attention, allowing for early and personalized intervention. This proactive approach ensures that students receive the necessary support precisely when needed, significantly enhancing their learning experience and success.
Facilitators of learning: The shift to educators as facilitators of learning in an AI-driven educational environment means that teachers will focus more on personalized guidance and mentoring students rather than focusing most of their time on grading, creating lessons, prepping for classes, and delivering content. Educators must adapt by developing skills in managing AI tools, interpreting data to personalize learning, and fostering critical thinking and problem-solving. They'll also play a key role in bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application, ensuring students learn and effectively apply their knowledge. This change requires educators to be more flexible, tech-savvy, and adept at facilitating a student-centered learning approach.
Conclusion
Students must learn how to live, learn, and work in a world increasingly impacted by the evolution of AI tools. Educators need to build a pedagogy that doesn’t primarily focus on what AI is already good at but one that lays greater emphasis on human skills like communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and creative thinking while teaching students to use AI tools in their student and professional lives.
Do you want to build programs to enhance learning through technologies and digital literacy?
Futurize can help you build collaborations with universities, corporations, and governments to design innovation programs for students to work with advanced technologies like AI tools and build new ideas. Get in touch with us at hello@futurize.studio.
