Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Education
Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Education
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly evolving and widely available technology which is having a dramatic impact on many aspects of society, including education. Of particular relevance to education is Generative AI in the form of Large Language Models (LLMs) that can rapidly generate text, computer code and graphics.
If appropriately used, LLMs can contribute positively to learning, but they have also been seen as a potential threat to current educational norms and to academic integrity. Like any new technology, AI presents opportunities and risks, and creates winners and losers and the current pace of progress means the stakes are high.
The widespread introduction of AI has taken only a few months for Generative AI and ChatGPT to change education.
Personalised Learning
Teachers and lecturers can now use AI to personalise learning for each student, making lessons more engaging and effective. AI tools are causing universities to reflect on the way they operate, with implications for core aspects of university life: teaching, research, administration and community engagement.
AI is Bringing Significant Change
To remain competitive, ensure financial sustainability, and enhance the quality of education and research, universities must prepare for the change AI will bring. One way in which the use of AI is being rolled out in higher education to make data driven decisions is through the provision of student engagement data.
Many universities already access this insight from their learning systems or Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs).
AI tools can also automate grading, saving time on repetitive tasks and there are AI-driven educational games and apps can make learning more interactive, while virtual tutors and chatbots can offer students extra help outside of class.
Additionally, AI can assist with administrative tasks like managing schedules and tracking attendance, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching.
This new technology has far-reaching implications for learning and education and has been embraced by students as a homework-assistance tool, or as a full-on substitute for writing papers. AI helps tailor learning experiences to individual students by adjusting material based on their progress. It can create new content like practice problems and videos that align with the curriculum.
In virtual classrooms, AI supports real-time feedback and interaction, enhancing online learning. AI also analyses student performance to identify areas where they need more help, and language learning apps use AI to offer personalised practice and feedback. Overall, AI makes learning more personalised, efficient, and accessible.
Reaction to AI
However the new technology was considered such a threat to traditional learning that New York City public schools banned ChatGPT from in-school devices only weeks after it launched. Meanwhile, shares of Chegg, which rents textbooks and provides homework assistance help, fell by almost 50% in one session after it revealed that new user growth had slowed because of competition from ChatGPT. Nevertheless it's clear that GenAI is setting off a transformation in education, and this is just the start.
Background to AI
When we talk about AI, we're referring to the ability of computers and machines to perform tasks normally associated with human intelligence. This can include anything from machine learning to natural language processing to computer vision to robotics and neural networks.
These days, most people may think of generative AI tools like ChatGPT when they think of AI, but it has been operating behind the scenes online and in computer systems for years. Firms like Meta Platforms and Netflix rely on recommendation AI to decide on what accounts and movies to show you, and they also uses AI to screen images that it doesn't allow, such as nudity. Additionally, chatbots and voice assistants like Alexa and Siri offer another example of widely used AI systems.
Five Uses of AI in Education
1. Translation and Language Learning: One of the most direct applications of AI in education is translation and language learning. ChatGPT can capably handle translations and can serve as a language-learning tool, helping students check their work and teaching them things like vocabulary and grammar.
Among the stocks that fell was Duolingo, the popular language-learning app. Investors feared that Duolingo users could stop paying for its services and instead just use free AI tools like ChatGPT. However, Duolingo has already integrated some of ChatGPT’s features into its product. For example, in March 2023, the company launched Duolingo Max, which uses GPT-4 technology to add two new features to Duolingo Super.
Those features explain wrong answers to users and offer a role-playing feature that allows users to practice conversations in different scenarios.
2. AI in Writing: While some students have already discovered that ChatGPT can be a useful tool for outsourcing homework, the generative AI technology also offers real benefits for students who are learning how to write or trying to write more clearly.
Grammarly, the AI-based spelling and grammar-check tool, is one well-known example of an AI tool being used to help with writing. The program offers advice for clarity, tone, and other qualities to improve writing. Similarly, ChatGPT and other generative AI programs can rewrite, edit, or make changes to documents in other ways as needed.
For creative writers, AI tools can also help with writing prompts, story ideas, dialogue, and other needs, and it can help writing teachers come up with similar ideas to help with teaching. Although plagiarism will always be unethical, it's a mistake for educators to ignore the potential for AI programs to help students become better writers.
3. Early Education: There is also a wide range of existing and potential applications for AI in early education.
AI can be used to create interactive games and other teaching tools that can teach children and students academic or social skills.
AI can also be used to power monitoring systems to help track children's behaviour to glean insights into their development. It can function as a teacher's helper, paying attention to children/students when the teacher is busy.
Some studies have shown that AI can improve teaching and learning in early childhood education, including developing language skills. There are also AI-powered toys that can help introduce children to AI concepts and improve early learning.
4. AI in Teaching: Although a number of jobs are at risk from AI, teaching does not appear to be one of them so far. The pandemic showed how valuable in-school learning is, and school offers other benefits for students, like socialisation. However, AI technologies can provide a lot of benefits to teachers, helping them save time and redirect their energy to more valuable tasks.
AI has the potential to reduce the amount of time teachers spend doing administrative tasks, so they can focus on what they do best, teaching and supporting their pupils. The tasks that AI programs like ChatGPT can help with include creating lesson plans, assisting with grading papers and homework, and even creating videos from textbooks. The potential is vast, and classroom teachers should aim to take full advantage of this AI tech-change.
5. AI in Tutoring: Another one of the more useful applications for AI is tutoring. While AI isn't a complete substitute for classroom learning, it can help students who are falling behind and need extra practice. AI programs can drill students in any subject and coach them on areas that require extra study.
AI is especially useful for tutoring because it can be personalised, and programs like ChatGPT allow users to come up with a specific and unique study plan that will work for the student.
Among the classes that AI is best suited for include geography, languages, physics, mathematics, computer programming, chemistry, and more. Teachers can also work with students to design AI tutoring lessons that can help students master a subject in a learning style that works best for them.
AI and the Future of Education
AI education won't fully disrupt the school system, but students and teachers alike are already taking advantage of new technologies like ChatGPT. In education, AI is likely to supplement the existing educational infrastructure rather than disrupt it, and learning how to use such tools should become a priority for students and teachers, much like computer science has become more valuable over the last three decades.
Above all, AI tools seem likely to improve learning outcomes and free teachers to focus on areas where they can add more value.
Areas of Development
There is much more work to be done to explore how AI could enhance how pupils learn, and we know that there are concerns around the risks for young people, especially as this is a new form of technology. The development of any AI tools for young people would prioritise their safety and security.
This includes ensuring that children and young people are not accessing or creating harmful or inappropriate content online through generative AI, and that their data and intellectual property is protected.
As AI tools are interactive and can be easily personalised, they could be used to provide all young people with their own virtual ‘tutor’. To name one example, AI could help provide pupils with a bespoke workplan, based on marking and assessments from teachers. AI-enhanced learning analytics provide more comprehensive data analysis, enabling professors to understand student behaviours and needs and ones with problems.
There are different development areas. One example is ClassPoint AI, an innovative feature that uses advanced AI technology to generate quiz questions from any PowerPoint slide. It transforms PowerPoint presentations into interactive learning experiences, allowing you to engage participants with thought-provoking questions in seconds.
A number of Universities now believe that AI tools are potentially transformative as well as disruptive, that they will feature in many academic and professional workplaces, and that rather than seek to prohibit your use of them, staff will support you in using them effectively, ethically and transparently.
Whilst AI tools are powerful and easy to use, they can also easily provide misleading or incorrect information. They can negatively impact your learning as they can reduce the need for critical engagement that is key to deep and meaningful learning.
Students that rely on these tools too much risk losing their own skills and expertise, and may struggle to study or work without them.
It is crucial that you don’t use AI tools to simply generate a piece of work and submit that as if it was your own work. This will be considered academic misconduct.
AI is not just a technological trend; it is a catalyst for transforming the student experience in higher education.
Universities must urgently think about how to use AI to maintain and enhance student experience, while preparing students to enter workplaces that are also adopting AI.
Given the pace of technological growth, there will be significant benefits, for reputation, performance, and financial outcomes, for universities that think hard, smart and fast about how to use AI tools. As industry races to unlock the value from AI systems, and prospective students get accustomed to using AI as standard practice, it is important that universities are not left behind.
Image: tungnguyen
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