What is Artificial
intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a
term for simulated intelligence in machines. These machines are programmed to
"think" like a human and mimic the way a person acts. The ideal
characteristic of artificial intelligence is its ability to rationalize and
take actions that have the best chance of achieving a specific goal, although
the term can be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a
human mind, such as learning and solving problems.
Artificial intelligence gives machines
the ability to respond as humans do, understanding events, learning from them,
and reacting to them as an intelligent human would. The range of
applicability in AI has widely expanded in the last three decades, from simple
CCTV cameras to parking systems that require no human intervention and
self-directed drones used by the military. It is, therefore, a wonder that AI
applications in the education sector remain at an all-time low.
Some of the benefits of executing AI in our
educational system:
Personalized
learning: It can be overwhelmingly
difficult for one teacher to figure out how to meet the needs of every student
in his/her classroom: remedial students, advanced students, ESL students and
the disabled all need to have the same access to learning. AI systems easily
adapt to each student’s individual learning needs and can target instruction
based on their strengths and weaknesses, meaningless work for teachers and a
more meaningful learning experience for students.
Tutoring: Machines are taking on the
role of humans in many capacities including tutors. As with human tutors,
“Intelligent Tutoring Systems” can gauge a student’s learning style and
pre-existing knowledge to deliver customized support and instruction.
Grading: This is arguably one of
the most tedious teaching tasks and takes time away from more meaningful and
purposeful pursuits, like lesson planning and professional development.
Machines are now so far advanced that they can do much more than simply grade
an exam with an answer key. They can compile data about how students performed
and even grade more abstract assessments such as essays.
Feedback on course
quality: AI can identify
instruction gaps in the course content based on student performance on
assessments. For example, if a significant percentage of students answer a
question incorrectly, AI can zero in on the specific information or concepts
that students are missing, so that educators can deliver targeted improvements
in materials and methods.
Meaningful and immediate
feedback to students: In an age when most
communication occurs online or via text message, students are increasingly
hesitant about taking risks in front of teachers and peers. They shrink from
receiving critical feedback in such a public forum. With AI, students can feel
comfortable to make the mistakes necessary for learning and receive the
feedback they need for improvement.
Making
education a lot more interesting than before: There
are many ways in which AI can make education a lot more interesting. It can
create the sort of immersive experience that you need in order to get students
hooked on to their class and understand all that is being said. Things such as
game technology and simulation are expected to play major roles in this regard.
It can actually make education a lot more adaptive and intuitive. In fact, such
technology can actually be used in order to encourage students to come together
and develop knowledge themselves. This is something that you need so badly in
this day and age of short attention span.
Limitations of using AI is education:
Firstly, AI can stimulate technology addiction. A
school is traditionally a place where a kid has to dump his mobile phone and
get to open a same old book. With tech implemented in every classroom, kids
won’t be able to imagine their lives without it. As a result, in a few decades,
we’ll get a bunch of socially-unadapted technology-addicted adults.
An important issue that Steigler and Hibert explain in The Teaching Gap, learning is an inherently
cultural process. Computers can help streamline and improve this process, but
they cannot replace the cultural element of learning, which can only come from
another human.
In a blended learning classroom, the computer and the
teacher both have an essential place; doing what each can do best. Teachers
know and understand each student in a way that computers simply can’t.
The program provides a strong curriculum and differentiation,
while the teacher ensures that every student receives the personal instruction and
support needed to progress. It’s hard to imagine even the most advanced
computer program replacing this human understanding, even if the computer
provides detailed information on what the student knows and doesn’t know.
Secondly, Learning is more than downloading knowledge or
passing an exam. Developing a sense of purpose is critical to self-directed
learning. While computers can provide suggestions about what students like,
developing this purpose and instilling it in others is an exclusively human
activity.
Finally, another important aspect of education is teaching
about morality and bias. Morals and biases exist in a human world, and can only
be understood in that context. While computers may seem to not have morals and
be unbiased, as machines begin to decide who should get loans or who should go to
jail, AI can easily pick up our human biases if unchecked.
Moreover, it is possible
to use artificial intelligence in Bangladeshi context but some problems are
also here to consider. Apart from all limitations if computer science
developed, learning and teaching will be easier for both students and teachers.
References:
1.
McGuinness, W. (2018, February 5).
The Benefits and the Limitations of Machine Learning in Education. Retrieved from https://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/02/the-benefits-and-the-limitations-of-machine-learning-in-education/
2.
Nelson, K. (2018, July
31). The Future of
Artificial Intelligence in Education. Retrieved from
https://www.techwell.com/techwell-insights/2018/07/future-artificial-intelligence-education
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