Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education

Is Artificial Intelligence important for the field of education?

Often, we are discussing how much time we, and especially our children, should spend in front of the computer screen? On the other hand, we are living in times when our educational system and the way children and students are going to be taught is being revolutionized.

When we think about artificial intelligence in education, the picture that comes into our minds is that of a robot with human-like abilities replacing the teacher and pupils relying on a software to do their homework tasks. Even though this image isn’t quite right, the technology is developing in the field of education more than ever and the developments also sort of go in these directions. Still artificial intelligence is far away from really replacing the teachers. Moreover, most experts believe that the presence of a teacher in the lives of students and especially young children is of crucial importance. The goal of AI in the educational system should be in assisting the teachers. By leveraging the best characteristics of machines and teachers, students could experience a better outcome in school.

Children should from a young age be exposed to artificial intelligence and technology, since it is most likely that AI will play a huge role tomorrow at their working place and in their life in general. After all, it is estimated with huge certainty that technology and AI will continue developing in various fields in the future. If we want to comprehend how artificial intelligence will change schools and help the children in days to come, we should have an insight into what technology does for the field of education today.

About online teaching

No one could predict a pandemic like Covid 19 and it was indeed a surprise to the working men and women. And teachers aren’t excluded here so they need to find ways to adjust to the new situation. It is a challenge to motivate students when you are not physically present in the same room as they are.

But Gglot has a great solution which might help in a lot of situations. Gglot is a transcription service provider, i.e. is responsible for turning the spoken word into written text. Having a reliable and accurate written document of the lecture helps students to better understand the matter and makes it easier to follow the lectures.

Another important reason for transcribing lectures is the fact that some students might have problems with hearing or they could be deaf. So, it is important that they are included. By using a smart devices and computers they can also have access to the teaching materials just like everybody else. Transcripts also give new opportunities to students who aren’t able to attend school due to illness.

Other students who would also benefit a lot from transcriptions are students whose mother tongue is not English. The written form of a lecture might appeal more to them since it will be easier for them to check up unfamiliar vocabulary if they already see how the words are written.

We would also like to mention that most people experience a bad Internet connection from time to time, which might negatively affect the quality of, for example, a Zoom call. Those students won’t really be able to hear the lecture clearly, thus transcripts would come in very handy in this case.

What is the situation considering AI and education at the moment?

Even before our world was hit by the Corona virus, some schools in some countries had already implemented artificial intelligence in their everyday lives in order to facilitate the learning process for their students. For example, in Australia they implemented virtual and augmented reality in classes and homework in order for students to have a more intensive learning experience. One term which is also used often in this context is gamification. This is a new educational approach in which video game elements are used in learning environments. This interactive approach captures the interest of students and motivates them, so that the learning process becomes more enjoyable and students have no hard time in becoming thoroughly engrossed in the subject at hand. On top of that, if they have such tools it is easier for students to work together online on various projects.

Transcriptions and artificial intelligence tools can together make a great difference for students as well as for teachers. And this will improve drastically in the days to come. We are going to experience immense technological progress and especially the following competences of the AI will be developed – differentiation, automation and adaptation.

What will the future bring?

The educational sector is still assumed to be a largely human based. But as already mentioned, AI will also play an important role in the lives of students and teachers of tomorrow.

Let’s not forget that a teacher usually has 30 students in one class, so differentiation in those conditions is very hard. That is the reason why a lot of money is being invested in the development of the so-called personalized learning and this means that the individual needs of the students are more likely to be met. This is going to have a huge impact on students who have difficulties to follow the material, but also on gifted students who need more challenges.

What is so great about AI is that it adjusts to each student and its needs and capabilities which will also unburden the teachers. If the learning process is going to be more personalized, customized learning profiles will be created for individual students and tailor-made training materials will be provided. An artificial intelligence software can easily adapt to the students’ level of knowledge. The student can do a test at the beginning, which the software will analyze in order to provide suitable learning materials and tasks based on the student’s weaknesses.

Voice assistance technology is another AI component which has a bright future. The goal here is to help students, especially freshmen in their student needs. This way they can get their schedule, send and receive video mails, get information about events, menus and many other factors important for a daily student life.

In the future, artificial intelligence might even follow the students beyond their academic years, advising them about their career paths.

Since technology development also brings more automation, everyday tasks will get done easier. Realtime language translation will enable easier accessibility of information for students worldwide, no matter their mother tongue and English language skills. On top of that, this is going to be a great help for those who are in the process of acquiring a foreign language.

Automation might also help teachers in dealing with a variety of monotonous paperwork and routine back-office duties. It could for example facilitate grading or evaluation of essays. Imagine what a software for automized grading could do in terms of time saving. Also, an artificial teaching assistant might be able to easily get some Q & A tasks done, so students will get help at all times and teachers will become more unburdened. A good example for that is Mr. Kellermann, a teacher from the University of New South Wales in Australia. He built some sort of chatbot for his students. The chatbot hat the capability to answer his student’s questions at any time and on top of that it could deliver videos of old lectures.

One more important benefit of AI is its ability to adjust to different situations. Gglot can also help schools and other educational institutions to adapt to changing needs in the field of education. Solutions like the ones offered by Gglot can motivate students during their remote studying. For example, transcripts of lectures can serve as studying materials.

Our world is changing quickly and every sector needs to find a way to handle this. And in the end, why not let artificial intelligence help to facilitate the jobs of teachers and the lives of students and leave them with more valuable time to their disposal. With more time in their hands, teachers could think of ways to convey their knowledge in a more creative way and spend more time preparing for their lectures.

It is time to change

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are already changing the world of education in various ways. Education is becoming much more convenient and AI has the potential to change the way our education system operates and empowers teachers and learners no matter their abilities. Artificial intelligence tries to identify what a student knows and what he doesn’t by doing a diagnostic test and based on specific needs of a student it develops personalized curricula. On top of that, using artificial intelligence systems can improve the efficiency of educational institutions by far, it could lower their operating costs and give them a better insight into their income and their expenses. Of course, this isn’t happening in the same degree all around the world, since technology developments depend a lot on financial resources. But sooner or later, everyone will hop on the boat of progress. And not only when it comes to education…