10 Examples of How Artificial Intelligence is Improving Education

AI will change how everyone learns, and here’s 10 examples of education-specific uses for Artificial Intelligence.

With technology becoming far more integrated with education to enhance every aspect of the experience for both students and teachers, AI is becoming a far more integral piece of the puzzle. AI is in the here and now, and this emerging technology is altering the educational landscape, but while there are ethical considerations, there are many benefits of how AI is improving education. Here are 10 examples of AI in the educational landscape:

Differentiated and Individualised Learning

Adaptive learning is an educational method where AI can customise resources and activities to the needs of each learner. Because many students have different learning styles, it falls to the educator to change their teaching style. But now, there are several companies developing digital platforms with AI to provide tailored learning to students all the way up to university level by identifying gaps in their knowledge. As AI becomes more sophisticated, it could get to the point where the machine could read the expression on someone's face if they're not able to grasp a subject, making for the greatest interaction between man and machine, where a machine can teach a human.

Intelligent Tutoring Systems

This is a computer system powered by machine learning algorithms to provide adaptive lesson plans based on a learning need and pace. Intelligent tutoring systems analyse data to understand learning patterns and then provide customised suggestions, feedback, and exercises.

Teacher and AI Collaboration

AI is being applied in education in a number of ways relating to testing systems and developing skills, but the hope is that AI will fill the gaps both in the learners and the teachers, allowing schools and educators to do more than ever by being more efficient and streamlining admin tasks, allowing teachers to adapt and be better at their jobs on a more human level.

Automating Admin Tasks

A teacher will spend a lot of time grading homework and tests, and as this is one of the most frustrating areas for teachers, AI will be able to evaluate essays and assignments with greater efficiency and accuracy. This will save time, but will also ensure scoring consistency and hopefully eliminate bias, including unconscious biases that teachers may have, which can be invaluable to teaching educators the importance of grading everybody fairly.

Smarter Content Creation

Lesson plans can be one of the most insurmountable challenges for a teacher because of the students' unique requirements on how each one learns and understands. Smart content creation refers to using AI to enhance educational content by providing detailed insight into student data, resulting in more personalised and engaging material. This can then create customised environments depending on the outcomes which could potentially allow students to create a lesson plan that suits their requirements. For example, interactive quizzes, virtual or augmented reality, or chatbots. Chat bot for businesses are an invaluable tool that's currently being used, and incorporating web chat for website functions is becoming far more commonplace in today's world, and it's very likely we will see it leap into education.

Virtual Assistants

As many teachers can be bound by administrative tasks, leaving them with less time to plan and prepare lessons, AI could be leveraged as a virtual assistant to take on the more repetitive and time-consuming activities. This frees up the teachers' time to focus on the more human aspects of teaching, such as interacting with students after class. Virtual assistants can also help learners by providing customised feedback and providing additional resources according to that learner's needs.

Predictive Modelling

There is a lot of data available on students that can provide insight into how they perform and learn. Learning analytics is one tool that can be used to track performance and engagement, but predictive modelling is the other side of that coin, which analyses large amounts of data to predict various outcomes such as performance. This doesn't just help teachers, but it can also help parents, schools, and other institutions set customised benchmarks throughout the learning experience as educators can offer guidance based on the predicted performance gleaned from previous test results. Data and analysis are critical in education, as this can improve student performance, not just by giving a student additional support, but also providing a learner with a greater understanding of their progression, which can boost their sense of self and the learning experience.

Universal Access for Learners

The classroom can be on a global scale thanks to artificial intelligence. Tools such as Presentation Translator act as a plug-in for PowerPoint to create real-time subtitles, which opens up possibilities for learners who may not be able to attend school due to illness or additional needs such as hearing problems, creating a greater sense of togetherness.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP is part of AI that deals with a computer system’s understanding and interpretation of human language. Tools like ChatGPT can be used by students to help with various aspects of preparing for an exam, doing homework, and providing a great learning experience. There is, of course, the potential to misuse ChatGPT, but students should not use it to do their homework for them, and likewise, teachers should not see a tool like ChatGPT as a shortcut to avoiding learning. But tools like NLP can augment learners' needs.

Immersive Technologies

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have become incredibly popular in the classroom over the last few years. They can enhance a learner's perception of reality and immerse themselves in the experience and this has a number of potentials in education. For example, it allows those with additional learning needs to feel part of the experience. Additionally, those with kinesthetic learning styles will benefit from a more hands-on approach to learning.

Artificial intelligence is changing the way everybody thinks about information, and AI provides a number of advantages for learners and teachers, but it's critical to remember that AI has a number of limitations, especially as it cannot replace a teacher. While AI has the potential to be misused by students, AI in education yields a lot of potential and could change, not just how students learn, but how we all learn.