Written by: Salim Sheikh, Executive Contributor, in collaboration with Fatima Al Husseiny.
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In this article Salim Sheikh, Executive Contributor, teams up with guest author Fatima Al Husseiny to advocate topics relating to "Tech for Social Good" and "AI for Society." Their joint goal is to help raise awareness about AI & Emerging Technologies for all people and cultures.
In this article, we posit our thoughts on the following question:
How can Artificial Intelligence be the game changer in the educational journey of the future generation? What are the significant advantages of integrating AI into education?
Overview
Artificial Intelligence (henceforth, AI) has already been used in education, especially in various tools and assessment platforms that aid skill development. The goal is that as AI educational solutions continue to develop, they will help close gaps in learning and teaching and help schools and teachers to accomplish more than before. Giving teachers the time and freedom to teach understanding and adaptability—uniquely human talents where computers would struggle—AI may encourage efficiency, personalization, and the streamlining of administrative operations. The ideal application of AI in education is where teachers and machines collaborate to achieve the best results for learners. The importance of exposing students to and utilizing technology in our educational institutions cannot be overstated.
Today's students need to be ready for the future, where AI is a reality.
In the sections below, we present the advantages and benefits of AI for learners, educators, and faculty members.
AI for Learners
The main objective of a student is to take in as much valuable information as possible in the shortest amount of time to obtain a degree and be competitive in the workforce.
AI can assist students in making their educational process better by:
Self-Paced Learning Opportunities
Young learners enjoy utilizing their cell phones or tablets to do daily work because they spend so much time on the go. Applications powered by AI enable students to study in their spare time by focusing on a task for 10 or 15 minutes. Teachers can provide real-time feedback to students as well.
Personalized Learning Opportunities
AI-based solutions are adaptable to the learner's interests, knowledge level, and other characteristics. The system typically aids students in overcoming their limitations. For instance, a diagnostic test may be taken before using an app; the app then analyzes the results and suggests appropriate learning activities. AI-based systems can adjust to students' academic standing, rate of learning, and present educational objectives.
Tutoring
Many learners need additional assistance outside of the classroom. Finding teachers with enough spare time to help students with their schoolwork or prepare for exams can take time and effort. AI tutors and chatbots are effective at assisting students with a variety of outside-the-classroom learning challenges. Although they cannot replace teachers, AI tools can help learners strengthen their areas of weakness.
Quick Responses
The questions change as learners progress through their education. Many of these questions are typical and generic, but some are very specific and demand a professor's attention. Daily inquiries from students make it challenging for faculty to provide essential information to learners. Students can quickly obtain solutions to their investigations with the support of artificial intelligence. They can find what they need with a click of a button instead of wasting time contacting faculty members or feeling awkward about asking questions in front of their peers.
24/7 access
Thanks to AI, students can now learn from any location at any time. 24/7 access makes it simpler to find the time to learn while mastering the key components of time management because each student learns at their own pace.
Additionally, students from around the globe have access to top-notch education without having to pay for travel or living expenses.
AI for Educators
Lesson planning, teaching, grading, mentoring, classroom management, staying current with technology and new pedagogical practices, tracking student progress, and other administrative tasks are just a few of educators' many responsibilities. Even though AI has significantly advanced since the 1950s, when the term and work concerning intelligent tutoring systems were first developed, a (human) educator will always be needed to facilitate all activities in a classroom.
Importantly, a (human) educator is able to:
Identify Gaps (in competency, cognition and so forth)
During training sessions, instructors can pinpoint where learners' understanding is lacking. For instance, several digital tools or apps may alert the teacher if most students respond incorrectly to a question.
The educator can then focus on remediating the students' recognized weak points and help elevate them. This often requires a degree of “soft skills” which requires a degree of finesse that currently only humans can provide. Additionally, this may extend to “mental health” considerations – something that is becoming increasingly topical in modern classroom settings especially where hybrid and remote learning methods are used.
Boost Learners' Engagement
The educational process is more engaging and enjoyable with the help of contemporary technology like virtual reality (VR) and gamification.
Personalize Topics and Education Programs
AI provides more specialized recommendations and training programs to students; various artificial intelligence-enabled algorithms can analyze their knowledge and interests and act accordingly.
Automate Curriculum Development
The advancement of AI is advantageous to educators. They no longer have to develop a curriculum from scratch. As a result, educators can spend less time looking for the right teaching resources. It is possible to accomplish it by utilizing various computer resources, virtual reality technology, gamification, and machine learning control.
AI for Faculty
Lack of time is the primary problem educators and faculty face – some desire to devote more time to research, while others prefer one-on-one interaction with students.
In this case, AI can help through:
Enhanced Personalization
The student's learning styles and academic backgrounds can be analyzed by an AI-powered application to offer instructors a clear image of the areas that require improvement. Using such an analysis, teachers can design the ideal learning program for each student. In the meantime, teachers or professors might modify their courses to target the most common knowledge gaps in advance by gathering and evaluating data connected to students' weak points.
Task Automation
Administrative and planning responsibilities are too much for instructors and coordinators to handle. They must evaluate each student's learning styles, grade papers, and exams, respond to general questions, and much more. AI tools may save their lives!
Grading
Multiple-choice test grading can now be left to a computer program. Soon, apps powered by AI will also analyze written responses.
Answering Questions
Without consulting the faculty, AI-powered chatbots with access to the school's knowledge base can assist students in finding the answers to a range of general and repetitive questions. With the help of AI and ML apps, various tasks can be automated while learning from each teacher's experience, freeing up more time for crucial facets of teaching.
Analysis
While AI-powered apps help teachers automate tasks, they also collect data for further analysis.
For instance, the program evaluates each test during grading to give teachers insightful feedback about students' academic development and knowledge. These programs can assist teachers in determining which areas of the entire class and each student require additional attention.
Concluding Thoughts
In a nutshell, education is impacted by the rapid development of technology like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and (increasingly) robotics – which are all critical components of an evolving EdTech (Educational Tech) ecosystem.
If the education sector is to truly realize AI's full potential for everyone, the priority should be to continue exposing the next generation to AI early on; doing the utmost to leverage this capability in the classroom of the future.
Author Bios
Fatima Al Husseiny, Editor, Copywriter, and Tech for Social Good Advocate
Fatima is a LinkedIn content creator and is part of LinkedIn for Journalists Premium Program 2022-2023. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Management from the Lebanese International University and BA in English Language and Literature from the Lebanese University. Her research interests are related to Education, Educational Technology, AI, and Social Media. Fatima’s professional goals are related to developing academic research in her fields of interest. She has been awarded two achievement awards for her contributions to Wikipedia and has various certifications from Google, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and Udemy.
Fatima enriches her social responsibility by contributing to educational blogs in reputable media outlets (e.g. Annahar Media Group Website) and content editing in an international context, such as The International Girls Academy, NJ, USA.
Follow Fatima on LinkedIn for more info!
Salim Sheikh, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Over the past 25 years, Salim has built a career in consulting, working both client ‒ and supplier-side as an interim CIO/CTO and a Business Change / Transformation Consultant. facilitating digital and technology transformations programmes that have included rescue & recovery ("turnaround"), process optimisation & improvement and organisational change – across diverse industries in the UK, Europe, Nordics, Turkey, UAE, US, and Australia.
Salim is an Oxford University alumni who also has strong academic roots in Artificial Intelligence (AI). He is a mentor in the “Responsible Tech Program” managed by “All Tech Is Human” where he advocates “AI for Social Good” and “AI for All”.
He authored "Understanding the Role of Artificial Intelligence and Its Future Social Impact" which is available via IGI Global (https://bit.ly/34cfJVf) and Amazon (https://lnkd.in/gbk-zba).
