Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think like humans and imitate their actions. The term can also be applied to any machine that exhibits characteristics associated with the human mind, such as learning and problem solving. AI technology brings many benefits in various fields, including education, and many researchers indicate that AI and machine learning can raise the level of education. While the methods of learning and teaching students are constantly changing, AI helps us in this through the following points:
Flexibility in study time
AI-based applications provide students with the opportunity to study at times that suit them, and students can get feedback from teachers during regular study times. AI applications also provide students with global access to learning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is noteworthy that any student can learn everything according to his own speed and ability, without referring to the teacher, and students from all over the world can access high-quality education without incurring travel and living expenses.
Providing students with a variety of options
Many students need extra help outside the classroom, whether it’s homework help or test preparation. It can be difficult to find teachers who have enough free time to meet these needs. AI apps provide this to students, meaning that help is provided to the student according to his or her specific needs. AI tutors and chatbots can do an excellent job of helping students deal with various aspects of learning outside the classroom. Despite the constant need for teachers, AI tools can help students work on their weaknesses.
Identifying students’ skills and making suggestions that suit them
Personalized learning programs can be created for students based on their educational experience and knowledge. Using AI, which has recently enabled students to take a personalized approach to learning programs based on their experiences and preferences, AI can adapt to each student’s knowledge level, learning pace, and desired goals and enhance their learning. In addition, AI-powered solutions can analyze students’ previous learning history, identify their weaknesses, and suggest the most appropriate courses for them to improve their performance, which positively reflects on their learning and provides many opportunities for appropriate individual learning.
It is worth noting that AI-based solutions can adapt to students’ education level, learning speed, and current educational goals; AI-powered applications can analyze students’ previous learning history, identify weaknesses, and provide courses based on this information. As a result, AI and its applications provide a variety of options depending on the student’s needs, as AI-based solutions can adapt to enable students to help with their weaknesses, and provide educational materials based on their weaknesses, such as if the student takes a test before starting to use the application; the application analyzes it and provides appropriate tasks and courses.
Providing virtual mentors to follow up with students
AI-based platforms provide virtual mentors to track students’ progress, and although only human teachers can understand their students’ needs better, it is good to get instant feedback from the virtual teacher.
Students get quick answers
Quick responses are one of the most important benefits that AI-based applications give students, as there is nothing more frustrating than a student getting an answer to his question after three days, and AI can help students find answers to the most common student questions in seconds through automation support and conversational intelligence.
Enabling distance education for students around the world
AI provides many opportunities for sharing knowledge and learning around the world, as AI enables students to study different courses and training programs, in addition to providing many platforms that contain interactive educational materials from the best teachers. AI also provides opportunities for students who speak different languages or have visual or hearing problems. For example, the Presentation Translator app is an AI-based solution that generates instant translations, thus enabling students to listen or read in their native language.
Specialized Special Needs Education
AI allows students to focus on their individual needs, and many large education platforms such as Carnegie Learning are investing in AI to provide more personalized courses, as a result of which learners work with the materials they are ready for, fill gaps in their knowledge, and enrich their education. As AI becomes more intelligent, it has become possible to scan and analyze students’ facial expressions, for example, if a lesson is too difficult, the platform can change the lesson according to the student’s need.
The importance of AI for faculty in the field of education
Not only students, but teachers can also benefit from AI applications, as follows:
Identifying students’ weaknesses to develop the curriculum
AI provides insight into weaknesses, as different training courses allow you to see gaps in students’ knowledge. For example, the Coursera platform can notify the teacher if many students choose incorrect answers to a particular question, giving the teacher the opportunity to pay attention to a weakness in a point in their students. Just as AI can customize courses for students, it can do the same for teachers by analyzing students’ abilities and learning history. AI also enables teachers to get a clear picture of which subjects and lessons need to be re-evaluated. This analysis enables teachers to create the best educational program for all students by analyzing the specific needs of each student. Teachers and professors can adjust their courses to address the most common knowledge gaps or challenging areas before a student falls too far behind their peers.
Better Curriculum Development
Modern technologies such as VR and gamification help engage students in the learning process, making it more interactive and giving them the opportunity to find a good teacher. It is worth noting that educational platforms have many teachers, which gives students the opportunity to communicate with specialized teachers from other countries based on teaching experience and personal skills.
Answering students’ frequently asked questions
It is well known that many teachers do not have free time for students after spending long hours teaching at school, and here AI teachers and chatbots are an ideal solution under these circumstances, taking into account that a chatbot cannot completely replace the teacher. A chatbot can provide an individual learning experience for the student without the need for a teacher to answer questions throughout the day. In fact, an AI-powered chatbot can answer students’ questions with a response rate of 2.7 seconds.
Frequently asked questions can also be answered by accessing the school’s full knowledge base, through AI-powered chat programs that can answer a variety of general and frequently asked questions that students usually ask without involving a faculty member. It is worth noting that AI allows the teacher more time to focus on lesson planning, researching curricula, or improving student engagement.
It is worth noting that during the teaching process, students have a variety of questions. While some of them are very specific and require the attention of the professor, many of these questions are common and general, and faculty members are inundated with questions on a daily basis, making it difficult for students to access the necessary information. AI can help students find answers to their questions within seconds, and they do not need to waste time trying to contact faculty members or feel embarrassed to ask questions in front of their colleagues.
Automating routine tasks
Automating a variety of manual processes can free up teachers’ time to focus on their core competencies. Most teachers and faculty members admit that they struggle with time management, which is understandable given the number of tasks on their daily to-do lists. While teachers would like to spend more time teaching students face-to-face, diving into research and continuing their education, they do not have enough time for that, so AI can help save teachers’ time by automating tasks, analyzing student performance, and bridging the learning gap.
It is noteworthy that the power of artificial intelligence can automate most mundane tasks, including administrative work, grading papers, assessing learning styles, and answering general questions, according to a Telegraph survey. Teachers spend 31% of their time planning lessons, grading tests, and doing administrative work.