What Are "AI-Powered Textbooks" And Why Are 70,000 Students Using Them?
Growing up, textbooks were always passed on from student to student. If you were lucky, you ended up with a textbook that hadn't been too badly beaten up or battered and it didn't have too many drawings of the human anatomy in the margins. If you were unlucky, well, those images burned a hole in your retinas while you tried to read somewhat historically inaccurate depictions of how the west was won.
Now, if you have a student who is an incoming freshman, class of 2028, they may be fortunate to avoid the fine tradition of beat-up, second-hand textbooks with so much highlighting you need eclipse glasses to read them. Instead, they will be interacting with AI-textbooks to better learn STEM subjects.
Generative AI is making significant inroads into education, with AI-powered textbooks now being used by 70,000 students across over 1,000 institutions. Educational publisher Pearson is at the forefront of this trend, having incorporated generative AI study aids into 50 science titles, including subjects like Biology and Chemistry. This innovation is set to revolutionize the way students learn and educators teach, offering a more personalized, engaging, and efficient approach to education.
What Are GenAI-Powered Textbooks?
GenAI-powered textbooks use advanced generative AI algorithms to create dynamic, customized educational content. Unlike traditional textbooks, these AI-enhanced versions can adapt to individual student needs, offering tailored explanations, examples, and practice problems. This ensures that each student receives a learning experience best suited to their unique pace and style.
How AI Powered TextBooks Work
According to Chris Hess, a former professor and director of AI product management, Higher Ed at Pearson, when students get a question wrong, they're taken through a brief set of additional questions. The process is meant to lead them to the correct answer without telling it to them outright.
In addition to the additional questions and quizzes, GenAI-powered textbook incorporate multimedia elements like videos, animations, and simulations to cater to different learning styles. The textbooks also simulate personalized guidance similar to a professor's; and feature chatbots for interactive clarification on textbook topics, enhancing comprehension of complex concepts.
AI Technology and Challenges
The AI technology used in these textbooks is built on ChatGPT and employs a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) approach to retrieve information from specific sources, such as textbook content. While concerns about model hallucinations exist, efforts have been made to minimize inaccuracies in the AI-generated content. As Hess explains it: “It isn't a walled garden around the book completely. It's a walled garden around the problem, and so it knows the problem,” he said.
Tools For Teachers Are Coming Next
It’s also still early stages for the rollout, and Pearson is still experimenting with the best ways to use the technology. While the features are currently based on ChatGPT, Hess said the company is “future-proofing itself.” He also added the company is open to new approaches, such as using Claude, instead of ChatGPT. “If Claude comes up with a better version, we can switch models,” he said, adding that they’re also exploring ways to fine-tune models. Pearson also doesn’t plan to stop at textbooks and is working on tools for teachers next, Hess said.
Final Thoughts
I'm a visual learner and love highlighting text and making notes in the margins. I have a hard copy book of Ethan Mollick's "Co-Intelligence," and I scrawled on every page right down to the "Notes" section in the end.
But, if there were an interactive version of this book, I happily would've engaged with that, too. (I'm sure it is only a matter of time before the innovative Ethan Mollick comes up with the interactive version of his outstanding AI bestseller.)
My scribbles and scrawls are a way a visual learner like me to better understand complex material. But, AI-powered textbooks mark a transformative moment in education that can suit the needs of many different learning styles. It levels the playing field for learners, allowing everyone the opportunity to master the material in the way that works best for them.
Pearson plans to expand the technology to more titles. Hess strongly believes AI textbooks should not be something "the haves get and the have-nots don't." The class of 2028 is entering a new era of learning. It's a big experiment in education, the likes of which we have never seen before. Good luck, all of you. You are our future.
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Additional Resources for Inquisitive Minds:
70,000 students are already using AI textbooks. SAGE LAZZARO. FORTUNE. July 11, 2024. Educational publisher Pearson is among the companies rolling out textbooks enahnced with generative AI features.
When AI Does Your Homework. Deep Learning Daily.
The Future of Education in a World of AI. Ethan Mollick. One Useful Thing.
How AI Is Changing Education for Better or Worse. Diana Wolf Torres. Deep Learning Daily.
Envisioning Tomorrow: The Future of AI in Classrooms. Diana Wolf Torres. Deep Learning Daily.
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