Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to be a hot topic in the technological world today. As a result, it’s crucial to know its impact on e-learning and the education sector. Firstly, it is important to understand what AI is and how it’s changing technology.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
At the core, AI is the advancement of technological systems that are able to reason similarly to human intelligence. Examples such as speech and facial recognition, language translation, and decision-making are all possible with AI through the intricate use of algorithms.
Specifically, AI focuses on three areas that human intelligence also uses: learning, reasoning, and self-correction. This is very interesting because in the past, there was a limit to what technology could do. AI’s ability to learn and adapt makes the technology smarter than ever.
What is AI’s Role in Education?
More and more people are using applications like Siri or Alexa to help with internet searches, changing songs, or setting a timer. Most people have some exposure to AI in their everyday lives. In obvious ways, AI has already been introduced to academia. Students today use programs like Grammarly, which uses AI technology to correct grammar mistakes, offer suggestions for paraphrasing, and better word choices. Many online platforms today are full of automated features that enable students to join courses from the comfort of their homes without having to physically do anything.
While AI affects the student experience, it also is beginning to affect the educators experience. With programs that can learn and reason, marking papers and exams can be predicted by technology. Further, plagiarism and ghost-writing has been an issue for many years, but with powerful AI systems and programs, papers can be given a percentage of originality. Teachers are already warned about students who might be plagiarizing based on a system report.
Why is AI important in Education?
In a post-pandemic world, many things have moved online for good. As a result, there’s a level of questioning around the quality of work being done from the comfort of our homes. AI systems can help detect if someone is actually working, if a student is cheating, or if the work produced is original. While human efforts against these areas are still crucial, AI makes it easier for students and employees to be held accountable.
Some even argue that with all the possibilities of human error when it comes to video recording, live streaming, or technological issues, having AI avatars as educators can remove some of these issues. While this might be true in some cases, there’s something quite personal about seeing your teacher on the screen.
At ConnectEd, we are well aware of the advancements in the tech field. We have highly skilled experts in the technology field always working to streamline our efforts to make the ConnectEd experience the best and most personal for your students. AI is key to our operations as we continue to seek new ways of adapting to the advancements in the field.
