How AI Will Change A Classroom Forever

Source: TechStory, Shruti Jani
Photo: Business Reportek

The AI revolution is on its cusp at this very moment in history. While we have not even experienced one-tenth of the prowess of artificial intelligence, it is here to change and evolve many systems. One of them is education. Often known to be one of the most challenging environments, a classroom has unlimited potential to be revolutionized by AI. Here is how:

Smart Content Interface
One of the biggest holdups about education with respect to students is that it can get boring. Be it textbooks, PPT, or even a chalkboard – these mediums are text-based, or 2D picture based at the most. This makes a student’s experience extremely monotonous and boring. AI can enhance this experience.

Artificial intelligence can help in Increasing the dimensionality of courses in an efficient manner. For example, there can be the digitization of textbooks, making course learning interactive and also inculcating virtual and augmented reality into the mix.

One such software called Cram101 uses and reads the contents of textbooks and makes them more user-friendly. It cuts the jargon, explains terms, and visualizes processes for students.

Enhancing Administrative Efficiency
A lot of works in the realm of teaching are administrative in nature, especially in schools. Activities like grading, prepping course outlines, and even attendance are all grunt works a teacher has to undertake. These activities can become taxing and time-consuming, especially in large classes.

Artificial intelligence can step in here to do one thing it does best – making processes efficient. In a few years, it will, in its true sense, replace humans in administrative works. Grading will become faster fairer, and to the point. While this may still be a challenge for text-based subjects like English and History, objective disciplines like Math and Physics can be much more easily overtaken by AI.

Course Feedback
One of the main ways to improve school curriculums is through teacher and student feedback circles. However, the only thing we are trying to improve is the way teachers teach and the way students learn and not the course material itself. Textbooks are given an unquestioned space in the classrooms.

AI will help change this by providing robust feedback systems for course materials, be it the content, the demonstration, or descriptions. It will keep course materials through a constant cycle of improvements depending on the context, classroom, and the course.

Data Mining Systems
With the advent of AI, it will be a need for all information to be digital. We are digital natives after all. This also means that the internet is a constant information update and the world is evolving at an exponential pace.

AI can help to extract, understand, and mine this information for classrooms. Thus, a textbook needs not be reprinted if a new development has been made. AI information mining systems can receive the information and digital coursebooks can update this information in an instant.

Making Education Customizable
One of the main setbacks of classroom learning is that it treats all students the same. In reality, all students in a classroom stand on different pedestals. While some may easily be able to grasp scientific concepts, they could be having a hard time with the social sciences. Textbooks and teachers generally don’t have the luxury to consider the needs of every student and his or her potentials.

Artificial Intelligence can help with this by making the lessons catered to the user. Current speculations are that learning can become machine-assisted for each student in one classroom. The same coursework can be explained differently based on the student’s history and needs. A teacher will only be present in the class for supervision and support.

AI Support and Tutoring
We have spoken before how AI can be used for customer care and support services in the commercial market. In the same manner, it can be used for troubleshooting and doubt-solving in the student community.

Teachers are often torn between students to answer doubts and cater to every person’s queries. Even students generally show hesitance when asking doubts or questions to teachers – who can often get quite intimidating.

Now, with AI troubleshooting doubts, not only there will be a problem solver who comes without judgment but also something that will be there with you 24/7. Be it in the class, or at home, or whenever a random doubt pops up – AI troubleshooters will be there to help.

As discussed before, while AI is here to help many systems in classrooms, it is also here to make some intangible changes. Here are some of the cultural changes AI can bring in the classroom:

Revolutionizing the Role of a Teacher
Teachers will be an indispensable part of education. They will be integral to a classroom. But, the one thing artificial intelligence can do is to provide a shift in the classroom for the role of a teacher. When it takes over the grunt work for a teacher, it is one load off of the curator of the classroom.

But further, when it takes over the course materials and course instruction, the teacher becomes a human asset. She/ He turns from an instructor to a facilitator. AI will be a supplement to the teachers and vice versa and soon, the two roles will become interdependent.

Learning Through Trial and Error
Many times, students are scared to fail which leads them to not even taking the risk of trying. For many students, it can be debilitating in unfathomable ways. They get scared to answer in class, ask doubts at the risk of looking naive or just generally get text-based by authority figures like teachers.

With the introduction of artificial intelligence, there can more often than not be a judgment-free environment for students to learn. They can ask doubts hundreds of times and get them resolved in a much less judgemental way. Or at least, that is what the vision is.

Many of these points work on presumptuous scenarios. Some things with respect to AI can also go wrong unexpectedly. But, in the scenario that they do go right, an exponential amount of experiences can change and those changes in the classrooms will last a long time.

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