Last summer, Doug Bonderud of EdTech Magazine wrote a fascinating article about the importance of AI in the field of education. We wanted to follow-up on his thoughts and provide more detail on the emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the academic profession.
The academic world constantly evolves. Due to major technological advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, education has become more accessible and personalized than ever. AI has already been used to introduce numerous cutting-edge applications in various industries. It is hardly surprising that educators have also started to use this new technology to provide a better learning experience for their students.
The benefits of AI in the academic sector are
astounding. For instance, AI makes education more accessible because students
can use their smartphones and tablets instead of attending classes. It has also
led to the inception of school administration
software. Besides, AI offers countless opportunities fo
rautomation and personalization. Due to automation, educational institutions can
save a lot of time and dedicate more time to teaching students instead of
performing various repetitive tasks.
According to research, the use of AI in the academic world is expected to increase by 47.5% by 2021. AI is going to impact all the areas of education, from elementary school to high school and college. AI allows educators to come up with personal approaches, taking into account the learning style of each particular student. AI enables adaptive learning and offers many other benefits. Here are some of the main advantages of AI in education.
1. Automation
First of all, AI is capable of automating numerous administrative tasks that take a lot of time when they are performed manually. Educators have to spend too much time assessing homework, grading exams, and performing other tasks that often can be performed by a machine. According to Adam Simon of LegitWritingServices, even though computers still lack creative skills to evaluate students’ essays, they won’t have any problems grading multiple-choice tests.
Major advances in automation enable professors to spend more time with their students. Developers are also constantly creating new AI-driven solutions capable of grading students’ written answers. Another area that can benefit from AI is the admissions board. AI can automate numerous processes associated with a lot of paperwork, improving the overall efficiency.
2. Collaboration Between Teachers And AI
AI is already used in various educational tools that focus on the development of skills, as well as in many testing systems. As AI solutions continue to evolve, educators expect AI to be able to assist in teaching, enabling teachers and schools to do a lot more. Not only can AI streamline various administrative tasks and increase efficiency, but it also creates many opportunities for personalization.
AI developments mean that teachers will be able to provide a better learning experience and focus on the tasks where machines cannot help. The collaboration between AI and teachers will enable the latter to focus on tasks that require adaptability and deep understanding. Besides, it’s important to keep in mind that AI becomes an integral part of our everyday lives so exposing students to this technology and teaching them to use it becomes a necessity.
3. Personalization
Every time you watch Netflix, you’re dealing with a cutting-edge algorithm that provides personalized recommendations. The same approach is used in many other areas, and its potential for education is hard to overestimate. The traditional educational approaches are unified and intended to deliver the same learning experience to all students. However, in practice, traditional methods only target about 80% of students. The top 10% are unable to reach their full potential, while the bottom 10% of students struggle to meet the academic requirements.
AI enables teachers to provide a personalized learning experience. For instance, AI can customize exams and in-class assignments, helping students get the best academic assistance possible. The success of tutoring to a large extent depends on effective feedback. AI-based tutoring systems allow students to get quick feedback, while teachers can use AI-driven software to provide personalized responses.
4. Smart Content
Another hot topic associated with the use of AI is smart content. Robots are already capable of creating different kinds of digital content. However, one of the main advantages of AI for content creation is that it can create customized learning digital interfaces.
AI solutions like Cram101 can also condense the educational content into quick study guides. Thanks to such programs, students can read summaries of chapters of textbooks, complete quick tests, and get flashcards to memorize the essential information on a particular topic. There are also AI-driven platforms like Netex, which enable professors and lecturers to create digital curricula and digital content supported by all kinds of devices, including smartphones and online assistants. Thanks to AI, virtual lectures and conferences also become a reality.
5. Universal Access
One of the main challenges in the education sector is accessibility. AI enables educators to make learning more accessible for everyone, including students who speak other languages and students with hearing or visual impairments. For instance, Microsoft created an AI-based plugin Presentation Translator. This is a PowerPoint plugin that creates subtitles for presentations in real-time. Everything that a teacher says can be immediately translated to other languages, enabling the teacher to work with a bigger audience.
Such solutions are also useful for students who are unable to attend classes because of illness. AI can also help students who require learning at a different level. Besides, there are many students who want to study subjects that are unavailable at their school. Thanks to such software, they can listen to lectures from virtually anywhere in the world.
AI is Driving Massive Changes in Academia
The academic world constantly evolves, and new technologies offer countless new opportunities for educators and students. AI has already demonstrated its disruptive potential in many industries, and education is just another example of what AI is capable of. First of all, AI-driven solutions can help teachers save a lot of time because they can deal with massive amounts of information easily. Educators get an opportunity to automate numerous repetitive tasks so that teachers can spend more time with their students.
However, automation isn’t the only area of application of AI. This technology can also be used to provide a personalized learning experience. Artificial intelligence can make education more accessible and enable educational institutions to create a richer learning experience by using different types of digital content tailored to the needs of a particular student. Obviously, AI can also help cut administrative costs. Even though education might be adopting AI slower than other sectors, AI starts to change the academic world, and this process isn’t going to stop.
