The Revolution Has Begun: How AI is Changing Education

A recent report published in eSchool News indicates that by 2021, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the education industry will have nearly doubled. According to the study, AI applications in education is expected to increase by up to 47.5% in the next three years, subsequently impacting learning from the lowest to the highest levels. 

And we couldn’t agree more as AI already plays a key role in education. From customized learning tools to smart content and simplified administrative duties, the technology is helping both learners and educators in multiple ways. The following are just a few examples of ways AI is contributing to education. 

• Smart content 

Perhaps one of the technology’s biggest gifts to education so far, AI is completely changing educational content. It is changing the type of content students interact with, how they interact with the content, and when. Instead of reading a whole book just to pass one exam, AI is now suggesting what topics to focus on and even pulling up relevant content from various resources around the internet and putting it together in custom textbooks to help the learner master particular topics or pass a given test.

An excellent example of an AI-powered, custom textbook creating tool is Cram101. Cram101 allows users to make textbook content more comprehensible for the learner by creating smart textbooks that take into account the learner’s reading level among other factors. The custom textbooks are easy to navigate and come complete with chapter summaries, flashcards, and practical tests. 

Netex Learning is another educational AI interface designed to empower learners and educators by allowing professors to create electronic curriculums across multiple devices and includes online assistance, illustrative videos, and audios. 

• Personalized learning 

In the vast ocean of our traditional education system, designed to extend its reach as widely as possible, we often find that while it equips a great many for societal contribution, it can miss the mark in nurturing individual potential. Like a universal key meant to open many doors, it may not always unlock the full capacity of every student. For instance, students who learn at a slower pace may struggle to keep up, akin to a web surfer encountering lag on a less responsive 라카지노 도메인. Conversely, those with distinct talents might find themselves in a constrained space, their abilities like hidden gems buried within a site, awaiting the right opportunity to shine. As educators, it’s critical to address these disparities, ensuring each learner finds a path that’s tailored for their journey, much like finding a niche domain where their unique capabilities can truly flourish.

AI may not adequately address these challenges, but, through personalized learning solutions, it looks like it will take us closer to that goal. AI-powered personal learning solutions provide students with targeted and customized responses from their teachers. It also helps teachers understand each student’s unique needs, allowing teachers to deliver customized content that the learner can easily absorb. 

One of the AI solutions in this area is Carnegie Learning. Carnegie Learning offers quick feedback and works directly with students, enabling teachers to understand the needs of each student in their class.

• Automated grading 

Ask any teacher and they’ll tell you that grading a test or paper is one of the most hectic parts of their job. This is especially true for teachers with large classes. If you have more than 100 students to grade, you could spend more than a whole week on it. When you consider that some lecturers have way more than that, you begin to see why teachers rarely have enough time to interact with their students. 

AI is not here to take over grading. At least, we’re not there yet. However, it’s showing signs that it could take some of the load off teachers so they can focus more on training learners. AI systems, for example, are already being used to grade fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice questions. There are even a few software programs that grade essays. You simply input a student’s essays and, after analyzing their answers and assessing their knowledge, the software awards a grade, provides feedback and makes personal training recommendations. 

One increasingly popular AI grading system is Project Essay Grade developed by Measurement Incorporated (MI). The software reads, understands, and grades any essay. Another is the E-Rater Scoring Engine that combines AI and human effort to check for grammatical and other errors in an essay and ultimately gives a grade.

• Learning outside the classroom 

Finally, artificial intelligence is also empowering learners and teachers outside the physical classroom. Two excellent examples here are tutoring software and distance learning solutions. 

With regards to tutoring, the emergence of AI technology has led to the creation of smart tutoring systems (what others call intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs)). Studies show that much learning takes place at home. Unfortunately, the majority of learners can’t afford tutors to help them with homework and test preparations from the cozy comfort of home. ITS systems are designed to help with remedial learning.  A good example here is ITalk2Learn System16 which is designed for young students learning fractions. It uses the learner’s cognitive needs, emotional state, and feedback to help students learn from home with ease.

When it comes to distance learning, there are many platforms offering courses online that can be accessed by students from anywhere across the world. Still, two challenges persist; 

1. The lack of personal interactions.
2. The difficulty in preventing cheating during tests. 

Luckily, AI is being used to solve both challenges. 

• To create a more personal experience, the University of South Carolina (ASC), for instance, is developing smart visual environments and applications that utilize AI, 3-D gaming, and computer animation to develop authentic virtual characters and realistic social interactions. 
• To curb cheating during exams, experts are currently developing AI-powered proctoring systems that ensure the authenticity of a test taker and monitor tests for cheating. 

This is Just the Start

If you think that the above four applications are mind-blowing, you’ll be amazed to learn what the future holds. Education experts foresee artificial intelligence completely changing the industry. Some have gone as far as to predict that we could soon have robots standing in front of a class delivering lectures. It might seem far fetched now. But, who thought that we could one day have computers grading tests and essays? Not many, right?