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AI for education: What should teachers and students expect?
Even with the risks, AI can be a powerful and helpful classroom tool.
AI in education has become a subject of debate as educators learn how to implement and depend on AI in the classroom. At its best, AI can provide teacher support and expand accessible learning opportunities in the curriculum. However, AI is still a newer technology, and concerns exist over its accuracy, including students’ overreliance. But if AI can make teachers’ jobs easier and act as a powerful educational tool, then why shouldn’t it be implemented in the classroom?
Many international entities are outlining how AI can revolutionize education and be a feasible solution for classroom challenges. In the spring of 2024, the World Economic Forum devised four key educational promises within its report, Shaping the Future of Learning: The Role of AI in Education 4.0. They indicate that AI for education can serve as a complimentary classroom tool to aid teachers in providing more effective and individualized learning.
AI has the potential to innovatively address some of the biggest challenges teachers and students face in education today. However, as technology continues to evolve, we must safely and strategically implement artificial intelligence into the classroom. Furthermore, what can students and teachers expect from the future of AI in education?
How can AI be used for education?
AI is an advanced tool that can provide teachers with more administrative support and expand personalized learning opportunities. Integrating AI into the classroom is inevitable, but many teachers are skeptical of its practicality.
Fewer than 10% of teachers at all levels believe that AI provides more benefit than harm. Teachers understand that they can’t ban AI from the classroom, but responsibly implementing the technology is another feat.
However, responsibly adopting AI into the classroom has many benefits for students. They can experience advanced learning instruction, receive feedback in real time, and access customized learning. AI can also help students prepare for their future careers in the workforce, such as using resume AI for job applications.
Teachers can also rely on AI as an assistant to speed through daily routine tasks, like reading administrative documents. They can also use AI Assistant with set prompts to quickly grab information or ask questions from a PDF.
AI can also address a digital skills gap. Teaching students how to use technology ethically can prepare them for future tech advancements.
Some states and countries have started to implement guideline recommendations for using AI in schools, but that’s not yet the norm. New technology comes with its challenges and risks, especially when policy regulation still needs to catch up.
Students and teachers must fully realize the technology’s benefits and risks before deciding how to use AI for education.
The benefits of AI for education.
AI benefits both students and teachers as a classroom aid that can advance teaching methods and offer personalized instruction.
More educational games
Play-based learning is a powerful educational tool that helps students dive deeper into a subject. Since the introduction of the computer, educators have implemented computer games into the curriculum. For instance, released in 1974, The Oregon Trail was a popular computer game for learning about the American Western expansion. Many AI-powered games can make subjects and learning concepts more relevant for students. Plus, some games teach students about machine learning and data-driven bias, teaching students how to use the technology ethically.
Automate administrative tasks
One of AI’s most sought-after benefits is the ability to automate mundane administrative tasks. Simple, routine tasks like grading multiple-choice questions, basic coding, adding citations to essays, automatic feedback, extracting answers from PDFs, and other administrative work can be accomplished with AI.
Implementing AI in this way can free up time for teachers to focus on more personalized interactions with students, leading to stronger student-teacher connections. Enhancing human-led interactions and more student contact leads to more meaningful learning and improved engagement.
Personalized student learning
AI can help provide individualized learning in the classroom. Personalized student tutoring is one of the strongest teaching methods. In fact, tutored students outperform 98% of their peers from traditional classroom settings. However, it’s difficult for one single teacher to provide personalized attention to a classroom of 30 students.
AI can address this problem with customizable interfaces catered to a student’s specific needs. It can also adapt to a student’s ongoing learning needs, particularly those with neurodiversity or physical differences.
Some AI can customize learning activities and content in real time. It can continuously assess and adjust to the student, providing immediate feedback when possible. This technology ends up creating more accessible learning opportunities and addresses learning disparities.
The risks of AI for education.
Many are skeptical of AI for educational use for multiple reasons.
Cheating
One of the biggest concerns for educators is students using AI to cheat and plagiarize. Teachers fear that students will copy entire AI-written essays, use AI to answer math equations, or turn to AI for answers instead of relying on their own critical thinking.
Intellectual property is another concern since AI doesn’t list its sources or offer proper credit. Students may believe they don’t need to provide sources or respect an artist’s work.
Educators will need to conduct open discussions on using AI ethically and emphasize that AI shouldn’t replace a student’s work. Instead, AI is a tool to brainstorm and aid a student in the classroom.
Misinformation
AI is still a newer piece of technology, so it must be taught how to respond to queries. As it scours the internet, the technology cannot fully discriminate between fact and fiction, resulting in incorrect answers.
Students must understand that AI is a tool for research and not an authority on a subject. As they use AI in the classroom, students will need to fact-check and validate their sources. Teachers may also need extra time to write very specific prompts that leave no room for AI error. Thankfully, AI companies are developing prompts for AI to eliminate errors.
Losing critical thinking skills
Relying on AI and modern technology leads to a bigger issue — losing the ability to think critically. When students turn to AI to answer their questions or provide immediate assistance, they fail to exercise the part of the brain that powers through difficult tasks.
Students may quit too easily and fail to overcome frustration with tasks they can’t immediately solve. They may also be quick to assume they’re not intelligent enough since they can’t rival the speed of technology. Fearing outside judgment can detriment their skills over time and their ability to persevere.
Final thoughts on AI for education.
Successfully integrating AI in the classroom will depend on a number of factors. Those developing AI should intend to make it collaborative and built with teachers’ input. A multi-stakeholder approach ensures that teachers are effectively aided in the classroom and that students receive the best possible classroom tools. Staying ahead of tech trends and implementing policy regulations will help protect students and teachers from the pitfalls of AI and effectively prepare for the future of AI in education. Critical thinking needs to be involved in all steps of implementing AI into the classroom.
Frequently asked questions about AI for education.
How is AI being used in education?
AI’s most popular use in education is data-driven decision-making. The technology can identify trends in vast amounts of data to develop curriculums and advance teaching methods. It is also being used to automate repetitive tasks, like summarizing administrative meetings and customizing individualized learning for each student.
AI in higher education can check for plagiarism prevention and provide instant feedback for students.
How will AI change education in the future?
AI potentially has the power to teach any student who wants to learn. It can eliminate the education gap and put learning in the hands of any eager student. In the future, AI will continue to address individualized learning and develop personalized teaching methods that uniquely cater to a specific student.
How has AI revolutionized education?
AI has already revolutionized education by acting as a classroom aid to both students and teachers. Most notably, it can automate repetitive tasks or summarize a PDF document, which frees up time for more teacher and student connections. Plus, the technology can offer students feedback in real time, so students can identify gaps in their skills faster and adjust for the future. AI has the power to advance teaching methods, leading to more human-led interactions and students receiving the help they need to succeed.
Will teachers know if you are using AI?
Yes, teachers can use AI detection tools to determine whether students are using AI or evaluate the information themselves. Many AI detection tools analyze language patterns and determine the likelihood that a student used AI to complete their work. Also, many teachers have the wisdom and experience to identify a student’s style and capabilities and suspect whether a student relied on AI. Plus, since AI doesn’t always supply the correct information, teachers can check for natural inconsistencies within the answers.
Can teachers tell if something is written by AI?
Yes, many teachers can determine if AI wrote an essay versus a student. First, teachers can use AI detection tools to analyze language patterns and check for plagiarism. Also, educators can compare the writing with the student’s previous work to determine whether the student is using unusual language or phrasing in their writing. Since AI writing is not yet advanced, teachers can still easily suspect whether a student submitted AI-generated work.
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