How Artificial Intelligence Can Transform Education?

The debates around screen time for students continue unabated. From parents to psychologists, they are as one insists that it should be harnessed and limited or else. Meanwhile, modern technologies get up steam and are firmly embedded into every industry, including education. Teachers and students communicate through messengers, the assignments are delivered via cloud storage, while the libraries have gone fully online. It is clear that technologies now are a necessity rather than a privilege. 

But there’s more. New emerging technologies, powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, have already started to alter the world of education as we used to know it. For a while now, they’ve been helping with grading tests and cultivating skills, and more functions are expected as they advance. AI-powered tools can boost learning efficiency, student engagement, and undertake a good share of administration tasks, leaving teachers enough time and room to create, fascinate, and engage students – the things no machine would ever be able to cope with.

This said, here is how education can win from artificial intelligence tools.

Better Personalization

For teachers, it has always been a top priority to tailor their lessons based on the needs of every individual in the class. However, AI tools can provide the level of personalization unreachable for teachers who have to cope with dozens of students. For instance, there are a few courses and platforms under development that analyze student activity. Based on this information, they will offer relevant topics to fill in the gaps in knowledge, as well as more complicated tasks and assignments to stimulate progress. As the tools grow more elaborate, they are expected to analyze a student’s non-verbal information to figure out the level of attention, understanding, and interest, and adjust the course respectively.

Open Access to Education for Everyone

With the rapid evolvement of massive open online courses, education has become accessible to anyone who has a smartphone and an internet connection. But even then, we’re far from making it available to every individual across the globe. 

With AI tools in education, everyone can get truly open access to education, including hearing or visually impaired students and those who require translation help when taking a course. Instant subtitling is one of such things; YouTube has been using this boon for a couple of years now, and applying it to most educational courses could have significantly improved accessibility and efficiency of learning.

Automation of Tasks

Besides actually teaching, educators spend over half of their time on student assessment and feedback, report preparation, contacting parents, adjusting learning materials and solving other organizational issues, and completing administration tasks. 

Artificial intelligence tools allow releasing this huge amount of time and devoting it to communicating with students, explaining complicated concepts, and teaching them valuable skills and ideas. Some learning platforms have already automated sending feedback to students and their parents. It’s already the case that AI tools can assess multiple-choice tests, and they’re one step away from being able to evaluate and grade more complex student responses, like essays or argumentative answers.

Online Support with Learning

“I wish I had someone to do my homework for me when I was a student!” – complains our reader Bill who has to help his 12-year-old son with his home assignments. 

If you’ve ever been in Bill’s shoes, you’d appreciate the idea of having an AI-powered assistant who would slice and dice difficult concepts to your kid or college pal for you. It’s yet too soon to give the teaching championship to machines, but some programs under development include virtual tutors, smart content, and a number of online opportunities for teachers and educators where they can upgrade their skills and improve qualifications. Can you imagine how easy learning can be with a 24/7 assistant willing to answer your questions and break down all the nuances?

Bottom Line 

Artificial intelligence tools have a great potential to alter the education field by making it more efficient, accessible, engaging, and convenient. They are and they will also continue to change the role of teachers in educating students. They are and they will also continue to change the role of teachers in educating students. By covering a large share of admin tasks and learning content adjustment, they will give teachers more time to provide support, nurture, and engage students in learning in a uniquely human way. 

Although the changes towards AI improvements are slow and rather expensive, schools and educators shouldn’t give up this idea and make efforts to expedite these outcomes. After all, the students of the present will have to live and work in a world where artificial intelligence tools are ubiquitous so it’s better to earn these skills sooner than later.