I got fascinated by AI and realized its huge potential in 2017. My personal interest in AI was triggered by …… the lack of time.
Outside of the lectures I delivered, many of my students were willing to ask questions and receive feedback. I realized that answering those routine questions, which are repeated each term and each year, is very time-consuming and started to search for a ‘clever’ software solution.
I believe that AI in education can transform teaching and learning, bringing measurable and positive change on a large scale.
Much has been said about the current education system, both offline and online, with its ‘one-size--fits-all’ generalized approach, which fails to address individual needs, skills and pace of learning. The education industry is definitely ripe for innovation, and the recent developments in AI and machine learning can provide the long-awaited solution.
AI can make education more flexible and inclusive, at the same time providing personalised and adaptive learning experience to each and every student anytime and anywhere.
It can put an end to traditional testing systems and measure academic abilities and achievement in a more nuanced way. Students can be given opportunity to learn according to their own preferences, with tutors focusing less on lecturing and more on coaching, aided by analytics to choose the most effective methods.
Ultimately, deep learning algorithms can provide students with information about their own cognitive abilities and behaviour, so that they can understand their own optimal learning setting and use this knowledge for their benefit. Natural language, computer vision, and deep learning can replace teachers in answering students’ routine questions or acting as tutorial supervisors.
Finally, AI can assist in forming the most effective groups for collaborative learning experience by applying machine learning algorithms to data from students’ education profile, social media, and surveys.
Personalized AI-curated one-to-one learning, adaptive skill assessments, clear result system and achievement tracking provide a more productive route for students to master the right skills at the right time. It is an active way of learning that gives its users an opportunity to learn wherever and whenever they want, developing skills that are essential for the labour market, but at the same time eliminating the need for human teachers.
The benefits of AI and its huge potential are evident, but the transformative effects of AI-enabled learning are yet to be experienced by the educational system, which lives up to its reputation of being a sector of slow adoption of technology and innovation.
However, there are many reasons for being optimistic, with the recent rise in the edtech market, as well as global edtech investment.
Yet the best ecosystem for edtech startups has evolved in the UK, where the growing trend for edupreneurship has created the best conditions for the country to become an edtech hotbed. The teacher-focused ethos is infused throughout the UK’s edtech scene and, I am convinced, is why the sector is thriving. New technology alone is not enough for an edtech company to succeed. The only way that edtech can truly be impactful is if it’s focused on solving real, concrete educational challenges, identified by educators. Ideally technology should fade into the background, solving problems and supporting authentic learning and teaching experiences seamlessly, without ever drawing attention to itself.
That kind of great edtech can’t be created if we focus solely on the “tech.”
Great edtech can only be developed by educators & edupreneurs, those with the domain expertise, who can identify students’ learning challenges and create unique experiences for students that supercharge learning and increase engagement. Only highly experienced educators with great understanding of learners’ needs can design AI-powered tools which will improve efficiency and effectiveness of learning.
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