How AI Impacts Education
Today’s Article
Education is an area that has unlimited potential to utilize innovation. The ability to tap into new technologies to enhance and accelerate the learning process can streamline everything from admissions and grading to student access to vital resources.
Automating and Expediting Administrative Tasks
One of the simplest but impactful things AI can do for the educational space is to speed up the administrative process both for institutions and educators. The tedious process of grading homework, evaluating essays and measuring student responses can require valuable time from lecturers and teachers who would prefer to focus on their lesson planning and one-on-one time with students.
Machines are already capable of automating the grading process for multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank tests. Soon, they will be able to assist and eventually replace human grading for written response work as well. Admissions processes can also be streamlined and improved, reducing the workload for high volume admissions offices. Automating the process of paperwork and support for students with common admissions questions via chatbot and interactive website materials can improve the process for both administrators and future students.
Outside the Classroom Support
Until very recently, students were forced to rely on their teachers and parents, who have limited time and availability, when assistance was needed. Tutoring and additional educational support couldn’t be guaranteed at all grade or socioeconomic levels. Through AI, tutoring and study programs are growing more advanced, capable of teaching fundamentals to students struggling with basic concepts. Already, there are intelligent tutoring systems such as Carnegie Learning that use data to provide feedback and work with students directly. These tools are designed to support teacher and tutor approaches to student difficulties but soon will be more advanced and capable of providing specific details for students as well. In the future, visual and dynamic learning channels outside the classroom will become not only more prevalent but capable of supporting a range of learning styles, all while addressing common questions and concerns students have that cannot be readily addressed by teachers, teaching assistants, tutors or parents.
Adaptability of Assessment and Educational Support Software
Individualized learning offers many benefits for students with an array of learning styles. But in many settings, it’s not a viable solution. One teacher with 20 or more students has limited time and resources to customize the curriculum. AI offers an opportunity to tap into the adaptive learning processes already being featured in assessment software, learning games and digital textbooks
to individualize learning. Tools that can highlight and emphasize key areas where students are suffering allow teachers to focus on facilitating the learning process and offer the one-on-one support that students at all levels need.
The Future of Education Is Here
There are startups in the education space taking on education in this way already and countless more trying to break in. With this vested interest by the startup community, it’s no doubt that change is happening and AI will become more integrated very soon. AI will be a major part of that, as students, teachers and administrators all benefit from a smarter, more personalized approach to education.