When we think of artificial intelligence, we often go to the movies: C3PO, the virtual assistant with a life of her own in Her, and every scary sci-fi droid ever put on celluloid. The truth is that artificial intelligence isn’t really about robots that meet our every need or computers that take over the world but the small, everyday things that we have come to take for granted. The advertisements we see online are targeted specifically based on shopping and surfing habits. Amazon and other sellers offer deals and services based on our GPS location. The virtual assistant in your phone reminds you of meetings and tasks, remembers and joins contacts, and can answer questions about a song on the radio. But how will the surge in artificial intelligence technology affect education in the future? Students are already utilizing artificial intelligence, whether they are aware of it or not, and the trend will continue as the technology advances and the educational culture adjusts.
Today’s students do not know a world without computers, the internet, or artificial intelligence. They take it for granted that GPS will give them accurate directions, calendars will sync, and Google will find the answers to their questions. Kids today have been utilizing artificial intelligence to learn in a variety of ways. Intuitive apps adjust to a player’s right and wrong answers to focus on the subjects needing work. Educational online games and apps get progressively more difficult as more time is spent within the game and become more focused on problem areas. Even something as relatively simple as an e-reader uses AI to gauge reading speed and make recommendations for books the reader might enjoy. As more research is completed into how students are learning through apps, and as technology advances, the intelligent features of the apps and games will make them better teachers and encourage students to be better learners.
Teachers can utilize artificial intelligence today to score multiple choice tests, organize calendars and lesson plans, and even find gaps in teaching. Programs can determine if a specific question or concept is missed more often than others in computerized testing, alerting teachers that more instruction is needed in that area. Teachers can also run an individual student’s assessments through AI programs to find links between questions and possible gaps in comprehension. Future teachers will have more options in AI technology that may limit the amount of time spent lecturing and increase the time spent assisting and giving individual instruction.
MOOC’s, or Massive Open Online Courses, are online classes offered for free to the public, often designed to educate adults on new technology, jumpstart the path to a new career, or provide continuing education. The ongoing developments within these MOOC’s, however, will trickle down to the childhood education system. New ways to deliver information to students using artificial intelligence will be a by-product of this revolution. Online courses will be more intuitive and individualized than a simple lecture video followed by a multiple-choice test. New methods will include real-time problem solving and encourage creative thinking rather than rote memorization. Excellent teachers will use these models and incorporate the same learning styles into their classrooms.
Our new culture requires students who can solve problems and think outside the box, not workers who can push a button for 10 hours a day. Educational technology utilizing artificial intelligence in effective ways will help teach students how to succeed in the new world.
For 15 years Mimi Rothschild has been privileged to help hundreds of thousands of homeschoolers educate their children at home. The MorningStar Academy is a private online Christian school offering diplomas and teachers. The Jubilee Academy is an online Christian curriculum provider offering over 150 full year online Christian courses for PreK-12.