Almost as soon as the chatbot system called ChatGPT was opened to the public, many schools in the United States of America blocked the ability to access the relevant web portal through their computers so that both students and teachers could not access it. The reason for this is that the assignments assigned at school can be completed through ChatGPT. University students do not hesitate to use ChatGPT for their assignments as much as possible.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing, and Google’s forthcoming Bard large language model, which is considered to be more powerful than ChatGPT, may affect the education sector in different ways. It should not be forgotten that the sector is endowed with a set of productive opportunities as well as risks. As such, a broad discourse is being developed among educators around the world about the educational role of artificial intelligence.
This article on how artificial intelligence can be effectively used in children’s education is based on an article written by Jo Adetunji, a British educationalist and researcher, to The Conversation.
Differentiated instruction
One of the main tasks of teachers is to provide instruction according to the needs of each student. In general, the intelligence levels of some students are not at par, so they need to be given separate attention. But since in European countries there are about 20 students in one class (in Sri Lanka, this number exceeds 40). Doing so is inefficient and not systematic.
But an artificial intelligence system accepts to do it. It can be easily calculated whether the assignment assigned to the student is completed successfully and how much time he or she spends on it. If a child shows a failing attitude towards academic problems, he or she is given more attention. It can also provide hints and clues to solve related problems. It is also possible to give assignments with more complex and challenging problems systematically to the students who complete the assignments successfully.
Inputs fueled by these concepts will play an important role in future classrooms because a teacher’s ability to provide real-time feedback depends on the number of students in the class.
Intelligent textbooks
California’s Stanford University has developed a modern software called “Inquire”. Installable on iPad tablets, it brings the lessons textually closer to children’s reading. Observed closely by the child, it explains the meaning of difficult words in simple language and provides facilities for highlighting and commenting where necessary. It has an interactive interface. This kind of software is called ‘Intelligent textbooks’.
Intuitive textbooks can also ask questions at the end that relate to the chapters that the student has read, thereby developing the student’s focus and memory of the lesson. In addition to textual content, thematic images, videos and audio clips can also be brought closer to make them more immersive.
Improved assessment
The purpose of an assessment is to check whether the student has actually learned what is being taught. An assessment or test comes in many guises. These include multiple choice questions, short answer questions, essay questions as well as map markers. Scholars agree that the shape of evaluations has changed very little throughout the last century. Sometimes they are monotonous and sometimes they can be cruel to the mood of a student. That is why its face should be changed with the use of artificial intelligence.
Harvard University runs a prototype project called Reach Every Reader that can bring a solution for this. Florida State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are also creating educational games that can be played between children and parents. It also includes children’s games that fall under the category of role-play based on real-life characters and events. It enables to enhance the education of children in primary grades as well as to get an assessment of their educational level.
Duolingo is a company based in the United States. It’s artificial intelligence and machines
Using machine learning, a system is being tested to test the English language proficiency of university students and government institutions. These assessments begin with a very simple questionnaire. It encourages the assessee to ask progressively more complex questions based on the accuracy of the answers given. It enables a more nuanced understanding of the student’s strengths and weaknesses.
Personalized Learning / Personalized Learning
Personalized learning here is not education provided by private schools or universities. An educational system based on the student’s thoughts and goals. It is up to the student to decide what to study according to his own will and intention. The teacher’s role here takes the place of a facilitator. With the advent of artificial intelligence, those systems can be credited with providing instruction and guidance that is unique to each student. Artificial learning systems (AI Adaptive learning systems) that are being developed to adapt to different situations will quickly identify the needs of students and help him or her succeed in a way that no human teacher can.
Chatbot systems of various companies emerging nowadays have the ability to answer a question in a more natural way. Whether it is audio or text, from ChatGPT to Alexa, Siri, it is a process that is still integrated into everyday life. Chatbot systems designed specifically for the education sector will be able to provide specific advice and help to each student.
None of this is to say that the role of teacher should be replaced by artificial intelligence. It is not possible to say for certain whether this will happen in the future. But since there is a risk of derailing the giant called technology, the human teacher will be an essential figure there too.
