Artificial intelligence is a technology that is progressing so rapidly that it’s likely that scientists don’t even yet know its full potential for impacting our lives. One of the areas that looks likely to gain the most from the power of AI, however, is education. AI has become such a phenomenon in the technology world that colleges, universities, and other institutions have established educational programs surrounding it so that people can learn about it and how to use it to better their lives. It’s believed that artificial intelligence will impact education at both the K-12 level and in higher ed. It will impact both teachers and students and it could cause a whole lot of disruption in classrooms, making artificial intelligence something that educational leaders need to really start thinking about.
AI and Personalization
One of the ways that educators and scientists are working together when it comes to AI involves creating greater elements of personalized learning. AI can help create personalized experiences for users in areas like online shopping, for example, but the incredible potential for personalization in education is perhaps the most promising. It’s already made an impact on what we would describe as at a basic level, helping teachers gain insights into what each of their students needs in order to maximize their growth. When it comes to AI in education, however, the potential opportunities are far greater than that. Just taking a second to think about the greatest problems teachers face and you’ll probably arrive at the conclusion that students are obsessed with technology, easily distracted, and often disengaged. While we can’t always control their technology use, we can use tools like AI to make them more interested in education.
The days of relying on a one-size-fits-all instructional model are largely over and this is at least in part due to how AI can be used to create personalized learning. The goal of this is to create a completely unique educational experience for every student—one that is enjoyable for each of them and completely tailored to their needs and preferences. Using AI to create personalized learning also has been known to increase student motivation and provide educators with a better understanding of each kids’ learning process. Ideally, AI systems would provide teachers with insightful info about students’ learning styles, baseline abilities, progress, and more and then provide suggestions for how to maximize their instruction and tailor it to what the student needs. Having the data to back up the assumption that some students are struggling to keep up or others are not being challenged enough is very valuable in this day and age.
One of the key steps to using AI to create personalized learning is the collection and application of student data. Of course, the No. 1 priority throughout this process should be student privacy and safety, so developers will need to be certain that their AI systems are safe before they start to be used on a wide scale. The more data the programs have on students, however, the more in-depth the personalization can go. AI can also increase student motivation by providing them with personalized solutions and answers in an almost immediate way. Finally, AI can help educators create more time for their students, using the data they’ve learned along the way to work with them directly and create an ideal amount of personalization. As AI continues to progress, students and teachers should start to understand it more over time and, when its power is combined with human abilities, that’s when it will be maximized.
AI and Skill Development
In today’s education, so much of the focus is on making sure students learn key skills that we’re predicting will be important for their futures. In order to help them develop those skills, however, teachers need to be able to provide their students with the proper learning opportunities. And, in order to provide them with the best learning opportunities, they need to be able to know what works well for each student and what does not so that they can determine the best ways to teach each student different sets of skills. This can sometimes be difficult, but, with the emergence of artificial intelligence, it could eventually become easier. We already know that AI has the potential and presents a great opportunity for improving education, but it can help students learn for the future just as much as it can help teachers prepare them for it and save themselves time.
The variety of potential outcomes of using AI in education is certainly something that educational leaders are noticing. As education continues to stretch to a more global level, students may be collaborating with peers from around the world more and more frequently. One artificial intelligence tool that has been developed is a technology that can translate speech in different languages during real-time conversations. This one powerful example obviously illustrates how AI can be used to create a learning experience for the common good. It helps unlock collaboration that mirrors what the real world is like and undoubtedly increases productivity for these students. Now, the drawback of this is that this particular technology is very new and likely costly. But, we’re using it as just one example to illustrate the power of AI.
Keeping up with the latest advances in technology in your classroom is one thing, but making sure to remain on top of the ever-evolving sets of skills that are demanded of today’s students is another endeavor. Today’s students need to become used to reassessing what skills are the most valuable and developing a way to learn new skills as they go once they are out in the real world. One way that AI can help here is by using data and research to show students what specifically the world needs. This will help them gain some better insight into what they should be studying and what kinds of skills they might need to learn. A lot of students in K-12 schools today won’t take part in education that exposes them to learning specific skills—especially made possible by artificial intelligence. But, AI can help school leaders see that using this technology can provide students with the skills to create a better world.
Preparing Students for an AI Future
We may not yet know exactly how AI will impact future careers or how it will play different roles for each of today’s students, but the chances are fairly high that it will play a role in some way. Think about it—students in college today will probably be working into the 2070s or somewhere in that time frame. Thinking about what some of the careers 50 years from now might be like is truly difficult for us to wrap our heads around. And, since we know how quickly artificial intelligence is emerging, it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that they make up a good chunk of professions by then. There’s a good chance that artificial intelligence might have already made profound impacts on their lives and society by then, too, and they may be tasked with something like redirecting or limiting its power—we’re just speculating. But, it’s tomorrow’s generations that will likely being the key players and decision makers when it comes to AI, so it seems they would need to know as much about it as possible.
While much of any AI-specific preparation for students would likely come in college, they can still be somewhat exposed to it starting in grade school. At the heart of their instruction, educators need to think about how to frame AI as a beneficial technology and maximize their knowledge surrounding how to use it in beneficial ways. There’s also the fact that AI can likely be able to be used in areas outside of those that are directly related to technology. Some areas of AI use might include analyzing crops for farmers, building safer roads, forecasting weather more accurately, and so on. Then, there’s also some areas where you might not be as surprised to see AI use, like in cancer diagnosing and disease detection, for example. AI also brings some risks along with it, however, and that’s something else that educators would likely need to cover when teaching students about AI—some of which we’ll get into.
AI is a technology that might be best described as volatile. While it may have some booming benefits, it may also create some challenges and these might alter from time to time. Those who understand it best advocate for training people with a wide range of academic skills and areas of expertise in order for us to fully identify its opportunities and take on its challenges. This essentially opens the door for a lot of today’s students to study AI and learn more about it. Since AI could play a role in a lot of different industries—even areas like law and order, philosophy, and education—educating as many people as possible about AI will have its benefits. And, for that reason, teaching all students about AI (at some point) is under consideration so that as many future members of the workforce as possible will be ready to use this technology and maximize its benefits.
How AI and Education Might Merge
As of right now, predicting the marriage between artificial intelligence and education is anyone’s guess. Some theories seem to be plenty reasonable while others might seem to be much too costly or time consuming to truly be viable. Whatever the case may be, it does seem likely, however, that artificial intelligence will play an increasingly prominent role in the education of children who are either currently in grade school or those who will enter grade school in the next few years. What seems most certain is that AI will enable the emergence of new teaching and learning trends for the next generation—we’re just not sure which ones will stick around or be the most effective. In order for AI to be used in education successfully, its developers are going to need to find a way to create a quality product that includes quality content at an affordable price.
Of course, this is consistent with the educational content most parents demand from their kids’ schools. So, once we find a way to use AI to create ideal educational content (and it’s both efficient and affordable), it seems likely that educational leaders will want to take advantage of that to maximize efficiency and save money. If nothing else, AI tools are currently seen as viable for supplementing traditional classroom instruction if they are not completely uprooting it. Though finding a platform to support the massive power of artificial intelligence could be challenging, AI could be rolled out in schools on smaller scales. It doesn’t always need to be this enormous presence and could still make an impact on the way kids learn by being introduced slowly and subtly.
In order for AI to impact education positively, it needs to be developed in such a way that it can be rolled out in schools. This means that many people who are currently studying computer science will probably be tasked with creating student- and teacher-friendly AI systems so that everyone in the education world can experience its benefits. Once viable AI tools have been developed, AI could potentially be used in all levels of education, including K-12 and college. It can provide educators with valuable context and insight into how their students learn, how their brains are working, what they might have missed and more. All of this helps supplement the efforts of classroom teachers and essentially fills in the gaps to make each child’s education more meaningful.
Some Stats on AI in Education
We’re still very early on in the life of artificial intelligence, but there is some data starting to emerge in terms of its potential. It isn’t very detailed and could change over time, but we came across some statistics that are at the very least intriguing concerning global AI and its implications on education around the world. The first number has to do with money (of course it does)—specifically the value of artificial intelligence in the education market. In 2018, that value was set at $521 million. Seems pretty high, right? Well, in that same report, the value of artificial intelligence in education is projected to reach $10.3 billion by 2026. That is an enormous, gigantic increase in just eight short years, indicating to us that researches are forecasting heavier use of AI in everyday education and that it might become more user-friendly, leading to more teachers adopting it.
These projections are reportedly based on factors like market competition, segmentation, geographical expansion, and more, which have led to this conclusion. It also points to microeconomic and macroeconomic factors impacting the growth of AI in education. At the moment, researchers are still trying to pinpoint the precise drivers, restraints, and opportunities when it comes to AI in education, but they have made a great amount of progress. Then, you might also be wondering who exactly is leading the charge when it comes to the development of educational AI technology. Companies like IBM and Microsoft are on this list, but there are also some other, lesser-known names who are trying to make the push into the AI in education space as well.
Researchers have also determined some of the countries that are at the forefront in creating viable AI tools for use in education. To do this, they looked at factors like market share, recent developments, production, gross revenue, profit margin, and more. Not surprisingly, AI tools are being developed all over the world and making a push in Europe, Asia, and South America. Many different strategies are being used by these companies to develop their AI tools and it seems feasible that they could help students and teachers in many different ways. For now, though, any educator who wants to try using AI for whatever reason would have to rely on what is currently available. When thinking about what it could become, however, that presents a whole different ball game.
For the latest EdTech, STEM, and 21st century education news, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Like us on Facebook, too, or sign up for our newsletter for our latest product announcements and offerings. If you have an idea for an Eduporium Weekly theme, send us a message on social media or comment below.