With time, Artificial Intelligence(AI) is becoming increasingly a part of our lives and it is therefore becoming difficult to imagine life without it. It has been incorporated into almost every system we utilize, including mobile applications and websites. and it is increasingly used to perform the most complex tasks to the most trivial ones. It is therefore very important to understand its impact on our lives which are both good and bad.
For example: Back in the day, when I was a kid, there was no gadget available for us to remember anything but now even the most simple things, like remembering names, and addresses of people and even calculating (4+5), we use calculators.
It is readily accessible to us at our fingertips for example, virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, which is good in a way as it saves our time but also has bad because now our brain is working less in remembering names and if we are out of practice, it would later be very difficult for us to recall names without using any gadget.
We will first understand the advantages and implications of using Artificial intelligence in the education sector and then what challenges and considerations we would be aware of to efficiently and judiciously utilize the same.
Artificial Intelligence And Students
The education sector is also not left untouched and many developments have happened in this area in the recent past. Many schools have incorporated AI in their systems that not only help the administration but also the students and teachers in many ways.
- Learners-Centered AI tools
Learners-centered AI tools can easily adapt and enrich the content, as a large library of books and educational content can be added or updated within their software, assist students with their academic and personal problems in unique and personalized ways, and inform and advise students.
These tools are designed to provide a personalized learning experience for students with diverse needs. They can utilize the data and provide insights on various aspects of students’ learning. The weaknesses and strengths that the student possesses, adapt to the pace and the understanding of the student.
By determining the learning pattern of the student, the teachers will also have an idea of the topics that students are taking time to understand or in which subjects most of the students are falling behind and finding ways to address them. This ensures the overall development of the students and promotes inclusivity.
- Intelligent Tutoring Systems(ITS)
This shift from using traditional systems to new ones is often very swift but often goes unnoticed in the ways it is changing the lives of students. Intelligent tutoring systems offer adaptive learning experiences that can enrich and enhance educational outcomes.
They can cater to the needs of students by using AI-enabled simulations, making learning more engaging. For learners with special education needs, artificial intelligence can provide them with support and additional resources to equalize access to refined educational content. One of the significant improvements that AI tools have brought is the learning outcomes of learners with special educational needs (SEN).
It helps in creating a community where the SEN students can participate more, and promote more inclusivity. The tailored approach adopted by Artificial Intelligence helps struggling students so that they can catch up academically.
Otherwise, they can lead to educational setbacks that are disadvantageous to these students. This can potentially address the gap in educational equity, as these students often lack access to individualized support that can be pivotal in their academic Development.
- Addition of Digital Elements:
AI-enabled simulations comprise Gamification of the classrooms, the inclusion of Chatbots, Virtual reality, and augmented reality (AR). These elements can make the learning experience more interactive and immersive.
Their inclusion in science and history education can foster the exploration of scientific phenomena, historical events, and cultural practices that are difficult or impossible to replicate in a physical classroom.
AI-enabled simulation provides a supportive environment for students belonging to Indigenous and minority cultures to embrace and create a sense of appreciation. Also, they help students with special educational needs not to limit themselves within the range of their disabilities.
Gamification of the classrooms helps in improving the attendance and engagement of the students. Many AI tools are available online which can create quizzes and more interactive videos. Features like the addition of a points table, leaderboards, and badges can be utilized by teachers to motivate the students and create a healthy competitive environment.
Reality beyond reality is Augmented and virtual reality. Augmented reality works by adding digital elements to the user’s surroundings by using the device camera in real-time. For example, the game Pokémon GO.
This fabricates a three-dimensional thrilling experience for the students which makes learning and fun go hand-in-hand.
Chatbots are yet another AI element that institutions are using to solve students’ problems faster and more efficiently. From questions related to admission and examination to personal issues and mental health, they can ask them to get a comprehensive and personalized solution to their unique problems anonymously.
Challenges:
- Integrating AI in education faces plenty of challenges to provide equity and inclusion of different groups. The issues related to access and the digital divide highlight the need that is still there to bridge the technological gaps and address the socio-technical divide that leads to the AI divide.
- Another equally critical consequence is the socio-emotional implications that AI has in education, including the potential reduction in human interaction and its impact on social skills and mental health.
- Technical factors, such as technology availability, and broadband speed, are essential for the effective use of AI tools. These technologies often require internet access for optimal functionality, as the internet enables AI systems to access databases, online resources, and real-time data essential for up-to-date information. For instance, cloud-based AI services and interactive tools depend heavily on internet connectivity to offer adaptive, real-time, and enriched educational experiences.
- Social and Cultural factors also play a role in how AI is integrated into education systems, potentially creating disparities in the quality of education received. Such socio-economic and cultural divides can lead to a widening gap in educational outcomes, reinforcing existing inequalities.
- Some AI technologies can present financial barriers for many schools and families. Thus, integrating AI tools, such as game-based learning, VR, and AR, can widen the gap between resource-rich and resource-poorer schools and families.
The cost of VR/AR equipment and content development can be prohibitively expensive, leading to a situation where institutions that can afford these technologies provide enhanced educational experiences to students who already have more advantages, thus exacerbating existing inequalities.
- AI-based tools once incorporated collect and modify a lot of data that is sensitive such as student information, etc, so they possess issues of data security and accountability. Who will be held responsible if there is a leakage of this information, and what are the laws that companies should abide by are some of the concerns and are very real because data breaches are indeed making headlines. So, addressing these issues should be an utmost priority.
Conclusion:
So, Artificial Intelligence is playing and will continue to play a very crucial role in enhancing the quality of education ensuring learners coming from different ethnic and social backgrounds can grow together.
Promote inclusivity by addressing the needs of learners with special educational needs. But with that, we have to keep in mind the challenges that come with it. Addressing them simultaneously is not only beneficial but is also necessary as negligence could lead to unwanted consequences.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Artificial Intelligence, by using adaptive technology, provides individualized learning experiences that can make education more accessible to underserved communities. Tools powered with AI can help bridge gaps that are created because of language, and ethnic backgrounds and deliver content in multiple formats. It can provide tailored resources and enable learners to progress at their own pace regardless of their geographical location or available resources.
Yes, as biases are always going to be there. When teachers grade and mark the assessments and assignments, there are biases in the checking, which most of the time is done subconsciously, not intentionally. But in the case of AI, the human subjectivity is removed, and fairer evaluations ensure all the students regardless of what background they are from or what their unique characteristics are, are treated equally.
AI promotes inclusivity by offering tools that can cater to the needs of diverse learners. Speech-to-text, real-time translation, and personalized learning pathways are some of the assisted technologies that can tackle the barriers for equality in education that are language, different learning capabilities, etc.
Virtual tutoring, open-source educational tools, and automated content delivery can make the quality of education more accessible and scalable. It can help to shrink the gap between the wealthy and disadvantaged groups of students, by lowering the cost of educational resources and high-quality learning materials.
While there are significant benefits of AI in education, there surely are some potential risks that have to be handled. They include concerns related to data privacy and mounting dependency on technology.Hence it is crucial to implement ethical AI practices, comply with data privacy regulations, and create transparent and accountable AI systems that prioritize data protection and fairness in an educational setting.