Welcome to our OER on AI and the Future of Education. In this project, we focus on giving an overview of where AI is currently, how it is affecting the field of Education and where it is headed. Together, we will explore AI’s capacity to mould our world and seek to answer the question: How will we, as educators, respond to these innovations?
We encourage you to explore this website by selecting the tabs at the top of the page. Explore the content and return to the ETEC522 blog to react to the discussion prompts below.
Please find our OER here: https://sites.google.com/view/etec524/launchpad
Discussion Prompts
- What is the most helpful use of AI in your professional context?
- We know the workplace of the future will be shaped by the use of AI. What are some other ways in which we, as educators, can prepare learners for this new reality?
- Do you have any apprehension as to how you might professionally be affected by AI in the near future?
- What type or application of AI would you deem a good investment as an EVA?
I just think it would be super school if there was an AI that could utilize machine learning to learn a teacher’s preferences, and eventually mark essays and exams according to a rubric. It would be even cooler if the AI could give feedback, citing its vast deposit of previous responses that scored different marks. It would be easier for a teacher to find a A, or B, or C response, and the AI would be able to specifically map the score to a criteria so the learner knows exactly where they got marks off. The AI marking tool could adjust itself based on a teacher’s own subjective preferences, or even be standardized for testing purposes. I imagine a future where teachers no longer have to mark tests or essays with specific criteria. In my mind, this type of AI wouldn’t work well for works of creative expression such as music, art or narratives in the beginning. However, an AI marking knowledge comprehension questions, expository essays and other regular homework definitely feels feasible.
While I see the benefits of immediate feedback by an AI, I do think that certain types of feedback are better left to a person. This is because giving feedback can be used to directly instruct. AI-based feedback would be suitable for quick short-anwer questons, or multiple choice questions. However, for longer form, project-based or inquiry-based work. I still think human feedback is better. This is because the teacher can decide which aspect of improvement the student can focus on improving, and give targeted instructions in a way that leaves an impact on the learner.
Thanks for your comments, Leon! One thing that is really exciting about AI is that the possibilities are so vast! I think it could absolutely be possible for teachers to really include their voice into AI driven feedback. But you bring up a really important point: the human element. Currently, the kind of feedback AI produces is clearly distinct from teacher feedback. Where we are headed, though, it will be harder and harder to distinguish. Do you think we could get to a point where teachers are not needed?
I think AI will be able to replace large parts of a teacher’s job, but as long as AI interaction is distinguishable from human interaction, there will always be a place for an adult in the room. Whether that adult is a ‘teacher’ in the traditional sense, however, remains to be seen.
Safe, Seime, and Safa – thank you for your thorough OER on AI and the future of education. You provided a lot of great examples of AI being used in classrooms today, and it has really opened my eyes to the types of tools that are currently being utilized. I often think about how our idea of “the future” changes, and I am definitely someone that used to think of defiant human-like robots as soon as someone mentioned AI (did you know that the initial Terminator timeline was that a robot from 2029 was sent back to 1984!!). OK back to your discussion prompts… I think that we can all start to prepare for more AI integration by creating awareness and understanding around the technology, which can be built into other digital media literacy education. I think many educators and learners do not have a solid understanding of the AI we are already interacting with, how our data is collected and used, and what opportunities there will be in the future. As part of educating the next generation of multimedia-wielding students, introducing AI concepts into the classroom is key. I personally don’t have any concern about AI negatively impacting my professional life, but I do understand the concerns some industries have, and am hopeful that we can continue to adapt and provide training and restructuring of some industries to keep jobs open for folks who will ultimately be impacted. Also – a cool use of AI indirectly related to the work that I do – computer engineers have developed programs to identify different species of animals on wildlife cameras. Previously, someone would have to individually go through every image that a remote motion-sensor wildlife camera would take and classify the species (or in many cases, there are false triggers and no animal is in the frame). Now computers can quickly go through tens of thousands of images and sort them into species (wolf, bear, moose, squirrel, cow, etc.). Pretty neat and very time-saving! But also maybe replacing a few grad students (: Thanks again!
Hi Kendal,
I absolutely agree! introducing Ai into the classroom is so essential. And from the example you gave, it is so apparent to me that learning about AI requires a multidisciplinary approach. AI will be a part of so many sectors in the future, so it is essential to start cultivating a healthy curiosity and openness to creative problem-solving using AI. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Hi Kendal,
You are spot on. Teachers must start getting ready for AI in the classroom. In fact, there is school in Europe where AI is being used in a classroom with exceptional need students (special needs). There is an adult in the classroom but math and science questions are directly to the AI. These kids tend to ask the same questions over and over, but the AI never gets frustrated and takes time to answer those same questions in various ways.
Schools with AI sound very promising to me.
Hi Sage and Seime, thank you for the responses. Sage – I love your thought on how it is “essential to start cultivating a healthy curiosity and openness to creative problem-solving using AI” – I absolutely agree! And Seime, a very neat example of using AI to support special needs students in the classroom. Thanks for your additional thoughts and a great OER!
Hi Sage, Seime, and Safa! Thank you for the informative OER. In response to the discussion prompts: 1). In one of the classes I teacher, we use a online platform for their lessons and activities. The activities are assessed by the platforms marking algorithm and the results are shown to the students right away. This is a helpful tool for both me and the students. In the students perspective, they can get feedback on their lessons immediately and the platform can provide a more personalized learning experience for the students who wants to go at their own pace. In my perspective, it’s a helpful tool not only because it saves me time on marking, but it also allows me go over thing that students got wrong immediately after their completion of the activities. 2). Like you mentioned in the OER, social emotional elements will not be easily replaceable by AI. By emphasizing emotional intelligence and teaching how AI is helpful in different fields will not only educate our students but will also prepare them to work in a world filled with AI. 3). There are some concerns with “robots” replacing and taking over all the jobs in the world but human interaction is a very important part of a lot of fields and industries. In the teaching profession, relationships built by teachers with their students goes beyond the contents of the course and help students grow as a person. I don’t believe AI will be able to fulfill this role in the near future in the classroom. 4). I think any AI application that makes people’s lives easier is a worthwhile investment. People now a days pay a lot for convenience and automation. All the delivery applications and the smart devices at home all help with that. I believe consumers will continue to purchase technology that will save their time and provide convenience in their everyday lives.
Hi, Jerry
Thank you for sharing your experience with AI. We share the same viewpoint about AI replacing humans in emotional and social areas. Indeed, humans will always have those unique abilities to empathize and build relationships and be intuitive and impulsive that AI will never have in my opinion.
Is there a specific AI application in which you’d be interested in investing?
Hi Safa. In terms of applications that make people’s lives easier, I think self driving car capabilities is something I would like to invest in. I have personally experienced self-driving cars, and to a regular consumer, what is already in place is quite mind blowing with the amount of information the car is able to take in and their ability to make decisions from that information. However, this technology is nowhere near perfect yet but with lots of competition within the self driving market, this will sure to speed up the advancement in this technology.
Hi Sage, Seime, and Safa! I have enjoyed reading your context about the OER. AI is a broad concept and there are still many yet to be explored in this field.
1) AI has been the most helpful when I was studying math. I wasn’t very good at math and many times I have been struggling with figuring out the steps to the solution. Then one day this app called “Photomath” has changed the way I learned Math. This app instantly scans the questions and solves accurately. After I solved the questions, I can refer back to the explanation provided by the app and review the step-by-step breakdown of the questions. This helped me understood many difficult questions when it requires another person to explains to me. This app also identifies some fundamental concepts while explaining the questions. Through Photomath I was able to visualize math, which is how I learn things usually, and pulled me through numerous struggles.
2) To better prepare learners to this new reality, I think one of the important things is to mentally prepare them to the advancement in this technologies. As some might be intimidated by this new technology or even feeling overwhelmed with getting used to it, it is crucial to demonstrate and explain the procedures of using it and provide them some expectation management on what they will experience with. Also, it is also essential to provide adequate support to transition of new technology.
3) In the near future, I don’t see being negatively affecting the world as there are still quite a few of the characteristics that is still irreplaceable with AI, such as human interactions and flexibility that human being could offer. However, it is anticipating that AI will bring revolutionary changes in the upcoming years to the educational field with its quick computational ability and the ability to offer personalized learning experience after calculating the student’s learning trajectory.
4) AI is a worthwhile investment in my opinion. Recently I have come to a new AI smart exercise bike which I think it will be very beneficial. https://renpho.com/products/ai-smart-bike
Whether its machine learning or this type of smart devices, there are still potential growth in the market despite some shortcomings in its rigidity on certain aspect. It will be a good investment in my opinion.
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for sharing your experience. This app sounds neat and I am glad it eased your struggle. Indeed, in this age and time we cannot function efficiently without AI and we will continue to need it because of its speed and effectiveness. This AI bike sounds interesting? Have you tried it? And is there a specific AI application or form that you’d be interested in investing/not investing in?
Hello, Week 9 Group
Congratulations on OER about IA and THE Future of Education.
I would like to imagine more integration between students’ necessities, and I loved the concept of Hyper-personalization. Firstly, let’s start with integration, like genetic games that simulate environmental modifications when we change food support in the ecosystem. I wonder about a timeline that, on one extremity, demonstrates how we have, at the same time, places living in similar conditions to the medieval era. Conversely, we have people using resources of today’s leading technology. Both worlds coexist, and many of us don’t notice. For instance, some differences rely on economic power and are pretty hard to change, but there are simple behavioral changes like being kind.
Secondly, Hyper-personalization sends me into a questioning zone, such as How can AI algorithms promote kindness? Is it possible to analyze a learning context and compare it to others and promote scalable opportunities? Does our teaching model produce more animosity or empathy between students? Can we have more help to evaluate as a whole and not just an essay?
If IA can identify students suffering from depression, excessive aggressivity, or bullying, and part of the evaluation of their classmates was attributed to reintegration and team group work with the one in need. Find affinities to match people and help them. Once we have tinder and many other apps for building relationships and dates, why not an IA to make closer isolated and lonely people using their school similar interests and grade them for this noble and human achievement?
Hi Alexei, you raised some important questions in your piece. There are right now growing interest in AI and ML to address issues related to mental health and huge investment in research right here in Canada. Conversational agents and metal health diagnosis are among the applications of AI that are currently in use. But AI is still a young technology that has yet to fully develop. But its application in education so far has been outstanding. The book “Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial intelligence in Special Education” by Ange Anderson provides a road map on how to support students with learning disabilities with AI. Please see the refence below in case you would like to take a look at some the practical examples based on students’ experience with the new technology. Answers to some of your questions have yet to come.
Anderson, A. (2019). Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence in Special Education: A Practical Guide to Supporting Students with Learning Differences (1st ed.). Routledge.
Thank you, Seime, for the reference. I am researching digital inclusion in Healthcare. This guide gives me thoughts and insights into possibilities in the Health area.
Hi Sage, Seime, and Safa, thanks for your OER and insights on AI and the future of education! I am a bit worried how I might be impacted by AI professionally in the future. I am one of a few staff members at my school that my coworkers turn to for tech problems, and I worry that the issues I will be presented with may be a lot more complicated when AI is more normalized in the education industry. I think as we continue to turn towards using more technologies in education, there is a greater need for dedicated tech support for every school. The shift for education to use more technology is needed and inevitable, yet many school districts are underfunded and cannot receive adequate technical help. It is often up to the few staff members who are capable and willing to learn these new technologies (on their own time) to troubleshoot and solve these technical issues. I would feel a bit more excited for AI if I knew that the education system would adapt adequately, but with limited funding and resources it just makes me a bit hesitant from that standpoint alone. AI and other technologies are necessary and will do so much good for education, I just hope our system can adapt in time.
Hi Joseph,
Your concerns are so valid: Is it fair to place the burden of adapting to new technologies on teachers? I really like that you highlighted the need for additional dedicated tech support. I completely agree – I think this is so important.
I wonder if anyone else has some input here? How do education systems have to adapt to ensure the effective use of technology (and specifically AI) in the classroom?
Hi Sage, Sieme and Safaa,
Well done on your OER, there were many new concepts I learned about including the use of learnware for the future of machine learning. No doubt that AI will change the landscape of education and how we teach our students, from hyper-personalization, content curation and assessment. It would appear that AI would support the streamlining of work and efficiency for teachers, but I also have my hesitations for AI in the classroom, mostly with privacy and collection of student data. The section “Investing in the Future of AI” resonated with me, specifically, teaching students AI as a form of digital literacy. Along the lines of privacy, it is important that students are aware of how they are being tracked, almost like a form of consent to use this data. I also appreciate how you emphasized the value of emotional and social skills- something that can sets us humans apart from the machines!
Hi Jocelyn
Thank you for commenting. Your concern is very valid and we all share it. I reckon digital literacy will, if not already, become an essential subject that students must study from an early age.
Do you believe the benefits of AI are worth “jeopardizing” our privacy?
Hello Sage, Seime and Safa. I have always had this exaggerated pre-existing notion that AI would lead to the downfall of human civilization (100% because of the Terminator movies I watched when I was younger LOL). After reading your OER, I recognized how beneficial AI technologies can be in my ESL classroom. In my classroom there are many students that have different learning speeds, and I believe AI can really help me by providing the students with automated feedback, and content curation. The second one (content curation) stood out for me the most because I then realized how AI can recognize and recommend different ways students can learn and achieve classroom learning objectives. It is truly fascinating how AI technology recognizes each students learning patterns and needs, and can create different routes students can use in order to achieve academic success in the classroom. I always thought that with the implementation of AI , teachers would become more obsolete, but your analysis and “AI in the future” section completely debunked that thought for me. it made me realize, as you mentioned, that teachers “will rather have new roles and still be in charge, but the AI assistant will provide updated and sound information on every student, which will enable unmatched levels of differentiation. Thus, teachers will move away from performing those simple but considerable rote task to focus more on their professional development.”. I look forward to reading and keeping an eye on the developments of AI technology in the classroom, and for general purposes. Thank you for your excellent OER!
Hi Petros,
Thank you for your insightful comment. I am glad we were able to convey to you how useful AI can be for education. It is exactly as you put it, AI helps to achieve exceptional levels of differentiated instruction while also enabling educators to focus more on their professional development and on the more important tasks.
In my professional context, which is language education, I am very interested in the application of AI. It actually ties into the project my team was doing last week, Assistive Technologies. AI is a fundamental part of some Simultaneous Electronic Language Translation (SELT).
Sadly, AI is not there yet. As soon as you break out of standard linguistic communications to include things like metaphors or idioms, or when you deviate from a grammatical pattern, understanding is lost. Nonetheless, AI is part of Big Data and Big Data analysis – considering all the searches we request in Google orally: AI sifts through that data to find the value in it to someone ( be it marketing, feedback, customer relations, etc).
In language learning, the most common application of AI comes through adaptive question selection ( I forget the exact term); paste on how you have answered the previous question ( correctly or incorrectly), the computer program then selects a more difficult or easier question in order to classify your language level. At this point in time, I don’t see Siri replacing language educators anytime soon, but AI is at work in programs like Duolingo.
Adaptive learning! That’s was I was looking for.
Thanks so much for your perspective Trevor! I am also most excited for the language recognition implications of AI. In my work, I have been closely monitoring the products that are out there for speech recognition (Google, Otter, Sonix etc). In just the past 3 years, I have seen incredible improvements in the technology already. The quality of transcription is much more accurate, more languages are becoming readily available and speakers are able to be accurately identified. It has been wonderful watching these services improve in such a short amount of time.
It’s hard to predict when the tech will be advanced enough to handle some of the nuances of language (as you suggest Trevor) but I will be excited to see how it will be incorporated into language learning!
I work with a lot of students who use AI in the form of word prediction to communicate. This can look like variations of the writing support that we all often use built into texting or email, or, for students who do not verbally communicate, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app supported by AI (e.g. Predictable) can learn what words they access more commonly, make them easily selectable, and make AAC voices speak more efficiently for day-to-day communication.
I think that one important way that we can prepare students to interact with AI is to make sure that they understand the potential for AI to customize and support their learning, but also to use their data to shape and potentially manipulate their experience. Someone above mentioned digital literacy specific to AI as an importance aspect of teaching content, and I agree – particularly in the areas of targeted advertising and algorithmic bias, students need to understand what they’re up against to mitigate the negative effects that AI interaction can potentially have.
I think it is really important that you bring up AI’s ability to shape and manipulate one’s experience. This is absolutely an essential element of digital literacy that will have to be carefully considered in the classroom.
I wonder als what some of you think of this as a potential ethical issue? Can we ensure learning will be equitable under an AI supported system?
Thanks for your work on this Sage, Seime and Safa. I think AI will be a necessary tool when it comes to personalized learning as part of the 21st Century classroom. It will be challenging for us as educators to personalize learning when we are responsible for 30+ students (K-7) or hundreds (high school), without the use of new technologies. We know there is limited funding in creating smaller class sizes to provide the necessary resources to create and implement specified learning plans. If the future pedagogy is looking at a path towards a personalized approach to learning, AI will be the way of the future. I do worry that the technology required for this to become a reality in the classrooms can be problematic, as with all new technologies. As an EdTech specialist, I see firsthand how technology and tools can be problematic when not working optimally. The need for specialized positions within schools and/or school systems, will have to be considered when considering the implementation of this technology. How are these tools designed, trained, monitored and updated, all while taking into consideration the needs and values of school districts, individual teachers and curriculum needs. And what happens when the wifi goes down? 😉 I think relying solely on AI in education is far from reality, however, as an assistive tool to develop specific skills, could be something we begin seeing in the near future.
Thank you, Seime, for the reference. I am researching digital inclusion in Healthcare. This guide gives me thoughts and insights into possibilities in the Health area.
Great OER!! I found it super informative and thought provoking
1. What is the most helpful use of AI in your professional context?
As an Administrator and former Lead of our Inclusive Ed department, I have seen voice to text software become an integral part of our community. I use it constantly while walking in the halls so I can keep in contact with my fellow admin and still be monitoring. Voice to text has become really important in our Inclusive Ed department, especially with students with written output struggles. It gives them a sense of accomplishment to see their thoughts on paper (well, virtual paper) and then they can work at editing without the daunting task of starting from scratch.
2. We know the workplace of the future will be shaped by the use of AI. What are some other ways in which we, as educators, can prepare learners for this new reality?
I think as educators we need to be mindful that we don’t become too reliant on technology and start to lose the ability to build relationships with our classes. As AI starts to take over the basic aspects of class, then we as humans start to lose opportunities to interact and socialize with students.
“They (teachers) will rather have new roles and still be in charge, but the AI assistant will provide updated and sound information on every student, which will enable unmatched levels of differentiation. Thus, teachers will move away from performing those simple but considerable rote task to focus more on their professional development.”
This freaks me out a little bit as some of those rote tasks are where relationships and trust are built with students. By removing those and focusing on more theoretical tasks like professional development, there is the chance that the teacher becomes disconnected from their class and far too dependent on an AI interpretation of a student’s abilities. An example is a student doesn’t write anything for a couple weeks and is withdrawn. An AI may come up with different ways to individualize the course work, but a teacher with a solid connection to their students can go and see if maybe there is an emotional component to the lack of productivity. That only works if there has been a relationship built first.
3 Do you have any apprehension as to how you might professionally be affected by AI in the near future?
I will have my lunchtime monitoring taken over by a Terminator-like robot so I can actually deal with things that matter to the school and not keep busting kids vaping in the bathroom. I’m good with this.
4. What type or application of AI would you deem a good investment as an EVA?
I don’t feel like I know enough about AI to jump in and invest. I would be interested in advancing the voice to text tech to where it is more like having a conversation with someone and not just a straight literal rendition. Or maybe it is, then the AI starts a conversation on ways to make the text stronger. Anything that can make students not afraid to communicate would be a huge benefit!
Great work Sage, Seime, and Safa! What a great topic and a lot of learning here! To answer your discussion prompts, the most helpful use of AI as someone who works in a software company are the AI used in tools to automate and streamline processes. For example, Outlook has begun using artificial intelligence to predict my emails once I start typing. It will autocomplete my sentences and save me time. But more than that, I will create rules and automations to send emails automatically (as needed), and artificial intelligence will suggest additional automations based on the rules I set up. This can inform me of new enhancements while also decreasing the time it takes to set up.
As educators, we can prepare for a new AI world, to be prepared for what we need to do to support AI and have AI support us. AI will never replace educators, but it can assist and support us to give us the time we need to spend with our learners. I have no apprehensions at all about AI, as long as it is rolled out with a strategy that outlines it’s current limitations clearly. I am specifically interested in the AI in assessments, I know Axonify especially has a great AI assessment tool. I would highly consider investing in assessment based AI because it can deliver personalized assessments for students to focus on the areas that they need more help with, and automatically create a strategy and help them grow in those areas.
The most useful AI programs that I implement in my professional context, middle school education, are learning programs like No Red Ink, IXL or Prodigy to target questions and instructional strategies to each student individually. I have found that it leads to a richer and more productive learning experience for my students, which leads to higher user engagement. In my experience, AI is largely hidden from the students who are using it and I found your question about how to best prepare students for the more common application of AI very interesting. It brings up wether we have an ethical obligation to disclose the use of AI in education and inform students of the benefits and drawback of AI usage. As AI is so often seamlessly incorporated into gamified learning platforms they are already using, they have become accustomed to AI without necessarily being explicitly prepared for it. As AI becomes incorporated into a greater variety of subject areas it will likely become more important for students to understand what AI is and how it affects their day to day learning. This is also dependant on the age of the students as younger students may be less likely to understand the intricacies of AI technology. A common fear that teachers have about AI is that we could be progressively replaced by technology. I have hopes that it will not replace quality instruction, but will allow teachers who are currently overstretched to implement the curriculum more effectively and work with students in small groups while the rest of the class uses AI driven technology to further their learning. If I were looking to invest in new educational technology I would focus on algorithm-driven programs that are easily applied in the classroom using existing technology. With schools encouraging teachers to use rotating learning centres rather than a more teacher-centred approach in their learning, AI programs serve as an easy way to create this kind of learning environment.
Hi Katie, Thank you for your piece and the information you provide on your usage of AI to enrich your students’ learning experience. I’ve used IXL in the past in middle school. I’ve discussed the New York Times article “How Companies Learn Your Secrets” with my students (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?searchResultPosition=1). They are well aware that the corporate world is gathering information on them from their shopping habits to their preference on Netflix. When it comes to letting kids know about the fact that we are using AI in classes, it depends on the classroom dynamics and what we know could be offensive to some students. as far as I am concerned, I tend to be transparent with these issues.
I believe the future of AI in classroom sounds pretty promising. In fact, auto pilot AI on commercial airlines can actually fly the planes to their landing destination. And yet, we probably will never see a commercial plane in the air without two pilots! I believe the same is actually true for teaching. With AI in the classroom, teachers will move away from performing those simple but considerable rote tasks to focus on being more effective and efficient in the classroom and devote more time to their professional development.
We know the workplace of the future will be shaped by the use of AI. What are some other ways in which we, as educators, can prepare learners for this new reality?
I believe that just like any new technology, the way we prepare our learners is by teaching them responsible use of the technology. Students use the internet everyday, and there are quite a few risks that go along with this. However, it is our job as educators to teach our students about digital citizenship, so they know how to safely navigate the web. Similarly, as AI becomes increasingly popular and easily accessible, we need to teach them safe habits for AI use. I think back to when TVs were becoming more popular, and how our parents would say sit back from the TV because you will get bad eyesight. They were teaching us safe technology habits back then! Just like we will need to do in the future.