Learning Just Got Better: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Education

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom often brings up images of robots teaching children. Students interacting with soft-voiced software to get things done. Or, software and machines replacing teachers and educators. Current developments contain a little of all of these stereotypes, but in ways that benefit both students and teachers and make education a lot more responsive to everyone’s needs. Analysts forecast the Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector to grow at a CAGR of 47.77% during the period 2018-2022. Today’s students will work in a future where AI is the reality, so it’s critical that educators incorporate and familiarize students with the technology.    

To better understand the future of AI in the classroom and how it will help teachers and students alike, it is important to see how AI-based education technology is being used in schools and educational institutions right now. 

Remote Learning Is A Challenge

The pandemic caught everyone unprepared — especially teachers. Keeping students engaged is difficult when all you have to work with is a screen. A solution to this is the use of Rev Zoom Live Captions to accurately convert speech into text. The high degree of accuracy of the AI-powered captioning service increases accessibility and makes screen content easier to understand. This is particularly important with students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, when internet connection speeds are not equally great for everyone on a Zoom call, or when not everyone shares the same first language. 

AI in Education is Already Here

Before the pandemic, some schools and educational institutions in Australia were already using AI tools in the classroom to help improve learning outcomes for their students. Both Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) education technology uses artificial intelligence to create more immersive learning environments. The learning experience changes dramatically when students can interact with the environment they are studying. In addition, interactive learning tools allow students to cooperate on educational projects even when they are not in the same place, making real-time learning possible. 

The use of speech-to-text technology and AI powered learning platforms helps enrich students’ learning and can make the teachers’ job much easier. The real benefits of using artificial intelligence in the classroom, however, lie in the very near future of education. The developments we are likely to see revolve around the core capabilities offered by artificial intelligence: 

• Personalization
• Automation
• Adaptation

The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Education 

The classroom of the future will likely employ artificial intelligence to better understand and personalize learning for every single student. In a 2015 interview, Bill Gates explained that his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had invested nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to fund the development of personalized learning technology. 

Teachers, in the past, employed a one-size-fits-all approach to education. Lack of resources and the need to meet specific learning targets by set dates made it necessary to teach to the middle. This ignored the students who outperformed their classmates, and those who were slower to grasp the material. 

Artificial intelligence software that learns and adapts to each student’s individual needs, however, offers the opportunity for teachers to help exactly where they are needed and it will tailor the learning experience so that no student gets left behind. This is the true personalized approach to learning. 

Automation, on the other hand, focuses on making mundane tasks easy for both students and teachers. Students can benefit from using AI technology to make some learning tasks easier. Translating languages in real time, for example, makes knowledge more accessible for students globally. It also helps for students learning a second language.

Teachers can benefit from automation with the introduction of automatic grading software that will free up valuable time currently spent marking student papers. Intelligent teaching assistants that can automate some Q & A tasks teachers perform will allow students to access help whenever they need it without soaking up valuable teacher time. 

The true benefit of using artificial intelligence in a learning environment is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Rev Live Captions are just one real-life example of how AI can help institutions quickly adapt to a developing educational need. Such solutions can help improve student engagement during remote learning and even provide post-meeting transcripts for additional study-aid material.

In the future, education will be faster paced and educational needs much more varied. Recognizing trends before they take hold and adapting quickly is an area in which artificial intelligence can be of huge help.

The educational institution of the future will be able to change its curriculum when necessary. Its students will benefit from supplementary teaching technologies without adding extra burdens on teachers, and teachers will be able to use their time and skills more creatively. 

The Future is Almost Here

A Rand Corporation research paper on the use of artificial intelligence in learning platforms shows that a mix of machine learning and AI tools are already transforming education. This is not happening at the same pace everywhere, however. 

The popular science fiction writer, William Gibson, once said, “The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.” His words ring particularly true when it comes to the application of AI in teaching and learning. The evolution of education has only just begun.

Free eBook: How to Transition to Using More A.I.