How AI will impact Remote Learning
Introduction
The AI sector in education is growing and is expected to reach $4billion by 2024 but it will be interesting to see how this is going to affect students. Particularly with COVID-19 right now, the education sector is one of many which has been completely transformed. Remote learning is the new normal for students to learn new skills during lockdown. Personally, I finished the last of my school classes for A-Levels on Microsoft teams. But this isn’t wholly convenient for us and it may not be the most efficient method to ensure education for all the children at school. This model isn’t as effective as being at school as it relies on both the student and teachers to be fully motivated over the screen and there are risks that online teaching may severely impact a big group of children's education in many ways than we can ever imagine.
AI is here to help the teachers
AI can help teachers who have also been thrown into unknown territory who are inundated with online teaching and evaluation of children's development in a way they have never done before. Companies such as Bakpax are innovating this sector through data analytic software, where all students are required to do is take a picture of their work and the AI algorithm will automatically grade students’ works in certain subjects and even provide feedback into which teachers can look into. This information can help teachers to gain valuable knowledge on their students.
AI is also helping the students
AI can also be used to help students. This is because it can be used to develop a customised learning profile aligned with their learning style based on past assignments and online assessments. This information can be used by the AI algorithms to recommend targeted learning content and pathways designed for each individual student to learn using methods best suited for them. This information can also have an impact on a macro level as this information can be used to address key issues within the current curriculum
Conclusion
What does this mean for the future of education moving forward from COVID? I believe there is scope to scale the AI learning mechanisms to introduce targeted learning pathways for students which will lead to students learning at a faster pace compared to a large class environment with only one teacher. However, we must keep in mind the potential risks. There are risks associated with the student’s privacy as well as a disadvantage for students without proper digital infrastructure or lack of social skills development by students not going to a formal school environment.