Is Artificial Intelligence the Game Changer in Education?
Artificial intelligence has been the hot topic of debate in education for a while now. People have been divided with respect to it’s influence and impact. Many believe that the onslaught of AI has already kicked in a disruption in the educational system, with assumptions about digital learning tools and robots replacing teachers. However, there is a faction that believes in the positive effects of AI, that seeks to revolutionize and improve teaching-learning.
Harnessing the true potential of AI in education will definitely be a boon. The greatest benefit definitely is in the area of personalizing learning. The past couple of years has seen a lot of debate around inclusive education and personalized instruction. However, in a classroom of 20-30 students, it is near to impossible for teachers to implement a personalized education plan and differentiate instruction for each of their students. AI can make personalized learning programs possible and effective.
Programs supported by AI are capable of identifying areas of weakness for individual students and determining personalized intervention programs, that help a student to focus on his/her difficulty and overcoming it. These programs facilitate learning through repetitive instruction and practice tasks that are based on a student’s individual learning styles. AI organizes and synthesizes content and delivers it in the most effective ways. The ultimate solution for personalized learning would soon be one-on-one tutoring provided by AI powered bots to bring struggling students up to speed.
Effective use of AI is all about how self-learning systems use data, by analyzing it to study trends, that inform us about student learning, progress and attainment. Thus, AI enables us with precious data that indicates pain points for students, that need to be worked upon, through effective and timely invention. Hence, AI has made it easy for educators to identify and forecast learners at risk, right at the beginning of a school year, and provide the needed help, while they are learning, rather than flagging issues at the end of a term.
In the wake of all the talk about AI, there have also been discussions about AI replacing the human teacher. AI might help to teach students concepts and skills or reinforce learning for low achievers, but teachers must play the important role of managing a classroom environment or prodding students on, when stuck. Holistic education is not about cramming information and writing standardized exams alone. It is more importantly about developing social and emotional skills. This kind of learning has to be managed only through human bonding and empathy which teachers have for years been doing.
Hence, for a truly passionate teacher, AI will serve to enhance your effectiveness as a teacher. All you must focus on is developing digital literacy and excellent data-reading skills. AI will ease your burden by taking care of the most time-consuming tasks, like grading exams and assignments. Besides, Identifying the trends in students’ data will enable you to present learning material to the students in the most accessible manner, defying the age old ‘one size fits all’ approach. This will in-turn guarantee improved learning outcomes through truly differentiated and personalized learning.
AI cannot and will not replace teachers. Passionate teachers, with the ability to inspire and empathize will always be a rare breed. Educators must wisely leverage the potential of AI to assist teachers to do their jobs better. Thus, AI will prove to be less of a threat and more of a transformational innovation in education.