AI in education

Here’s shedding some light on the limitation of AI in education

Artificial intelligence is no longer a buzzword. It’s already being applied in various industries giving companies the edge to sustain in the ever-changing competitive business landscape. Nonetheless, AI in education has triggered the growth of online learning, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Students, currently, are enjoying the modernized version of lessons, empowering them to learn at their own pace. AI tools are helping teachers too to provide personalized learning to each student. Nonetheless, many are doubting the real benefits of AI and machine learning in education, wondering if machines will truly help students in learning effectively. This cannot be overlooked as every coin has two sides. This means, along with the benefits of AI in education, we also have some limitations.

What AI in education is capable of?

As mentioned above, one of the most significant benefits of AI in education is personalized learning. An ever-increasing number of schools are moving towards personalized learning experience for students. AI tools and platforms can develop courses and curriculum based on students’ strengths and weaknesses. Platforms like Kidaptive and Century Tech are designed specifically to offer personalized learning to students. Moreover, it can also carry out predictive analysis on the academic performance of students based on fundamental patterns of each student.

Other technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, gamification, etc. are encouraging more engagement and deeply involving students in the entire education process. Artificial intelligence technology can help teachers easily detect the weaknesses of students. For example, Coursera is an AI education platform that notifies teachers when most of the students gave the wrong answer to a question. It sheds light on what material they should concentrate on.

Machine learning provides an automatic grading system. This can eliminate the presence of biased grading that is dependent on the teacher’s relationship with any student. Teachers can have a comprehensive overview of a student’s performance in school and not get involved in tedious tasks of grading students.

Artificial intelligence is also ensuring that disabled students get equal access to quality education. Natural language processing, speech recognition, etc. are helping students with learning difficulties. Nuance is one such speech recognition tool that transcribes words for students with writing challenges. Such solutions can also empower teachers to offer better study materials for students and cope up with the changing demands of students and the education system overall.

What AI in education is incapable of?

One major concern of AI in education is the loss of teachers’ jobs. However, that is never going to happen. Let’s remind ourselves that artificial intelligence is eventually a machine, a coded program that lacks the human touch. It is not capable of expressing feelings, emphasizing, being able to support students when they truly need a mentor. A teacher or mentor will always be needed and machines cannot replace them.

Digitization of data is growing rapidly. Just like any other data breach or security hack, students’ data is also prone to hacking. Having important data in the wrong hands can put the education institution at risk of misusing personal data. Hence, developers, education institutions, service providers, etc. should be transparent, ethical to ensure privacy and follow best practices.

While personalized learning is one significant advantage, it can impact the personal interaction of students. They might lose confidence in making new friends or introducing themselves at workplaces in the future. Teachers while using AI platforms should also focus on developing the social skills of students that can boost their confidence and eliminate self-doubt.

In the end, it’s about balancing the pros and cons and help students thrive in today’s digital world.