Just a few decades ago, our world could only be imagined as a part of a science fiction movie. We rely on various gadgets that help us with different tasks. Not only do we use smartphones all the time, but we also have virtual assistants, smart devices, and many other technological advancements that make everyday tasks much simpler.
One of the most promising modern technologies is artificial intelligence (AI). AI and machine learning enables the educational system to increase accessibility because students can use smartphones and other gadgets to take classes from virtually anywhere in the world. However, this is not the only advantage of using AI in education. Even though education has evolved since the 20th century, it still has countless areas that need improvement.
Although everyone understands that education needs to be modernized, it’s hard to understand how AI and machine learning will change it. Nevertheless, given that AI has already disrupted many industries, its wide adoption in education is just a question of time. Experts predict that the U.S. education sector will increase by 47% in three years. Thanks to machine learning, AI in education can help tutors come up with new advanced tools and provide a better, more complete educational experience. AI isn’t going to replace teachers anytime soon, but the teachers’ responsibilities will certainly change.
The Impact of AI on Education
Although AI in education cannot replace teachers yet, it’s still quite useful. Many AI-powered tools can improve modern methods of teaching and make many time-consuming tasks easier so that teachers can focus on more important aspects, such as support and understanding. For example, translating materials to another language can take a lot of time, while plugins like Presentation Translator can automatically translate what teachers say and provide subtitles. Thanks to such solutions, students who are unable to learn some materials in their town or country can gain new knowledge online.
AI also offers countless opportunities for personalization, which is one of the main reasons why it’s so popular in different industries. Companies like Content Technologies and Carnegie Learning create learning platforms that can test students and evaluate their skills and knowledge. Besides, such platforms can provide detailed feedback, explaining what gaps in knowledge students should fill. Now let’s consider possible applications of AI in more detail.
1. Personalization
When you buy something on Amazon or watch Netflix, smart algorithms make recommendations based on your previous activity. This way, these services can provide an individualized experience tailored to their users’ interests and needs. Education can use the same approach. Quite often, institutions stick with the same approach when working with all students. However, such unified approaches are only effective for the majority of students. Many students cannot learn as quickly, and others may want to go beyond the curriculum to reach their full potential.
Thanks to AI, educators can tailor the educational experience to each particular student. For example, educators can provide students with the necessary assistance or customize exams, as well as any assignments. Educators can also use AI-based tutoring solutions to provide quick feedback that can be used by teachers to provide timely assistance.
2. Accessibility
Accessibility is a common challenge in the modern world of education. Many people want to get an education but not all of them are able to do it. The accessibility of education to a large extent depends on the area where students live, but modern software can help educators address this problem. Various translators can help students use materials from all over the world. Besides, students who cannot attend classes for some reason, no longer need to wait to study the necessary materials.
3. Automation
Educators always have to deal with countless repetitive tasks that take a lot of time if you complete them manually. AI can deal with such tasks easily because it is great at handling any volumes of data. Even such tasks as checking homework can also be optimized thanks to Artificial Intelligence in education. Thanks to machine learning, educators can use AI to grade multiple-choice questions.
Even though machines still cannot properly evaluate creative tasks, they can help teachers save a lot of time and focus on tasks that cannot be performed by a machine. Automation can improve the overall quality of education significantly, enabling every professor to dedicate more time to their students.
4. Smart content
Smart content is another interesting area of technology. AI and machine learning have already enabled computers to create content. Even though AI still lacks understanding of the context so it cannot create comprehensive written works, it still can improve the content in different ways. For instance, it can help educators create personalized learning interfaces.
AI-based solutions like Netex enable educators to create digital content and entire curricula that can be accessed using smartphones and other devices. There are also solutions that can summarize big chunks of content and provide digestible amounts of information on a certain topic. For instance, students can use solutions like Cram101 to memorize the essential facts about a certain subject if they don’t need to study it in detail.
5. Collaboration between AI and teachers
Artificial Intelligence in education already serves as a basis for many tools used by teachers. However, AI develops so quickly that new possible applications appear all the time. Given that computers and teachers have different capabilities, educational institutions can create a collaborative environment, using AI for certain tasks and enabling teachers to focus on other areas that require deep understanding.
Artificial Intelligence in education also helps teachers to provide a better educational experience because AI’s personalization capabilities can help teachers focus on adaptability. Given that students have different styles of learning, providing a learning experience based on visuals, audio, or textual content, can help all students learn in the most effective way.
“AI also helps teachers to provide a better educational experience because AI’s personalization capabilities can help teachers focus on adaptability. Given that students have different styles of learning, providing a learning experience based on visuals, audio, or textual content, can help all students learn in the most effective way,” adds Adam Simon, content editor at Legit Writing Services, education blog and review site.
Conclusion
AI, machine learning, and deep learning are technologies that quickly change industries and introduce new standards of efficiency. Given that AI can learn, education is a very good area of application for machines. AI still cannot deal with creative tasks and it cannot understand the general context of the information it processes. Therefore, it cannot replace teachers. However, it can serve as the basis for countless useful tools. AI can improve education in many ways, saving teachers a lot of time and providing students with a personalized learning experience.
